‘Oh?’
‘A family friend has asked for my advice on a problem, and I have agreed to help if I can.’
‘A legal matter?’
‘Yes, an attempted killing, and they are sure they know who it is, but don’t have any proof.’
‘So the culprit can’t be brought to trial, but what has this to do with Chrissie?’
Stuart then explained her connection to the Frenshaws. ‘Harry now regrets his hasty action and they are looking for her.’
‘You haven’t told them she is working for you?’
‘No, and that’s another selfish act on my part. I was afraid if they knew they would take her away, but I will be spending some time with them and they will see her soon, because she won’t stay in London.’
Their conversation was halted when Sara and Chrissie came into the room.
‘Chrissie has been helping me choose a suitable gown for the judges’ function, and likes the dark blue on me best. What do you think, dear, shall I wear that one?’
‘You always look charming and elegant, my dear, so whatever you choose will be perfect.’
‘Flatterer.’ She laughed. ‘I persuaded Chrissie to try one on, but nothing fitted her. She is slender, but with her height nothing reached the ground.’
‘That was fun,’ Chrissie told them, a broad smile on her face. ‘But I couldn’t possibly wear anything as elaborate as that. When I was with the Travellers, Elsie tried to make me wear bright clothes with beads and embroidery all over them, but I persuaded her to let me just throw a shawl over the back of the chair.’ She laughed at the memory. ‘It was all right, because people still came anyway.’
‘Stuart told us you have a beautiful crystal ball. Did you bring it with you?’
‘Oh, no, I left it at the house, and Nanny is looking after it for me.’
‘What a shame. You could have told our fortunes.’
‘I can’t do that. It’s only a game.’ She did a little curtsy. ‘Thank you for letting me see all your beautiful clothes, Mrs Martin. Now, if you will excuse me I will go to bed. Goodnight, sirs and Mrs Martin.’
When Chrissie had left them, Sara looked at the men and said, ‘What an extraordinary girl. There wasn’t a sign of envy when we spread the expensive gowns out for her to see, and to be honest, I don’t think they even interested her. She joined in, making it fun, but I felt she was just tolerating a whim of mine, and I couldn’t help thinking how stunning she would look attired in a glorious gown.’
Stuart began to laugh. ‘She would probably wear her breeches underneath.’
This caused much laughter, and then Sara kissed her husband. ‘I think I will also retire and leave you gentlemen to your brandy.’
Bill gave his friend a knowing glance when they were alone again.
‘I know,’ Stuart exclaimed. ‘It was a crazy idea, and already forgotten.’
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was the height of summer as they rode up to the house, and Chrissie lifted her face to the warm July sun, sighing with pleasure. They should only have been in London for two weeks at the most, but the last trial had dragged on for two more days. All the way back she had kept her eyes open for any large houses in case she needed to move on again, because regardless of sir’s assurances, she had her doubts and would not stay if it was going to cause trouble. It was strange; her intention had been to find a permanent place to live, and all she had done was move around. Somewhere to settle was eluding her – no that wasn’t exactly true, she had believed she’d found the place of her dreams, but it was not to be. She just had to keep searching and not give up hope. There was a place for her somewhere, and she just had to find it. The one thing she was sure about, though, was that the Grethams’ was not that place. However, she owed it to Sir Gretham to stay a while and see how it worked out.
When they rode in to the yard the staff ran to take care of the horses. The children erupted from the house and ran to their father, who scooped them up, pleased to see them again.
He put them down and turned to Chrissie. ‘Take the rest of the day off, and we’ll start work in the morning.’
‘What time, sir?’
‘Ten o’clock will be early enough.’ He then walked towards the house with the children dancing and chattering beside him.
Chrissie greeted Nurse. ‘It looks as if you’ve lost your charges.’
‘We will have a little time to ourselves, and I’m eager to hear all about your time in London.’
‘I’m glad to be back,’ she admitted. ‘How have things been here?’
‘Peaceful. Come along, you must be ready for a nice cup of tea.’
‘Let me wash off the dust of the journey and change first, and then I’ll join you.’
Much to Stuart’s surprise, Angela came to meet him and smiled when the children told her excitedly that Father was home to stay for a while. He kissed her cheek. ‘You look better, my dear.’
‘I am not feeling so tired. I’ve ordered tea in the drawing room for all of us.’
‘I had better change first.’
‘Don’t bother with that or the tea will get cold.’
That was another surprise, and he was curious to know what had brought about this welcome change. They enjoyed a lively tea together as a family, and then the children went back to Nurse.
Stuart sat back, feeling relaxed, and closed his eyes for a moment.
‘You’ve had a busy time and a long journey. You must be tired.’
He opened his eyes and nodded. ‘The last case was difficult and it’s good to be home.’
‘I count myself fortunate you even bothered to return again, after the way I have been behaving.’
‘Did you think I would leave you and the children?’ he asked.
‘Many men wouldn’t have put up with a sullen wife. After you left I knew I had to change if I wasn’t going to lose you, so I went to see our doctor and he gave me a tonic. He wanted me to go and see another doctor, but I told him that wasn’t necessary. I have been suffering from depression, that’s all. I soon began to feel much more like myself and went to the school to see Robert. He’s a changed boy and so happy there. He told me what had happened and that it was his fault when that box was broken. He did it deliberately, he told me, and was now ashamed of the way he had behaved.’
