“Shoot him,” Charley cried. “Oh, shoot him!”
Daintry could see amusement in Nicca’s eyes when he held out his hand and said, “You’ll not do it, lass.”
“She might not,” Deverill said from the cave opening, “but I certainly will, and you won’t really care who pulled the trigger when all is said and done.” He held a pistol in his hand, and behind him, Penthorpe held another. “Now, back away from the ladies, and the rest of you lads step away from the horses and over by that wall so we can have a look at you.”
Daintry said quickly, “The thunder, sir. Someone must hold Victor, or he will panic again.”
“Clemons,” Deverill said sharply, but Charley was already on her feet and had run to the gelding’s head.
“I can steady him if only the others don’t spook him again.”
Deverill looked at Daintry, who nodded in reply to the unspoken question. He said, “Clemons, Ned, see to the others.”
“My lord,” Dewy Warleggan said, standing his ground when the two passed him, “we would not have harmed them, I swear it.”
“As we saw,” Deverill said grimly.
“He’s cutting no whids, your lordship,” another man said, and Daintry saw he was the one who had been so vocal earlier. “Happen we seen there was a damber in the ruffmans, and since we’d no yen t’ deck the chates, we’d ha’ binged a wast but for the rhino we was promised. A cuffin can’t buy peck nor poplars without rhino in his drawers, m’lord, and times is hard.”
Penthorpe said indignantly, “What’s the fellow talking about? Dashed if I can understand a word of it!”
Deverill looked at Dewy Warleggan, but it was Nicca who answered, “He says it warn’t altogether pound dealing, m’lord, which is fact, since the cove what hired us would ha’ seen us swing had we’d done all he wanted us to do, and we’d ha’ given him the bag but for the gelt he flung about so generous.”
Daintry, still bewildered, looked quizzically at Deverill, who smiled at her and said, “Their principal is something of a scoundrel and since they don’t wish to be hanged, they would have abandoned him altogether if he had not paid them regularly.”
There was another sharp crack of thunder, and Victor reared, catching Charley off her guard. Nicca leapt to help her hold the gelding, and Deverill lowered his pistol. He looked from one to another of the would-be villains, then said, “What was the plan for today? In plain English, if you please.”
Dewy Warleggan said, “We was told the bit lass there”—he pointed at Melissa—“had run off, and we was to find her but not to bring her straight back, only to keep her safe hid. One of the stable lads had been made to say where she was likely to be, and if Miss Charley was with her, we was to keep her, too, and to keep an eye out for Lady Daintry to show.” He licked his lips. “We’d never have harmed her ladyship, my lord, not for nothing, but like Nicca says, times is real hard and money right scarce.”
“A cove prefers to be rhinocerical,” the vocal man muttered.
Nicca nodded, stroking Victor. The gelding’s eyes were wide, but it stood quietly despite recurrent rumbling outside.
Dewy said pensively, “Doubt you’ll credit it, sir, when I tell you who it was, but—”
“Not now,” Deverill said curtly. “Just tell me this. Are you lot responsible for firing upon Lady Daintry’s coach, inciting the riots at Mulberry mine, and shooting at me?”
Dewy grimaced. “I’d as lief not discuss the mine, sir. That were a separate matter and had naught to do with… with the cove I spoke of. Nicca did fire at you, but never to do harm, and he told him you was too quick for him both times. As to the rest, he never said the old griffin would be in the coach that day, nor Lady Daintry neither, just that we’d find easy pickings if we robbed it and he wouldn’t cry none if them inside was killed. Think he meant them to be,” Dewy added, “but he never said as much, and we lobbed off soon as we seen who it was inside. The cove’s summat of a basket scrambler, your lordship, if you take my meaning.”
Deverill nodded and Daintry, who had followed the conversation without much difficulty said suddenly, “Are you the same men who attacked Lord Deverill in London, then?”
