by Claudy Conn
“Well, as to that, Serena, don’t know how they managed in the first place. It would have taken quite a number of trips for even a couple of men …”
“Freddy, I think only one man brought the gold here … only one man knows it is here, because he plans to cheat his partners in this, and I am afraid I think I know who that one man is.”
“Who? How do you know? What makes you say that?”
“Because he can’t afford to have anyone know who he is and what he has done. He means to kill them … probably down here. We have to go now … do stop asking questions that you can ask later. When we have left you can—”
“Well, it is too smoky by half,” Freddy interjected. “How did one man manage to get the gold in here without rousing someone at the rectory?”
“How, indeed, Freddy,” Serena said, her voice dripping with suggestion.
“Zounds, never say that prosy fellow Eustace has been bribed to keep mum?”
“No, I shan’t say that,” Serena returned as she took the steps, sliding her hand over the cold wall at her side. “It is even worse than that, Freddy.”
“What? Oh … Oh. Well, upon my soul! You think it is Eustace!”
She turned to him on the last step and said, “Freddy, it all makes sense to me now—” She turned and found the trap door flung open, and with Freddy at her shoulder, both discovered themselves staring into the muzzle of a horse pistol.
“Slowly, lovely … slowly … aye, there’s a good lad … let me see yer hands …”
“All right then,” Freddy said. “You have me. Let the young lady go.”
“Now whot do ye take me for? Ye both be dead where ye stand, ye do know that, I’m thinking.”
Serena was staring at Eustace, but before she could speak he growled at her, “I knew it was your horse, and still I could not believe this of you!”
“Of me?” Serena exclaimed, flabbergasted. “What of you? What about this?” She gestured behind her and down the steps.
Eustace grabbed her upper arm and shook her violently. Freddy jumped towards him and demanded, “Unhand Miss Moorely at once!”
For his efforts, Freddy found Joe Reed’s cold pistol at the back of his head. “Ye be forgettin’ this, young’un.”
Serena said quietly, “Eustace, how could you?” She hoped to distract him.
“Careful now, m’name is Joe Reed, and Oi’m known for taking m’man down without batting an eye, Oi am.”
Serena eyed him and moved towards him. He swung the gun in her direction, and she took another step in front of Freddy, giving Freddy a hurriedly meaningful glance, as she said, “Joe Reed, is it? Fine, Joe Reed … look at him,” she said, pointing at the reverend. “Don’t you think as soon as you dispose of me and Freddy, he will dispose of you and your partner? That’s why he hid the gold from you. Can you imagine the hours he spent dragging it in here by himself? Do you think he means to share it now?”
“He don’t have a choice, do he?” Joe Reed smirked.
“You are too smart not to have realized he means to cut you two men out. It would be safer for him if no one knew about this, about the gold, about his involvement. So, what do you think he means to do when you drag our dead bodies down into the tunnel and have your hands full?”
Joe Reed looked at his partner, Mack, and said, “The mort has a point.” He turned to Eustace. “Ye didn’t tell us ye were going to hide the gold here. Ye didn’t give us our fair share, and ye were quick to want Tall Tee dead, said there would be more for the three of us. If ye be thinking along those lines, think again.”
“Don’t listen to her. She just wants to cause trouble,” Eustace said.
The seed, however, had been planted.
Serena watched Joe Reed play with his stubbled beard. “Oi’m thinking we’ll take our share now, and the three of ye,” he said, nodding towards Eustace, “can go down in the tunnel until Oi’m ready to do whot Oi have to do. Go on, or Oi’ll kill ye where ye stands … all of ye.”
“Think you can do that?” Eustace raised the gun he had been holding. “Who ends up alive? I shoot you, you shoot me … and Mack there shoots whoever is left, and then he gets it all.”
Joe Reed appeared stymied for the moment.
