Felix inclined his head and left the room, smiling in satisfaction only when the door had shut safely behind him. He and Saskia were preparing to take their leave a short time later when Saskia’s father took her to one side.
“Well, Saskia, I’ve kept my side of the bargain and entertained your Mr. Beaumont. Now it’s your turn. When can I expect to see my grandchildren?”
“You must be patient for a week or two longer.” Saskia and Felix had decided it would be better if he learned of her impending departure from her own lips. He would certainly hear of it from Fothergill, and if she hadn’t mentioned it herself it would appear strange.
“Why?” The one word was spoken with irritation, belying the attitude of the forgiving parent he’d been striving to project that evening.
“Aunt Serena is arranging for us to visit Mrs. James in Norfolk. She’s been unwell, and has expressed a desire to see the children again.”
Saskia watched her father’s face as he battled with his natural instincts to forbid the visit, finally offering to place one of his own conveyances at her disposal.
“So much more comfortable than travelling post,” he said.
“Thank you, sir,” she said, finality in her tone, “but I believe Aunt Serena has already made the necessary arrangements.”
Nothing further detained them, and Felix drove away from Southview Manor at a rapid pace, pulling up in the same place as the previous afternoon. Saskia, seated beside him, was unable to stop trembling. Felix took her in his arms, sensing that tears were close. Sure enough they soon spilled from her eyes and ran down her face in rivulets, soaking her pelisse and Felix’s handkerchief into the bargain.
“I’m so proud of you,” Felix told her, as he stroked her back with long soothing sweeps of his hand. “You were magnificent.”
“God, how I hate him!”
“Yes, but you didn’t allow him to see your fear. That confused him and left him wondering what he must do to persuade you back to him. He’s never seen you in such a light before.”
“How do you know?” Saskia sniffed and tried to pull away from him. It did her no good though. His arms held her in a vice-like grip, and her struggles made not the slightest impression upon him. “You hardly looked away from Elsbeth all evening.”
“Do you not understand why?”
“Because you found her rather obvious sort of charm compelling, I suppose.”
“Grant me a little more taste than that.” Felix squeezed her shoulders. “I paid court to her because it was what your father expected me to do.”
She tossed her head. “Ah, that would explain it then.”
“Indeed it would.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Put yourself in his position. He wants you back, and sees conducting business with me as a way to achieve your gratitude. If he thought I was as serious about you as you’ve pretended to be about me, then he wouldn’t give me the time of day.”
“You should have said,” she said, turning away from him.
Felix’s only response was to kiss her. Hard and deeply.
“I thought you realized.” he said.
“So that’s why you patted Elsbeth on her — ” Saskia blushed. “Well, you know where you patted her.”
“Why else would I do such a thing?”
“You’d know more about that than me.”
“Well, I thought it was a rather convincing touch. Your father noticed, of course, and roared with laughter.”
She sniffed. “Yes, thank you, I observed more than enough of your loutish behaviour.”
“Then perhaps it’s time you discovered how gentlemanly I can behave when the situation calls for it.”
He kissed her again, passionately, delighted when she responded with enthusiasm, twining her fingers through his hair and pressing herself against him as though it was the most natural thing in the world for her to enter into a clandestine affair with a man she hardly knew. Felix knew it was not, and that passion had, at least temporarily, overcome reason. He broke the kiss before he, too, lost control, but by the time they entered the kitchen at Riverside House again, Felix had the satisfaction of knowing that she was no longer out of charity with him.
Perkins awaited them there. Saskia immediately excused herself in order to check on the twins.
“What do you want, Perkins?” Felix asked.
“Message from his lordship. He wants me to report back to him on your progress tonight and wants to know what time to expect Mrs. Eden and her children tomorrow.”
“I see.”
