‘And if they insist these are they, what then? I’m not taking you into a situation that could prove unpleasant. I shall return alone, you must wait here with the children.’
‘Jack, have you stopped to consider the other side of the matter? What if you charge into the office accusing them of chicanery and they are innocent? You could be arrested for slander. Imagine the embarrassment? And the problem of finding another firm prepared to work with you after that.’
He rubbed his cheek, his brow creased. ‘Very well,’ he said after a few moments, ‘I capitulate. We shall go together.’ He sounded so fierce she laughed.
‘We shall stay here until you’ve recovered your temper. Consider, if they are villains we don’t wish to alert them to our suspicions or they could abscond with your money before you have them apprehended.’
‘Charlotte, you are wise beyond your years and, as always, quite correct. Do you wish to tell Annie where we’re going?’
His mention of the nursemaid reminded her of his intriguing comment to the children. ‘What did you buy them? I hope you purchased nothing extravagant; I don’t wish to see them spoilt.’
‘I purchased a terrier puppy for Harry and a pair of tortoiseshell kittens for Beth. Neither gift was costly I promise you.’
She was overcome by his thoughtfulness and forgot they were not in the privacy of Thurston Hall. She flung her arms around him. ‘Oh, thank you, that’s the kindest thing. We’ve never been able to keep pets because mama could not be near one without wheezing dreadfully.’
With commendable restraint he released her. ‘It was my pleasure, sweetheart.’ He took her hand and looped it through his arm. ‘We shall go outside and inspect the new members of the household before we go and see Blower and Thomas.’
Charlotte declared the puppy adorable and the kittens sweet. The children were perfectly content to stay in the yard while getting acquainted with their pets.
‘You’ll have to think of names for them, remember it has be something easy for you to call and for them to remember,’ she told them.
‘I’m calling my puppy Buttons ’cause that’s what his eyes are like,’ Harry said.
Jack stroked the little black and white ball rolling around in ecstasy on the seat of the gig. ‘That’s a perfect choice, Harry. I couldn’t have chosen better myself.’
Glowing with pride Harry beamed, if Cousin Jack approved, then he was happy.
‘What about your kittens, Beth?’ Charlotte asked.
‘It’s harder for me. I don’t know if they’re boys or girls so have to find names that will do for either.’
‘I’m sure you’ll think of something special. Now be good whilst we attend to some business.’
The cobbled street they had to cross was filthy, its surface liberally strewn with dung. Charlotte viewed it with dismay. Jack seeing her hesitation swept her up into his arms and, ignoring the scandalized looks from several passers-by, strode over and deposited her neatly on the other side.
‘That was outrageous.’ She fanned her cheeks with her hands. ‘You promised me you would behave with propriety in future, that vow didn’t last long.’
He was unrepentant. ‘I’m a soldier; I don’t procrastinate. You didn’t wish to walk in the sh…, the manure, so I carried you.’ He was highly amused by her annoyance. ‘If you like I shall carry you back and you can then traverse the road on your own feet.
She almost stamped her feet in vexation. ‘You are impossible. I don’t wish to stand here making a spectacle of myself any longer.’ She glared, daring him to return a flippant answer. He too had become aware they were attracting an unwarranted amount of attention. ‘The lawyer’s office is situated around the corner no more than a few minutes from here. Shall we go?’
Reluctantly she placed her hand on his proffered arm and they completed their walk in silence. She was too cross to trust herself to say anything civil.
‘I dislike that bonnet, Charlotte, I don’t wish you to wear it again.’
She stopped, snatching her hand from his arm. ‘It took me two days to line this bonnet with the pleated silk that matches my gown. It is my very best one and you are the rudest man I have ever met.’
He had the effrontery to chuckle. ‘I think it’s a delightful confection, my objection is to the fact that the large brim obscures your lovely face when I am walking beside you.’
Somewhat mollified she replaced her hand. ‘It is the first stare, you know; I copied the design from a fashion plate in La Belle Assemblée. And it was made to be worn with this ensemble.’