Serena wanted to laugh, but instead she stepped aside because she had been blocking their view of Freddy, which had allowed him to aim the gun he had produced from his belt. He held it to Eustace’s head,
“Well, well,” Serena said. “Now what, gentlemen? Now what?”
Serena’s mind had worked quickly, and she had devised a plan.
~ Twenty-One ~
MOTHER NATURE IS perverse and a damned nuisance, the squire thought as he sat bolt upright to the crack of thunder. What the devil? He had not expected a storm, for the day had been beautiful.
He got up, shrugged on his brocade dressing gown, and slid his feet into his slippers. He then padded over to the window just in time to see what had been his large, grand old and noble oak as its roots tore from the ground and it creaked as it fell over, a victim to the storm.
The old oak had been there for as long as he could remember, and he sighed sadly. Serena had warned him that the tree appeared to be dying, and he should have been prepared for this, but … ah well.
He looked at his mantle clock and saw that it was just past midnight. As he stared through the darkness he suddenly realized the tree’s huge branches had hit Serena’s terraced balcony.
His hand went to his heart, and with a loud shout he hurried to his bedroom door, flung it open, and made his way down the hall to Serena’s bedroom.
He pounded with some force at her door and called out her name. “Serena! Are you all right …? Serena!”
He tried the latch, found it unlocked as was her habit, and opened it wide. By this time, both Davis and his valet were up and rushing towards him, asking what was amiss.
He stood and stared at the damage. A goodly part of the tree had crashed through her lovely French doors, and the hangings were covering a portion of its huge branches.
Davis lit some candles, and the three men stood staring for a moment before the squire said foolishly, “Serena?”
All three men stared at a bed that had not been slept in. “Where is she?” he turned and asked of Davis.
Davis cleared his throat. “I can’t say, squire, but I noticed her quietly leaving the house about two hours ago.”
“Did you by God! And why was I not told?”
Davis hung his head, the squire’s valet looked the other way, and the squire said, “You have all been covering for her, all these years, and now see what comes of it!” He was pointing towards the tree in her bedroom.
Davis cleared his throat and dared to say, “As it happens … ’tis a good thing … for if she had been sitting in her chair where she sometimes reads into the night … well, Miss Serena could have been hurt.”
The squire glared at him. “Right then, there is nothing we can do at the moment, is there? I shall need a fire set for me in the library, where I mean to await our lady’s return, and by God, I shall have some answers!”
“Yes, Squire.” Davis bent his elderly head and sent a sideways glance at the valet, who said, “I shall come and help you …”
The squire looked at the damaged room, the empty bed, and thought, Serena, what are you up to now? A slight smile curved his lips, for he adored her. Still, even though he knew who she was at bottom, this late-night disappearance had him worried.
He hoped it was not a romantic assignation, because he had come to notice that his dear niece had eyes for only one man, Lord Daniel Pendleton. He had also noted the way his lordship looked at Serena. Something definitely was in the air.
Would she meet the blasted fellow in the dead of night? Would his lordship ask her to steal away in the dead of night? No, it was something else, and he was terribly concerned because of this business with the gold shipment. She was far too interested in the matter. What to do now?
What could
he do now? He would wait until she returned. She had to return safe and sound. She simply had to, for the thought of any other possibility took the breath from his lungs!
* * *
Guns were pointed with deadly intent as Serena calmly said, “You may want to think this out, gentlemen.”
“Your flash covey won’t kill the reverend,” Joe Reed said.
“Perhaps not, but he would most definitely shoot him, which might allow the reverend to shoot you or your friend over there. That’s right, then what? Oh, I know, then he turns to shoot Freddy, but you see, I will have had the opportunity to take your gun because you are dead and I am quick, and I have no qualms about killing him dead, no, I don’t. So, what say you to all of that?”
Eustace saw his chance.
Joe Reed and Mack were looking at Serena and Freddy. He got off a shot. It was quick but accurate, and he got Mack squarely in the chest. Mack cried out and went down in his corner.