“Oh, and one other thing. I popped into the Swyre Inn tonight. Fothergill was there, high as a kite and in great spirits because Mrs. Eden had gone to have dinner with her father. He was so happy that he even appeared unconcerned that you’d accompanied her. Well, I decided it was too good an opportunity to miss, so I fell into conversation with him, keeping him well supplied with ale, naturally. When he was in his cups he confided that, in return for his loyalty, Barker has promised him — Fothergill that is — marriage to Mrs. Eden, once she returns to him.”
“The devil he has!”
Chapter Twelve
THE FOLLOWING DAY WAS a Saturday, and as the children didn’t have lessons, it was Fothergill’s custom to sleep off the excesses of the week, missing breakfast altogether. Felix took advantage of his tardiness and drove Saskia and the children away from Riverside House very early. He hoped to deliver them into Luc’s care and return to Mrs. Rivers’s establishment before Fothergill was about and realized the part Felix had played in facilitating their departure.
The twins were full of excitement, still believing they were to visit Mrs. James, of whom they were fond. Even the superior surroundings of the Grand Hotel did little to diminish their enthusiasm or stay their constant stream of chatter. It was only when they entered Luc’s suite, and stared, open-mouthed, at the extravagant opulence, that they became temporarily subdued. Eyes as large as saucers, they stood hand-in-hand, rooted to the spot.
Felix made the introductions, and Josh, belatedly remembering his manners, executed an elegant bow. Saskia shot a speaking look Felix’s way. She probably realised that he’d given the lad a few pointers in exactly how to pay his respects. Surely she couldn’t take exception to that? Amy, without the benefit of superior example, managed a wobbly curtsey, almost dropping the squirming Hoskins in the process.
Without hesitation Clarissa dropped to her knees to address the children and exclaim over Hoskins. That was all it took for the twins to overcome their shyness.
“We’re twins — ”
“We’re six — ”
“This is our dog, Hoskins — ”
Felix and Luc watched Rosie and Luc’s dog, Mulligan, join the fray. The two little girls were drawn to one another almost immediately and joined hands, disappearing together to examine Rosie’s favourite dolls. Surely Saskia would take comfort from that? Mulligan and Hoskins were more circumspect, prowling around one another, hackles at half-mast. Josh turned to Felix with a martyred sigh.
“I’d better watch over them, Mr. Beaumont,” he said, pretending indifference as he hurried after the girls.
“Take good care of them for me, Luc,” Felix said sotto voce.
“Have I ever let you down?”
“No, but this is important to me.”
“I know,” his friend replied, softly.
Luc and Clarissa tactfully followed the children from the room, leaving Felix alone with Saskia. He wasted no time in pulling her into his arms.
“I’ll join you in a few short days.”
“Take great care. My father is dangerous and ruthless.” Her face was creased with concern. “Don’t make the mistake of underestimating him.”
“Don’t spare a thought for me. Smithers has the area swamped with his men, in readiness to act.”
“All the same — ”
“Saskia, I — ”
She looked up at him, clearly taken aback by his sharp tone. “Wha
t is it?”
“Well, what I…” He released her and fell to pacing. Then he came around, ending back beside her and pulling her to him, his inexorable need far from sated. “No, now’s not the time. But when I return to Western Hall we must have a serious discussion.”
“What about?”
One brow shot skywards. “You don’t know?”
“No, I — ”
There was a commotion behind them: Luc, making an unnecessary amount of noise as he approached. Felix didn’t trouble to remove his arm from around Saskia’s waist. Luc knew him too well to mind the indiscretion, and besides, he was not about to have her anywhere except in his arms until the last possible moment.
“The carriages are at the side door, Felix.”
This was Luc’s idea. Saskia and the children would enter Luc’s carriage, with the distinctive Newbury crest on its doors, at the side of the hotel, out of sight of curious passers-by. All too soon they’d done so: Luc, Clarissa, Saskia, three children, and two dogs in the first; a lady’s maid, valet, governess, and the luggage in the second. The procession moved off. Josh, Amy, and Rosie leaned from the window and waved madly at Felix. He raised his hand to them in salute, feeling suddenly very isolated and alone.
