by Anne Herries
‘I remember everything,’ Jack told her, his finger moving over her hand in a caress. ‘There are strangely a few gaps, and some of it is like a jumble of pictures that do not quite make sense, but most things are clear to me. I remember that night in London when that brute was pursuing you, the way he threatened you. Had my memory not been lost I might have realised it was he who shot me the first time, for I caught a glimpse of him riding away just before I lost consciousness, though I could not see his face clearly.’
‘How wicked he must be,’ Charlotte said and looked at him anxiously. ‘I have almost lost you twice, Jack. Please do not let him come near you again, my love.’
‘I shall not,’ he promised, but he was lying, though she had no sense of it. ‘I will visit you again as soon as I can, my love. Stay here and rest today. Promise me you will not venture outside again unless either I or one of my people are with you.’
‘Yes, of course,’ she gave her word easily. ‘I cannot wait for our wedding day, Jack. You will not postpone it, whatever Mama says?’
‘Believe me,’ he murmured huskily. ‘You could not be more eager than I, my dearest one. I shall marry you the moment I can and no one will stop me.’
He bent down to kiss her softly on the mouth, before leaving her.
No one would stop him, Jack vowed silently as he went out of the room, down the stairs and joined his friends waiting for him in the hall below. No one would stop him, because he intended that Patterson and his friends would be dead before nightfall...
Chapter Fifteen
Charlotte was glad enough to rest for the remainder of the morning, but after eating most of the temptingly light lunch that Cook had sent up for her on a tray, she became restless. Rising from her comfortable chair, she walked through to her bedchamber and looked out of the window. It was a beautiful afternoon and the sunshine called her, but she’d promised Jack she would not leave her room that day.
She returned to her sitting room just as someone knocked and called out that they might enter. Seeing the marquis step rather hesitantly into the room, she gave a cry of pleasure and went to greet him.
‘How lovely to see you, sir. I was just wishing I could go out, but now I am quite content. Please will you not sit down?’
‘Why shouldn’t you go out for a little walk if you wish?’
‘Jack asked me not to, because he thought I should rest—and I suppose he was anxious lest the assassin should return.’
‘I do not fear it,’ the marquis said. ‘We have guards patrolling every inch of the grounds. Come, my dear, walk with me. You will be quite safe, I promise.’ He patted the pocket of his coat. ‘I am prepared should the rogue be bold enough to try it. I was counted to be a pretty shot when I was young, you know.’
Charlotte laughed in delight, for his old-fashioned gallantry was so appealing. She retrieved a lacy shawl and placed it around her shoulders, then took his arm, smiling up at him.
‘Now I do not fear anything,’ she said and twinkled up at him. An answering response lit his faded eyes, making him look young again. ‘It is such a beautiful day, much too nice to be cooped up inside.’
* * *
‘Empty!’ Jack growled in disgust as they broke into the farmhouse and discovered their prey had flown. ‘I had hoped they might have lingered long enough for us to corner the beast in his den.’
‘He must have gone almost at once,’ Jeb said after touching the black range in the kitchen. ‘It is cold—and you can see the remains of a meal left on the table.’
‘I’ll take a look upstairs,’ Jack said and felt angry that his quarry had outwitted him. He’d banked on the man taking it for granted that he would be too ill to come after Charlotte’s abductors.
He went upstairs, searching from room to room. Three had been used, the beds left in a mess and clothes abandoned on the floor. Clearly they had been woken suddenly, perhaps by the noise of the horses stampeding to freedom. When they discovered that the girl they had treated so badly had managed to escape, they had fled in a panic, leaving many of their possessions behind.
‘Jack?’ He turned as he heard Jeb’s voice. ‘They’ve left you a note. I opened it—by God, he’s tricked us nicely. You’d better read what it says. I’ve sent some of the men on ahead.’
‘What the hell...?’ Jack seized the piece of paper and scanned the few lines, a savage curse leaving his lips as he crushed it into a ball and threw it down. ‘By heaven, I’ll break the devil’s neck for this!’
