by Mary Nichols
After leaving the coachworks he had gone to explain to the Minister why Miss Gilpin was not with him and what he thought had happened.
‘My dear fellow,’ Edward had said. ‘Unless we can prove that Lord Falsham has broken the law, the Portuguese authorities cannot, and will not, arrest him. Indeed, we cannot even accuse him of abduction unless we know without a shadow of doubt that he is holding Miss Gilpin against her will. That did not appear to be the case when he brought her to the ball.’
‘She was hoping to speak to you and ask you to help her, but she could not escape the earl’s attention long enough to seek you out.’
‘That may be so, but my wife invited her to call the following day and she did not.’
‘No, because she had run away and found work and lodgings disguised as a boy, which goes to show how desperate she was.’
‘She may have done so again.’
‘I do not believe it. She was lucky the first time, but it is unlikely she would be so fortunate a second time, even if it were her intention, which I doubt. The last time I spoke to her and told her of your invitation she was happy to accept. I intend to find her and bring her to you and you shall hear that from her own lips.’
‘Very well, but take care. Do not break the law yourself or you will be the one in trouble and not his lordship. He has powerful friends in Lisbon.’
‘You will do nothing to help?’
‘There is nothing I can do, except perhaps invite his lordship and Miss Gilpin to any social activities we may be arranging. If he brings her, then I will take the opportunity to have a private word with her. I can do no more.’
Alex thanked him and left. It was late in the day and he had eaten nothing since breakfast. Perhaps a meal would stimulate his brain. He went in search of Davy and they went to an eating house not far from the lodgings he had taken.
‘I am at an impasse,’ he told Davy, after learning from him that the earl had not left the villa all day and the only people he had seen had been the maidservant, the gardener and Mr Grosswaite who had arrived
in the middle of the afternoon. ‘I want to hit out at something, preferably the Earl of Falsham, but I am afraid if I do he will move her again. And it is not an action that would be approved by the Gentlemen.’
‘I’ll do it for you, if you like,’ Davy said.
‘No, certainly not. He will have you clapped into prison for assault and I wouldn’t be able to help you. I must think. What is his weakest point?’
‘His gambling and his shortage of blunt, I should say.’
‘You are undoubtedly right, but I could not raise Miss Gilpin’s fortune and that is what it would take, though if I had it, I would certainly pay up and not mind.’ He noted Davy’s smile at that, but decided not to comment. He had never been inclined to wear his heart on his sleeve, not since Letitia had disappointed him and he was not going to start now.
‘You play a good hand of cards,’ Davy said. ‘Better than his lordship, I’ll wager.’
‘You are surely not suggesting I should engage in gambling with the earl? For what stakes? Miss Gilpin herself?’
‘Why not?’
‘He wouldn’t do it and I could not be sure of winning.’
‘Yes, you could. I learned a thing or two when I was in the service. I could show you.’
‘Cheat, you mean? I have never done such a thing in my life. It is dishonourable.’
Davy shrugged. ‘You could call him out, demand satisfaction.’
‘He will not duel with me. He thinks I am not a gentleman.’
‘Tell him you are. There ain’t a man in the kingdom can best you with a sword.’
‘I haven’t used my sword in anger for two years. It is almost rusty with disuse.’
‘No, it ain’t. I keep it sharp and shiny, like I do everything of yours.’
‘I know, Davy, I know.’ He sighed. ‘But he would have the choice of weapons and he might choose pistols. I do not think I could deliberately shoot one of my own countrymen and supposing he kills me—how will that benefit Miss Gilpin?’
Davy conceded it would not.
‘There is nothing for it but to kidnap Miss Gilpin and hold her fast until a ship arrives going to England.’
‘You said you would not do that.’
‘I know I did, but desperate ills demand desperate medicine. I am done with prevaricating. I have been commissioned by Henry Gilpin to bring his daughter home and, by hook or by crook, that is what I intend to do.’
