Beyond the Duke's Domain: Ducal Encounters Series 4 Book 4

by Wendy Soliman

  They reclaimed the gig, glancing over their shoulders to ensure they were not being pursued by Townsend.

  ‘I don’t think he can have seen us,’ Ariana said, sounding more confident than she actually felt as she helped the injured Lucy onto the seat and then climbed up herself.

  She drove Bertie back into the village. The threat of rain had driven the villagers from the street and there were no hostile stares to be endured on this occasion. They only just managed to drive into the Fox and Ferret’s mews before the heavens opened. Leaving Bertie in the care of a slovenly groom, the only one in evidence, the girls scampered—or in Lucy’s case limped—into the side door of the tavern.

  They were greeted by a wall of noise and the unpleasant odour of damp bodies and an equally damp peat fire that smoked appallingly. The men they had seen in the street earlier had taken shelter in the taproom, from which foul language and raucous laughter emanated.

  ‘I think I would prefer to take our chances with the rain,’ Lucy said, shuddering.

  ‘Nonsense! We will be perfectly safe.’

  Ariana motioned to a stout woman as she approached them from the back of the inn. She was presumably the landlady, given her proprietary air. They needed to procure her cooperation without delay. If they stood here for long, they would be seen by someone in the taproom and then their safety would be far from assured. Lucy seemed to know it as well and her anxious expression urged Ariana to conduct their business with speed.

  ‘Are you the landlady?’ Ariana asked, suppressing her Spanish accent.

  ‘That I am.’ She gave both girls a scathing once-over. ‘Don’t often get ladies of your ilk in here.’

  ‘We were making calls and got caught in the rain. Do you have a private parlour where we can take tea and wait out the storm?’

  ‘A private parlour, is it?’ The woman rubbed her multiple chins as though it was the most taxing question in the entire universe. ‘Don’t get much call for them, but I suppose you can sit in here.’

  They followed the woman’s broad hips along a dark corridor. She opened a door at the end of it and they found themselves in a tiny room that was obviously the woman’s private domain, given that her abandoned darning had been left on a small table. There was no fire and the damp that they had experienced in the hall permeated this room too.

  ‘Stay here. I’ll bring you some tea.’

  The girls shared a look as the door closed behind the woman, then perched themselves gingerly on the edges of the two chairs that sat on either side of the empty fireplace. Lucy shivered—but not, Ariana suspected, because she was cold. This place gave Ariana the shivers too, but what other choice did they have? The rain was now coming down in torrents. Poor Bertie would have been soaked, as would she and Lucy, and driving in such conditions would have been a recipe for disaster.

  ‘It will be all right,’ Ariana said, far from certain that it would be.

  The wait for the promised tea was surprisingly short, and when it came it was delivered not by the landlady herself, but by a pretty young woman with a calculating expression that set Ariana’s teeth on edge.

  ‘Tea, my ladies,’ she said with a mocking bow, looking searchingly at each of them.

  Then without another word, she left them again and they heard the key turn in the lock from the outside.

  ‘She’s shut us in,’ Lucy said, her eyes wide with fright. ‘We are her prisoners.’

  Chapter Sixteen

  Raph and Amos had only just got back to the Park when the heavens opened. They ran through the torrential rain from the stables but were drenched after covering just a few feet. They shook rainwater from their hair as they entered the house, both impervious to the fact that their shirts were stuck to their backs.

  ‘Good heavens!’ The duke looked up and grinned when they walked into his library, dripping water in their wake. ‘Did you swim back from Winchester?’

  ‘Very droll,’ Amos replied.

  Adler, who was also in the room, smiled his sympathy. ‘The storm came on rather unexpectedly,’ he remarked.

  ‘Go up and dry yourselves off before you catch your deaths,’ the duke advised. ‘I can tell from your expressions that your venture was not a success.’

  ‘We’ll survive.’ Amos threw himself into a chair and accepted the glass of whisky that the duke handed to him. Raph nodded his thanks when he too was offered sustenance. ‘But you are in the right of it, Zach. Our trip was a waste of time.’

