* * *
“That was the last guest,” Winston said, entering the library where they’d gathered to decide what to do next. “Where are Beatrice and the children?”
Jack indicated the far side of the room with his head where the ladies were reading stories to Winston’s brood. Lowering his voice, he told his brothers what he’d found out. “Mrs. Hadaway has been gone since early this morning. The last person to see her was the scullery maid who was up lighting the kitchen fire before the rest of the staff was awake. The girl was scared to death to have to speak to me but she said she saw Mrs. Hadaway coming downstairs from near Winston’s room and then leaving out through the kitchen door with a traveling bag.”
“Well, we have to find her,” Marcus said. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think she’s going to give up quite that easily. For God’s sake, we can’t have the servants running around with guns for the rest of our lives.”
“I’m worried that one of them might be in league with her, especially now that Jack found the hidden bank accounts,” Winston said in a frantic whisper. “After all, if she succeeds it could mean a bloody fortune for someone who could convince her to share the inheritance.”
“Who don’t you trust?” Jackson asked. “Which of the male servants would be willing to help her, or maybe one of them was in love with Louisa and wants his own revenge?”
Winston paced, thinking hard about the possibilities. “Let me look at that photograph again.”
Marcus produced it and they waited for Winston to speak. He shook his head, trying to remember, and then all of a sudden he looked up at Jack. “I know who is helping her. And it’s not anyone here. We have to go now, before it’s too late.”
“No,” Jackson said, putting a hand on Winston’s arm to stop his brother from leaving. “We can’t go off half-cocked. We need a plan and we need to split up. Otherwise we’ll be sitting ducks.”
“Edward, Alex, where are you?” Beatrice was frantically looking about the room, calling the boys names. “Oh, my God; Marcus, Winston, the boys are gone! They must have snuck away while we were distracted by the tea service.” Marcus’s wife started sobbing as she realized that she’d let everyone down.
“It’s not your fault, Beatrice,” Winston said, shaking his head. “They do this sort of thing all time. I should have never put this responsibility on you and Lady Huntingdon when I know how devious those boys can be. They probably used one of the secret passages that are all over this room. We just need to stay calm and we’ll probably find them playing some pirate game in the nursery. Everyone spread out and see if you can figure out which way they went. Beatrice, why don’t you and Henrietta take the girls to your room and they can play dress up and use some of your cosmetics.”
Lady Huntingdon took over and pulled Beatrice with her as she told the remaining children about the new game. The little girls squealed with excitement and the ladies left the library, trying to maintain a cheerful disposition for the children.
“All right, let’s spread out and check all the likely places.” Winston was remaining remarkably calm, considering the circumstances. The Bradley brothers started walking around the large room, pulling out books and pushing sconces, opening stairways and passages that were filled with dust and cobwebs.
“Damn!” Jack cursed when he found the scrap of paper in the entrance of the passage that he knew led outside near were the woods started. “She has them.”
Winston and Marcus rushed to his side and he handed over the message. It would have been irresistible to two young boys bored with being forced to stay inside on such a fine summer day.
“A treasure hunt; clever. Mrs. Hadaway must have remembered Father’s penchant for such things as well.”
“Marcus, you stay here with your wife and the girls, and preferably the police.” Jack said, grabbing one of the guns that Winston had brought out earlier. “Winston, you should probably stay here as well. Having us all in one place is just what they want.”
“I’m coming, Jack. She has my boys,” Winston said, grabbing a rifle and filling his jacket pocket with shells. “You don’t even know who else we are looking for. It was one of the footmen, Ferguson, who left about the same time that Louisa did. He must be the one helping Mrs. Hadaway. I can see his face now; he was so angry about something and I always wondered what. Now I think I know. At the time I was just glad he was gone. But now it all makes sense. I wonder if Louisa even knows what they are up to. She didn’t seem like the type to be involved in a despicable plot like this.”
“Well come on then,” Jackson said, putting a revolver in his waistband and picking up a shotgun. “We don’t have time to waste and they are going to be waiting for us. And Winnie, I do not want to be next in line for the damn title, so do me a favor and be careful.”