He shook off his wistful mood by reminding himself that Saskia and the twins were now safely out of Barker’s reach, a cause for celebration. When he saw them next, this thing would be resolved, one way or the other. He returned to his curricle and made the journey back to Riverside House, thinking of all the things he still had to do whilst he awaited Barker’s summons.
It came just two days later, in the form of a servant calling at Riverside House at eleven o’clock at night, asking Felix to accompany him. Mr. Barker had requested his immediate presence. Felix cursed beneath his breath. He’d expected to receive some notice from Barker, which he would have used to alert Smithers. But there was no help for it: if he declined to accompany Barker’s man now, without good reason for doing so, then it would raise suspicions. He’d just have to go with him and trust to luck that Smithers’s men were still alert enough to observe him being driven away. Either that or Perkins, of whom he had seen nothing for two days — a good sign surely, as it must indicate his acceptance into the gang — would somehow alert Smithers himself.
Felix was surprised by his early summons. He’d expected a longer wait. He, his father, and Smithers had carefully constructed his cover, using the Marquis Rydon’s name with that gentleman’s prior permission. They had assumed that Barker would check out Felix’s credentials before proceeding with such sensitive negotiations. Contacting the Marquis directly was clearly out of the question for someone of Barker’s lowly social status. Smithers suggested that Rydon should take his long-serving and completely trustworthy butler, as well as his equally faithful valet, into his confidence. Barker’s men would undoubtedly travel to Rydon Hall, on the outskirts of Bristol, and ask about at the local inn. Rydon’s valet or butler would take it in turns to be present, make themselves obvious to Barker’s emissaries, and drunkenly let slip their master’s intentions.
They couldn’t possibly have managed to do that in the two days that had elapsed since he’d dined with Barker. Did that mean that Barker was aware who Felix actually was, and that he was being led into a trap, or had his desire to improve his social standing caused him to become incautious? There again, perhaps he was simply obliging Felix in order to curry favour with his daughter. Felix had seen with his own eyes that Barker was desperate to have Saskia back under his roof, answerable only to him, so perhaps he was inventing problems where none existed.
Felix was driven by Barker’s surly minion not to Southview Manor, but direct to Burton Bradstock Bay. He alighted briskly when the conveyance came to a halt, and was greeted by Barker himself, along with Johnson, his son Charles, and a few more of Barker’s men. Felix was relieved to notice Perkins amongst their number, looking disconcertingly comfortable with his new employment.
“I apologise for the short notice, Beaumont,” Barker said, stepping forward and offering his hand, “but I unexpectedly found myself in a position to facilitate your unusual request, so didn’t suppose that you’d mind the inconvenience.”
“Not in the least. But where…?” He glanced about him.
“Over yonder.” Barker indicated several large vessels anchored off-shore.
“Ah, but of course.”
Felix cursed, inaudibly. He should have anticipated that any vessel containing such a sensitive cargo wouldn’t risk coming into port. The boat being anchored in the bay would make things extremely tricky for Smithers’s men, since it would be hard for them to approach it without being detected. Barker turned in the direction of a large wherry pulled up on the single beach.
“Shall we?”
Disguising his reluctance beneath an indolent pose, Felix inclined his head and followed Barker into the boat. His men then pushed into the shallow water before clambering in behind them. As Johnson took the tiller, Felix watched him impassively, wondering how the next hour would play out. For the first time since the start of this affair, he no longer felt in full control. Instinct told him that something about this business tonight wasn’t right, but it was too late now for him to turn back.
As Barker’s men applied themselves to rowing the wherry, Felix, fully alert, thought he detected a tension about them. There was an air of expectancy, an indefinable something about their attitude, which disconcerted him. But he dismissed his fears, blaming his own apprehension for his disquiet, and seeking reassurance in rational thought. With the exception of Perkins, all the men in the boat were totally loyal to Barker, armed to the teeth and, he was certain, more than ready to use their weapons. This knowledge did little to quell his concerns, especially since he was unarmed himself, but he could do little for the moment, other than to pray that Smithers and his men had him in their sights.
