Morland held the mare Selena had often ridden, tacked up with a side-saddle and ready to ride.
Marie was also there, dressed in a divided skirt and sitting astride her white horse.
Jemima was equipped with a pair of binoculars and the Earl produced another pair and gave them to Selena.
“You know where to go?” he asked Jemima.
She nodded.
“Everything is under control, Alex.”
“Then we’ll start.”
George unloaded his netting into the trap and then added a bucket containing a large joint of meat.
“Stripey could very easily be in one of them nasty moods of ’is,” he muttered, as he put it in the trap. “This could be a life saver.”
Finally he took out a blunderbuss from his barrow and laid it on top of the netting.
Selena gasped when she saw it.
“Don’t want to use it – ’ope I don’t ’ave to, but if I ’ave to, well, I ’as to.”
Jemima climbed into the driving seat. As well as her binoculars, she carried a rifle.
She had told Selena that, when she was growing up, her father had taught her to shoot.
Then Joe came running up and leapt aboard too.
“Sorry I’m so late,” he grunted. “The bicycle had a puncture.”
The Earl went back into the barn for his gauntlets and helmet and Selena followed him.
As he picked up the gauntlets, she put a hand on his arm.
“You will be very careful, won’t you, Alex?” she murmured imploringly, gazing into his silvery-grey eyes. “If anything happens to you, I don’t think I could bear it.”
The words came from the depths of her soul.
The Earl regarded her with a startled expression on his face, then his gaze locked onto hers and for an instant it was as though she could see deep into his soul.
“Darling girl,” he sighed with deep emotion. “You must not speak like that. I am worth nothing.”
“No! No!” she cried with a passion. “You are the most wonderful man in the world and if anything happens to you, I will never be able to forgive myself.”
He held himself rigidly, as though forcing himself not to gather her to him.
“Nothing is going to happen to me, but you are not to go near that damned tiger. If we do find it, let George or Jemima despatch it before it causes an injury.”
The Earl looked deep into her eyes again and it seemed to Selena that their souls met and were one.
“Oh – ”
She could say no more; her heart was too full.
What she wanted was for him to crush her into his arms so that her body could thrill to his. She just knew the emotions that would flood through her would be quite, quite different from the times Lord Taverner had assaulted her.
“I must tell you,” the Earl said in a strangled voice, “that after you left last night, I opened my mail and found a letter from your stepfather, Mr. Anstruther.”
Selena felt a chill go through her.
“It appears that yesterday he received a letter from Lord Taverner that greatly distressed him. He accuses me of kidnapping and seducing you to my wicked purposes. If I do not return you to his household at once, he will issue a writ and come and take you forcibly back to London.”
Selena stared at him.
“He cannot believe whatever it is that terrible man has told him. I have written to Mr. Anstruther, telling him why I am here. He must know that you have done nothing wrong, Alex.”
“I realise that I was wrong in suggesting you could stay with Jemima and involve yourself with designing the gardens. After this crisis with the tiger is over, I shall take you back to London.”
“No,” cried Selena. “You can’t.”
Suddenly he enveloped her in a fierce embrace, his arms pulling her against him.
But instead of kissing her, he immediately released her.
“Nothing will happen to me,” he promised her as he strode out of the barn, putting on his helmet.
Selena sank back against an empty bench. She felt all life drain out of her.
Then she felt angry.
How could he do this to her? Clasp her as though he never wanted to let her go – and then release her like that?
“Selena,” shouted Jemima. “Are you coming with us? We are all ready.”
Dashing the back of her hand across the mouth that had not been kissed, Selena wrenched her riding gloves out of her pocket and ran to mount her horse.
As the trap and horses set off, she tried to control the trembling that still invaded her limbs.
By the time they had reached the spot where they would wait for the flight of the glider, she had herself under control.
Now as she trotted along behind the trap, she was praying beneath her breath that the flight would go safely – she had almost forgotten about the tiger.
“I reckon Stripey won’t ’ave gone too far,” insisted Marie, trotting beside her, her horse a little skittish. She controlled it with a sharp command.
Jemima brought the trap to a halt.
“There’s the launching place,” she said, pointing it out with her whip.
Selena stopped by Jemima.
They were on the edge of a lush green meadow and the hill with its sheer quarry face could be clearly seen.
There was a good breeze blowing that the Earl had said was ideal and she had to trust his expertise.
She opened the leather case the Earl had given her and raised the binoculars, focusing them on the top of the hill.
There was the glider, resting a little way back from the edge.
There were three men, the Earl, Morland and Sam, adjusting its position.
Next the Earl climbed slowly into the driver’s seat and strapped himself in.
Selena could see him place his hands onto the wires controlling the rudder and the wings.
She and Jemima watched breathlessly as Morland and Sam took up their positions behind the glider and then started to push it towards the edge of the escarpment.
The wheels moved easily and they quickened their pace into a run.