Freddy took his opportunity and shot Joe Reed, who let out a howl of pain. As Joe went down his gun went off and hit the lantern, causing it to burst into flames.
Serena saw Eustace make a wild dash out of the crypt and said, “Freddy, he is getting away!”
“No, he isn’t!” Freddy said and gave chase with Serena at his back.
They lost sight of him in the dark of the woods, and they stopped to look at one another. “Where would he go?” Freddy asked.
“I would guess he will need to make his escape. He will need money, clothes, and a horse. He has backtracked and gone to the rectory!”
“Right … Serena, but I want you out of this now. Go and get help, and I will—”
“No, it will be too late. Come on. I have a plan.”
“What?” They were already rushing through the trees, but instead of going up to the house, Serena led him to the stables.
“What are you doing?” Freddy hissed.
“He can’t go on foot … can he? So …” She smiled widely.
“Certes! Bright girl,” Freddy returned.
A few moments later they had put halters and lead lines on both the carriage horses and Eustace’s riding horse, and led them as quickly as they could out of the barn. Their goal was to get to their horses as fast as they could, but they hadn’t gotten far when a hard, angry voice warned, “Stop right there!”
* * *
Billy and his lads hadn’t run far when Billy stopped and said, “Right then, I think something is towards, don’t ye?”
“Aye, but Billy, it has naught to do with us,” Al said.
“Maybe it does, and maybe it doesn’t,” Billy said enigmatically and eyed each of his friends.
“But, Billy,” Al said on a groan.
“Listen to me, lads, something big is going on in these woods, somethin’ we best be having a look at. Since when do we run like cowards?”
“Aye, but, Billy, that isn’t why we are here.”
“We can poach anytime, anywhere, but tonight we are for somethin’ bigger … are ye not with me?”
They grumbled in different ways but all said they were with him.
“Then, this is the plan. We go back and see just what the reverend is doing this late at night. Right? We stay low, and we don’t get caught,” Billy told them with the self-assurance of natural command. He knew his friends would follow his lead. They always did.
“Aww, Billy,” Al tried one more time.
Billy put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Al, ye got m’back?”
Called to order, Al stood up straight. “Oi do, Billy, as always, Oi do.”
A few moments later they were weaving their way through the dark woods when a gunshot rang out. They all stopped dead and looked at one another.
“Just as Oi thought,” Billy said. “Trouble.” He grinned and said, “Let’s lay low another moment or two before we go see just what kind of trouble it is, eh, lads?”
* * *
Serena and Freddy moved closer to one another, and with like minds, they each released the horses they had been leading away.
Serena rolled her eyes as the horses lingered beside them. Eustace waved his gun in their direction and told them to stand aside as he reached for one of the steeds.
One of the three horses snorted and suddenly swerved away, causing a bit of a commotion, and Serena managed to clap her hands and shout at the steeds, “Off … off with you!”
Eustace forgot himself as his temper evidently got the better of him. He dropped the lead line of his horse, hauled off with that free hand, and hit Serena hard across her face.
She reeled backwards with a cry and went down. This spooked the horses to further unrest, and one of them took off at a gallop. Another followed as the horse Eustace managed to recapture pulled on his lead.
Freddy started to lunge at the reverend. “You despicable scoundrel!”
“No, Freddy … no!” Serena shouted as she saw Eustace level his gun for his shot. She was up and rushing Eustace, and he turned, aimed his gun at her, and said in a deadly voice, “Don’t.”
A masculine voice full with authority and the promise of death said at Eustace’s back, “Precisely what I was about to say. Don’t. And, if I were you, no sudden moves.”
Serena almost started to cry. He had come. He was here. She didn’t have to think anymore. She didn’t have to worry that Freddy would be killed. He was here.
Lord Daniel Pendleton’s gun poked Eustace’s back, and Freddy was exclaiming in high glee that there was no one like his uncle, who was the best of all Corinthians.