He patted her gloved hand. ‘Now, the gown I thoroughly approve of, but I preferred it with the spencer left unbuttoned.’ He prevented her from removing her hand a second time by placing his own on top. This was the first time either had mentioned the incident in the inn yard when they had first seen each other.
‘I remember that you stared at me in an ungentlemanly manner. I was quite unnerved.’
‘Not as much as I was when I heard you say you were all coming to Thurston Hall. I galloped home determined to deny you access, to send you packing when you arrived.’ He caressed her fingers tenderly. ‘I thank God every day that I did not do so.’
She reached out and brushed his cheek with her freehand. Her impropriety caused a passing matron to miss her footing and step into the road. In the confusion, as her maid helped her back onto the path, they were able to slip past and avoid further embarrassment.
Breathless they arrived at the steps that led up to the offices they sought. Charlotte’s bonnet was askew and Jack’s beaver had slipped over his forehead at a rakish angle.
‘We are a disgrace, my lord. I don’t believe we should be allowed out in public.’ She straightened her bonnet and retied the ribbons. ‘I do not understand it at all. I was always a model daughter, never gave my parents a moment’s worry.’ The mention of her mother sobered her. How could she behaving like a hoyden so soon after her beloved mama’s demise? She felt her eyes filling and looked down, hoping to hide her distress. She was not quick enough.
‘Here, little one, take this.’ A large cotton square was placed in her hand and she mopped her eyes. He stood protectively in front, his bulk effectively screening her.
‘Thank you, I’m quite recovered. I am not usually such a watering-pot. I promised my mother I wouldn’t cry for her, but it’s so hard to keep my vow.’
‘It is an impossible one to keep. You loved your mother; you can’t just pretend she didn’t exist. I’m sure repressing these feelings is what is causing you to act so out of character.’
She managed a watery smile. ‘Do you think so? Then I shall stop worrying about it and try and get on with my life as I promised.’
He drew her arm back into his and turned to head up the steps. ‘This is damned odd! The shutters are closed and the door’s locked.’ He knocked loudly but there was no answer.
‘I expect they are away on business, their absence might not be anything sinister.’
‘I shall come back tomorrow. If they’re not here then, I shall inform the militia and have them arrested.’
‘I’m certain it won’t come to that. Everything will be explained to your satisfaction tomorrow. However, I think we should return to the Crown, the wind has turned chilly and the carriage has no protection if it rains.’
The traffic was less dense on their return and they were soon out of town and bowling along the lane. The clouds had thickened and although barely two o’clock, already dusk was setting in.
Charlotte was grateful for the rugs Jethro had provided.
‘There, Harry, snuggle under this, pull it up to your chin. You will be warm enough then.’
Annie glanced nervously at the lowering clouds. ‘I don’t like the looks of the weather, miss. We could be in for a drenching before we get back to Thurston.’
Jack was riding behind them; the lane at this part was narrow, the high hedges making it impossible for him to be alongside.
Harry, from his
cocoon of blankets, posed a question Charlotte couldn’t answer. ‘Lottie, what happens if we meet another coach, we would get stuck. Would we have to go backwards?’
‘I have no idea, Harry, I was wondering about that myself. The hedges are far too high for Jethro to see ahead and I believe that’s how they normally avoid such problems.’
‘If you’ll excuse me for speaking out of turn, Miss Carstairs, this lane is not used much so I doubt we’ll meet anyone this afternoon,’ Jethro called back.
‘Thank you. I should imagine backing down this winding lane would be extremely hazardous.’ She shivered. She’d be glad when they’d completed this part of their journey. It hadn’t seemed nearly so dark and threatening on their passage through a few hours ago. Things looked different in the sunshine, she decided, this is the same lane, no more dangerous than before.
She relaxed onto the squabs, pulling the rug closer around her knees. The weather had turned from summer to winter overnight. Jack must be freezing on Lucifer; he had not thought to bring a riding coat with him. She turned round to speak to him.
