The Crimson Cavaliers

by Mary Andrea Clarke

  “Well, then, you can escort me home.”

  As he hesitated, her voice grew more insistent.

  “You can only make matters worse if you go in now.”

  Edward sighed. “I suppose you’re right.” He handed his sister into the carriage and followed her. Closing the door behind him, he looked at Georgiana with eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why were you there, anyway? Prying into my personal life again?”

  “I visited Lady Wickerston on entirely another matter,” responded Georgiana in a dignified tone.

  “What?”

  “Prying into my personal life, Edward?”

  He glowered and did not attempt to pursue the issue.

  “Amanda came to see me this morning,” said Georgiana after a few minutes.

  Edward looked surprised. “Did she? What for?”

  “She was concerned about you.” His expression became puzzled. “Yes, I could not understand it either.”

  Edward looked uneasy.

  “What did you talk about?” His voice was hoarse.

  “Don’t worry,” said Georgiana. “I didn’t mention your secret.”

  Edward flushed. “That’s not what I meant,” he said indignantly.

  “Of course it was,” retorted Georgiana. “You must think me a great simpleton if you imagine I do not believe that to be your first concern.”

  Edward drew in his breath. “Yes, well, what did Amanda want?”

  “I told you, she was worried about you. She said you’d been preoccupied and thought you had something on your mind.” Georgiana paused. “I suggested to her it was probably your new responsibilities as magistrate.”

  “That is true as well, of course.”

  Georgiana threw him a baleful look.

  “Thank you, Georgiana,” Edward said in a low voice.

  Georgiana acknowledged his gratitude with a nod. As they sat in silence, she gave him a quick, thoughtful glance. She had a fair idea of what his reaction would be when she spoke again.

  “Edward, how are your inquiries into Sir Robert’s murder progressing?”

  Edward gave her a disapproving look. She decided to turn her knowledge to her advantage.

  “Do you not think it would be wise to humour me, Edward, given the fact that I know you are not quite perfect?”

  “What?” Edward looked intently at his sister as he sought to comprehend her meaning. “Georgiana, that’s blackmail!”

  “Count yourself fortunate I ask so little in exchange.”

  “Georgiana!”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Edward, spare me the ‘holier than thou’ nonsense,” said Georgiana. “You know full well I’m not going to discuss your indiscretion with Amanda. The least you can do is indulge my curiosity without sermonising about the impropriety of it.”

  Edward continued to look disapproving. “Very well,” he said finally, in an exasperated tone, “though I fail to understand why you are so concerned.”

  “I want to see justice done,” Georgiana said promptly.

  Edward eyed her suspiciously.

  “Really? Well since you are so interested in this sordid business, you may as well know we hope to have it concluded soon.”

  “You do?” Georgiana was startled.

  Edward nodded proudly. “You remember me telling you I am acquainted with a Bow Street Runner?”

  “Yes,” said Georgiana.

  “Well, he – um – that is...” Edward coughed uncomfortably. “He has had occasion to come into contact with some rather disreputable people. It seems one or two of them are prepared to lay information. We shall have the Crimson Cavalier by the heels in no time.”

  Georgiana was unimpressed. Most of those who frequented the Lucky Bell had a fair idea of who the informers were. She herself had noticed conversations cease when certain characters came into earshot.

  “It seems there is a tavern known as a haunt of highwaymen and other such cut-throats,” Edward was continuing enthusiastically. “We intend to put one or two Runners in there to see what they can find out.”

  “How resourceful.”

  “They will soon fit in, and by keeping their eyes and ears open, they should find out quite a bit.”

  While common sense told Georgiana she would need to be on the alert, part of her felt she should tell her brother not to waste the Runners’ time. Although informers always posed a potential danger, she knew anyone unfamiliar to the Lucky Bell would stand out too readily to be trusted.

  “You think someone will tell them where to find the Crimson Cavalier?” she inquired.

  “For the right price.”

  “What is that price?” Georgiana could not prevent herself from asking.

