The cell was much like the one he had occupied before, but this chamber also had a pocket of brackish water in one corner where rain had leaked from somewhere above.
He focused on the barred window high on the wall where a small piece of sky was visible. His thoughts turned to Katherine, and the first time he had seen her in a room like this one. Her gaze had strayed to the window as she staved off her fear of close spaces. He wondered at the courage it had taken for her to face her fears in such a manner.
A knot of emotion rose in his throat as despair crashed down on him. He had done what he needed to do to prevent anyone else from being hurt, but now, as he sat in this cell; he wished fervently he’d had an opportunity to fight. He wanted to smash something and yell at the injustice of it. Avery Rudman wanted someone to blame for his wife’s death, and because of Matthew’s earlier relationship with her it was he. He wondered how many times he was to pay for meeting her. Would he pay with his life for those few, brief, stolen moments that happened months before Rudman had ever married her?
Matthew raked his fingers through his hair.
“I knew ye’d be back,” a familiar voice said from the
door.
Matthew looked up.
Hicks’s broad, piggish face pressed close to the barred opening in the door. His small eyes narrowed as he smiled. “Murdered a Lord’s wife, I ’ear. Ye’ll not be leavin’
’ere this time, lest it be in a box.” A key twisted in the lock. Matthew got to his feet.
“’Tis a standin’ order that all murderers be ironed.” Hicks threw a pair of rusty shackles to the floor at Matthew’s feet. “Put them on.”
He looked at the chains then studied Hicks’s face. A satisfied smile played around the man’s mouth. Hicks wanted him to resist. Matthew’s gaze moved to the open door, and he caught the furtive movement of a shadow to the right. He wondered how many there might be waiting for Hicks’s signal.
Matthew bent to pick up the shackles and eyed the cuffs. With both his arms and ankles secured, he would be bent at the waist and unable to straighten up. He would be helpless to defend himself should Hicks and the other guards attack him. He wondered if Rudman had ordered the guards to kill him.
Probably so.
A sense of calm settled over him, as resolve took the place of his despair. He had been hungry for a fight, and Hicks was providing him with one. He might as well take advantage of the opportunity. A smile curved his lips as he focused his attention on Hicks. “Why don’t you invite the others in, Mr. Hicks, and we’ll get down to business?” Hicks’s smile listed and died, his features taking on a hard look. “’Tis my pleasure, Yank.” He looked toward the door. Matthew swung the chains, hitting him in the side of the head. The man staggered sideways and fell head first into the door blocking the portal, just as two men crowded through armed with clubs. One tripped and went down across Hicks’s limp figure. Matthew swung again barely missing the two and the sound of the metal links hitting the door clanged, making his ears ring.
The two ducked and scrambled on all fours back out of the cell. Matthew adjusted his hold on the shackles. He spun one length of chain with a metal cusp around and
around as he converged on Hicks’s limp form.
“Ye’ll be punished for attackin’ ’im,” one of the men warned.
“I’m in here for murder, and they can only hang me once. Now which one of you would like to be next?” The two eyed each other. One lunged for the door and slammed it shut. “Get the key, ’urry,” he urged.
“’icks is still in there, Charlie.”
“Better ’im than us. ’is Lordship will be more upset should the bloke escape.”
The key rattled in the lock and the tumblers turned.
Matthew’s blistered hands protested as he grabbed Hicks by the back of the coat and dragged him to the bunk. He tossed the shackles next to the bed and hefted Hicks onto it. The side of the man’s head and face had already begun to swell with a multitude of lumps.
Matthew eyed the injury with some satisfaction. He clamped one of the metal cuffs around the guard’s wrist, and then pulled the ring of keys from his belt. He tried several before finding the correct one with which to lock it. He had just finished securing the last one around Hicks’s ankle when the man began to moan and come around.
