by Anne Herries
She paused outside Tilda’s door and then knocked. ‘Are you there, Tilda? We are about to have some tea in the drawing room. Will you not come down and join us?’
Arabella frowned when she did not receive an answer. It was not like Tilda to behave like this. She could be a little sulky, but for her to miss dinner altogether was strange. She tried the door handle and when it turned easily went inside. Tilda’s room was immaculate as always. She was meticulous about keeping it tidy herself, everything in its place—but she was not there, her bed untouched.
Surely she could not still be out walking? It was not yet quite dark but why would Tilda stay out so late? Arabella felt coldness at the back of her neck. Tilda had been wearing her red shawl—and the last person to borrow that had been Sarah. Had someone abducted Tilda, thinking that she was Sarah?
She had a sick feeling in her stomach as she turned to return to the drawing room to join the others. Mrs Bristol was coming from the dining room carrying a tray of used dishes. Arabella stopped her.
‘I suppose you have not seen Tilda?’
‘Not since she went out earlier. It is a little odd, isn’t it, ma’am? She never misses her dinner—unless she is feeling unwell.’
‘She isn’t in her room,’ Arabella said. ‘Thank you, Mrs Bristol. You will let me know at once if you should see her come in?’
‘Yes, of course, my lady.’ Mrs Bristol hesitated, then, ‘I have noticed that a valuable box is missing from the cabinet in the downstairs drawing room, ma’am. I believe it was a musical one with a singing bird?’
‘The box that Ben gave me as a wedding present?’ Arabella frowned—that particular box had more sentimental value for her than anything else. ‘Are you sure it is missing, Mrs Bristol?’
‘I sent one of the girls to clean the silver in that cabinet, ma’am. Afterwards, I checked to make sure that she had done her work properly—and I saw that it was missing. Annie believes it was there when she cleaned the silver early this morning.’
‘I see.’ Arabella frowned. ‘Perhaps I moved it. I shall look and see if it is in another cabinet. We shall not say anything about this for the moment, Mrs Bristol.’
‘As you wish, my lady.’
Arabella was frowning as she went into the drawing room. It was odd that the box had gone missing, for she did not recall having moved it. However, she wished to be sure that it had gone before jumping to conclusions. Besides, she had more important things on her mind just now. She was not surprised to see that the gentlemen had not lingered over their port and were sitting with the ladies.
‘Tilda isn’t in her room,’ she announced. ‘She hasn’t returned from her walk. I am afraid something may have happened to her.’ She saw Charles shoot a look at John. ‘What? Is there something I should know? Please, you must tell me. I am worried about Tilda.’
‘In private,’ Charles said. ‘John, stay with Mama and Sarah, if you please.’
‘My sitting room,’ Arabella said, leading the way along the hall to her private apartments. She turned to him as he closed the door behind them. ‘Something is wrong, isn’t it? I should have guessed when she did not come in to dinner. I thought she was sulking. She is a little jealous of my aunt and Sarah, though she has no need to be.’
Charles looked grim. ‘John overheard something in the woods earlier today. Your cousin was with three men, two of whom were clearly ruffians—but the third was a gentleman, though he disgraces the term. It seems that there may be a plot to kidnap you and force you into marriage for the sake of your fortune.’
‘I would never marry Ralph, no matter what he did. He must know that,’ Arabella said. ‘How can he be so foolish?’
‘It was not his idea. He meant to arrange an accident for you when you were out riding, hoping to inherit through his mother. Apparently, someone else has other ideas.’
‘This other gentleman?’ Arabella looked at him in bewilderment. ‘I do not understand.’
‘Do you know Sir Courtney Welch?’
‘Sir Courtney…’ Arabella was shocked. She put a hand out, clutching the back of a chair to steady herself. ‘That man! I refused his offer of marriage last summer. I believe he was offended and is now my enemy.’
‘He hates you,’ Charles said, looking grim. ‘He plans to marry you and then arrange your death when he is ready, but that is not the worst of his intentions towards you, Arabella—though I am sure that, like your cousin, he has plans for your fortune that do not include your happiness.’