‘He’s a bright boy and didn’t have enough to occupy his mind here.’
‘I can see that now.’ There were tears in her eyes. ‘I’m so sorry, Stuart. I haven’t been much of a wife for some time and should have joined you for that important judges’ function. I really don’t know what has been wrong with me.’
‘I went with Bill and Sara Martin.’ Relief swept through him that he hadn’t taken Chrissie with him. Although his wife was claiming she was better, there was still something about her that didn’t seem quite right to him. She appeared mentally fragile – he didn’t know how else to describe it – and any unpleasant gossip getting back to her about him would not be a good thing. Bill had stopped him making a terrible mistake that would have affected all of them. He wasn’t going to deny that he was attracted to Chrissie, and no longer had any deep feelings for Angela, but if she continued to improve it looked as if their marriage could be saved for the sake of the children.
‘I treated that girl abominably and I owe her an apology, but to be truthful the thought frightens me.’
‘Why? She is kind and would understand, but I don’t think that is necessary. I would ask you to be friendly now, though, because she has told me she will leave if you don’t want her here.’
‘You want her to stay?’
‘I do, for the time being. She is intelligent and the documents she copies are faultless. I would have kept her in the London chambers, but she won’t stay in London. Her desire is to live in the country, and I don’t think anything will change her mind.’
‘Not even a prestigious job with you?’
‘No, position and prestige mean nothing to her.’
‘Indeed, she is. I am pleased we have had this talk, my dear. Now, will you make me a promise?’
She nodded.
‘If you are troubled about anything at all, no matter how small, you tell me. Whatever it is we will work it out together.’
‘I promise.’
‘Stuart’s back at last.’ Charles handed his son the message. ‘He would like us to see him at three tomorrow to discuss the situation.’
‘Good, and I think we should take Joe with us. We are no further forward with this, and it will be interesting to see if his legal mind can find a way to get Edward out of the country. I’m tired of feeling I am being hunted in my own home.’
‘Yes, we have got to find a solution soon. Although Edward now knows he cannot inherit, I believe he could be angry enough to try again out of spite. We’ve got everyone on the estate keeping watch for him, or any other intruder, but I’m still nervous for all of us. The boy is clearly in financial difficulty and that makes him unpredictable, not to be trusted. I’m glad you haven’t revealed the identity of your heir, because that would be another person for us to worry about. Tomorrow will be the first time you have left the estate since the shooting, and I am uneasy.’
‘I won’t hide away like a fugitive.’ Harry stood up and grimaced as he straightened to his full height. ‘Joe will be with us, and we’ll be quite safe. He has an uncanny ability to sense danger, and it was that talent that got us both back to this country.’
‘He’s a good man, I agree. Where is he now?’
‘Trying to track down that girl, but even he doesn’t appear to be having any luck. She must be a long way away by now, and he is extending the search area, but there is always the chance she is back in London.’
Charles sighed. ‘I wish you’d stop calling her “that girl”. I’ve told you time and time again what her name is. Why do you do it?’
‘You know her, but I don’t. I hardly spoke to her.’
‘No, you didn’t, and if you had you might not have dismissed her so easily,’ Charles told him.
‘Do you think I don’t know that? After she’d gone I heard everyone saying how good she had been, how the horses loved her, and how everyone missed her. Never find another like that, I heard the stable hands saying, and they hoped she was going to be all right. “Special” was the word I kept hearing and I felt like a monster. I’d dearly love to find out why everyone had such a high opinion of her. No one is that perfect.’
‘She isn’t perfect, far from it. She knows what she wants and pursues it with single-minded stubbornness, even to the point of turning down a safe home on my estate. For a girl who has nothing that is hard to understand, even foolish, but she’s prepared to work damned hard for what she wants.’
‘And what is that?’
‘A place she can settle down with open fields around her. Is that too much to ask?’
Harry shook his head. ‘If Joe can’t find her, then after we’ve dealt with Edward I’ll track down those Travellers she was with, in case she went back to them – if not I’ll keep searching. From what you’ve said we can rule out London. I’ve got to find the infuriating girl, for I do declare she is haunting me. And if another stable hand says to me “if Chrissie were here she would handle this horse with ease” I swear I’ll hit him.’
Joe arrived then and Harry immediately asked, ‘Any sign of her?’
‘Not a whisper. It’s as if she’s just vanished.’ Joe looked thoughtful. ‘We’ve been assuming she is quite a way from here by now, but what if she is still close by? Have we searched this area thoroughly enough?’
‘We found the farm she worked at for a while, but after that she moved on, and we imagined it was out of the area.’ Charles’s expression showed his concern. ‘I do hope she’s all right.’
‘Well, forget that for the moment,’ Harry told them briskly. ‘Stuart is back and wants to see us tomorrow. Let’s put our heads together and see if we can give him a clearer picture of what we know.’
‘That won’t take long,’ Charles remarked dryly. ‘It’s all supposition and of no use to Stuart.’