Dewy shook his head. “Ain’t never been to London, nor Nicca neither, but Sir—” He broke off, caught Deverill’s eye, and went on, “That is, the cove I was amentioning might ha’ hired someone else to do it. He’s no friend of yours, sir,” he added, “but we’ve no grief with you, none at all. Fact is, you, my Lord Jervaulx, and Lord St. Merryn are the only gentry we know who be trying to get the mines opened again. We don’t bite off our own feet, so to speak, but we do what we can to earn a bit here and there without we commit murder.”
“So you are willing to do what the man tells you, but only when it does not offend your conscience, is that it?”
Nicca grinned at him. “That’s it. We work for the sheep-biter when it’s to our good, m’lord, but we ain’t scoundrels nor we ain’t madmen, and that be the truth of it.”
Penthorpe said suddenly, “What are we going to do with them, Gideon? We’ve got to get young Melissa home to her mother.”
“No!” Charley cried. “You can’t take her back!”
Melissa stood pressed against the wall beside Daintry, her eyes wide, her lips parted as she took in the scene before her.
Deverill looked at Daintry and said quietly, “We would do better to discuss this matter without so great an audience, I think, but I leave it to you to decide what must be done with these fellows, my dear. You were their victim, after all.”
Penthorpe said angrily, “I’m for hanging the lot of them. Surely, you don’t mean to let them go, Gideon!”
Deverill said, “Well, Daintry?”
Daintry, seeing that all the men were watching her, some of them most anxiously, said, “They did not hurt us, sir, and I do not believe they can be very villainous at heart, but to be sure, if they are the ones who fired upon our coach—”
“But missed, mum, by a mile,” Nicca pointed out quickly, “and Cub there, he couldn’t move his dexter wing for a sennight after. Old griffin plugged him neat as wax.”
“That is perfectly true,” she said. She looked at Deverill, expecting him to decide, but when he waited, the picture of patience, she knew he truly meant to abide by her decision. “Let them go, sir. I am sure they will mend their ways.”
“We will,” Dewy said, adding more hesitantly, “I say, mum, will you … that is, you won’t say nothing to Feok, will you? What I meant is … well, Feok is …” He spread his hands.
“I will engage to say nothing if you will promise to help your brother on his farm—cheerfully, mind you—until the mine opens again or until you find some quite legal occupation that you like better. Is that a bargain, Dewy?”
“Aye, mum, it is.” He glanced sheepishly at Nicca, who only grinned at him. A few minutes later the men and their horses had gone, and Daintry realized she had not heard thunder for some time. The light outside the cave opening was brighter, too.
Penthorpe snorted in disgust. “Well, they’re gone,” he said, “but I still say we ought to have hanged the lot for scaring poor Susan clean out of her mind, as I have no doubt they have done. Since they are gone, however, at least we can be getting Miss Melissa back to her straightaway.”
“No,” Charley said, “you don’t understand!”
“Not another word,” Deverill said sternly. “Ned, Clemons, take the other horses outside, and be sure those villains have departed. We’ll be with you in a moment. And now, Charley,” he added when they had gone, “you have ventured very near the edge of what I will tolerate, so I advise you to tread with care, but if there is something you believe you must say, say it now.”
Charley looked at him, her mouth open, men closed it and looked down at the ground, nibbling her lower lip.
Daintry kept silent.
No one else spoke.
Finally, Charley said quietly, “We left a note for Aunt Susan, sir, so she won’t be scared. W-we thought
it would help her if Melissa ran away, because then she could run away too. If Melissa goes back now …” She could not finish, and Daintry saw that there were tears in her eyes.
Penthorpe started to speak, but Deverill silenced him with a gesture and said, “We are going to ride to Seacourt Head with you, Charley, and we will see to it that matters are properly explained so no one gets hurt. Will you trust us to do that?”
She nodded, but Daintry could see her reluctance and hoped Deverill could keep his word. Knowing he would find it easier to do so if he understood exactly what sorts of things Seacourt was capable of doing, she knew she had to make a clean breast of it at last, but when he commanded the others to ride ahead and drew Shadow alongside Cloud, she found she had no idea how to begin. Even if she did, she was by no means certain she could tell him the things that would matter the most. The storm had passed, and although there were still dark clouds drifting overhead, the sky behind them was blue again, and the thunder had stopped.
