Anything apart from what happened next.
Although it should have been empty, the carriage rocked again, and Clearwater assisted a woman from inside. At least, the body shape suggested a woman. Middle-aged, with a slim waist, and hair pulled back beneath a coachman’s hat, the cut of her coat was masculine, as were her boots, and when she climbed into the driving seat and took up the reins, Dorjan almost marvelled at her gall. She even dared wave to the departing men before encouraging the horses to walk, turning the carriage expertly into the traffic. Dorjan was tempted to watch, but Clearwater had to be followed, and once his party was inside the station, the mission continued.
A mission, he realised, that was becoming less predictable by the hour.
The private first-class compartment was gloomy in the light which filtered through the closed curtains, the material of which did nothing to block the noise of carts and horses, whistles and shouts from the platform. It did, at least, keep the viscount safe from prying eyes.
Archer asked Fecker to sit by the door, adding, ‘If it opens, keep your foot against it. We shouldn’t be disturbed, but just in case.’
Fecker nodded while watching the masked man with concern, and although Archer had given him and Mrs Norwood a brief summary of his purpose while in the carriage, it was time to offer a fuller explanation. Once the train had pulled away and cleared the terminus, he drew the curtain a fraction to let in more light and swapped seats, pulling the cowl from Crispin’s cloak to reveal the masked face.
How his brother lived with the hideous contraption was unthinkable. Made of hard leather, with a grille of steel covering the mouth and only two holes for his nose, it confined him for the safety of others. The grille could be unlocked to allow feeding, but it was cumbersome and stifling; a barbaric sight to see. Buckled straps at his wrists held his hands clasped to a belt beneath his cloak, but it was the mask which Archer needed to remove first, and he carefully undid each of the brass buckles before detaching the strap that ran over the head to join the mask at the nose.
‘I am so sorry you have had to endure this’, he said as the apparatus came free. ‘I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me.’
With the mask set aside, the face beneath was flushed, the skin darker in places where the material had rubbed, but the man beside him was free to speak and able to breathe more easily. He sighed and shook his head, blinking amber eyes, and despite the discomfort he had endured, smiled.
‘Not at all, Sir,’ Danylo said. ‘It was only while in public, and orders are orders.’
‘You have gone far beyond the call of an assistant gamekeeper,’ Archer said, attending to the wrist straps. ‘As did my brother’s long-suffering attendant while in the disguise. Remind me to send him a letter of great thanks and the promised guilders.’
‘I will, Sir, but the charade is not yet over?’
‘You are very observant, Mr Danylo, and yes, there is more to be done, and the deception remains necessary.’
‘Smith got in second-class,’ Fecker said.
‘You are as good a lookout as your brother,’ Archer smiled as he freed Danylo’s wrists. ‘And thank you for being here, Andrej. I will explain more while we travel. We have three hours to Bakewell and should arrive there in the late afternoon. Sheldon and the mine are another hour beyond that. There, the mask will have to go back on, I’m afraid.’
‘Of course,’ Danylo said, rubbing his wrists. ‘Whatever you need.’
‘I need a lot more than you have already given.’
‘And I am ready to give it, Sir. We both are.’
‘Da.’ Fecker nodded. ‘We eat now?’
Since learning Archer’s intentions, and once he had recovered from the shock of seeing his brother, Fecker had fallen into a sullen mood. Thinking he was uneasy with Archer’s plan, the viscount challenged him, and asked him to explain what was wrong.
‘Is nothing,’ Fecker said, but it was obviously untrue.
‘Tell His Lordship the truth, brat,’ Danylo said reproachfully.
‘Nyet. Is nothing.’
Danylo addressed Archer. ‘He is missing his woman, Lucy, the maid,’ he explained.
‘Oi! Zatknis, idiot.’
‘I shan’t shut up, brother. You pine for her, and it is clouding your mind.’
Archer understood. ‘I know you and Miss Roberts are close, Andrej,’ he said kindly. ‘And we shall do all we can to reunite you as soon as possible, but in the meantime, Danylo is right. We must remain focused.’