  Edward smiled. “Why should you wish to know that, Georgiana? Are you going to tell me you know his whereabouts?”

  Georgiana hated Edward’s humouring tone.

  “I imagine I might know as well as anyone else,” she retorted.

  Edward’s eyes widened. Georgiana instantly regretted the impulse.

  “Have you been held up by the Crimson Cavalier?” Edward inquired in surprise.

  “No,” she responded, deciding it more prudent not to make the admission she had to Louisa about encountering the notorious highway robber.

  “Well, I’d advise you to be careful when travelling about,” he recommended. “Make sure you have two armed postilions.”

  “Yes, Edward,” she said meekly. She ventured a glance at him. “I understood he had been fairly active. Have you questioned any of his victims?”

  “Oh, yes,” he said. “But no two people say the same thing. Some say he is short, others tall. He’s been described as dark, fair, brown eyes, blue. Can you imagine, one person even thought he had hair the colour of yours? Did you ever hear such nonsense?”

  “Unbelievable,” said Georgiana in colourless tone.

  Edward was frowning. “The Runners heard he had recently held up Lakesby so were hoping he could tell them something. However, it was of no use.”

  “Really?”

  “I understand Lakesby wasn’t any help at all when my acquaintance went to see him,” Edward said in disgust. “He said he didn’t get a good enough look. You’d think he was trying to protect the fellow.”

  “Imagine that,” said Georgiana, hoping her relief was not too apparent. She was about to ask what Lakesby’s groom had said when she recalled she was not supposed to know anything about the incident.

  They had by this time arrived at Georgiana’s front door. Edward stepped out of the carriage and handed her out, declining the offer of refreshment she felt obliged to make. As the coachman took the carriage to the stables, Edward began to walk on his way, leaving his sister to wonder just how safe she was from his Runner.

  Horton opened the door to his mistress looking even more correct than usual, something she found disconcerting in the extreme. Georgiana looked at him uneasily.

  “Is everything in order, Horton?”

  “Yes, miss.”

  It was not enough to reassure her. She eyed him warily. “So there is nothing I need to know?” she said, drawing off her gloves. “Nothing out of the ordinary has occurred?”

  “A small matter, miss.”

  “Very well, Horton, tell me, what is it? I am prepared for the worst.”

  Horton hesitated. However, the sight of the determined expression on Georgiana’s face made him capitulate. “Very well, miss. It is the young boy you engaged as a page.”

  “What about him?” Georgiana was feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

  “He has run away, miss.”

  16

  Georgiana summoned Emily to her room. The maid arrived as Georgiana was stripping off her pelisse. She tossed it on to the bed to join her gloves.

  “What is all this about Tom?” Georgiana demanded as her maid rescued the garment and put it carefully in the wardrobe. “Horton says he’s disappeared.”

  Emily nodded, frowning as she picked up the gloves, which Georgiana had
left turned inside out. “Yes, miss. No one’s seen him since you went out.”

  “Are you sure he’s not hiding somewhere in the house?” said Georgiana, conscious of the absurdity of the question even as she asked it.

  “No, miss. James and I checked everywhere. He’s gone.”

  “Then he has to be at the Lucky Bell,” Georgiana said thinking aloud. “I’ll have to go down there.”

  Emily looked horrified. “Begging your pardon, miss, but isn’t it better left as it is? I mean, it’s a risk having him here, knowing what he does.”

  “He doesn’t know, I’m sure of that,” said Georgiana.

  “Even so, he’s seen the Crimson Cavalier enough times to guess, maybe not right away, but sooner or later, and if you go down to that tavern again...”

  “In which case, it’s more of a risk having him on the loose.” Georgiana shook her head. “No, I’d rather have him under my eye, at least until Sir Robert’s murder is resolved. Then there’s Mr Lakesby. I shudder to think of his reaction.”

  “But Mr Lakesby doesn’t know you’ve met Tom before,” said Emily. “Why should he say anything about it?”

  “I made myself responsible for the boy,” Georgiana said. “Left to his own devices, Tom could start holding up coaches again. He may not be so fortunate next time.”