Jeb picked up the discarded threat and pocketed it, for evidence if needed.
By the time you return she’ll be gone and you’ll never see her again unless you pay the fifty thousand pounds I asked for.
‘He is damned sure of himself. I do not see how he can hope to get to her when the grounds are crawling with armed men. If they see anyone suspicious, they will grab him and if he resists...’
‘They’ve been told to shoot anyone who avoids their challenge.’ Jack grunted. ‘What if a gentleman calls openly and asks to see me, claiming to be a friend? If he is bold enough for this, he will try anything.’
Jeb nodded, then said, ‘Aye, I think he might, sir. Yet surely he cannot reach her room without being challenged.’
‘We must get back there,’ Jack said and went off at a run to where his groom stood waiting with the horses. ‘We need to find the shortest way back, Hillsborough. You know this part of the country best—get us home as swiftly as you can.’
Jack was frowning as he mounted his horse. Would this nightmare never end? He had hoped to finish it by cornering Patterson, and either thrashing him or putting a ball through his head. The man was clever and had anticipated Jack’s revenge. He could only pray that Charlotte was still safe in the house, for surely his servants would not allow the man to get near her there...
* * *
‘Well, that was quite delightful, my dear. I enjoy our walks together and I shall miss you when Jack takes you off to his own estate.’
‘Surely we shall spend much of our time in the country here with you, sir.’ Charlotte looked up at him lovingly. ‘My grandfather died before I was old enough to know him—may I take you for my own?’
‘I should be delighted if you would adopt me,’ the marquis said and chuckled as they stepped inside the cool of the hall. ‘Now if you will excuse me, my dear, I must speak to Evans about something. Please go into the parlour and Mrs Moore will bring us tea in a few minutes. I shall not keep you waiting long.’
‘Yes, Grandfather,’ Charlotte said and kissed his cheek. ‘I think I will go up and wash my hands before tea.’
They parted and she ran lightly up the stairs to her room. Charlotte was humming one of her favourite tunes as she opened the door and went in, throwing off her shawl and walking through to the bedroom. Hearing the door of the dressing room open, she did not turn, but said, ‘I shall not change for tea today, Betty.’
On receiving no answer, she turned quickly and saw that it was not her maid, but a man she remembered only too well, though he had dressed in the garments of a footman and wore a black wig to disguise himself. Anyone seeing him from the rear might not give him a second look. The man was clearly a master of deceit and had managed to evade the guards for a second time.
‘So, you escaped me last time,’ Patterson said. ‘It will not happen again, Miss Stevens.’ He gestured with his arm and she saw he was holding a pistol cocked and ready. ‘If you try to resist, I shall kill whoever answers your call. I intend to keep you alive until I get my money, but I do not care who else I kill.’
‘What makes you think Captain Delsey will pay you anything? Why should he?’
‘Because he wants you,’ the man snarled. ‘Either I get my money or I’ll see you dead.’
‘You killed Jack’s father,’ Charlotte said, refusing to panic even though a
scream was building inside her. ‘You are going to hang, Mr Patterson. Even if I am not alive to see it, it will happen.’
He had taken a few steps towards her, jerking the pistol to make her move towards the door, but she refused to budge and stood stubbornly, uncertain of what to do for the best. If she screamed for help someone would come, but this devil was desperate enough to do as he threatened and kill whoever appeared. No, she must keep calm and let him believe she was cowed by his bullying. She had got away from him once, surely she could do so again.
Charlotte saw that she must do as he ordered. She took three steps towards the door and then froze as it opened.
‘No, do not come in,’ she cried, but the door was pushed open wide and her mother walked in. ‘Mama!’ Charlotte cried in dismay. ‘Please go while you can!’
‘What is this, Charlotte? It is coming to something when I am not permitted to enter—’ The words died away as Mama saw the wicked pistol pointing at her, but not for long. Not even an armed man could silence the outraged mother. ‘What do you imagine you are doing in my daughter’s bedchamber, sir? How dare you come in here! I shall not stand for this. I demand that you leave this instant!’