Arabella closed her eyes for a moment. She shook her head as if she could not believe this was happening, then she opened them and looked straight at Charles. ‘Have they taken Tilda? They might have thought that she was me because she was wearing my shawl.’
‘I doubt she was mistaken for you,’ Charles said. ‘I think they may hope to get to you through her. They will have a ruse of some kind. I think we may expect a letter in her hand, asking you to meet her somewhere—or something of that order.’
‘And then they will grab me as well,’ Arabella said. ‘What am I to do, sir? If a letter comes, I cannot simply ignore it. Otherwise, they might harm her. Tilda has been a good friend to me. She does not deserve this…’
‘No, indeed she does not,’ Charles agreed. ‘No woman should be treated so disgracefully. That is why I would gladly have killed the men who snatched Sarah from her family. We blamed Forsythe for that and he was certainly the one who had her abducted for his own foul purpose—but I wonder now if Sir Courtney had a hand in it.’ He hesitated, then, ‘You see, I think they took Sarah to punish me. I had played cards with Forsythe and Sir Courtney some days earlier. They thought I was drunk and planned to fleece me as they have others before me, but I was not as intoxicated as they imagined and I beat them at their own game. Forsythe was furious. I knew I had made an enemy of him, but I thought Welch had accepted it, with a bad grace perhaps, but shrugging it off, as one does when gambling.’
‘Is that why…?’ Arabella nodded to herself, for she understood now why he felt so guilty regarding Sarah’s abduction. ‘Thank you for telling me. I understand why Sir Courtney wishes to punish me—but they should have taken me, not Tilda.’ She frowned. ‘I had wondered if they meant to snatch Sarah, because she was the last one to wear that red shawl before Tilda—but I see now that they did not care who they took. It would have had the same effect, for I should have been even more distressed had it been Sarah, because she has already suffered too much.’
‘We meant to warn you this evening,’ Charles said. ‘But we expected them to make their move against you. It did not occur to me to wonder what had happened to your companion. You did not seem concerned at the time and I assumed she had simply decided not to come down for reasons of her own. I am sorry that I did not think of it sooner.’
‘It was not your fault. I should have started a search as soon as she failed to join us, but I imagined that she might be sulking again, though I thought I had cured that…’ Arabella gave a little sob of distress. ‘Poor Tilda! I feel so guilty.’
‘You are not to blame for what that evil man has done,’ Charles said and reached out to touch her hand. He caught it, holding it in his own. ‘Please do not think along those lines, Arabella. I know how painful it can be. We shall find her and bring her back. I promise you.’
‘But how can you?’ Arabella asked. ‘We do not know where they have taken her. They may even have—’ She shook her head. ‘No, I must not let my imagination take over or I shall not be able to think clearly. You are right in your assumption. It is me they want, not Tilda, therefore they will send a letter to lure me into their trap.’ She turned and began to pace about the familiar room, hardly noticing the comfortable arrangement of her personal things, her books and the collection of delicate Chinese porcelain, which usually gave her so much pleasure. She felt that by snatching Tilda these rogues had invaded the sanctity of her home, destroying her peace. Her brow was furrowed in thought, her mind working furiously. She paced for some
minutes and then came back to where he stood, meeting his gaze steadily. ‘If they send a letter, I must do whatever they say.’
‘No, you shall not!’ Charles cried in outrage. ‘To sacrifice yourself for her is beyond the call of right or reason, Arabella.’
She raised her head, her face proud, eyes sparking with a silver flame. ‘I have no intention of sacrificing myself. I shall carry my pistol with me, sir. I know how to use it—and I shall arrange for my men to be somewhere close by. If I cry out, they will come to my aid.’
‘You would dare to do that?’ Charles stared at her, a gleam of appreciation in his eyes. ‘Then, if you are willing, I think that we may be able to trap them, Arabella. Your own men from the estate may play a part, but I have sent for others—men who know how to track their quarry silently; men who understand violence and have no fear of a fight. We shall set a trap for Sir Courtney and your cousin. And this time they will both pay for their evil deeds.’