Fecker nodded, glared at his brother, and said, ‘Understood,’ adding, ‘We eat?’ to change the subject.
‘In that portmanteau.’ Archer pointed to the luggage in the rack. ‘The best Dover could provide. Help yourself, and while you’re there, bring Jake’s case. There should be a change of clothes in it for you.’
Fecker dumped the suitcase on a seat before rummaging through the portmanteau, examining various assortments wrapped in brown paper, and pulling the cork from a bottle with his teeth.
‘No weapons?’ he queried, having searched the bag. ‘I have knife.’
‘Only this.’ Archer held up his swordstick and withdrew the blade. ‘It will be enough.’
‘With mad Quill man?’
‘He is not the worry, Andrej,’ Archer said, slipping the narrow blade back into the stick. ‘It is his man, Smith, we must watch with caution. We have, so far, caught him with his guard down, and he won’t have had time to bring any of whatever he usually uses for his murders, but he may have found time to purchase something when out of our sight. Quill, on the other hand, has only his mind left intact. His body will offer us no resistance.’
‘You want I find Romanian now and cut throat?’
‘You make it sound so easy.’
‘Da. Is easy.’
‘But also rather bloody, Andrej, not to mention illegal. There are too many witnesses, and I couldn’t be done with you being arrested and hanged for murder. No, the time will come, tonight, at Crosstown Mine. It is a reasonable distance from the nearest village, disused, safe from prying eyes, and after sunset, will be dark save for any lanterns we can collect along the way. We shall approach from the north on foot, and I will need to guide Danylo while you go ahead and watch for Smith.’
Danylo stood to stretch his body, and Archer offered him a soothing ointment for the strap marks.
‘I am truly sorry for your discomfort,’ he said, gripping Danylo’s arm.
‘Hey,’ Fecker grunted as he chewed bread. ‘You say no more sorry, Geroy. Madman Quill tried to kill Banyak, and he tries to kill you. Your life is shit because of crazy, our life is starlight because of you. We do what you need.’
‘Yes, I know, Andrej, but all the same…’
‘Enough,’ Fecker complained. ‘You want bread?’
Suitably abashed, Archer accepted and ate in silence until Danylo spoke up.
‘Are you sure this man Quill will be at the mine?’
‘I am certain of it.’
‘How? He will be expecting you elsewhere.’
‘Indeed.’ Archer grinned and popped cubes of cheese into his mouth before washing them down with water. ‘I specifically told Jimmy to do nothing but find Quill’s preferred location. Fecker tells me they have done that, so I assume that has gone well.’
Fecker nodded before glancing away sheepishly.
‘I instructed James to leave there a message as suitably challenging as Quill would expect. I can only imagine the verse from the Rubaiyat had something to do with my old ship, because I can think of no more suitable location for Quill and me to say our goodbyes. Apart from Crosstown, of course. James’ duty done, I instructed them all to do whatever they thought best, and left it at that.’
Danylo was quizzical.
‘It may sou
nd like I am testing them,’ Archer admitted. ‘But I have two reasons for telling them little of my plan. Firstly, they will be able to plausibly deny any part in Crispin’s release, which will be important should anything happen to me. Secondly…’ Breaking off, he exhaled through gritted teeth, his brow knitted. ‘Secondly, I didn’t know what was best for them to do, so I left the decision to James and Tom who are, you will come to learn, far more logical and sense-centred than me.’
Danylo was listening intently, his gaze fixed on Archer with a mixture of fascination and admiration, and yet, Archer couldn’t help feeling he was also scrutinising the method behind what, to anyone else, might have been considered his own brand of madness. Archer was happy for him to do so. His assumptions, though based on his knowledge of his men, might not prove foolproof, and to have another experienced mind criticise them could only be for the good.
‘I imagine,’ Archer continued, ‘Jimmy and the others took no notice of the suggestion to remain at Clearwater House, and I would go so far as to lay you a wager, Mr Danylo, that they opened the envelope I specifically told them not to.’
