by Joan Smith
They all listened tensely. The whispering of the boughs mingled with the sounds of the carriage. Nothing else. No hoof beats of a highwayman’s mount, no jingling of harness, no warning shot. “You’re frightening us to death, Beau,” Esther scolded.
“No, really! Didn’t you hear it?” he asked. He had his ear to the open window now, straining for a sound.
It was enough to set Esther’s heart pounding, and Cathy was clinging to Beau’s sleeve like a limpet. Esther listened again and heard it. It sounded like an echo at first, the mere echo of hoofbeats. Someone was advancing along the road toward them, and she was struck with the cold certainty that it was the legendary Royal Scamp, Captain Johnnie. It had been madness to set out across infamous Hounslow Heath after dark.
It was true she had often said in jest that she would like to meet him. Who wouldn’t like to meet a folk hero imbued with an aura of glamour and a history that appealed to ladies of a romantic disposition? The sound of hoofbeats thundered nearer. There was no longer any doubt that a single rider was fast approaching; it remained only to see whether it was Captain Johnnie or someone else. When the shot rang out, they all jumped half a foot from the banquettes. Cathy squealed, and simultaneously the carriage slowed with a lurch.
Captain Johnnie had performed according to his accustomed role, then. He had shot off the driver’s hat. If he had killed him, the horses would have bolted instead of slackening pace. Esther was shaking like a blanc-manger. Her heart thumped against her rib cage—but at the bottom of all her fright, a spring of excitement coiled. She felt the way she felt when her hunter raced at high wood or wide water. There was danger, but not real fear for one’s life. It was an almost unbearable excitement, a tingling up the spine, a shiver along the scalp, and a roiling tumult inside.
“Beau, don’t try to be a hero,” she cautioned. “Just do whatever he says. They say he doesn’t hurt anyone if you do as he says. We don’t want to be shot.”
The carriage ground to a stop. “Under the carriage, facedown,” a peremptory voice commanded. This was another part of Captain Johnnie’s routine. He forced the driver under the carriage, to keep him from retaliating. The groom scrambled down from his perch without a word. The women looked to Beau for protection as the sound of Captain Johnnie’s boots advanced rapidly to the carriage door. He flung it open, and they gazed at the terror of the heath, the Royal Scamp, Captain Johnnie.
Though he had many imitators, there was no doubt in Esther’s mind that this was the genuine article. He looked the way a folk hero should look. The tunnel was all in darkness, but when he ordered them out, the carriage lamps gave enough illumination to show them his outline. He was a tall, straight young man with broad shoulders. Bright eyes glittered behind the mask, and his jaw was square. A fall of white Mechlin lace was at his throat. He removed his hat with a theatrical gesture and bowed low, but with his gun pointed unwaveringly at Beau. His hair was as black as the jet stallion chomping the grass behind him. Captain Johnnie smiled a rakish smile, revealing a flash of white teeth.
“We haven’t much money,” Beau said, “just this,” and he drew his purse from his pocket.
The highwayman’s authoritative voice commanded, “Open it.”
Beau poured a few gold coins into Captain Johnnie’s outstretched hand. “Your watch, milord,” the captain ordered.
Beau looked mutinous. When he made no move to comply, Esther caught his eye and nodded. He unfastened the watch, but reluctantly, and handed it over.
“Under the carriage, facedown,” the highwayman ordered Beau.
“I’ll be damned if I will!” Beau declared, and took a pace forward. Captain Johnnie smiled a menacing smile.
For a dreadful moment, it seemed Beau was going to be foolish. Esther’s heart was in her mouth. How brave Beau was! She was impressed with his daring, but really, this was no time to flaunt it. The two men stood glaring mutinously at each other. Captain Johnnie’s finger moved on his pistol.
“For God’s sake, Beau, do what he says,” Esther implored.
Captain Johnnie leveled his pistol at Beau’s heart. Beau gave a frustrated glance at the ladies and got down to climb under the carriage without further ado.
Then the Royal Scamp turned his gaze to the ladies. His voice was low and silk-smooth. “And now for the ladies.” He smiled, speaking softly. His predatory smile caused the hair on Esther’s arms to lift in fright.
“I only have three shillings,” Cathy said nervously, and shoved them at him.