‘Mama, he is the man who abducted me,’ Charlotte tried to warn her, but her mother was too angry to listen. Seeing the look of shock in Patterson’s eyes at being addressed in such a fashion, Charlotte looked around desperately for something to distract him. The silver paperknife on her dressing table was just within distance of her hand if he did not notice her reaching for it.
‘I do not care who he is,’ Mama declared, drawing herself up in a picture of outraged propriety. ‘I will not have strange gentlemen in my daughter’s private rooms. You should be ashamed of yourself, sir!’
She bustled forward, intending Charlotte knew not what, but Patterson’s uncertainty when faced with an outraged matron would have been comical had he no pistol in his hand. It seemed that years of polite society manners had temporarily given him pause, for gentlewomen of Lady Stevens’s stature had been known to make strong men weep when on the receiving end of their vitriol. In the instant that he was still deciding what to do for the best, Charlotte snatched up the paperknife and darted forward, stabbing him in his arm. He screamed and the pistol dropped from his fingers. Mama dived for it faster than her daughter would have believed possible, snatched it up and then backed away from him, the pistol wavering unsteadily in her hand. Patterson hesitated, snarled with rage and went after her. Charlotte screamed loudly for help as the two closed. Mama was brave, but he must be too strong for her. Charlotte rushed into the attack, ready to stab him again, in the back this time, but before she could strike the pistol went off, the sound of it shattering.
‘Mama,’ Charlotte screamed just as the door of her room was sent flying open and two of the footmen rushed in. ‘Oh, Mama, please! He has shot her!’
However, even as she spoke what she thought the truth, Patterson staggered back, clutching at his stomach, blood trickling through his splayed fingers as he held himself, staring at the woman who had just shot him in disbelief.
‘Charlotte, are you all right?’ Papa appeared in the doorway, just as his wife gave a little cry and fainted into his arms. The front of her silk gown was spattered with blood. ‘Good grief, has he killed her?’
‘I think the pistol went off as they fought for it,’ Charlotte said. ‘Mama picked it up after I stabbed him in the arm and he tried to wrest it from her, but...somehow it just went off—’
Mama was stirring. Her eyelids fluttered. ‘Is Charlotte all right?’ she whispered through white lips. ‘That wicked man was going to take her and I couldn’t let him. Have I killed him? I meant to...’
‘Hush, my dearest,’ Papa said and glanced at the footmen, who, being well trained, looked blank, as if they had heard nothing. ‘He was trying to take the pistol from you and it went off by accident. That is what happened, is it not, Charlotte?’
‘Yes, Papa. Mama was simply trying to protect me. I shall of course be happy to tell the magistrate what happened.’
‘Yes, I thought you would,’ he said. ‘I am going to take your mama to her room. She is distraught and needs to lie down for a while. Can you manage here, my love?’
‘Yes, Papa...’ Charlotte heard the sound of running feet and then Jack burst in, followed by Hillsborough, Jeb Scott and two of the grooms.
‘What in the world is happening?’ Mama whispered faintly. ‘This is quite improper...quite improper...’
‘Yes, my dearest,’ her husband comforted her. ‘We shall have to overlook it this once in the circumstances. I’m going to put you to bed and then Mrs Moore will bring you a nice cup of tea. Now that Delsey is here, I am certain we can leave all this business to him.’
He swept his wife from the room and she went, quite overwhelmed by his mastery, and perhaps the shock of realising that had the pistol turned the other way, it might have been her lying on the floor.
‘Charlotte...’ Jack gave the now very still body of Patterson a cursory look. ‘You are unharmed? I cannot apologise enough for what happened. It is damned carelessness! How could he possibly have got into your room?’
‘He came through the dressing room...’ Charlotte heard a muffled cry. ‘Oh, dear, I think perhaps he tied up my poor Betty! And he must have stolen a uniform. We may find that he has overpowered one of the footmen.’