‘We have to find her first.’
‘You do not have to do anything, Davy. If I fall foul of Portuguese law, then so be it, but I won’t involve you.’
‘Begging your pardon, my lord, you cannot manage on your own and I won’t be cast aside. You need me.’
Alex laughed. ‘Very well. It will have to be done before the Vixen sails because he’ll have her on board in the shake of a lamb’s tail as soon as tide and wind are favourable and I do not intend for her or either of us to be carried all the way to India.’
‘I am much relieved to hear it, my lord. I have no fancy to go there again either, hot, disease-ridden place that it is. I near died of a fever the last time I was there.’
‘I have no wish to go myself,’ Alex said and was thoughtful for a moment. ‘He might have taken her on board already. Resourceful as she is, it would be impossible for her to escape from there without help. I am going to see Captain Brookside. I shall tell him the truth and he will have to make up his mind whose side he is on. You go back to watching the earl.’
They parted and Alex walked down to the harbour and hailed a boat to take him out to the Vixen.
There was a skeleton crew on board, most of whom were below decks, but a couple of sailors were on watch. They touched their forelocks as he climbed aboard. ‘Where is Captain Brookside?’ he asked, hoping the captain was on board and not ashore.
‘In his cabin, Lieutenant.’
Alex made his way to the cabin, knocked and entered. Brookside was sitting at his desk surrounded by charts. He was in his shirt sleeves and without stock or cravat.
‘Lieutenant Fox,’ he said, refilling his glass from the brandy bottle which was half-empty. ‘You might as well go away again. The damned port authorities have found something else wrong with the cargo. We shall miss the next tide.’
Alex allowed himself a secret smile. Edward was doing all he dared to help him. ‘I am sorry to hear that,’ he said. ‘Have the passengers come aboard?’
‘No, they will come when I send word we are about to sail, though God knows when that will be. Why do you interest yourself in their affairs, Lieutenant?’
‘Not Lieutenant,’ he said. ‘You have addressed me incorrectly. I am Captain Alexander Carstairs.’ He watched the man’s mouth drop open and smiled. ‘I am also the Marquis of Foxlees. If you require proof, then no doubt the British Minister will supply it.’
‘Then what in hell are you doing aboard my ship?’
‘I have been commissioned by Mr Henry Gilpin to rescue his daughter from the clutches of the Earl of Falsham, who had her kidnapped in London and brought unwillingly on board your ship.’
‘Kidnapped,’ he echoed. ‘Be damned to that for a tale.’
‘You have heard Miss Gilpin say more than once that she had been brought aboard against her will, but you chose to ignore her. That makes you an accessory to a criminal offence, Captain Brookside.’
‘It has nothing to do with me, Lieutenant. I do only what I am paid to do.’
‘Captain Carstairs, if you please. I believe I am your senior.’ Alex was not too sure of that, but it did no harm for Brookside to think it. ‘Have you been paid?
‘Captain Carstairs, then. The arrangements made between me and his lordship are nothing to do with you.’
‘Ah, then I assume you have not been paid. You are acting on a promise.’ Alex gave him a disarming smile. ‘I do not envy you trying to get blood from a stone. The Earl of Falsham is counting on Miss Gilpin’s father coming up trumps. He is going to be vastly disappointed, if I have my way.’ He paused to look at the captain, who had emptied the glass of brandy down his throat and was reaching for the bottle. ‘If you wish to redeem yourself in the eyes of the law, you will co-operate with me. The consequences of not doing so...’ He stopped to allow the Captain to think about it.
‘What would you have me do?’ he asked after a long pause.
‘Do you know where Lord Falsham is holding Miss Gilpin?’
‘That I do not. I have not seen either of them since the night of the Minister’s ball.’
‘If you do hear where she is, you will appraise me of it immediately. And you will not sail with Miss Gilpin on board.’
‘I must take advantage of wind and tide as soon as these dammed harbour clerks admit there is nothing wrong with my bill of lading.’