“Keep them, my sweet.” He laughed. “But I’ll have your ring, darling.”
She pulled her pearl ring from her finger and placed it in his palm. “Now you, milady,” he said, and turned his attention to Esther. She knew he had seen the locket at her neck. It wasn’t worth much money, though it had sentimental value. She unfastened it and placed it in his palm. His fingers brushed hers intimately, then closed over the locket. It had a few garnets, which he perhaps mistook for something more valuable in the dim light. “Money, my dear? Alms for Allah,” he suggested, in the crooning voice of a lover.
She opened her purse and gave him her money, approximately five guineas. “You travel light!”
“That’s all I have,” she assured him. He pocketed the money and jewelry.
“Ah, no, my lovely. You have ruby, wine-sweet lips. I’ll have a taste of them, to warm my long, cold night.”
He swept her into his arms, the pistol still in his right hand, and his masked face descended. It was warm, despite his talk of cold nights. His lips were more than warm, they burned a ruthless kiss on hers. Just one fierce, hot, sweet kiss. Then he stood back, again removed his hat, and bowed formally. “Many thanks from Captain Johnnie,” he said, and laughed. His horse, well trained, sidled closer.
Through a mist of terror Esther noticed the horse had a white blaze on its nose. Captain Johnnie put his toe in the stirrup, threw a leg over the horse’s back and disappeared into the night. The thunder of hooves thinned to an echo and was swallowed up in the spinney. An owl hooted in the sudden silence.
“He didn’t kiss me!” Cathy exclaimed, pouting. “What was it like, Miss Lowden?”
Esther threw her head back and laughed. She wanted to believe it was only relief that he was gone, but a surge of exultant joy hinted at remembered pleasure. “It was like wine. No, make that brandy. It was heady. Good gracious!” she exclaimed, as Beau began shuffling out from under the carriage. “Are you all right?”
They helped him and the groom out and brushed them off. Beau was obviously disgusted and perhaps unhappy with his own unheroic behavior. “If I had been alone, I wouldn’t tamely have crawled under that rig!” he said through clenched teeth.
“Don’t be ridiculous! What other choice did you have?” Esther replied. “I was afraid you were going to refuse, and have us all killed.”
“Well, now you’ve seen him.” Beau scowled. “I hope you’re satisfied. Brandy, indeed!’!
“But I loathe brandy,” Esther assured him.
“And you, Cathy! You sounded disappointed that you were spared.”
“Oh, no, I’m glad,” she said, but a blind man could see she was miffed. There was resentment in the look she gave Esther and in the petulant way she tossed her shoulders.
Esther pulled herself back to propriety and said, “You’re fortunate. It was horrid!” She kept her face drawn into a frown till they were back in the carriage, continuing their way eastward to the Lowden Arms.
The attack had to be discussed for the first mile, but as they continued homeward, silence fell. It was late, and they were tired from their day in London. Esther settled quietly into her dark corner and smiled softly to herself. Captain Johnnie’s attack had been all a maiden could hope for, but best of all, it meant Joshua could no longer hint Beau was the Royal Scamp. As though anyone in his right mind could possibly believe such a thing. Perhaps there was a little jealousy mixed up in Joshua’s charge. Her smile, unseen in the shadows, wore an air of complacenc
y.
When they finally reached the Lowden Arms, it was ten o’clock, and Esther knew her aunt would be on the fidgets, worrying about her. She was half embarrassed about the escapade, and said to Beau, “What do you say we keep quiet about our attack? I don’t want everyone quizzing me and asking a million questions.”
“Why, Esther! You astonish me!” Beau laughed. “You are the only local lady to have been honored by the rogue, and you want to stifle the story!”
“Just for tonight. I can’t face all the questions. Officer Clifford ...” Her head ached to think of it.
“Why don’t you and Cathy slip in the back way? I’ll speak to Officer Clifford. He really must be told, you know.”
“You’re right. You make the report. I’m all for an early night in my bed. I feel as though I’d been beaten by an army.”
Esther slipped Cathy in through the kitchen and up the back stairs. Now that it was over and she was free of the chit, Esther’s mood lightened, and she found herself giggling like a schoolgirl as they tiptoed down the hall to their rooms.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she whispered to Cathy.