  “That would hardly be your fault, miss.” Emily looked thoughtful for a moment. “But there are others he might talk to, though. Curious housebreakers, perhaps.”

  “I doubt that will be a problem,” said Georgiana. “Unless one found his way here and recognised Princess...” She paused, biting her bottom lip thoughtfully. A quick glance out of the window told her it was too early to think of riding to the Lucky Bell. In any case, what could she say? She supposed the Crimson Cavalier could inquire whether anything had been heard of Tom there. However, if he had returned to his former haunt, it would look odd were she to try persuading him to abandon it.

  “Where was Tom last seen?”

  “This morning, miss. I believe Mrs Daniels sent him to the chandler.”

  Georgiana raised an eyebrow at this.

  “It’s paid with the household accounts, miss. She’d not given him any money.”

  “I didn’t think so. Still...” Georgiana’s voice trailed off as she thought. Fetching candles lacked the excitement of highway robbery, although Georgiana knew from her visits to the Lucky Bell that Tom was not afraid of hard work. She thought it unlikely Bess and Cedric would pay him as high a wage as she had offered. She suspected that the bulk of his income there depended on the generosity of the tavern’s patrons.

  “He could sell the candles, miss. The wax ones would fetch a good price,” offered Emily.

  “True,” said Georgiana, “but what would he do then?” Another thought occurred to her. “Is anything missing?”

  Emily shook her head. “Not so far as James and I could tell, miss.”

  Georgiana sat at her dressing table, drumming her fingers on its surface.

  “I trust no one’s sent the Runners after him?”

  “No, miss. I think Mrs Daniels was worried, and fretting about the candles, of course, but Mr Horton seemed to think we’d go on better without him.” She paused. “He may be right, miss.”

  “He may.” Tom had certainly not been a calming influence since joining the household. “What of my cousin?”

  “Not said much, miss, but I think she seemed relieved, though a bit fearful.”

  “I daresay she thinks he’s made off with the silver.”

  “What is it, miss?”

  Georgiana glanced towards her maid. The concern she saw on Emily’s face made it clear she had not been able to conceal that a further thought niggled at the back of her mind.

  “I was wondering whether Tom saw an opportunity to escape the search for Sir Robert’s murderer. He won’t know that Mr Lakesby took his pistol, of course, but he may fear its discovery.”

  “I suppose it would look bad for him.”

  “It looks bad for anyone with a pistol, especially if they can’t account for it,” Georgiana replied, thinking of Edward. Frowning, she toyed briefly with the notion of looking for Tom on the road. However, it would not be feasible until darkness had fallen. She stood to face Emily, speaking decidedly.

  “We had best wait a while and see if he returns. If he hasn’t done so by dinner time, I’ll consider what’s to be done. In the meantime, I’ll go and see my cousin.”

  Georgiana listened with half an ear to Selina pouring out her anxieties. She made appropriate responses to her cousin’s declarations that she had never trusted the rogue and had checked her few pieces of jewellery on hearing he’d gone, relieved though she was, and made soothing noises over her fears that he could still come back and murder them. With one eye on the clock and her mind on Tom’s possible whereabouts and what to do if he did not return, Georgiana was startled by her cousin’s voice growing suddenly sharp.

  “Georgiana!”

  Georgiana started guiltily under her cousin’s reproachful scrutiny.

  “I declare, you’ve not heard a word I said.”

  Georgiana smiled apologetically. “Indeed, I have, Selina. I beg your pardon. I was just a little distracted for a moment.”

  Selina seemed mollified; Georgiana thought relief at Tom’s apparent departure had inclined her towards forgiveness. She herself was growing increasingly uneasy, consuming her dinner with what Miss Knatchbull considered unbecoming haste, in her anxiety to excuse herself and ride out in search of the errant boy. Georgiana was about to rise from the table when James approached.

  “Excuse me, miss, but the boy has returned.”

  There was a stunned silence for a moment, broken unexpectedly by Selina.