  ‘Didn’t think it would be central Winchester. Too many inquisitive faces likely to poke their noses in. Besides, the city is too well patrolled to make it easy. Still, at least we have eliminated one possibility.’ The duke seemed relieved that his power base wasn’t being used for nefarious purposes. ‘Are you absolutely sure, though?’

  ‘Perfectly sure.’ Amos took a healthy swig of his drink. ‘Do you remember, Zach, a year or two after you assumed the dukedom, that we had a problem with a tavern…’

  ‘Of course!’ The duke snapped his fingers. ‘Was that the place?’

  ‘It was. Gower, the landlord, remembered me. He’s still grateful to us for saving his livelihood. I dealt with the business for you and had vague recollections on our way over there of a party room in his cellar. Perfect for illegal gaming, cock fights and other activities. I didn’t go into specifics about why it interested us, but I’m confident that he is not taking any bookings for dubious assemblies.’

  ‘I tend to agree,’ Raph said. ‘The man seemed basically honest.’

  ‘Good enough for me,’ the duke replied.

  All four of them glanced at the door when someone knocked. The duke bid his caller enter and Cal Harrison put his head round the door.

  ‘What is it, Cal?’ the duke asked.

  ‘I’m attempting to find Lucy. Has anyone seen her?’

  Raph jerked forward in his chair. ‘She is lost?’ He scowled. ‘I saw her this morning. We rode together.’

  ‘Petra sent a message. She didn’t return home after her ride. They didn’t have any engagements, and Lucy often stays here with Ariana. But she didn’t mention to Petra that she intended to today, so she’s worried that she might have got caught in the rain. And now, so am I—because I can’t find Ariana either and the gig is gone.’

  Amos scowled. ‘It’s Ariana’s afternoon off. She often takes the gig into one of the villages.’ He glanced at Raph, sensing that their disappearance wasn’t a simple case of being caught out by the storm.

  Cal nodded. ‘She asked for Bertie to be harnessed, but gave no indication of where she intended to go.’

  ‘Was Lucy with her?’ Raph asked sharply.

  ‘They’ve gone to…’ Amos broke off when Faraday knocked and then entered the room. ‘A man by the name of Stone is here from Lord Basingstoke’s estate demanding a word with Mr Adler.’ Faraday’s expression underwent a minuscule alteration. Under-gardeners coming to the Park and demanding audiences with their betters would definitely offend Faraday’s sense of propriety. ‘He says it’s vitally important and will not be put off.’

  ‘Your informant, Adler?’

  Adler inclined his head. ‘I cannot think what brought him here, but he’s taken a risk, leaving in the middle of a working day, presumably without permission, so it must be important.’

  ‘Send him in, Faraday,’ the duke said.

  A sense of foreboding fuelled the atmosphere. No one spoke until a man dressed in a workman’s clothing, soaked to the skin and giving off a pungent aroma, entered the room, screwing his cap between his hands and shaking his head every so often to remove damp hair from obscuring his vision.

  ‘What is it, Stone?’ Adler asked.

  Stone looked a little overawed by his surroundings but stood his ground gamely. ‘I came at once as soon as it ‘appened,’ he said. ‘Could barely see me hand in front of me face in this rain, but it seemed vital.’

  ‘What did?’ the duke asked with exaggerated patience.

  ‘The message what came
for his lordship,’ Stone replied, as though it ought to be obvious.

  ‘What did you overhear, Stone?’ Adler asked, sounding calmer than Raph felt. His fears for Lucy and his sister transcended tolerance and he wanted to shake this man Stone until his teeth rattled in order to discover what he knew.

  Raph had been in more perilous situations than he could remember during the course of his work for the Spanish government, and had always remained cool and competent in the face of a crisis. But none of those crises had involved his own family. Or a young woman who in a short space of time had become more precious to him than seemed credible.

  Or wise.

  Momentarily frozen with fear, Raph was now itching to do something, anything to secure the impetuous females’ safety.

  ‘Lord Basingstoke received a message, sir. I recognised the lad who delivered it. He hails from Beauworth and works in the Fox and Ferret’s mews.’

  ‘Beauworth?’ Raph felt fear trickle down his spine. ‘They have gone to…’

  His words trailed off when the duke motioned at him to remain quiet.