“Probably not till the ball. Beau is angry with me. He’ll make me stay in my room tomorrow, I know he will. You’ll recognize me at the ball, Miss Lowden, in my shepherdess’s outfit. Perhaps you will stop by my room, to lighten the boredom of the day.”
“Unfortunately I’ll be spending most of the day at Heath Abbey helping Joshua.”
Cathy gave her an arch look. “Beau won’t like that! I shall tease him, to make him jealous. I bet he’s been flirting his head off while I wasn’t here to watch him.” The eyes that regarded Esther wore a crafty, curious light.
“You have a poor opinion of your brother! I assure you there is nothing between us.”
Cathy stared in disbelief. “Don’t you like him? Everyone likes Beau. He speaks very warmly of you, Miss Lowden.”
“We are just friends,” Esther said, and left, rather annoyed with the question.
She stopped to let Lady Brown know she was home. Her aunt exclaimed at her lateness and questioned Esther for ten minutes. As Beau was telling the tale of Captain Johnnie’s attack, Esther decided to reveal it, and gave a toned-down account of the interlude.
“Just what I would have expected from an outing with the Fletchers,” Lady Brown said. “Joshua would never mismanage an affair so badly. They seem very common, Esther.”
“Yes, they do. I’m rather sorry I asked them to the ball.”
“And if they settle in the neighborhood, we shall have to continue knowing them. But we shall taper off the acquaintance rather quickly.”
“Yes, indeed, Auntie,” Esther replied ruefully. “After all, we don’t want to be on terms of equality with someone who runs an inn.”
“No, indeed! Oh, you are joking.”
“Just laughing at myself. I’m going straight to bed. Good night, Auntie.”
Before she had her parcels unwrapped and put away, there was a tap at Esther’s door. She opened it to find not only Officer Clifford but a very overwrought Joshua Ramsay. “Esther, are you all right?” He came storming in, half-scolding and half-worried for her.
“Mr. Fletcher reported the incident, I see. I’m fine, Joshua.”
Officer Clifford waited his turn, and when the other two were finished, he spoke to Esther. “It seems you are wrong about Captain Johnnie’s being an insider, Miss Lowden. All your other suspects were here at the inn the whole time. Mr. Meecham and—Mr. Ramsay.”
Joshua scowled. “I am a suspect as well, am I?”
“It was Mr. Buck Ramsay we had discussed previously,” Clifford told him, with a wink over Joshua’s shoulder to assure her he was the soul of discretion.
“Buck!” Joshua looked shocked, but soon burst into raucous laughter. “What arrant nonsense. You might as well claim the vicar to be his helper. Buck Ramsay—where did this absurd notion come from?”
“It shouldn’t be completely ignored,” Clifford said. “There are a few points that suggest Ramsay.” He enumerated them to Joshua, who still scoffed the idea to scorn.
Clifford shook his head doubtfully. “We can eliminate Mr. Fletcher. I know he was your prime suspect, Mr. Ramsay.”
Joshua cocked his head at a quizzing angle. “Can we? He might have arranged this attack to divert suspicion from himself.”
“No,” Esther said firmly. “He might have subjected me to such an ordeal, but not his precious sister. He dotes on her and keeps her wrapped in cotton wool. I am convinced he’d never play such a stunt on her.”
Clifford worried his lips. “The mysterious sister— I still haven’t got a peek at her.”
“She’ll be at my ball tomorrow night.”
“Aye, in a mask.”
“And a straw bonnet,” Esther said, and fell into a fit of giggles as she considered her day.
Clifford left, and Joshua remained behind a moment, with the door carefully open. “What’s the joke?” he asked.
“No joke. It wasn’t funny at all. I had a perfectly wretched day, Joshua.”
He looked insensibly pleased to hear it but spoke of other things. “What foolishness have you been telling Clifford about Buck?”
“It’s not nonsense. He’s in a perfect position to enact the role of Johnnie.”
“So am I, for that matter.”
She looked at him askance. “I know it.” Their eyes met. She saw an angry flash in Joshua’s and looked away. It seemed suddenly ludicrous that she should suspect him.
Joshua scowled. “I’ll be glad tomorrow night when this is all over.”
“What do you mean? Nothing will happen tomorrow night. You’ve taken every precaution, haven’t you?”