‘You will send for me at once if that is likely to happen. I will not, of course, be sailing with you and neither will my man, Davy Locke.’ He paused. ‘Unless Miss Gilpin is on board when you sail, in which case, I shall take over the ship and we will return to London and English justice. Is that understood?’
‘Yes, my lord. It shall be as you say.’
‘And do not go bleating to Lord Falsham about our little talk. He will not help you. And I shall cite that as evidence of your complicity if the matter comes to court.’ And with that he turned on his heel, made his way to the starboard entry and clambered down into the boat which he had instructed to wait for him.
* * *
Davy was waiting for him at the steps as he landed. ‘The earl has gone to the British Club,’ he told him. The British Club had been formed for ex-patriots, diplomats, naval officers and others with business in Portugal. Sometimes they arranged social evenings at which ladies were present, but for the most part it was used for drinking and gambling. Lord Falsham was no doubt indulging in his favourite vice and getting deeper into debt.
‘Good, we will have a look round the villa again while he is out, though I doubt he is holding her there.’
* * *
He was right. The villa was in darkness, the gardener asleep on straw in the stable and there was no one in the house. They climbed in through a window carelessly left open and found themselves in the room used by Charlotte; the chest and drawers were full of lady’s clothes, among them the gown she had worn at the ball. They left everything undisturbed and searched all the other rooms. There was no sign of Charlotte.
‘I think it is time I had further discourse with the Earl of Falsham,’ Alex said. ‘You keep an eye on Grosswaite. The earl relies on him to do his dirty work and he might lead you to her.’
They walked down as far as the Rossio together where Davy left him to go to the waterfront and a certain tavern Grosswaite was known to frequent. Alex found his way to the Club in the Rue Sao Bernardo.
The earl looked up when he saw Alex enter the room. Throwing down his cards, he strode over to him. ‘How dare you show yourself here, Lieutenant Fox?’ he demanded, his face so close to Alex’s he could smell the brandy on his breath. ‘What have you done with her?’
‘Done with whom, my lord?’ he asked coolly, though the man’s question had set up a string of others in his head. If Falsham did not know where she was, who did?
‘Miss Gilpin, my fiancée.’ The earl turned to the others in the room, all of whom had stopped their play to look and listen. ‘This man has abducted my fiancée, taken her from my protection. No doubt he is about to demand a ransom.’ He laughed harshly. ‘You will be unlucky there, Fox. Until I receive a certain communication from Mr Gilpin, the coffers are empty. Or were you planning to extract a ransom from him?’
Alex took a deep breath. ‘I have no idea where Miss Gilpin is, Lord Falsham, but I am heartily glad she has escaped your clutches.’
One or two of the onlookers murmured, ‘Shame.’ Others advised the earl to call the upstart out and demand satisfaction. Alex was quite prepared to take him on if he did. Being the one challenged, he could choose the weapons.
‘I would not lower myself to duel with anyone who is not a gentleman,’ the earl said, looking down his nose at Alex. ‘But I will offer a reward for anyone returning Miss Gilpin safely to me and ensuring this man is thrown in jail.’
Alex laughed. ‘If your coffers are empty, as you say, my lord, how will you pay a reward? Mr Gilpin again, I suppose.’
Falsham’s face turned purple and he took a step towards Alex, his hand raised, but seeing the implacable look on Alex’s face, he changed his mind and dropped it to his side. ‘I will not sully my hands with you.’ He went back to the card table. ‘I will give you twenty-four hours to bring her to me, Lieutenant Fox, or it will be the worse for you.’ He picked up his cards. ‘Let us continue with our game, gentlemen.’
For two pins Alex would have grabbed him by his collar and administered the beating he deserved, but he did not think that would help to find Charlotte, even if it did give him the satisfaction of seeing the man grovel. He turned on his heel and left.
