Their arrival caused a stir. He took the steps at the double then ran across the vestibule scattering departing guests in all directions. He wasn’t sure if their shock was caused by his behaviour or the fact that he was dressed improperly. More likely it was the fact that Jed and the Runners were close behind him.
The rooms were emptier now and it took him only a moment to spot Evesham. The man was already striding towards him, his face mottled with anger.
‘What is the meaning of this, your grace?’
‘Your son has abducted my betrothed. Where would he be taking her?’ He spoke quietly and was certain no one else had heard his question.
‘My God, how has it come to this? I knew the little bastard was up to something but hadn’t realised the depravity of his intentions. He inherited a dilapidated property called Bonner’s Hall, in Globe Town, he will have gone there.’
‘I need directions.’
‘I know where it is, your grace, I can lead you there,’ one of the Runners said. ‘It’s a goodly distance, but we can do it in an hour.’
Edwin turned to Jed. ‘Search the premises. See if Percival is here.’
He was outside and back on his horse in minutes. Too late to worry about causing a stir, their arrival had already been seen by dozens. The sound of loud voices echoed into the street. This would be the talk of the square for days.
Jed arrived at a run. ‘Did you ascertain the whereabouts of this bastard, Jed?’
‘I’m sorry, your grace, but he’s not here.’
The Runners knew London better than he so they took the lead. They went through Holborn and then to Clerkenwell, on to Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and then they were in the country heading for their destination.
As far as he was concerned there would be nobody left living to gossip once he caught up with them. He ground his teeth in an effort to contain his fury. His beloved girl had been taken hours ago – anything could have happened. If the bastard intended to force her into marriage, he might well have raped her already.
Bile rose in his throat at the thought of what the girl he loved might be going through at this very minute. He didn’t care, as long as she was alive, he would be thankful. They would be married immediately and if she bore a child he would recognise it as his, if that’s what she wanted. He’d just have to pray, if that dreadful outcome came to pass, that it would be a daughter and not a son.
He couldn’t allow a by-blow of Lord Percival to inherit the title. It would bring tainted blood into the line and he owed his family better than that. In which case, how could he still marry her if she had been molested?
He would and he could – they would say the baby had been stillborn and then arrange for a childless couple to bring it up as their own. He pushed these heartbreaking thoughts to one side. Now was not the time to think about what might have happened but concentrate on what they were about to do next.
*
Lucy examined her prison many times in the hope that she might find something she could use to protect herself or to help her prise open the shutters. It was almost dark which meant she could barely see anything. She wasn’t bothered by the lack of light, but would have preferred to be in better position before being unable to move about the chamber safely.
There was no chair, only the bed to sit on and having examined that closely she was convinced she’d seen livestock embedded in it. She was not afraid of anything but did have a horror of being infested with fleas, head lice or any other nasty crawly thing.
With this in mind she had carefully spread out her cloak in a relatively clean patch of floorboards against the wall, opposite the door, and she intended to rest there. She was as far away from the bed as she could be.
In her flimsy gown, without even her cloak to protect her, she was cold. It might be pleasantly warm during the day but April nights could still be bitter. After flapping her arms around and running on the spot she was warmer but obviously she couldn’t do that all night.
Whoever had abducted her had either forgotten to provide her with blankets, the wherewithal to make a fire, candles to light the room, food and drink to keep her healthy or – this ploy was deliberate to lower her resistance.
If she had been wearing her riding boots, she could have kicked whoever came in but in evening slippers she might as well have been in stockinged feet. It got colder but she was determined not to give into it. She stood up and jigged about when her teeth began to chatter and then resumed her place leaning against the wall.
How long would it take for rescue to arrive? It depended how soon her disappearance was noticed. Assuming Mama checked the bedchamber as she always did before retiring then her disappearance would be discovered about now. It was hard to be sure of the hour but it got dark around eight o’clock which was a considerable time ago. Her parents rarely stayed out later than ten o’clock so if her calculations were correct a search party would already be underway.
The house was silent. She was to be left without sustenance or comfort and hoped that she would still be able to defy her captors when eventually they came to speak to her.
Scrambling to her feet and running on the spot was going to become increasingly difficult as the hours passed and the night grew colder. Then belatedly it occurred to her that she had locked herself in not the other way around so all this time she’d been incarcerated she could have been escaping. She snatched up her cloak and wrapped it around her, her pulse racing, berating herself for her stupidity.
She fingered her way around the walls until she reached the door. She slid the bolt back. It screeched loudly, the sound echoing in the darkness. She froze. No hurrying footsteps – no sounds at all.
Slowly she pulled open the door and stepped out into the Stygian darkness. She closed her eyes and tried to visualise the route she’d been taken along when she’d arrived an hour or so ago, but she’d been so distressed she’d scarcely taken in her surroundings. There had been a long narrow passageway, then a wider one, and next a staircase down to the entrance hall.