Danylo was horrified, but Fecker laughed and said, ‘Da, is Banyak. You say don’t… He does.’
‘That is fine,’ Archer reassured the gamekeeper. ‘It is what I expected, not because they cannot follow orders, but because I know their loyalty. Jimmy Wright has an agile mind, and with a little application of memory, and perhaps a jotting left in my pocket-note, would have discovered the meaning behind a second painting. I mentioned it on more than one occasion. I am certain Jimmy has learnt where we are now heading and may well be there before us. If so, it was his decision.’
‘But you didn’t tell him this was what you were going to do?’ Danylo asked, his scepticism apparent.
‘No. But to return to your concern…’ He took another slug of water and passed the bottle to Danylo before continuing. ‘Once they had discovered the whereabouts of the original meeting, they would have gone there and planted the instruction to Quill who would have been watching. I imagine this was done last night. Quill would have rushed to see what they were doing, found the note and taken its meaning. I imagine he is also on his way to Derbyshire, if not already there. He will not, of course, be able to act until he has Smith to do his physical work, giving us plenty of time for this leisurely picnic under steam, and plenty of opportunity for Jimmy, Silas and Tom to make their way there too.’
‘And do what?’
Archer shrugged, and Danylo’s mouth hung open as he peered cynically at the viscount. Archer offered him a fancy from a box he had bought in Dover.
‘No, thank you,’ Danylo refused politely. ‘Why do we not just do as my brat says. Kill your enemies as soon as privacy allows and walk away?’
‘Oh, I fully intend to,’ Archer said. ‘One way or the other, but where Quill plays games of the mind, I rather fancy doing a similar thing before we dispatch him once and for all.’
‘If I may say so, Sir, you appear to be taking this very lightly.’
‘I do because I must, Danny… Oh!’ Archer broke off and corrected himself. ‘Apologies. I don’t mean to Anglicise you.’
‘Is okay,’ Fecker said. ‘Is what he wants.’
‘I can speak for myself.’ Danylo threw an annoyed glare across the carriage. To Archer, he said, ‘I am proud that you think me worthy of it.’
‘Good God, man, you speak better English than many Englishmen I know, but let us not stray from the point. Quill, sadly, must die. He was once a great friend, but as you see, like my brother back there in Dordrecht, he has become unhinged. How we despatch him will become apparent to at least one of us when the time is right, but before then, I must have my chance to play him a while. I am not usually a vindictive person, but in this case, I make an exception.
‘Numerous young men in Greychurch have died at his hand, and he could quite easily kill again without compunction. We must do our country a service and rid it of the Ripper before anyone discovers who the Ripper was. Secondly, he has caused injury to Silas, nearly had some of my closest friends poisoned, and who knows what else. But most importantly, given any more opportunity, his increasing madness will lead him to manipulate my brother to such an extent that Quill himself will end up with the Clearwater estates and fortune, and worse, those charities operating in my name will cease to exist. No, Danny…’ He turned to Fecker. ‘Andrej too. Quill must die tonight but not until after I have said my piece. We simply need to be deceitful a few hours more and remain on our guard. Do we understand?’
The brothers nodded, although Danylo was still unconvinced.
‘Wright, Hawkins and Mr Payne are still an unknown in this theatre, Sir,’ he said. ‘It would be unwise to assume their abilities and position. Would it not be better to rendezvous with them and lay the plan clear?’
‘In a perfect world, yes,’ Archer agreed. ‘But time is not on our side.’
‘Only because you have made it so. You have forced Quill to this deadline.’
‘Quite right, Danny, and for good reasons. Firstly, to put him and his henchman on the wrong foot, a simple tactic, but more importantly, because tonight is the anniversary of my father’s death.’
‘Why is that important?’