He removed the short club from Hicks’s belt then leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. Hicks’s beady eyes fluttered open and settled on Matthew. He frowned and looked addled. When he started to sit up, he came up short and flopped back. His eyes widened in surprise, and then fear, as he eyed the chains that held him to the bed frame. “Charlie,” he bellowed.
Matthew left him to his struggles and strode to the door. He tried several keys in the lock until he found the one that fit. Temptation niggled at him, urging him to open the door and take his leave. If he did, his actions would be discerned as an admission of guilt. If he didn’t, he could be hanged for a murder he didn’t commit. With an oath, Matthew slammed the club he held against the door and heard a yelp of surprise from the other side. He held the key in place as someone attempted to force another into the lock from outside.
He flinched and ducked as an explosion went off close to his head. A cloud of smoke and the smell of burnt
powder leeched into the cell. Hicks bellowed again, the sound more frantic than before. A chunk was carved out of the wooden bed frame where the lead ball had ricocheted off the ceiling and nearly struck the man’s hip.
“Damn ye, Charlie. Ye’re goin’ to kill me afore ’e does. Put that pistol away.”
His ears ringing, Matthew slid down the wall of the cell where he could hold the key in place and stay out of range. Hicks’s outraged expression triggered a chuckle that built into a full-blown laugh. Hicks glared at him, which only served to amuse him more, and he laughed again.
“Ye’re crazy, Yankee,” he accused.
Growing sober once again, Matthew nodded. “’Twould do you well to remember it, Hicks. With a noose waiting for me, I’ve nothing further to loose if I decide to snap your neck.”
“Ye won’t do it.”
He raised one brow and focused his attention on the man. “I haven’t forgotten a moment of your treatment when last I visited this establishment. Think back on all you did and ask yourself if you really believe that.” Hicks considered his words for a moment. His bellows for help echoed off the walls of the chamber, and he began to struggle again.
Sighing, Matthew shook his head. It was going to be a long night.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Katherine hugged herself to still her tremors. Her eyes burned and her fingers were stained black with ink, but several drawings of the men she had seen that night were completed, as well as another of Jaime Stone, and one of her uncle.
Her attention rested on the drawing room door just visible from her seat in the library. She looked at the clock on the mantle again and grimaced when she realized only five minutes had passed.
“Have a cup of tea, Katherine. It will help pass the time.” Clarisse poured the brew in a cup and set it on the table before her. Talbot leaned over and added a splash of brandy from the glass decanter he held. He poured the tea Clarisse had set before him back into the pot, and filled his cup with the stronger libation.
She cradled the teacup in her hand as she wandered to the window to look out. Darkness pressed against the glass unrelieved by moon or stars. Rain ran in a steady stream down the panes catching the light of the lamp behind her. She wondered for the hundredth time if Matthew was all right. To picture him locked away at the mercy of Hicks again was almost more than she could bear.
“Mrs. Hamilton.” Lord Harcourt’s spoke from behind her. She turned to face him, her heart beating in her throat so hard she couldn’t speak.
“Could you bring the drawings you have finished to the drawing room?”
“Certainly.” The word came out a whisper. She set aside the untouched tea and rushed to comply with his re
quest. Her hands trembled with a combination of hope and fear as she gathered the sketches.
“I know how difficult this must be for you,” Lord Harcourt said as he walked beside her.
She doubted that the events she and Matthew had survived in the last few days had ever fallen within the realm of his personal experiences. “I appreciate your help in this matter, sir. I would not want Lord Rudman to doubt the evidence because it came from a source he thought biased. I am certain he will find you an acceptably neutral representative for justice.”
“I am honored by your trust, Mrs. Hamilton.” He opened the door and stood back to allow her entrance.
The men, six in all, came to their feet as a group as she entered the room. Her gaze fell on Henry first. His gnarled hands clutched his hat as he turned it round and round. He bobbed his head in greeting and offered her a shy smile. She did not recognize the man beside him and paused while Lord Harcourt introduced him as Matthew’s purser Carson Ray.