His lordship said, “Freddy … pick up the gun Eustace has dropped, and then, let’s search his body for another.” Even as he kept his gun pointed at Eustace, he glanced at Serena, now on her feet and said, “Come to me, Serena …”
She did as he asked, and he looked down at her and said, “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, for she was momentarily speechless and nearly overcome by emotion. He eyed her and said to the reverend, “Damn your soul to perdition. I should beat you into the earth. I should drain you of your blood and then pour it down your gullet till you choke on it.”
“But you won’t,” Eustace sneered.
“Won’t I?” his lordship said and handed his gun to Freddy. “Won’t I?” A moment later, he was doing just that.
Serena screamed and called his name. “Daniel … stop, Daniel …”
His lordship stopped and saw that Eustace was nearly unconscious on the earth. The reverend’s face was covered in blood, and even so, he wanted to keep on beating him. Serena had stopped him, and he put an arm around her, drew her in close, and told her, “He deserves to die for laying a hand on you. And you, what do you and Freddy mean going off like that? You shall never do so again, do you hear me? I shan’t have my wife roaming around the country chasing blackguards and scoundrels unless I am with her. Are we clear?”
She couldn’t answer in words so she got on her tip toes and kissed his lips, her own trembling and her heart soaring.
Freddy watched them with astonishment, and then a slow smile curved his lips. As though suddenly remembering him and their surroundings, his lordship and Serena turned and looked at him, and Freddy told them, “Zounds! You see, I knew she belonged in our family, didn’t I?”
A shaky laugh resulted, but as his lordship turned and made a decision about what next must be done, Billy and his lads arrived on the scene.
“Coo,” Billy said admiringly. “So, you have this all wrapped up nice and tight, don’t ye, guv?”
“Do I?” his lordship said. “I don’t have a notion what you are doing here, but I am happy for it. I would like you and your boys to see Miss Serena safely home while my nephew and I collect this scoundrel and deliver him to the authorities. Can you do that?”
“Can Oi?” he asked, well pleased. “Whot say ye, lads? Can we do that?”
The boys all mumbled that this was great sport and that, yes, they could do just that.
Serena however, objected. �
��I want to go with you and Freddy.”
“I am sure you do, but I want you well out of this.” He grinned at her. “After all, I can’t very well take you into town with you dressed like that, now can I?” he teased.
She smiled shyly and bantered back, “Then I am dismissed?”
“Never will you be dismissed, my love. I have been a fool, but no more. Is that understood or shall I say it again?”
“Yes, you shall say it again and again,” she answered softly.
“Agreed. Now I want you out of this weather, my girl, and safely home. I shall see you tomorrow when I call on you and your uncle,” he returned quietly.
Freddy watched and shook his head. “Lovesick puppies!” he said and laughed out loud.
~ Epilogue ~
HIS LORDSHIP STOOD tall and handsome at the altar. How had she been so lucky as to win his heart? His smile as she walked towards him was so full of love that she wanted to cry.
Had only a month gone by?
How had things turned out so well? She had almost given up hope that she would ever win Daniel Pendleton’s love.
What a month. So much had happened since that blood-thirsty night.
Afterwards his lordship told her that he and Freddy had loaded Eustace’s unconscious body into the wagon, during which Freddy rang a lecture over the wicked man’s head.
The bodies of Joe Reed and Mack were recovered with the gold the next morning, and his lordship decided to try and give Tuthill as much credit for it as was possible, to keep both Freddy and Serena’s names out of the affair.
She had been escorted home by Billy with his friends in tow. Two of the lads had taken one of Eustace’s carriage horses, while Al and Billy took the other two. All the lads rode bareback.
Billy had eyed her with a smirk and a laugh and said, “Just can’t stay out of trouble, can ye, Lady Sunshine?”
“Apparently not,” she had answered. She had laughed as they took their job so seriously and returned her to Moorely. She had insisted they go inside and was surprised to find Davis, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at her.