‘I have more to explain.’ Archer closed the curtain as the train slowed into its first stop. ‘And I will before we arrive at Bakewell. But killing Quill on the anniversary of my father’s death would not only be satisfyingly fitting, so will showing him that his life’s work—to rule the Clearwater inheritance—was all for nothing. Before he goes to his deserved death, Quill will know the humiliation of being thwarted.’ Grinning, he popped a square of cheese triumphantly into his mouth. ‘It is the theme of a shared family painting, “Artful Deception”.’
‘And how, exactly, do you intend to thwart him, may I ask?’
Danylo’s scepticism swallowed Archer’s self-congratulation in one bite, and Archer’s face fell.
‘You may, Danny because you will play a great part in it. You see, before Quill dies, I want him to witness me murder the only person who can give him what he desires. My brother.’
Twenty-Two
His performance in court quickly became a blurred memory as James hurried towards the railway station, stopping only to buy some provisions for the journey and a newspaper for Thomas, who said it was the only thing that could restore his sanity. Tickets bought and their seats taken, they remained silent until the locomotive dragged the carriages free of the platform, when, relieved they were alone in their compartment, the conversation could start without fear of being overheard.
‘Fecking hell, Jimmy!’ Silas was the first to speak. ‘How did you pull that off?’ Laughing, he leant over and tousled James’ hair. ‘Bloody eejit.’
‘I have contacts,’ James grinned back, pushing him away. ‘All I did was read aloud. How are you doing, Tom?’
Looking into his lover’s eyes, he was reassured to see a faint smile behind the confusion, as if Tom had only just realised he was a free man.
‘I have been better,’ Thomas admitted. ‘Will anyone find out about this?’
‘I doubt it. Nobody mentioned Lord Clearwater or your job title, and if you ask me, by the time they work out what went on, the reporters and gossips won’t know what to make of it, let alone remember any of the details. No, it’s a dead story, Tom. But, how are you? Did they treat you well?’
‘It was a local nick, Jimmy.’ Silas was rummaging in James’ knapsack for food. ‘Not exactly Claridge’s, but I’ve been in worse.’
Thomas shuddered. ‘Hideous, but made bearable by Mr Hawkins’ company.’
‘Very kind of you, Tommy.’
‘I am indebted to you for keeping my spirits up, Silas.’ Thomas smiled at him weakly before turning to James and surreptitiously taking his hand beneath t
he cover of his coat. ‘And to you, of course. Our knight in shining armour.’
‘Yeah, well, you’re going to need to polish yours and put it on.’ James glanced to the door before giving Thomas a peck on the cheek. ‘The day’s not over yet, and there are things I need to tell you. I know where Archer’s going, and I think I know what he intends to do.’
He told them his story, omitting only the part about Marks divulging Silas’ legal powers over the Clearwater estate. That, he thought, was best left until later so as not to confuse the issue. Referring to his notebook, he showed them the sketch of the mine and explained the legend the earl’s painting depicted, emphasising that it was only conjecture before telling them that, as a last resort to save the family fortune, Archer might throw himself in the mineshaft along with his brother. When he had calmed Silas and been able to finish his story, he asked them to recount theirs before they decided the best course of action.
‘It sounds like you had an easier time of it than us,’ Thomas said. ‘Physically and morally.’
When James asked him to explain, he gave more detail.
‘Lady Marshall was happy to help,’ Thomas began. ‘She sent one of her men to the Admiralty with a letter asking the whereabout of The Invisible, and while I was waiting, insisted I sit with her in her drawing room.’
‘She’s done that to me,’ James said. ‘Did you get a drink?’
‘Certainly not! I was offered one, but… Anyway. Uncomfortable though I was, I managed not to tell her anything about His Lordship. She only asked about the changes at Larkspur and how our winter had been. She did, though, tell me something very interesting which, apparently, Archer doesn’t yet know.’
‘Which was?’
‘It’s about his mother. Her Ladyship… Lady Clearwater, that is, has decided she is done with London life and Clearwater House.’
‘Done with?’ James immediately imagined being out of a job, but his fears were unfounded.
Artful Deception (The Clearwater Mysteries Book 6) Page 25