“Mr. Ray.” She offered him her hand. “I appreciate your coming to testify on my husband’s behalf.”
“It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Hamilton.” His mouth thinned, making his square-jawed face appear stubborn.
”I’ve sailed with the Captain for several years now. I have no doubt that he is innocent, ma’am.”
“Thank you.”
“I have sent two men to collect Lord Rudman’s driver, Mrs. Hamilton. He should be here any moment,” Lord Harcourt said.
She nodded and stepped to the table to spread the drawings out.
Hampton appeared in the doorway. “There is a gentleman at the front door who wishes to speak with Captain Hamilton, Mrs. Hamilton. He is quite insistent.
He says he is one of the Captain’s men.”
“Show him in, Hampton.”
Jess entered the room, his dark hair slick with rain, his clothes dripping with water. “I have to speak with the Cap’in, ma’am.”
“The Captain isn’t here, Jess.” His teeth chattered as he spoke. “We found them, ma’am. They’re hiding out at an ale house on the east side, at a place called White-Cross Tavern. I left Hollis standing watch while I came back here to tell the Cap’in.”
“How do you know you have found the men, Jess?”
William stepped forward. “One of the maids saw a man with Jaime Stone at the inn before we arrived. She gave a description of him to Captain Hamilton and me.
When nothing came of our questioning everyone at the inn, he ordered a watch put on the stables. The man the maid described sneaked out near daybreak and rode out.
Captain Hamilton sent Jess and Hollis to follow him and see where he went. ’Twas his belief that he would lead them back to the rest of the highwaymen.” Heedless of the water the man dripped upon the rug, she grasped Jess’ arm to lead him to the table where she had just spread the drawings. “Do you see the man’s likeness here?”
“That one,” Jess pointed at the sketch of a thin, rat-faced man. “They called him Badger.” Katherine’s throat grew thick with tears as her gaze traveled from one man to the other. “If he was traveling with Jaime Stone, perhaps he was a party to Lady Rudman’s murder or a witness. He has to be captured.” William, Andy, Franklin, and Webster started checking the priming on their weapons.
“Wait.” Lord Harcourt’s voice carried over the noise.
“It would be best if His Majesty’s troops were involved.
None of you have authority to arrest them.”
“You do, don’t you?” Webster asked.
Lord Harcourt turned to Katherine. “What of the Captain, Mrs. Hamilton?”
She felt as though something inside her grew tighter and tighter until she could barely breathe. “These men bore witness for my husband, Lord Harcourt. Will it be enough to prove his innocence?” The man’s gaze dropped from her face giving her his answer.
“Then go. But please capture them alive. It may be Matthew’s only chance.” ****
Matthew listened to the squeak of rusty metal as one of the men worked at the hinges of the door. Eventually they would work free the portal and there would be nothing he could do to keep them out of the cell. A wooden club would be little protection against a loaded flintlock.
The only advantage he had over them was the
darkness. Hicks’s presence compromised that for he was constantly taunting him and calling out to the others.
Matthew unwound the stock around his neck. Hugging the wall, he edged his way slowly around the cell to the cot. “Don’t ye touch me, Yankee.” Matthew stuffed the stock into the man’s mouth and tied it around his head. Hicks’s cries diminished to grunts and whimpers, and Matthew wondered why he hadn’t gagged the man hours ago and saved himself the bother of his constant noise.
The man Hicks referred to as Charlie called out.
“Hicks—Hicks, are ye all right?” Matthew crept back around to the door and squatted down to wait.
The men began to beat at the metal. Matthew crossed over to the back side of the portal where the door would give way once the hinges were free.
He had just decided that he preferred Hicks’s bellowing to the pounding when the door shifted sideways. The lock gave way. A man rattled off a string of colorful curses as the door toppled back. It seemed to take an inordinate amount of time for it to settle on the dirt floor.