When she stretched out her arms she could touch the walls so creeping forward was easier than she’d expected. She reached the corner but was undecided in which direction to go. She turned left and keeping her hand on the wall moved slowly forwards.
There wasn’t a glimmer of light coming from anywhere, not a sound apart from the rustling of rodents in the walls. Now came the difficult part. She had to decide when to leave the safety of the wall and walk forwards in the hope that she would find the staircase.
She took three steps with her hands held in front of her and her knees almost gave way with relief when her fingertips touched the other side of the passageway. She continued, at a snail’s pace, knowing that at any moment she might reach the head of the stairs and might tumble down them. So far she’d accomplished this with her eyes shut as even as a small child she’d found it easier to move in the dark this way.
On opening her eyes she was astonished, and delighted, to discover she was able to make out just a little. There was definitely a glimmer of light ahead and she increased her pace. Yes – she’d reached the staircase she was seeking.
She gathered up her skirts and ran as fast as she dared to the bottom. The front door would be locked – but there might be a side door she could use. There was and it wasn’t even bolted. She slipped out into the night, shivered in the cold air, and looked around to get her bearings.
She had no idea in which direction she should go. She was disorientated and her muddled brain couldn’t process the information she already had and make things clearer for her. Then she heard a horse moving restlessly not far away. She ran full pelt in that direction. The coachmen were imprisoned adjacent to the horses.
‘I’ve come to release you so we can escape. Billy, Ted, can you hear me?’ Her whispered words were heard and she was able to make her way to the correct door and slide back the bolts.
‘I think we should take the horses; I’ll ride pillion with you, Billy. The sooner we get
away the better.’
Within a few minutes they were mounted and cantering down the drive. Ted was in front and had assured her that, even in the dark, he was certain he could lead them back safely. She heard a distant church clock strike and counted – how could it only be eleven o’clock? She thought it so much later.
Chapter Sixteen
It took less than the hour to arrive within a mile of their destination. They’d met no one – not even a carriage or a lone rider – but then they’d travelled mostly across country.
‘Bonner’s Hall is that big building half a mile ahead, your grace, the smaller buildings to the right are the farm,’ one of the thief-takers told him.
‘There’s not a glimmer of light showing anywhere but I suppose that’s hardly surprising as it must now be past midnight.’
‘How do you want to do this, your grace? Shall we go ahead and investigate and you come afterwards?’
‘No, I intend to go in first.’
They dismounted a hundred yards from the Hall, left one of the grooms in charge of the horses, and then moved stealthily forwards. Jed jogged on ahead and Edwin didn’t call him back. The man was in his element, better suited for this matter than any of them.
As they arrived at the front of the neglected building Jed was back. ‘The carriage’s there, your grace, but no sign of the horses or the coachmen.’
‘That’s strange. We’ll investigate the house.’ He was beginning to be more optimistic about the outcome as Percival was obviously not here – in fact the building looked strangely deserted.
There was a side door unlocked and the grooms stopped outside in case anyone made a bolt for it and he, Jed and the Runners, pistols loaded and primed, went inside. They carried a lantern in their free hand which they held low so the glimmer wouldn’t be seen too far ahead.
‘We’ll search down here, your grace, you go upstairs with Jed.’
He opened every door on one side and Jed did the same on the other. Eventually he found an open door and knew at once that this was where Lucy had been held captive. She was no longer there – had somehow escaped and was at this very moment heading for home with the coachmen.
A sudden shout, a pistol shot echoed through the empty house, a man screamed and then it went silent for a second. He almost broke his neck hurtling down the stairs towards the noise. Jed was close behind him.
He arrived, lantern aloft, to see a man dead on the floor and another cowering in the corner. He ignored the policemen and strode across to interrogate the man still alive.
‘Where is Percival?’ He pointed his weapon at the man’s head and would have no hesitation in using it if he didn’t get the answers he wanted.
‘I ain’t never heard of him. Some cove paid us to bring the girl and we was told to keep her safe until the morning and then let her go.’
‘There’s no girl here.’
This was obviously news to the cowering man. ‘She were there, your honour, I ain’t no notion where she is now. We locked the coachmen in the shed and put the nags in the field. If they ain’t there then she’s buggered off home.’
‘I’ll leave this person with you, sir, I must find Miss Armitage. God knows where she is and the sooner I get her safely home the better.’
‘Righto, your grace. We’ll take him in and then go in search of whoever arranged this kidnapping.’
‘I’d prefer to take care of that matter myself.’
‘Best leave it to us, your grace, your young lady needs you.’
‘What do you intend to do with him?’
‘I guarantee he’ll not cause you further trouble and will suffer for his crimes.’
Edwin had to be satisfied with that. ‘Jed, we must have missed her as we travelled across country. We’ll travel at a more decorous pace and take the lanes this time.’
‘Yes, your grace, that makes sense. If I weren’t so bleeding tired, I’d be laughing. We’ve been risking our necks to get here in one direction whilst Miss Armitage is escaping in the other. A rum do and no mistake.’