  ‘Did you hear what the messenger said, Stone?’ Adler asked.

  ‘Yeah. I sensed it were something you would want to know, so when Lord Basingstoke came from the house to talk to the boy, instead of having ‘im sent inside, I made it my business to loiter where I’d be close enough to overhear, like.’ He stood a little taller as he recounted his daring act of defiance. ‘Anyways, the lad said he had a message from Mr Townsend. He was told to say that Townsend had the Spanish trollop and another surprise guest awaiting his pleasure.’

  Raph let out a string of colourful Spanish curses as he smashed his fist against his thigh. Amos looked angry as well, but controlled his reaction a little better.

  ‘What did Basingstoke do in response to that message?’ the duke asked.

  ‘I ain’t never seen such a look on his face before, sir, and I thought I knew all of his moods,’ Stone replied. ‘I can’t right describe it. Lust, I suppose you’d call it.’ Stone sniffed and then wiped the end of his nose with the back of his hand. ‘Don’t really know.’

  Raph had a fair idea, and glancing at Amos it seemed obvious that he did too.

  ‘What did he do?’ Raph asked. ‘Was it still raining?’

  ‘Cats and dogs, sir. But he called for his horse to be saddled and took off like the hounds of hell were on his heels.’

  ‘Then we must do the same,’ Raph said, wondering why no one else seemed to feel the urge to spring into action.

  ‘And we will,’ the duke replied, his tone calm and measured. ‘But if we go charging in there with no means of rescuing the girls, we will likely seal their fate.’

  ‘It’s sealed anyway,’ Amos said bleakly. ‘They won’t be allowed to tell tales.’

  ‘Right, let’s put our heads together.’ The duke’s competent authority calmed Raph, but only fractionally. ‘We are closer to Beauworth than Basingstoke, so we won’t be far behind him. He’s had to ride through torrential rain.’ The duke glanced out of the window. ‘But it’s easing off now, so that’s another factor in our favour. Adler, what do you know about Beauworth Hall?’

  ‘Is that where they will be?’ Raph asked. ‘The lad came from the tavern.’

  ‘They are a close-knit, suspicious lot in Beauworth who don’t have much time for outsiders. And that includes us. They aren’t impressed by Zach or anything about Winchester Park.’ It was Amos who answered him. ‘The girls would have been noticed the moment they drove through the village. Ladies of quality do not ordinarily venture into such places without male protection. I swear to God, Raph, your sister…’

  The duke held up a hand to cut off Amos’s protest. ‘What my brother is attempting to explain is that the Beauworth residents are not especially loyal to the duchy. In fact, they are far more likely to side with Basingstoke for reasons that I have never fully understood. Probably jealousy, or maybe a feud that’s been passed down through the generations, even though no one can recall its original cause.’ The duke scratched his ear, looking profoundly disturbed. ‘I didn’t imagine that Basingstoke would go to the trouble of purchasing the entire village’s loyalty, given his parsimonious tendencies. I wonder what he promised them. I thought there were still some wiser heads in the place.’

  ‘The girls probably stopped at the tavern to shelter from the rain,’ Amos said. ‘They couldn’t have driven back through it, and that decision sealed their fate.’

  ‘Right.’ The duke nodded his agreement. ‘Adler, Beauworth Hall?’

  ‘A crumbling mansion, your grace, very secluded. Ideal for Basingstoke’s purposes.’

  ‘Is there more than one way in?’ Amos asked.

  ‘The main approach is along a track branching off from the road that leads out of Beauworth, if memory serves,’ Adler replied. ‘I had occasion to call there once when the owner, an older gentleman by the name of Fisher, still lived there. He’s moved to sunnier climes now to help with his arthritis and shows no inclination to return to England. He has no heirs and seems content to allow his property to fall into complete disrepair, rather than pay for its upkeep and stump up all the unpaid property taxes. There’s a coach house and stables at the end of the track, that much I do know.’

  ‘We’d be seen before we get halfway if we ride through the village, just as the girls must have been,’ Raph pointed out.

  Adler inclined his head. ‘There is another approach from the northern side. It’s an overgrown path only negotiable on foot, but if we cut across the common, we can get to it without going through the village.’