“I second that,” Marcus said, arming himself. “I’m perfectly happy with my life and I don’t need either one of you dying to mess up it up.”
“Where to?” Winston asked.
“I think she’s led them to Father’s old hunting lodge. Have you used it in a while?”
“No, I forgot all about it. But it was where we used to go as boys, so I’m sure Edward and Alex must have discovered it as well. What does the note say?”
“It says; the pirate ship is launching for a great adventure but you must escape your guards to join the treasure hunt.”
“That would make sense,” Winston said, thinking it through. “They’ve probably been playing there for years. I’m sure one of the servants must have overheard them talking about their ‘pirate ship’. Mrs. Hadaway must have found out. Maybe even set them up to meet Ferguson so they’d trust him. Damn, why didn’t I know about this?” He slammed his fist into a wall.
“Father knew nothing of our secrets,” Marcus said, trying to calm his brother.
“True.” Jack confirmed. “Now let’s go. We don’t have time to waste discussing your parenting skills.”
The men left, leaving Marcus in charge of securing the house. They agreed that if they weren’t back by sundown that their brother would gather the most loyal male servants and come after them. “See if you can round up the constable and some neighbors as well,” Jack said. “Come on, Winston; let’s go get your sons back and take care of this threat once and for all.”
Following the boys’ probable path through the passageway and out the back of the house, they ran through the woods until Winston signaled that they were getting close. They stopped as soon as they saw the log structure, and crouched behind some bushes.
“Too bad it’s only you two.” Jack heard a man’s rough voice and the ominous click of a gun being cocked. “Now I’ll have to go back for your brother.” And before Jack could think to devise a plan to respond, a sharp pain struck the back of his head and he lost consciousness.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Danger was closing in on all sides now and only if they could survive these threats to their very lives would they ever have even the slightest chance of the match coming out as it was supposed to; or at least the way Clara and Mrs. James were hoping. And now the old earl was chiming in as well. He’d known all along who the killers were, of course, since they’d gotten to him first. But he’d been unable to communicate to his boys in time. And now they were all in peril. Cassie was immersed in her full Madame Lou regalia and had been in the middle of reading for a paying client, when the dead earl had interrupted her with the urgent circumstances unfolding.
“Well, what do you want me to do about it?” Cassie said out loud, causing Lady Montgomery to give her an odd look. “Not you, dearie; there is another spirit here,” she said to the woman who had come seeking an audience with her deceased husband. Apparently he’d hidden some jewels and she wanted them back. “Just give us a minute and we’ll get back to your problem.”
Unfortunately, the earl was not going to be so patient. He wanted the psychic to make a telephone call to the house in Berkshire and warn his sons of the threat they didn’t
know about. “I don’t have a telephone here in the shop,” Madame Lou said, smiling at her customer. “Do you know where the closest one is, Lady Montgomery?”
The woman crossed her arms in defiance. “If you tell me where the jewels are, you can use mine. My chauffeur can have us at my house in less than five minutes.”
Madame Lou closed her eyes in concentration, willing the spirits to give her some help. Finally, after some very nasty words were exchanged in the supernatural realm, the answer was given to her.
“Let’s go find your diamonds and make a phone call, if you please,” Madame Lou said as pleasantly as she could muster. She would be roasting in a matter of moments, dressed as she was, but it simply couldn’t be helped. Time was of the essence.
Adeline sat at the train station waiting with her father for their bags to be loaded on the private car he’d secured for them, when she felt a sudden chill touch her spine. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. She should have known it the second that Jack told her to tell that awful lie.
“Something’s amiss,” Adeline said aloud.
“What are you talking about?” Simon James asked, looking at his daughter. “The train is right on time.”
“No, Father. I mean something was wrong at Basildon Park.”
“I should say so,” Mr. James replied with a shudder. “That’s why I can’t stand all these centuries-old houses that the English insist on residing in. Full of rats and who knows what else.”