‘Are you very cold? I have a spare rug here you could drape round your shoulders.’ The wind carried her words away and he urged his horse closer to the rear of the vehicle and leaned forward over the animal’s ears.
‘Say that again, I didn’t catch that you said.’ His parade ground voice carried so well he all but deafened the occupants of the gig. They were laughing when there was a loud report and a bullet whistled over Jack’s head, missing him by inches.
‘Get down on the floor. Do it now,’ he roared.
She grabbed Harry, who was sitting beside her, and gripped Beth’s arm and together they toppled off the seats and into the well in the centre of the carriage. Crouching on the floor in a tumble of blankets, her arms around Harry, she waited for the next explosion.
From her position she couldn’t see what Jack was doing and the roaring of the wind meant she couldn’t hear him either. What was the coachman doing? Even the horses were still, no snorting, no jangling of harness. There was just the sound of the wind in the branches rustling and creaking. Harry was shaking and she drew him closer. Then Beth whispered in her ear.
‘Lottie, is it a highwayman? Will they take the parcels and your purse?’
‘Hush, Beth, we must be quiet until we know what’s happening.’
*
Jack heard the report before the bullet passed him and reacted instinctively. He rolled sideways from his horse pulling out his pistols as he did so. They were primed and ready, all they needed was cocking. He crept forward, scanning the hedge for tell-tale movement. From the trajectory of the bullet he knew one assailant was hidden on the left-hand side but he had to be sure there was no one else on the right.
This was no casual hold-up, this was a professional job, a deliberate ambush, and it could only mean one thing. Whoever was out there was not after their property but their lives. He tensed. Was that a flicker of leaves? Yes! He aimed and fired, his one eye as good as another man’s two. His victim screamed and there was a crash as a body fell through the bushes. Ice cool he stuck the unfired pistol into his boot whilst he reloaded by touch alone. He was watching the hedge and the far right of the gig. He was certain there was another villain biding his time. He needed to draw his fire, make him show himself.
Should he risk it? If he was shot Charlotte and the children would be left unprotected, at the mercy of whoever was out there. His heartbeat slowed, his brain cleared. He was a veteran of the Peninsula, no bastard was better than him in a skirmish.
Decision made he straightened and keeping his guns out of sight he walked round the stationary vehicle. His head and shoulders were visible, a clear target, and he had his blindside to the danger area. But his ears were sharp, he could hear as well as most people could see. He called to Jethro, keeping his voice even, trying to sound like a man who believed the danger was over.
‘Jethro, I hit him. I’m going to check the bugger’s dead.’
The coachman was at the horses’ heads, he had his hands over their muzzles, keeping them quiet. He knew his lordship was relying on his hearing. ‘On your left, your grace, two of them,’ he hissed.
Jack swung round and fired both guns into the hedge. He heard the ladies’ screams of terror but ignored them. He ducked back and retraced his steps, managing to reload one pistol before he reached the rear of the vehicle.
He dropped to his knees and slid underneath, intending to make his next attack from between the wheels. He crawled on his belly until he reached his position. He could hear Beth crying and the sound made him even more determined to kill the men who dared to frighten his family.
He moved forward cautiously and could see the hedge. Had his first two bullets done the job, or were there still unseen killers hiding there? At first he could see nothing, no bodies, no live men, but then he detected a darker patch amongst the leaves. With a triumphant grin he raised his pistol, squeezed the trigger and saw the leaves explode outwards as a masked figure fell forward to crash, dead, inches from his face.
He was a soldier, he lay still before reacting. It wouldn’t do to break cover until he was certain the murdering bastards were dead or had fled the scene. He heard the sound he was waiting for, men moving backwards through the hedge. Whoever they were, their progress was slow. He smiled, he had winged at least one of them, they shouldn’t be hard to track.
‘Jethro,’ he yelled, as he shuffled out from his hiding place. ‘Get back up; it’s safe to resume your journey.’