Matthew hugged the wall as closely as he could. He blinked as the light of a lantern extended into the room. A man stepped onto the door and eased just inside the door facing, his flintlock pistol cocked and ready. Matthew grasped the top of the weapon wedging his bandaged hand between the cock and the steel preventing it from discharging. He jerked the firearm out of the guard’s hand at the same time he swung the club. The wood connected to the man’s skull with a sickening thud. The guard fell to the ground and lay still.
He then found himself face to face with the other guard. The man’s eyes rounded with shock, and with a high-pitched yell, he swung the lantern he held at Matthew’s head. Matthew ducked and glass chimney splintered against the stone wall, splattering oil across it.
He thrust upward with the club and struck the man under the chin, driving him back out into the passageway.
The man lost his footing on the metal surface of the door
and fell against the rock wall. The busted lantern clanged as he lost his grip on it and it struck the floor. Tossing aside the club, Matthew gripped the butt of the pistol and pointed it in the man’s face.
“I believe you are in a spot of bother, my friend,” Matthew said, imitating the upper class English accents of the ton.
With a look of resignation, the man leaned back against the wall and spread his hands in surrender.
****
“Come sit and rest for a moment, Katherine.” Clarisse patted the settee beside her. “I will tell you of Matthew and his brothers when they were younger; it will pass the time.” Recognizing the couple’s attempts to distract her, she looked from one to the other and read the same strain and worry she felt on their faces. “Forgive me. Both of you. I know you are as concerned for Matthew as I am. I have not been very considerate of how you must be feeling about all of this.”
“Damned helpless.” Talbot’s hands clenched and unclenched as he stood at the fireplace. He raked his fingers through his hair making the white strands stand on end atop his head.
She settled beside Clarisse and the older woman clasped both her hands. She swallowed several times as ready tears threatened.
“I knew in the coach after the wedding Matthew was smitten with you.”
A smile tempted Katherine’s lips for the first since Matthew’s arrest. “I was with him as well.” The heat of a blush crept upward into her face and for a moment, she wondered how much she might share with them.
“I tried not to become attached the first days of our marriage. To him, to the two of you.” Katherine looked up at Talbot. “We struck a bargain during that first meeting at the jail. The marriage would be annulled as soon as
I received whatever inheritance my mother left me, and he had his ship back and could sail for Charleston. Then Hannah hung that ridiculous sheet off the balcony and confused the issue.”
“So that is who it was.” Talbot sat in one of the chairs
before the fire. “Matthew never said a word.”
“Of course not.” Clarisse’s blue eyes searched Katherine’s face. “Matthew would have never said anything to disparage Katherine’s reputation.” Katherine caught herself smiling again. “With the rumors, Hannah thought to protect my reputation. I truly meant to stick by the agreement. I planned to leave before the papers were hawked and the bills posted. I thought if I were absent it would give Matthew time and reason to annul the marriage.”
Talbot leaned forward in his seat. “Matthew would have never left you behind. Honor alone would have prevented him from doing so.
“I know.” She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “I delayed leaving for Summerhaven a day too long. He refused to allow me to stay home that day and, in truth, I wanted one more day with him, before we had to part.” She brushed at the tears that trailed down her face.
“Your nephew is difficult not to love.”
“Then why would you even try?” Clarisse asked as she gathered Katherine against her.
She relaxed against the other woman, grateful for her understanding and comfort. “I thought, at the time, to protect him from all the trouble I have caused. It is because of me he is in prison again.”
“No it is not.” Talbot shook his head, a scowl darkening his features. “It is because Avery Rudman’s jealousy has blinded him to the truth.” Hampton appeared at the library door, and Katherine sat up. “Lord Rudman and his driver are here, my lord.”
Talbot rose and withdrawing a handkerchief from his coat pocket offered it to Katherine. “Show them in Hampton.”
“Who are you to command my driver’s presence, Talbot?” Avery Rudman demanded as soon as he cleared the doorway. His features, set in aggressive lines of displeasure, appeared drawn and haggard.
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