“I have to go back,” Adeline said and stood up from the bench they’d been sitting on. “I’m sorry, Father, but I’m going back. Jack needs me.”
“I don’t understand,” her father said, standing with her. “Jackson Bradley is perfectly capable of handling the situation without us.”
“But don’t you see?” Adeline implored, taking her father’s hands and looking into his eyes. “He’s in trouble. There weren’t any mice or rats—that was a just story we told to help the Bradleys clear the guests out faster today. There was something else happening though, and I think they’re in danger. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do.”
“Addie, the train is ready to go. I can’t hold it up because you have a feeling.” Her father squeezed her hands, trying to make her see reason. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll have someone send the local authorities out to the estate to check on things. Would that be enough to get you to board?”
Adeline couldn’t think straight; she could feel in her bones that something was desperately wrong, but she didn’t know how to explain it to her father. All she knew for certain was that if she left now and something happened to Jack, she would never forgive herself.
“No, I’m staying.” She pulled her hands away and stood defiant. “And you can certainly get on that train, or you can come with me. But I’m not leaving Berkshire until I’ve seen with my own eyes that Jackson Bradley is safe and sound.”
Simon James threw up his hands in exasperation. “You always could get your way no matter what. Porter! Can you please retrieve our luggage from our car and find us some transportation? Something fast, if you please. And where can I find the constable or other law enforcement chaps?”
Knowing the gentleman would tip him well, the porter started shouting orders and looking around the train platform for someone to do her father’s bidding. Every now and then it was a good thing to have way too much money. Kissing her father on the cheek, Addie stood back and watched as Simon James took control of the situation and quickly had arranged for not only a motorcar for them, but he’d also had one of the station employees deliver an urgent message to the constable to have some armed men ride ahead of them.
“They’re already on their way to the Bradley estate,” the porter confirmed. “Seems as if the constable got a mysterious call from London, declaring an emergency, and when he tried to telephone ahead, the house was in chaos. So he gathered up a dozen local men and headed right out.”
“Let’s be on our way, Adeline,” Simon said, giving daughter an odd look. “It looks like your feeling was quite intuitive.”
“Thank you,” she said, climbing into the automobile he’d procured for an outrageous price. “You won’t regret it.”
“I never regret giving you your heart’s desire, Adeline,” her father said, taking her hand and holding it as the motorcar sped forward.
Addie hoped her father really meant that because she was beginning to think that her heart may not be able to give him the one thing he had asked her for. But she wasn’t going to think about that today. Right now all she could concentrate on was getting to Jack before something terrible happened.
* * *
Jack came to, slowly at first, wondering why his arms and his head hurt. Then it all came rushing back to him. Mrs. Hadaway’s partner, Mr. Ferguson, had gotten the drop on them. Damn stupid of them to go off chasing these murderers alone without any backup. But neither he nor Winston had any choice, knowing what kind of danger the boys were in.
“What happened?” Winston was tied up on the floor of the hunting cabin along with Jackson. “Where are Edward and Alex?” They both looked around the room and noticed that the boys appeared to be sleeping on the bed that occupied one corner of the large space.
“Edward!” Winston shouted but they didn’t open their eyes. “Why won’t they wake? Are they dead?”
“No; look.” Jackson was trying to get his bearings and he’d noticed some half-eaten pieces of pie on the small table. “They’ve probably been drugged with laudanum or something. But why leave us tied up and them sleeping instead of just killing us?” The answer came too easily as Jack suddenly noticed the dry twigs stacked up around the edges of the structure. It would make excellent kindling and start a fire quicker than simply lighting it from the outside only. Pulling at his bindings, Jack was really scared that he wasn’t going to be able to save his family, let alone escape with his own hide intact. At least he could comfort himself with the knowledge that Marcus was safe and Adeline was on her way to London and her new life as a baroness.
“You’re not giving up that easily, are you?” Winston growled at his little brother. “I can see it on your face. You’re willing to follow Clara to the grave without any thought for the rest of us. Dammit, Jackson, she wouldn’t want that. You know she wouldn’t. Isn’t that why you and that American were staring at each other all weekend?”