He felt energised, renewed by his battle, all his doubts about his abilities, his manhood, had vanished. He had killed two men and winged another, not bad for a man with one good eye.
*
Charlotte had no time to consider her own terror, her concern was for the children. Harry had soiled himself in his fear and was shivering as though afflicted with the ague. Annie could take care of Beth; she would concentrate on her little brother. Gently she wrapped him in the blankets and lifted him back onto the seat pulling him onto her lap as soon as she was settled.
‘There, darling, it’s all over now. Cousin Jack has saved as, is he not a hero?’
Harry was incapable of speech. His hands clutched her jacket and he continued his silent crying. Charlotte felt something warm wriggling under her feet. The puppy, Buttons - she had forgotten all about him. The kittens had been returned to their box but Harry had insisted he cuddled his new pet on his lap.
She groped about in the middle of the blankets and found the tiny animal. ‘Come along, Buttons, you’re needed.’
She placed the puppy on Harry’s chest and was glad to see him release one hand from his vice-like grip on her spencer in order to hold the dog. The puppy licked his young master’s fingers and then snuggled down inside his jacket.
By this time Annie had Beth back on the opposite seat and was comforting her. Normally the child hated to be fussed but she burrowed into her nursemaid’s side, burying her face in the well-padded shoulder. The carriage rocked as Jethro returned to his seat and Jack opened the door and climbed in beside Charlotte.
‘Sweetheart, the danger’s over for the moment. I’m sorry you had to undergo this experience.’ He gathered her and Henry into his embrace and held them to his heart. ‘I promise no harm shall come to any of you. This is the last time anyone takes shots at my family.’
Charlotte relaxed in his arms for a moment, his strength, his warmth, slowly restoring her. Then she glanced over his shoulder and saw the body prostrate in the dust. Her stomach lurched and she felt as if a stone had lodged in her throat. Before she could speak the skies opened and the threatened rain came down in torrents.
He shot out of the gig and closed the door. ‘Upton Magna is closer than Thurston, Jethro, who lives there that could take as in?’
‘Dr Andrews, your grace, he’s about half a mile from here.’
‘Then get going, the ladies and children are too shocked to withstand a soaking as well.’
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He vaulted onto Lucifer and forced the horse to squeeze past the vehicle. ‘Charlotte, I am going ahead to alert them, but I shall return to escort you.’
She saw him vanish into the rain but was too wet and cold to worry about being left temporarily unprotected. Jethro whipped up the horses and the coach rattled off at a spanking pace. No one minded the jolts and bumps; they were all too concerned with trying to keep the rain out and were huddling beneath the blankets.
Jack was back to escort them the last few hundred yards. The manor house was ready to receive the unexpected visitors. He assured her that Dr Andrews’s housekeeper had hot bricks heating and towels and dry clothes ready in a guest chamber. A bevy of chambermaids and footmen were at that very moment hurrying up the backstairs with jugs of water to fill two baths; one for Charlotte and the other for the children.
Dr Andrews would have taken Harry but Jack was their first. Ignoring his smelly state he swung him up, being careful to include the puppy in his hold. ‘Off we go, young man. What you need is a hot bath and some dry clothes.’ Harry was strangely silent, his face pinched and white and in no state to respond.
The doctor assisted Charlotte from the carriage. ‘There is a hot bath waiting for you, Miss Carstairs, and for the children. As your physician I can tell you the sooner you all get out of your wet clothes the better. Being soaked to the skin after such a horrible experience will not help at all.’
Charlotte checked Beth was following before allowing him to escort her into the house. There the housekeeper took over.
‘If you will permit me, Miss Carstairs, I will conduct you to a guest chamber. I have put the children in the adjoining room.’
Charlotte nodded her thanks, finding it took all her remaining energy just to mount the stairs. She ignored the room she’d been allocated and followed Jack. Her first priority must be to Harry and Beth – her own comfort would come later.
The Duke's Challenge Page 16