“Are you all right?” Gideon asked quietly.
“Yes, of course, though I suppose you mean to scold me for riding after them without getting someone else to come with me.”
“I have no right to chide you, but I’d advise you to take care what you say to Penthorpe. He does have that right.”
She swallowed, looking ahead to where the others were riding. “I didn’t know he was in Cornwall,” she said.
Gideon chuckled. “He hadn’t quite got around to riding to Tuscombe Park, you see. It seems he put off turning across the moor until he suddenly found himself at Deverill Court.”
She nodded, turned to him impulsively, then turned back and stared straight ahead.
Gideon watched her for a few minutes. Then, gently, he said, “What is it, my dear? I’ve seen that look on too many young soldiers’ faces, when they have something they are burning to say but are afraid of the consequences. I have already said you have nothing to fear from me.”
She looked at him, saw the warmth in his eyes, and said suddenly, “I’m not afraid of you, only of what you will think of me, but that’s foolishness, for there are other, much more important matters at stake.”
“Then suppose you tell me. I promise you, nothing you can say will alter what I think of you.”
The warm note in his voice brought heat to her cheeks, but suddenly she found that she could talk to him as to herself, and the words flowed from her. She told him everything that Geoffrey had done to Susan. Then she told him about the night of the storm, and when she finished, and saw his lips pressed tightly together, she feared for a single, brief moment that he would blame her. Then he looked at her, and the fear melted away.
“Is that why you pulled away from me that one night?”
She nodded. “I-I couldn’t help it. The memory came before I knew such terrors were lying in wait for me.”
“We have some talking to do, some things to straighten out,” he said, “but first I want a chat with Sir Geoffrey Seacourt.”
They had reached the drive, and it was only minutes before they let themselves into the house. Daintry was surprised that there were no servants to greet them, but glad, too, knowing it would be best if the day’s events did not become food for gossip.
She led the way to the drawing room, certain that at that hour they must find Susan there, but the others were close behind her. As she drew near the doors, she saw that they were slightly ajar, and she heard angry voices. Motioning for the others to be silent, she crept nearer in time to hear her sister say, “I don’t believe you, Geoffrey, and if you do not instantly tell me where you have hidden Melissa, I will kill Catherine.”
Twenty-four
SEACOURT SAID ANGRILY, “DAMN it, Susan, put that pistol down at once. You don’t know what you’re doing, and it could very well go off by accident! I tell you, Melissa ran away. I found a note from her and didn’t tell you, because I had hoped to have her back before you realized she had gone.”
“I don’t believe you,” Susan snapped. “You would not be sitting quietly here if you did not know where she was, Geoffrey. I know you have taken her to torture me because I asked you to send Catherine away, and if you do not instantly bring her back, I promise you, I will shoot Catherine.”
“But damn it, I tell you, I cannot…”
Daintry, peeking through the narrow opening, was able to see Susan. She stood behind the chair in which Catherine sat, holding a pistol to Catherine’s head. Susan’s hand shook, and Catherine sat very still. Daintry could not see Geoffrey.
She felt Gideon beside her and reached out a hand to keep him from pushing the door open before she realized he had no such intention. Glancing up, she saw that over her head he, too, was peering through the opening, while behind him, Penthorpe danced with impatience. Charley and Melissa stood beside him, their eyes wide with fright, and Daintry knew that all three must have heard Susan’s words as clearly as she had. For once she was grateful for Melissa’s habit of silence, and she nodded approval when Charley put an arm around the younger girl. Now there was only Penthorpe to worry her, but though he was clearly itching to intervene, he seemed no more likely than Gideon to make a hasty movement. Having help from men accustomed to looking before they leapt was clearly an excellent thing.
Geoffrey said, “I command you to put down that gun, Susan. If you do anything to harm Catherine, I will have you clapped into Bedlam. As your husband, I have that power, you know, and in fact, if you actually should be so demented as to shoot her, you will certainly be hanged for it.”
“No, she won’t, Geoffrey,” Daintry said, opening the doors just wide enough so that he could see her, and Gideon behind her.