  “Well, tell him to take himself off,” she cried in a shrill voice. “The ungrateful wretch has lost his opportunity.”

  “Selina, please,” said Georgiana calmly. “I will take care of this.” She addressed her footman. “Has he offered any explanation?”

  “No, miss. Looks guilty as sin, but seems to want to stay.”

  “Very well,” said Georgiana. “Ask him to wait in the small saloon. I’ll be down directly to speak with him.”

  Georgiana ignored the angry disappointment she felt coming from her cousin and walked to the small saloon. Tom stood, hands behind his back, facing his judge. Georgiana looked at him without speaking for a moment or two as she decided on her line of attack.

  “Well, Tom, what have you to say for yourself?”

  “Nothin’, miss.”

  “Nothing?”

  The boy shook his head. James’s surmise had been accurate: he did look as if he had something to hide. Georgiana was not inclined to offer an easy escape.

  “You disappear for most of the day, without leave, and have nothing to say?”

  “No, miss.”

  “Can you think of any reason why I shouldn’t dismiss you immediately?”

  The boy looked down and shuffled his feet. “Suppose not, miss.”

  “You suppose not.” Georgiana paused, looking at him sternly. “Have you forgotten I am responsible for you, or that Mr Lakesby still has the power to order you into prison?”

  The boy looked at her fearfully.

  Georgiana continued without mercy. “Perhaps you would prefer a spell in Newgate? My footman has been there, he can tell you about it.”

  “No, miss. Please, miss.”

  “Then you will answer my questions. Where have you been?”

  Tom looked at her indecisively. “You won’t like it, miss.”

  “I like your silence little better. Tom, I am rapidly losing patience.”

  “I – I went to the Lucky Bell, miss,” he said in a rush.

  Georgiana took a deep breath. “You went to the Lucky Bell?” she said without raising her voice.

  “Yes, miss.”

  “After I told you not to?”

  “Yes, miss. Sorry, miss, but I had to.”

  Geor
giana’s first thought was to determine whether this visit could endanger her secret. She had to find out who he had seen and what he had said.

  “Why did you have to go there, Tom? I thought we had an agreement.”

  “Well, yes, miss, I know, but – but, there’s people as knows me there and I had to...” His voice trailed off. He was clearly expecting the worst.

  “What did you have to do?” Georgiana asked patiently.

  “I had to tell them I wasn’t a gallows-bird. I know some of them don’t care, but there’s Harry and – and the Crimson Cavalier. They’d worry.”

  “I see.” Georgiana looked steadily at the boy. “Did you see them?”

  “I saw Harry,” said Tom. “But the Cavalier wasn’t there.”

  Georgiana forced herself not to smile at the forlorn note in his voice.

  “I’ve heard of the Crimson Cavalier, of course,” she said unemotionally. “But who is this Harry?”

  “A cove I know.”

  “Is he also a highwayman?” Georgiana pursued.

  Tom proved stubbornly loyal, however, refusing to be drawn on this point. Georgiana realised she might have underestimated him.

  “Very well. What did you talk about?” The casual note in Georgiana’s voice concealed her burning need to know.

  “Nothin’ much,” responded the boy.

  “Nothing much. Oh, pray, Tom, let us not go through that again,” Georgiana begged.

  “Ain’t nobody’s business,” Tom said in surly accents.

  Georgiana did indeed find it difficult to justify her curiosity to Tom. She could hardly tell him she wished to assure herself of her own safety by discovering whether or not he had been indiscreet. Or could she? Perhaps she just needed a different approach. What was that phrase Emily had used?

  “I have no wish to find you have disclosed details of my home and personal belongings to some curious housebreaker,” she said haughtily.

  “Oh.” It was apparent this aspect had not occurred to Tom. “I ain’t done that, miss.”

  “No?” said Georgiana, an eyebrow raised interrogatively. “Really?”

  “I’m not a liar,” said Tom indignantly, “and Harry’s no ken-cracker.”

  “I see,” said Georgiana dryly. “So you told your friend Harry where you were, did you?”