The Earl of Falsham was as anxious to find Charlotte as he was and he had to find her first. But where to look? She wasn’t at the villa, she wasn’t at the Residency and she wasn’t at the coachworks. Who else had an interest in her fortune? Grosswaite? He set off to find Davy.
* * *
‘Grosswaite don’t know where she is,’ Davy told him. ‘And he’s in bad cess with the earl for not keeping a closer eye on her. He had a nasty bruise on his cheek. Feeling a mite resentful he was, blaming the servant at the villa for helping her to escape.’
‘Do you think she did?’
Davy, shrugged. ‘Could be. Apparently the girl was besotted by the Earl and didn’t like the competition by half.’
‘Davy you are a genius. Let us go and call on her while his lordship is busy with his cards. What’s her name?’
‘Madeleine Salvador.’
* * *
Charlotte felt ill, so weak she could not rise from the bed, let alone think of escape. She had been very sick and her head was so muzzy, trying to think made it ache. An idea would come into her brain, but before she could take a hold on it, it was gone to be replaced by another, equally ephemeral, and for long periods she drifted into unconsciousness.
Madeleine had left to return to the earl, leaving her in the care of her mother and brother. Madame brought her meals and took away her chamber pot, but that was the extent of her ministrations. She never saw Carlos, though she had heard him talking to his mother in the corridor outside. The old lady sniffed when Charlotte tried to tell her she was feeling unwell and required a doctor. She fell to wishing Madeleine would come back; at least she understood English.
She felt she was going to breathe her last, here in this tiny prison with no one to care whether she lived or died. Perhaps that was Madeleine’s intention, that she should die. Was she being poisoned? The food had tasted strange lately. She had refused the next meal, but she was already too weak to take it. And she was so very thirsty, her mouth felt like cold ashes. Madame made her a drink which tasted of oranges and she gulped it down greedily only to feel even worse. How long had she been here? She had lost track of time.
She had nightmares, dreadful nightmares full of dark figures who stood over her, but did nothing to help her. And there was the earl and Alex and her father all mixed up together and seas crashing on rocks and dead bodies swirling about and she knew one of the bodies was hers. And men and women shouting, though she could not understand what they were saying. She thrashed from side to side, trying to throw off the nightmare. There were hands holding her down. She struggled against them, crying out for Alex.
&nb
sp; ‘I am here.’ The voice was quietly soothing. ‘Do not fight me, please. Let yourself go.’
Let herself go? Did he mean don’t struggle to live any more? Was the voice coming from the other side of the grave? She was too tired to wrestle any longer and lay back, unable to open her eyes, unable to stir.
‘Dare we move her?’ Davy asked.
Alex was kneeling beside the bed stroking the matted hair from Charlotte’s face. She was bathed in sweat, the midshipman’s shirt she was wearing soaked and sticking to her body. He knew it had to come off and she must be bathed and put into clean linen. Even then he wondered if they might have arrived too late and she was dying. His heart caught in his throat. That this lovely, innocent girl should suffer because of the greed and lust of one man and the jealousy of a wicked woman, and his own failure to protect her was tearing his insides to shreds.
‘We cannot leave her here,’ he said, anguish in his voice.
‘Moving her might kill her.’
‘Leaving her here will kill her. They have deliberately made her ill.’
‘I did not.’ The voice came from behind them. Madeleine, who had brought them here, stood in the doorway, watching them. ‘It was my mother. After I left.’
The girl had not been in the villa when they returned there and it was dawn before she put in an appearance. Already angry and frustrated, Alex had not treated her kindly. He had threatened her with the law if she did not divulge where Miss Gilpin was. ‘Kidnap is a crime in anyone’s country,’ he had told her. ‘You will go to gaol unless you tell me this instant where she is.’ God help him, he had even raised his hand to her. He hadn’t hit her; he would never hit a woman, but the threat was enough to make her co-operate.
Alex turned angrily towards her. ‘What did your mother do? Did she give her something in her food?’