‘Yes, they must, of course,’ Arabella said. ‘I would rather my aunt did not know that her son is involved in this just yet, sir. It would distress her and I do not wish to cause her more pain.’
‘That is why I asked to speak to you in private,’ Charles said. ‘We shall tell the others that we have discovered a plot to kidnap you for a ransom, but nothing else. Let the others think that Tilda was taken by mistake. They must understand that much, for no lady in this house must go walking alone until this business is finished. But it is best not to disclose the whole—it would distress my mother and your aunt too much.’
‘That is understood,’ Arabella said. ‘You cannot watch all of us. It means that we must put off our visit to York for a while, because that would be too dangerous. On the open road we should be more vulnerable. Besides, I could not enjoy myself while Tilda is their captive.’ She frowned. ‘None of this could have happened if I had attended to my lawyers. They wanted to tie up the bulk of my money in trust for any children I might have in future, but I refused. I thought I should not marry—’ She broke off because she could not look at him for fear of betraying herself. ‘I am perhaps too wealthy for my own good, sir.’
‘Yes, it seems so. Were you married, all this could have been avoided,’ he said. ‘I understand that your grief turned you against marriage, Arabella—but you might be safer.’
‘Maybe.’ She turned away from him. The only man she could bear to marry was Charles, but she was too proud to let him see it. ‘I could put the money into some kind of trust…I must speak to my lawyers soon.’
‘Could you not ask them to call on you?’ Charles suggested.
‘Mr Holden is always busy and quite elderly,’ Arabella said. She turned to face him again, her emotions under control now. ‘However, he could send his clerk to take my instructions. Mr Jones is a pleasant young man and would not mind the journey.’
‘I suggest that you send for him,’ Charles said. ‘The sooner it is done the better for your own sake. In the meantime, I think there is little we can do except wait for their next move. Tobbold’s men should be here by the morning. He may be able to find where they are holding your companion—but in any case I shall feel more satisfied once they are here. John and I will take it in turns to sit up this evening, Arabella. It is fortunate that we are staying here.’
‘Yes, very,’ she agreed. ‘I thank you for your help, sir.’
‘Will you not call me Charles? You have done so once or twice, Arabella.’
‘Of course, if you wish it.’ She smiled at him. ‘I think we should return to the others. They will be anxious to know what is going on.’
‘John has told them what we have agreed,’ Charles said. He hesitated, seeming as if he wished to say more, but gave a slight shake of the head. ‘I shall tell him privately that you are willing to be the bait for our trap—much as I dislike the idea, Arabella. It means you will be in danger, but I think it may serve. At least we know what is planned.’
‘Yes, that was a stroke of good luck,’ Arabella said and then gave a little sob of distress. ‘Poor Tilda. How frightened she must be…’
‘They should never have brought her here.’ Ralph’s voice had a sulky whine to it. ‘I don’t see how you can trade her for my cousin. She would tell everyone what we had done and then my neck would be in the noose. Those idiots should have blindfolded her if they were going to take that damned blanket from her head. It was me she saw when they removed it and started screeching. I’ve never heard such a row in my life. God save me from complaining women!’
‘Who said we were going to let her go anywhere?’ Sir Courtney drawled, giving a high-pitched titter. ‘Once she has lured our proud lady into our trap, it hardly matters what happens to her.’
‘You’re going to kill her too?’ Ralph’s face turned a yellowish white. He felt sick as he saw the expression in the other man’s eyes. He was a devil and mad at that! He wished fervently that he had never played cards with either him or Forsythe, and even more that he had kept his idea about getting Arabella’s fortune to himself. He was unlikely to see a penny of it once Welch had his ring on her finger. Indeed, he might think himself lucky if he came out of this business alive. ‘But that is a hanging matter…’He swallowed uncomfortably, already feeling the rope around his neck.
‘Did you think this business was without risk?’ Sir Courtney asked, scorn in his eyes and on his tongue. ‘You lily-livered coward! You’ll not run out on me now or I’ll slit your throat. We are in this together. If I hang, then I’ll see you go with me.’
Ralph turned even paler. He didn’t want any more to do with this mad scheme and at the first opportunity he would run. Damn Arabella’s money! All he wanted was to disappear somewhere, perhaps abroad, and forget this whole thing, but for the moment he was too afraid.