“I don’t think I’ve overlooked any detail. I’ll expect to see you at the Abbey in the morning, Esther. If you feel safe to visit me, that is?” The resentment was still there, burning in him. “Perhaps you’d like to bring Fletcher along to protect you?”
“No, he wouldn’t come without Cathy. I’ll take my chances that you’re the Scamp,” she said, and smiled.
“A rag-mannered chit, is she?”
Esther hunched her shoulders. “She’s young. Perhaps her officer of the Guards will rub off the rough edges, I hear she has attached one.”
“She’s a fast worker—faster than some.”
Esther read a hint that she was less speedy in bringing him up to scratch, and was swift to retaliate. “Perhaps she’s more eager to marry than I am.”
Joshua gave her a frowning look and left.
Chapter Thirteen
Esther enjoyed her day at the Abbey, welcoming Joshua’s guests and arranging final details for the ball. Many of his relatives were known to her, but his friends were not. She was gratified to learn they were all elegant, fashionable people of good sense and refinement. How fortunate Josh was, having a toe in London society to relieve the tedium of the country. His wife would share that life. Her interest soared to new heights when the Chalmers party arrived. She examined Lady Margaret, who examined her with a similarly alert eye.
Not so young! was Esther’s first mental remark. Not so pretty, was the second. But not an antidote by any means. She was tall and elegantly slender, with brown hair and friendly brown eyes, and, of course, an invisible dowry of twenty-five thousand pounds, which was not to be ignored. Esther offered to escort Lady Margaret to her chamber, to allow a longer study of the competition.
“The Abbey is lovely,” Lady Margaret said, looking over the banister down to the hall as they mounted the staircase.
“And the park, too—charming. I understand you are a close neighbor, Miss Lowden? Joshua has often spoken of you.”
Obviously he had not “often” spoken without having been frequently in Lady Margaret’s company. Esther felt a burning sensation in her chest. She smiled archly and said, “Then you have the advantage of me, ma’am. He has not told me much about you.”
“Oh, there is little to tell.” She
smiled. “There is no adventure in my life. We have been friends forever. Till now we have only met in London. My family lives quite far up north.”
Esther correctly interpreted the adventure of her own life to refer to the Lowden Arms. She was annoyed that Lady Margaret knew about it, and peered for signs of disapproval. Joshua’s inviting the Chalmers to the Abbey for the first time assumed new importance. Was it a precursor to an offer? Before Esther could pose any leading questions, Lady Margaret began to speak of the Royal Scamp.
“Do you think he’ll show up at the ball?” she asked, eyes sparkling in anticipation. One could certainly not accuse Lady Margaret of a lack of spirit.
“I shouldn’t think so. The heath is his bailiwick.”
They entered the bedchamber. “What a lovely room! And what a view!” Lady Margaret hastened to the window to gaze out on the park, where another black carriage was just rolling along through the trees. “Isn’t it exciting, coming to a country ball? One senses something in the air—a tingle that is lacking in London, where balls are a mere commonplace, all the same, meeting the same people forever.”
“Yes, charming,” Esther agreed, but she knew what caused that tingle. It was the knowledge that nearby lurked the infamous Captain Johnnie. She was tempted to tell Lady Margaret of her adventure, but decided against it, as Joshua had kept mum. The ladies chatted a few moments. Each was a little forlorn to discover the other was unexceptionable. A trifle provincial in her manners was the worst Lady Margaret could think. A little older than I would have thought and less pretty was Esther’s verdict,
As the day was fine, Joshua had a picnic lunch served outdoors, after which the guests roamed around the Abbey, admiring the monks’ walk, the gardens, and the chapel. Esther and her aunt returned to the inn to prepare for the ball and the formal dinner that would precede it. To add to the evening’s entertainment, normal evening wear was the dress for dinner, with a change to costume before the ball.
Lady Margaret was slightly relieved to see it was Lady Brown and not Miss Lowden who took the hostess’s chair at the foot of the table. Nothing was absolutely settled with Miss Lowden, then. But as the meal continued, she noticed Joshua’s eyes roved more frequently down the board to Miss Lowden than to herself. Miss Lowden looked quite pretty in a mint-green gown. She noticed the lack of diamonds at her throat. The girl wouldn’t win a second look in London. Her manners were pretty, though. She conversed in a lively but not pert way with both her companions.