‘It was my best uniform he took,’ Johnson said. ‘When I discovered it had been taken from the laundry room, where it had been steamed and pressed, I spoke to Smith here and we came straight to your room, for I thought it must be him. Though how he managed to get into the house, I don’t know.’
‘I dare say we shall discover that he forced an entry somewhere below stairs,’ Jack said. ‘Perhaps Betty may be able to tell us more. She sounds in distress...’
‘I’ll see to her, miss,’ Johnson said and disappeared into the dressing room.
‘Get him out of here.’ Jack nodded his head at the dead man. ‘You cannot stay here, Charlotte. I’ll have the maids move you into your new apartments next to mine.’
‘Thank you. I do not think I could sleep here after this.’
Charlotte allowed herself to be led away, Jack’s arm around her. She leaned against his shoulder, feeling comforted by his strength.
‘Mama will not be arrested, will she?’ Looking up at him, she saw the grim expression in his eyes. ‘I’ve told everyone it was an accident, but I think... I believe she intended to kill him...’
‘Good for her,’ Jack said. ‘Your mother has more courage than I gave her credit for. I thank God that she did what she did, for it might otherwise have been too late. No, my darling, she will not be arrested for heroically saving her daughter from a murderer.’
Charlotte laughed a little hysterically until he caught her to him, holding her and stroking her hair, as she started to tremble and then to weep into his shoulder.
‘Yes, cry if you want to, my darling. You’ve had more to put up with than any young girl should.’
‘No, it is foolish, for it is all over now, isn’t it?’ She drew back and gazed into his eyes. ‘No one else will try to murder us in our own home?’
‘I sincerely hope not,’ he replied with a tight smile. ‘I believe it is over, Charlie. I cannot imagine how Patterson managed to get into the house, even via the servants’ entrance. Be sure that I shall discover it and if anyone was careless...’ He left the threat unfinished and Charlotte shook her head at him.
‘I think a man as devious as Mr Patterson would get in even if he had to kill to do it,’ Charlotte said. ‘Perhaps he simply pretended to be one of the new keepers, as before—until he found that uniform and realised it would allow him to use the servants’ stairs. If seen from behind, who would think anything wrong in a footman being there? He was desperate...so desperate that he would have done an
ything.’
‘Tell me, how did your mama manage to get the pistol from him?’
Charlotte told him how angry her mother had been to discover the man in her daughter’s bedchamber, how she’d demanded he leave and advanced on him—and then how Charlotte had stabbed his arm, causing him to drop the pistol.
‘I have never seen Mama move so fast. Indeed, I did not think she could.’ Charlotte frowned in thought. ‘I am not sure she could have killed him had he done nothing, for her hand wavered, but he tried to wrest the pistol from her and somehow...’
‘It went off by accident,’ Jack said and smiled into her eyes. ‘Better for everyone that we stick to our story. Your mama may have intended it—and if she did I salute her, for not many ladies of her breeding would have had the courage to do it. However, in the eyes of the world, it must and shall be a fortunate accident.’
‘Mama was determined to protect me,’ Charlotte said and then she was laughing. ‘I have always found her strict notions of propriety irritating, but I can only admire her for having the strength to stand up for them in the face of a loaded pistol.’
‘Had she not, I might have lost you,’ Jack said and his eyes seemed to devour her with their intensity. ‘I shall never be able to thank her enough.’
They had been walking as they talked and now they had reached the door to the apartments, which Charlotte knew would be hers when they were married. Jack opened the door and they went into the pretty sitting room, which was decorated in various shades of buttery cream, pale green and silver.
‘This is so pretty,’ Charlotte said. ‘Mrs Moore said you asked for it to be done just before we came down, but it was not finished until last week. I have been longing to see inside.’
‘I asked her not to show you until it was ready,’ he said. ‘Have a look at the rest of it and see if you can be comfortable here.’