Silence prevailed within the wherry as the men put their backs into their rowing. The full moon, which had served Felix so well a week before when he’d dined al fresco with Saskia on the beach, was now on the wane. All the same, it still cast sufficient light for Felix to be able to make out Perkins’s reassuring outline, hunched over his oars. The sight reinforced his sense of purpose, as did the image of Saskia which sprang unbidden into his head. Barker was engaged in a despicable trade, which had to be stopped. He was also a tyrant and a bully. If Felix failed tonight, then Saskia and her children would eventually be forced to return to a life under his rapacious control. This thought served to strengthen his resolve. Saskia, the twins, Mrs. Rivers, his father — they were all depending upon him to put a stop to this evil business and bring Barker to justice. His own sense of duty, as well as an awareness of what he owed to them all, would not permit him to fail.
They had reached the side of a new and fast looking cutter, its name hidden in the darkness. A rope ladder was lowered, and Barker invited Felix to ascend first. He had no choice but to comply, and was relieved when the rest of the party followed him swiftly over the side. Felix could detect only two members of crew on deck, but had to assume that more were below. Barker was beside him once again and invited him, with a gesture, to precede him toward a companionway leading to the lower deck, and thence to a ladder descending toward the hold.
Felix hesitated for the first time, and looked enquiringly at Barker. Neither of them had spoken since leaving the shore, aware how acutely sound is amplified over water at night. Barker broke that silence now.
“The captain of the vessel can hardly display his cargo on the deck,” he said, an ironic twist to his lips.
“I see.”
Felix did see — far too well. Every bone in his body warned him not to enter that hold. His earlier feeling that all wasn’t well intensified tenfold, and his instincts screamed at him to find a way to avoid making a blind descent into the unknown. He searched his mind, frantically trying to come up with a plausible reason why he shouldn’t enter that hold, but his brain was as blank a
s a scrubbed slate and no form of salvation presented itself.
Barker and his men now stood behind him in a menacing semi-circle, shuffling their feet impatiently, and Felix realized that procrastination was a luxury no longer available to him. With every appearance of indifference, he placed his foot on the first rung of the ladder.
A dim light emanated from the gloomy space below him as he descended. That there was at least one lantern illuminating the space was Felix’s last conscious thought as his feet hit the deck and, simultaneously, something heavy hit the back of his head, knocking him out cold.
Chapter Thirteen
FELIX CAME TO, SHOOK his head in an effort to clear his foggy brain, and groaned aloud. His head was pounding like merry hell. Surely his skull must be broken? He attempted to sit up, but found he was securely bound hand and foot. He didn’t know how long he’d been in the hold, but through the one grimy port-light within his line of vision he could detect fingers of dawn light, shrouded by curling mist, above the flat surface of the sea. So he must have been here, unconscious, for several hours then. He listened but could detect no sounds at all other than the creaking of timber and sawing of ropes as the boat rocked gently at anchor.
Making a monumental effort, he eased himself into a sitting position by putting his elbows to good use against the hard bunk beneath him. He waited for the swimming sensation in his head to subside before looking about him. That he was still in the hold of the boat was obvious. There were several dubious looking sacks piled forward, and assorted seafaring detritus lying about in a haphazard manner. Felix absently concluded that it wasn’t a well-run vessel. Such slipshod seamanship would never pass muster on one of his father’s ships.
A sound behind him caused him to turn his head sharply. He regretted doing so when the pain behind his temple intensified. As it subsided and he could focus again he found he was nose to face with a large rat, which he’d clearly disturbed and which was now anxious to resume the search for its breakfast. The rat cast him a disdainful look and disappeared.
Wendy Soliman Page 15