Apparently, Jack had not been as discreet as he’d imagined in his consideration of Adeline over the previous days. For an older brother whom he hadn’t even seen in ten years, Winston still knew him too well. “Well, what do you suggest? Have you a blade in your pocket? Or do you see anything we can use to get us out of these ropes? I don’t know if we have much time.”
“Do you think they’ve gone after Marcus? It would certainly be simpler to do away with us all at once, rather than try to chase Marcus down after we’re gone.” The vigor had left Winton’s earlier tirade.
“Maybe we can knock one of those plates over and use a broken piece to saw our way out of these bindings,” Jackson said, working slowly to scoot his way over to the table. “I can’t do it alone, Winnie. One of us will have to work on the other’s ropes.”
Winston nodded and started moving toward Jack. They were sweating by the time they reached close enough to the table legs and were able to use their shoulders to try to rock the heavy wooden structure with any success. Slowly one of the plates began to move toward the edge, finally crashing to the dirt floor.
“My hands are too numb to pick one up, let alone make use of it,” Winston said, looking at the slivers of porcelain that were scattered.
“Okay, turn on your side with your back to me and lie down,” Jack said, maneuvering himself so he lay facing away from his brother. “Just stay still so I don’t cut you.” He worked at the thick ropes for what seemed like hours before he felt like was he was making any progress.
“Shhhh, listen,” Winston was suddenly alert. “Horses. Are you close Jack?” He started pulling at th
e bindings.
“Yes, here take it and work on it yourself,” Jack said, putting the sliver into Winston’s fingertips, helping him to feel where the rope was nearly cut through. “I’ll make a show of trying to slice my own ropes so they don’t figure out what we’ve been up to. Go back to where you were and pretend to still be unconscious.”
Winston moved as quickly as he could and Jackson grabbed a shard and started sawing. Voices were coming closer, a man and a woman. Jack looked up as the door opened and the housekeeper and the man who most likely had knocked him out walked in. The bloke was tall and broad-shouldered and somewhere around thirty years old. He had reddish hair that was cut short and wore the clothes of a laborer. Over his shoulder he had a something quite large wrapped up in blanket that he tossed on to the bed next to the drugged boys.
“Well, well, isn’t this a pretty picture,” Mrs. Hadaway said, looking around. Jackson barely recognized her she was so transformed. The spectacles she’s worn were gone and her hair was loose and wild about her face. She wore a dress that wasn’t at all the somber clothing he’d seen her wearing since he’d returned home. “Ralph, it looks as if our lost brother fancies himself a hero. Take away the dishes and all that rubbish he’s trying to hide.”
Ralph Ferguson first pulled the covering from what he’d been carrying and revealed the prone form of Marcus. Jackson could see he was bleeding from a cut on his head and cried out his brother’s name.
“He’s still alive,” Mrs. Hadaway said. “Not that it matters much. You’ll all be gone very soon. Ralph here has made sure of that. One little spark, and within a few minutes this whole place will go up in a fantastic bonfire.”
“How did you get to Marcus? He was safe at the house. Protected,” Jack said, wishing he could go to his brother and check his pulse.
“It wasn’t hard. I just waited for his pretty wife to wander off by herself and once we had her locked up and he couldn’t find her, he grew frantic. A frantic man does not exactly think straight.” She nodded to Ralph. “It was easy to grab him from there. And now no one knows where any of you are and soon they will see the smoke and come running and by then it will be too late. Then Ralph here can marry my daughter and my grandson will inherit the estate and everyone will get exactly what they deserve. At least your philandering father had the decency to add little Reggie to the official family Bible, so there will be no question of his lineage. I never would have found it without your help, Jack. I hadn’t thought about that study in years, as your father would never allow any of the servants to enter, let alone clean it.”
Heaven Bound (A Blakemore Family Book: Madame Lou Series Book 2) Page 23