The horses were blown after galloping for an hour so they were obliged to walk until they cooled down which made conversing practical.
‘There’s something odd about this whole thing. If the object was to compromise Miss Armitage then Percival should have been there when she arrived. She is a resourceful young lady but I still don’t see how she escaped so easily.’
‘From the reek of those two they’d been imbibing a nip or two. I don’t reckon they thought there were any danger of their prisoner getting free. Any other young lady would have remained shivering and crying wherever she was put – but not our lass.’
‘I think it’s safe to canter now, men, I’m sure we all need to get to our beds at the earliest opportunity.’
They made good time and it was still night when the horses trotted into the stable yard. The place was ablaze with light, which he’d expected, but what he hadn’t was to have his beloved girl, no longer in her evening gown but sensibly dressed, fling herself into his arms when he dismounted.
‘Should I have waited for you to come, Edwin? I just wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible and belatedly thought that you were having a wasted journey.’ She tilted her face and he obliged by kissing her. There was a roar of approval from the watching grooms when they eventually looked up.
He kept his arm firmly around her waist as he turned to speak to the men who’d valiantly accompanied him. ‘Thank you, I’ll see that you’re well-rewarded for your efforts. I thank God there’s been a happy outcome.’
The house was lit as if for a party but there was no sign of her parents which he considered strange. On enquiring she blithely told him that they were fast asleep and she’d no wish to disturb them.
‘I left a note on the mantelshelf saying I was home. They will see it when they wake.’
‘They would, I’m sure, wish to be informed immediately that you’re safely back.’
‘I’m sure they would not, they had every confidence that you would rescue me, or for me to be able to rescue myself, as was the case. The morning will be time enough to give them the details.’
This evening had opened his eyes to the weakness in character of her parents. It explained why she was so wild but also why she was so resourceful. It was rather she that took care of them, not the other way around. He was still at a loss to understand how Stanfield was so wealthy if he couldn’t manage his own domestic circumstances successfully.
It seemed that the entire staff were waiting to greet them. This was quite extraordinary as they were not permanent employees, merely came with the house that was rented.
He beckoned the butler over. ‘There’s no need for anyone to remain up to take care of us. I intend to stay here tonight so if you would be kind enough to prepare a bedchamber for me that would be excellent.’
‘I’ll bring refreshments for you and Miss Armitage, ensure that your chamber is ready, and then I’ll give the staff permission to withdraw.’ He bowed and bustled off to take care of matters.
‘Sweetheart, that’s the third time you’ve tried to hide your yawn. You should go to bed. We can talk in the morning.’
‘There’s something most particular I wish to say to you and it cannot wait until morning.’ She was still holding his hand and drew him quickly into the drawing room and closed the doors.
‘Well, my love, what is so important that you must tell me immediately?’
‘If after my unfortunate experience you still wish to do so, I would like to make our betrothal genuine. I love you and have done so since the first moment I met you.’
His roar of triumph filled the room. He snatched her up and kissed her passionately. ‘I love you, and always intended that this would be a real engagement. Your parents are aware that for me this wasn’t a charade and I have their full approval.’
Gently he put her down and then dropped to one knee. ‘My darling Lucy, will you make me the happiest man alive and consent to be my wife
at the earliest possible moment it can be arranged?’
‘I do, I will. I would like to get married in Margate where we first met but I suppose being the Duke of Rochester it will have to be with all due ceremony in an abbey or cathedral somewhere with hundreds of strangers present.’
‘Margate would suit me too. I’m having a new house built for us but it won’t be ready until the end of next year. We can live at Margate Manor until then, if that’s what you’d like?’
‘I don’t give a fig where we live, if I’m honest, as long as it’s with you. Sit with me, Edwin, I’ve so much to tell you about tonight.’
Two footmen came in with trays, put them on the sideboard and then slipped out again unobtrusively. The food and drink could wait until they’d spoken.
She regaled him with the events of the evening and the more he heard the less he thought this was an actual attempt to force Lucy into an unwanted marriage.
‘There was a bolt on the inside of your door but no attempt to secure the other side. That makes no sense to me. Even a ninnyhammer would have realised eventually there was nothing to stop you from leaving.’
*
‘I’ll tell you something else that I thought odd about Lord Percival’s behaviour. He seemed to know who I was and deliberately accosted me just before I left.’
‘Devil take it, Lucy, when did this happen? Why wasn’t I told?’
‘I thought we’d caused enough embarrassment to our families by waltzing together without you drawing Percival’s cork.’
He ran his hands through his hair making it stand on end. ‘Please, my love, refrain from using such terms.’
She smiled serenely. ‘I shall, my dear Edwin, when you stop using such appalling language.’
‘Point taken, sweetheart. Now, I apologise for interrupting, please tell me the rest of your story.’ When she mentioned that she’d seen Percival lurking in the doorway as she’d left, he suddenly looked like a stranger. A terrifying stranger.
A Solitary Duke Page 15