‘Supposing she refuses to write the letter?’ he said. ‘Supposing Arabella ignores it?’
‘She will write what I tell her,’ Sir Courtney said, and Ralph’s forehead broke out in beads of sweat as he felt the menace of those words. ‘She is too damned ugly to have any appeal for the rogues I hired, but they know how to inflict pain. I doubt if she will hold out for long.’ He smiled nastily. ‘Wishing you hadn’t started it now, aren’t you? Well, it is too late, far too late to draw back. By tomorrow night I intend to have that hellcat in my coach and be on my way to Scotland. I’ll soon teach her to know her master!’
‘Is it my fault that they are planning to kidnap you?’ Sarah asked later that night. Lady Tate and Mrs Hunter had retired to their rooms, and the gentlemen were busy somewhere preparing the house against any attempt at a break-in during the dark hours. ‘Is it because you have looked after me? Have I brought danger to this house?’
‘I am afraid it is simply because I have too much money and no husband,’ Arabella told her. ‘I refused a certain gentleman’s offer of marriage last summer, and this is his revenge. He thinks that he can force me into paying a large sum of money as a ransom. It has nothing whatsoever to do with you, my dear. It would have happened even if you had never come into my life. I am fortunate that you did, for Charles and Mr Elworthy are here to help me.’ Arabella stuck very much to the story she had agreed to with Sarah’s brother, for she did not wish to cause her friends more distress than they already felt. Had it only been a matter of money, she would have felt very much easier in her mind.
‘Mr Elworthy is so kind, isn’t he?’ Sarah said and gave a little sigh. ‘He says that we were good friends, but I cannot remember. I wish that I could.’ She frowned and gave a little shake of her head. ‘That does not matter. Poor Tilda! She must be so frightened. Those wicked men—what do you think they will do to her?’
‘I am hoping they will ransom her to me,’ Arabella said, bending the truth a little. ‘We expect to receive a note from them at any time.’
‘Will you pay it?’ Sarah looked at her anxiously.
‘Perhaps. Yes, if it will serve,’ Arabella said, crossing her fingers behind her back. ‘But we shall see what the n
ote says. Your brother and Mr Elworthy are making arrangements to protect us all. You must not be frightened, Sarah. You are safe enough as long as you do not leave the house alone.’
‘Yes, Charles told me,’ Sarah said, but her eyes were anxious. ‘I do not want anything to happen to you, Arabella—or Tilda. I know that it is very frightening to be taken against your will.’
‘Has this brought it back to you?’ Arabella looked at her in concern.
‘I am not sure,’ Sarah said. ‘I keep shivering and I see flashes of something…firelight and a man’s face.’ She wrinkled her smooth brow. ‘It is only the old nightmare. I still cannot remember what happened that day…except…’ She looked thoughtfully at Arabella. ‘I think I may have been going to feed the swans on the lake that morning. It was a lovely day and the sun was shining and then…’ She sighed and shook her head. ‘Am I remembering what actually happened—or just what Mama told me? I cannot be sure.’
‘Do not worry about it,’ Arabella said. ‘It will come back when you are ready. Just be careful not to leave your window open tonight, and do not go out alone until this is all over. I am sure it will only be a few days.’
Arabella said goodnight to the younger girl and went to her room. As she approached her apartments, she saw that Charles was just coming from them. She knew that he had conducted a search to make sure that no one was hiding inside the house, and he and John Elworthy were to take turns in sitting outside her door throughout the night.
‘No one is hiding under the bed,’ Charles said, a grim smile on his mouth. ‘I shall be here should you need me, Arabella—and some of your men are patrolling the grounds.’
‘Thank you. I shall sleep easier for knowing that you are here,’ she said. ‘Sarah is a little disturbed by all this and…I am not certain, but she may be beginning to remember what happened to her the day she was taken.’
‘I am not sure whether that is a good thing or not,’ Charles said with a frown. ‘It is a pity that this had to happen, but it cannot be helped. All we can do now is wait until that ransom note comes.’