Suddenly Selena gulped.
The glider had reached the edge and was in the air.
For an instant she thought it was going to plunge down into the void to be dashed onto the rocks, but it was lifted up as the breeze strengthened.
The machine soared higher than the hill and began to glide away, towards where they waited, their eyes glued to its path.
“Oh,” sighed Jemima. “Isn’t it beautiful? No wonder Alex is so devoted to his machine.”
“Can he see Stripey? That’s what I want to know,” piped up George.
“He has already been in the air far longer than ever before,” announced Jemima.
Selena said nothing.
She followed the glider’s flight feeling at one with the way it swayed before rising and falling, all the time gradually swooping lower and lower.
Then she realised with trepidation that the Earl was managing to steer it towards Lord Taverner’s estate – the river was the boundary and he was now well over it.
It looked as though he was heading for a dense wood.
“He’s never goin’ to land that thing in them trees,” grunted George.
Jemima said nothing but her knuckles were turning white as she clasped her binoculars.
“I’ll go tell Sam and Morland where to bring the cage,” squawked Marie and galloped off.
Selena lowered her binoculars and felt a surge of panic fill her.
A terrible crash seemed inevitable.
She fumbled the binoculars back into their case, unable to watch any longer and started riding in the direction the glider was taking.
The Earl cleared the trees with hardly a foot to spare before dropping out of sight.
Above the noise of her galloping horse, Selena tried to listen for the crash that must inevitably come.
She came to the river, sailed over and galloped on.
Instead, to her amazement, as she cleared the wood and started across a meadow, she saw it lying lopsidedly on the grass.
One set of wheels appeared to have collapsed, but, apart from that, the machine itself seemed to be whole and the Earl was disentangling himself from the seat.
To the left was an enormous oak tree – the glider had only just managed not to carve into it.
As she rode up, relief singing through all her veins, the Earl released himself and stood up.
“Oh, thank heavens,” she cried, sliding down from her horse, abandoning its reins and running over to him.
“Don’t let it loose,” he called, removing his helmet.
Without hesitation, she turned and caught the reins again.
“You’re safe,” she whispered in heartfelt tones.
The Earl grinned at her.
“Safe and sound. What a cracking flight. Did you ever see anything better?”
Selena shook her head, speechless.
“And I’ve seen Stripey!”
“Where?”
Selena looked around her, suddenly realising that it must be near and that that was why he did not want her to let the mare loose.
She shivered.
If the tiger was feeling hungry, it might go for any source of meat!
The Earl put his finger to his lips.
“He’s in that wood,” he told her quietly. “Lying in the undergrowth.”
Selena peered where he pointed, but could not see the tiger.
“It was only because I was looking down from well above the wood that I could spot him,” he murmured.
“See here,” a stern voice rang out.
They turned abruptly.
Lord Taverner was striding across the field towards them.
“How dare you invade my land,” he shouted.
“He’s got a gun,” gasped Selena.
Lord Taverner was indeed carrying a rifle.
“Keep back,” called out the Earl.
“Don’t you dare to tell me what to do when you’re trespassing on my land,” fumed Lord Taverner.
He continued to stride towards them.
Then he let out a terrified screech, dropped his rifle and headed for the oak tree.
The Earl pulled Selena to him as the mare gave out a loud whinny of distress, dragged her reins out of Selena’s hand and galloped away.
The tiger had emerged from the wood and was now heading in a long loping run straight for Lord Taverner.
He just managed to climb up into the oak tree.
Balancing himself on a branch, he shrank back against the trunk, making low cries of distress.
“The gun,” he screamed. “Get the gun, you fool.”
The rifle lay at the foot of the tree.
And at the foot of the tree crouched the tiger, growling fiercely and looking up at Lord Taverner.
“Why didn’t I bring my gun with me?” muttered the Earl, holding Selena tightly against him with one arm.
Stripey rose up on his hind legs, bared his teeth and snarled fiercely.
It looked as if he was about to climb the tree.
“I thought tigers couldn’t climb trees?” Selena whispered in terror.
“Well, they don’t usually,” admitted the Earl fearfully. “But they can. I have heard stories of men climbing trees to escape an attacking tiger, only to be killed when the tiger followed them up.”
“Do something to help,” whimpered Lord Taverner, clutching at an upper branch and pulling himself further up the oak.
“He wants to revenge himself on Lord Taverner for the way he jabbed at him yesterday,” murmured Selena.
The Earl looked across to where the rifle lay on the grass.
“I cannot possibly reach that gun without the tiger getting me first,” he said in a whisper.
“For God’s sake,” called Lord Taverner. “You can’t let me stay up here.”
“Would you blame us if we did?” shouted the Earl. “It’s no more than you deserve.”
Then he looked at Selena.
“The situation seems so hopeless. Stripey is either going to get us or Lord Taverner or both!”
CHAPTER TEN
The tiger prowled round the bottom of the oak tree, roaring up at Lord Taverner.