  ‘That’s our entry point then,’ the duke said with authority. ‘Could anyone in the house see us approaching from that direction? We must assume they will be expecting us.’

  ‘Only if the gardens have been maintained, which I doubt,’ Adler replied. ‘None of their expected visitors will be going there to admire the horticulture.’

  ‘They would be fools not to watch that path,’ Raph said, attempting to think with the detached rationality of a spy in a dangerous situation. ‘They must realise that we will come looking for the ladies in their neck of the woods since it’s reasonable to suppose they would have told someone where they were going.’

  Amos harrumphed. ‘But not reasonable to suppose we would have permitted them to go there unaccompanied, or even at all,’ he said. ‘No, Basingstoke will believe he’s safe, albeit temporarily, which gives us time.’

  ‘It will also give him time to exact revenge over Ariana,’ Raph pointed out, grinding his jaw.

  ‘Then we had best get on with it.’ The duke fell momentarily quiet. ‘But upon reflection, I don’t think we should take the back route. Adler, send a half dozen of your best men to cover it and make sure that no one sneaks away. We will take the high road, quite literally. The tavern is the first place to throw our weight around.’

  Raph watched the duke exerting his authority with steely determination, and admired what he saw.

  ‘Adler, get a message to the militia in Winchester and make it clear to their captain that his men’s services will be required at Beauworth to maintain law and prevent a riot.’ The duke rose athletically to his feet. ‘Right, gentlemen, if we are ready.’

  ‘I shall join you,’ Cal said. ‘Lucy is my responsibility. I won’t be much use to you on foot, but I can chase any man down on horseback.’

  ‘Good man.’ The duke nodded his approval, all action. ‘Faraday!’ he called.

  The butler, sensing a crisis looming with the sixth sense of butlers in general, had clearly been hovering outside and responded immediately. ‘Your grace?’

  ‘If her grace asks you where we have gone, tell her that you are unaware but that I mentioned we would not be gone for long. Do not tell her the truth.’

  Faraday inclined his head. ‘I understand, your grace.’

  ‘Adler, assemble enough men to accompany us and ensure they are appropriately armed. We will meet in the stables.’

&nb
sp; Ten minutes later a party of a dozen men, armed to the teeth, the gentlemen still in shirtsleeves and hatless despite rain that had turned to persistent drizzle, left Winchester Park’s stables at a canter.

  Ariana felt hollow inside as she shared a look of despondency with Lucy. She was consumed with guilt for entangling her friend in such a perilous situation, her determination fuelled by her blind, ill-considered quest for justice. She was a wretched fool to have ignored Amos and Raph’s warnings, thinking she knew better simply because she had an obscure point to prove.

  ‘What is happening to us?’ Lucy asked, her voice commendably calm, despite the fact that Ariana knew she must have a good idea.

  ‘Townsend obviously saw us.’ Ariana flexed her rigid jaw. ‘Someone from the village probably told him and he rightly assumed we would take shelter here, where they were ready and waiting for us.’

  ‘How did they know the rain would make us seek shelter?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter. If it hadn’t, they would simply have stopped us on the road.’ Ariana slapped a hand against her thigh, hard enough to make her wince. Not nearly hard enough. It was one thing to endanger herself, but she had deliberately involved Lucy, which was unpardonable. ‘I was foolish to think he hadn’t seen me. He stared directly at me and gave no sign, but…’

  ‘How could they have been expecting us when we didn’t know ourselves that we were going to walk down that track?’

  ‘Didn’t you sense the hostility in the village?’ Ariana shook her head, disgusted by her cavalier attitude that had led them directly into a dangerous trap. ‘They are suspicious of all strangers, and unaccompanied ladies are obviously a rare sight.’ She threw back her head and swore expansively in Spanish. ‘Botheration, I should have realised!’

  ‘It isn’t your fault!’ Lucy squeezed Ariana’s hand. ‘You just said yourself that if we had not come back here seeking shelter then they would have stopped us anyway.’

  ‘We need to get out of here,’ Ariana said. She checked the only window, but like the rest of this tavern, it was in poor repair, stuck fast after years of neglect. Ariana put her shoulder against it but couldn’t make it budge.