“What the devil are you doing here!” Seacourt demanded.
“I came to visit my sister. Why else should I come? Oh, don’t lower that pistol, Susan,” she said in the same calm tone she had used before. “Indeed, I can think of no good reason not to shoot her, for you would then be rid of all your troubles at once, you know.” She heard movement behind her and sent up a silent prayer that Penthorpe would not show himself just yet, or allow either of the girls to do so.
Seacourt said, “Good God, don’t encourage her, Daintry! Are you as crazed as she is?”
“Oh, Susan is not insane at all, Geoffrey,” Daintry said, forcing a smile. “Don’t you remember what Lord Jervaulx said at the Assizes? My dear sir, if your wife shoots your mistress in your presence, the courts will assume—as indeed they must, by law—that she acted under your command and control. Therefore, it is not Susan but you who will hang, which is exactly as it should be.” His look of dismayed fury was nearly enough to stir her to tell him exactly what she thought of him, but Gideon’s hand on her arm recalled her to the moment, and she said quietly, hoping to calm her sister, “What brought this about, Susan?”
“He has hidden Melissa to punish me for demanding that he send Catherine away. Oh, Daintry, he has begun to behave as if she were his wife and I one of their servants. Indeed, he gave the house servants leave last night and ordered me to serve her last night in their place, and in front of Melissa, too! I told him I had had enough.” She gestured toward a vivid bruise on her cheek. “This was my reward then, but now …” She hefted the pistol again. “Where is Melissa, Geoffrey?”
Catherine spoke for the first time, her tone a near whisper. “Please, Susan, this is not my fault. Why do you threaten me?”
“Be silent,” Susan said through her teeth. “You came sneaking into my home to seduce Geoffrey with your cozening ways. Mincing around, pretending to be helpful, but in fact taking over my husband, my house, and my child. You made a mockery of my marriage and taunted me in front of Melissa and my servants. It was by your suggestion that Geoffrey made me a prisoner here and has forbidden me to go anywhere with my own child. Indeed, if the truth were known, you are no doubt the reason Melissa is gone now, so do not dare to tell me it is none of your doing.”
“You are demented,” Seacourt said. Then, glaring at Daintry,
he said, “And you are, too, if you think any court in the land will believe this to be my doing. There are witnesses, you idiotic girl. You are one yourself, and Catherine and Deverill would have to speak against Susan as well.”
“Catherine will be dead,” Daintry said, “so what she might do does not signify, and if you think I will be a witness on your behalf, you have windmills in your head.” Seeing her sister’s hand falter and knowing Susan could not maintain what must be pure bravado much longer, she racked her brain for a clincher.
It came from an unexpected source. “You have no witnesses to support you, Seacourt,” Gideon said calmly. “I certainly could not swear that you were not responsible for this.”
“Would you lie in your father’s court, Deverill?” Seacourt said with a sneer. “Somehow I doubt that. You, sir, are burdened with too much integrity to lie in any court of law.”
“It would not be a lie,” Gideon said. “You are responsible for everything that is happening here.”
“That you are,” Penthorpe said, pushing past Gideon and Daintry to confront Seacourt. “To stand up in a courtroom and say that Susan acted under your mastery would be as simple as breathing, Seacourt, for that is precisely what she is doing. Dash it all, she ain’t a murderess! She’s as gentle and kind as they make ’em, but you’ve dashed well pushed her to this, and so I’ll tell anyone who will listen. But it won’t come to that. Put down the gun, Susan. I’m taking you away from here.”
She looked at him blankly but lowered the pistol. When Seacourt reached to take it, Penthorpe said sharply, “Leave it, you cretin, or by God, you’ll answer to me!”
Seacourt stiffened. “You forget, Penthorpe, that my wife is no concern of yours. You will not take her anywhere unless you want to be landed with a suit for criminal conversation. And don’t think I would not sue, for I’d take great delight in it. Susan, for the last time, give me that gun.”
She looked uncertainly at him, then at Penthorpe.
Daintry said, “Don’t do it. Geoffrey, leave her alone. She is going with us, and this time you will not get her back.”
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