‘I do have one piece of information. I’ve been away for so long because I went back to Bath on the pretence of trying to get Edward to redeem his markers from me. He wasn’t there, but gossip has it that he owes money to a lot of gamblers, and is keeping out of sight. He is not welcome at the tables now, and word has it that he is desperate.’
‘Well done, Joe. That is useful.’ Harry was nodding. ‘That might make him more amenable to fleeing the country.’
‘Maybe, but any money you promise him will have to be tied up somehow, so he can only access it once abroad,’ Joe pointed out.
‘Damn, this isn’t going to be easy, is it?’ Charles thumped the arm of the chair in frustration. ‘It’s one blasted problem after another, and I’m beginning to doubt we will be able to make this work. How on earth are we going to persuade him?’
‘That’s why we’re going to Stuart. We need his legal mind to find a workable solution. Don’t worry, Father. If he won’t cooperate I’ll set Joe on him. That will frighten anyone.’
His friend smirked, raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
The next afternoon they set off for their appointment with Stuart. Harry was riding Red and Joe was on Midnight. Charles was riding his own, slightly smaller mount. The energetic warhorses were not content with the steady pace and were eager to gallop, but the two men were superb horsemen and kept them under control. Charles was clearly nervous when they came to any spot a marksman could hide, and Joe often went on ahead to check the way was clear.
‘Relax,’ Harry told his father. ‘No one knows we will be riding this way today, and if anyone is lurking Joe will spot him.’
‘I know, but I still keep expecting to hear a gunshot ringing out.’
‘Not a chance and it is good to be out riding again.’
Joe appeared at a canter. ‘The way ahead is clear, so how about letting these animals run off some of their energy?’
‘You go ahead, and I’ll catch up with you before we reach the Gretham home.’ Charles watched them take off and they were soon out of sight. His son had been like a caged animal as his strength returned, and he hoped he wouldn’t do any damage to himself. He wasn’t a fool, though, and would stop if he felt any discomfort.
Fifteen minutes later he heard the thunder of hooves as the two men raced back to him, laughing as they tried to beat each other. Charles couldn’t help remembering his son as a young boy riding like that, with sheer pleasure on his face. Whatever horrors he had experienced in the Crimea were now obviously fading, and he had his son back. All they had to do now was remove this other threat to his life.
Chapter Twenty-Five
‘I won’t need you this afternoon, so why don’t you go for a walk? It’s a lovely day.’
Chrissie looked up from her work, surprised. ‘I haven’t finished this document yet, sir.’
‘Leave it until tomorrow. You deserve some time to enjoy the country after spending more time than anticipated in London.’
‘Thank you, sir. Are you taking the afternoon off as well?’
‘No, I have a meeting here which could take some time.’ He glanced at the clock. ‘Off you go, and enjoy yourself.’
‘I will.’ When she left the library the mistress was coming down the stairs. This was the first time she had seen her since arriving back and she expected to be either ignored, or snapped at. That didn’t happen.
‘Is my husband in the library?’ she asked.
‘Yes, Lady Gretham. He is waiting for visitors to arrive and has told me I can go for a walk if I want to.’
‘Ah, you’ll enjoy that, I’m sure. It’s a pleasant day – not too hot.’ She hesitated as if to say something else, but just turned and went to the library.
Chrissie watched in astonishment as she walked away. That encounter had been quite polite. Perhaps she was going
to be able to stay here for a while after all.
Singing quietly to herself she made her way to the scullery to wash the ink from her fingers. While she was scrubbing away at the stubborn stains there was the sound of horses approaching. Several, she guessed from the noise, and they must be the expected visitors.
The door burst open and the chambermaid fell in to the room, her eyes wide with excitement. ‘You’ve got to see this,’ she gasped.
‘See what?’ Chrissie asked.
‘The animals. They’re huge and such handsome men riding them. I never saw anything like it in my life. Jim, from the stable, said he’s seen one of them before, but not the black one.’
The girl’s garbled description caught Chrissie’s attention and she rushed out of the door, picking up her skirt and tearing round the corner to the yard. The sight she saw brought tears to her eyes. Two of the lads were struggling to lead the horses to the stalls and having no success at all. Oblivious to anything else she began running towards them and shouting, ‘Red, Midnight.’
Their ears perked up and they broke away from the lads, hurtling towards her.
The thought of who might be riding them never entered her head, she was overwhelmed with happiness to see them again. They came to a skidding halt and she reached up to cradle each head in turn. ‘Oh, my lovely boys, let me have a look at you.’ She swiped the moisture from her eyes so she could see clearly, and began to run her hands over them, taking longer to inspect where Midnight had been injured. ‘Good, good, you’re both in fine condition. You are being well looked after.’
They began to push her playfully, showing their pleasure at seeing her again. She laughed with glee as they pranced around her.
‘Er … miss,’ the stable hands approached cautiously. ‘We’ve got to get them in the stalls and remove their saddles.’
She expertly removed each saddle and tossed them to the lads. Without another thought she led Red to the fence, climbed up and leapt on to his back, amid gasps from those watching. ‘Come on, boys, you need to be watered and fed.’
When Midnight Comes Page 18