Suddenly it leaped at the lowest branch, managing to climb onto it, balancing its heavy weight superbly.
Lord Taverner attempted desperately to climb even further up the tree.
But then he slipped and fell, crashing down through the branches and onto the ground.
Selena heard a bone crack.
He tried to stand, screamed, fell to the ground again and pulled himself in the direction of his rifle.
Selena could see that Stripey was now preparing to launch himself off the branch.
She wrenched herself away from the Earl and ran towards the tree.
“Stripey,” she called out. “No – leave him alone!”
The tiger paused.
His head was up and he seemed to be searching for something.
Selena slowly approached the tree.
“Stripey,” she coaxed clearly and calmly, “it’s time you came home.”
She could feel the Earl coming behind her and held out her hand in a warning signal to him to keep back.
“Selena,” he whispered imploringly. “Come away.”
Ignoring him, she kept on talking calmly to the tiger. It remained poised on its branch.
Lord Taverner pulled himself nearer to the rifle.
“Don’t you move even an inch,” growled the Earl at him. “Not if you value your life.”
Lord Taverner’s face went white as a sheet and a trickle of saliva ran from his mouth down his chin. He was trembling badly.
The tiger looked up and Selena heard the sounds of the trap approaching.
“Tell them to keep their distance,” she told the Earl in exactly the same tone as she was using for the tiger.
She continued talking to him in her calm voice.
She heard the trap come to a stop.
Still the tiger made no move, seemingly captivated by the sound of Selena’s voice.
“Good old Stripey, there’s a good boy,” called out George, sounding as calm as Selena.
Joe slowly drew level with Selena.
He was holding the large joint of meat and chucked it forward on the ground.
“Move slowly back to me, miss,” urged George in a conversational tone as Stripey gracefully jumped down out of the tree, ran straight to the meat and started tearing it apart.
Selena and Joe steadily stepped backwards.
“Move to your left, both of you,” George instructed in the same tone.
They obeyed.
Now Selena could see the Earl and George walking forward, the stout netting stretched between them.
The tiger, intent on the meat, did not seem to notice them.
In an instant the netting was thrown over him and he was wound into a tight bundle, unable to do anything.
Suddenly he became wild-eyed, roared in rage and tried to thrash his way clear, but to no avail.
George produced several stout straps and buckled them around him until the tiger was completely helpless.
Selena watched this operation with sadness, but felt so glad that the animal had been recaptured alive.
Then, out of a corner of her eye, she could see that Lord Taverner had almost reached his rifle.
“No!” she cried and started running towards him.
“Selena, don’t!” shouted the Earl and took off after her.
Lord Taverner reached the rifle, raised it – and with mounting horror she suddenly realised that he was aiming not at the tiger, but at the Earl.
She threw herself at the Earl, knocking him out of the way of the shot.
She heard the rifle fire and screamed as the
bullet entered her shoulder.
Looking at Lord Taverner in complete disbelief, her knees buckling, she fell to the ground.
The Earl dropped down beside her.
“Selena, my darling, tell me you are all right?”
“Oh, Alex, what did you call me?” she asked from the safety of his arms.
He smiled down at her before looking across at Lord Taverner.
“You fire that rifle again and you are a dead man.”
He spoke in a cold passionless voice that sounded more deadly than if he had ranted.
After that, Selena found herself drifting in and out of consciousness.
She was just aware of Morland and Sam arriving, driving the tiger’s cage, accompanied by Marie.
She was also aware that Jemima was investigating her shoulder.
“She’ll need a doctor,” Jemima was saying. “But I don’t think the bullet came anywhere near a vital part.”
The Earl stripped off the top of his dungarees and removed his shirt, ripping it to pieces.
“Bandages,” he said succinctly.
“I was about to use my petticoat,” added Jemima, but it was hardly a protest.
“I have sent Joe with the pail to fetch some water,” the Earl replied. “The river is not far away. Can you look after her while we put the tiger in the cage?”
A wave of pain sent Selena into darkness for a few moments.
When she came round, the men were manhandling the bundled tiger into the cage and George with astonishing dexterity unwound much of the netting, cutting it away to leave Stripey only lightly bound before letting himself out of the cage and locking the door with a new padlock.
As Selena saw Stripey begin to release himself, she slipped down into darkness once more.
*
By the time she had regained consciousness, Selena found that she was lying in the trap, being slowly driven back to Wakefield.
Once there, her shoulder aching more than ever, the Earl tenderly picked her up and carried her into the cottage, asking Martha to lay a blanket on the table, then he gently placed her onto it and arranged a pillow beneath her head.
As the Earl withdrew his arms, Selena had a feeling of abandonment so strong that she almost cried out.
He remained standing beside her.
“How is your shoulder, Selena?”
Her shoulder felt as though it was burning up, but she replied faintly,
Love Came From Heaven Page 12
