by Janet Woods
Adam remembered John chattering about the heath gypsies on that fateful day they’d gone to London together. His Aunt Marianne had taken him to visit them, and she’d painted a picture of the camp to hang on his bedroom wall. It was probable that John had lost his faith in men after all he’d been through, but the gypsies had been kind to him. According to Seth, one of them had brought his children into the world, when no other help had been available.
Adam gave the man the same information as he had to the stationmaster.
‘I will say this, sir. If that boy went up into the hills by hisself, the poor little beggar will surely have perished by now. There are caves a grown man can get lost in.’
Not as surely as he’d perish in the workhouse by the looks of the inmates. It would be a waste of time to try and search the hills, because the gypsies knew where they were going and he didn’t, and they had a four-week start on him. Adam doubted they would stay on the most used tracks. However, he knew exactly where John was now, and as certain as he was of that, he was also certain that the boy would get home safely. All they had to do was wait.
His suspicions were confirmed when he got back to the hotel and found a note on his bed. John Hardy is found, is travelling with Jessica and is on his way home. It wasn’t signed and the hotel clerk couldn’t remember it being delivered.
The next morning Adam took a train back to Southampton, then another to Poole, where he picked up a cab. It dropped him at Harbour House. Another cab was waiting there.
Seth met him at the door. ‘You have some news?’
‘Yes, I do have some.’
‘Good. Come into the drawing room. Sir Charles and Edward Wyvern are here.’
He was surprised to see Sir Charles, his face haggard with worry. ‘Edgar and I are staying in town until this matter is resolved.’
‘An excellent idea. I have a feeling that it will not be much longer.’
‘What is your news, then, Adam?’ Seth said.
‘I traced the boy to Bristol, where he was robbed. Several people remember him. The stationmaster, because he didn’t have a ticket. And he asked a shopkeeper if he knew where Poole was on the other side of the heath, only the shopkeeper misunderstood. For a while John was seen begging on the street, but he was picked up and taken to the workhouse. He caught a fever and came out in spots. Measles the doctor in the infirmary said. He was sick for quite a while before he was sent back to his ward. When he’d recovered they put him in an outside work gang, pulling weeds from a cemetery.’
‘He’s too small for that type of work,’ Charlotte said indignantly.
‘He requested it, apparently, and the warder thought that the fresh air would be good for him. He disappeared from the gang, and nobody noticed he was missing until later than evening. My theory is that he saw the gypsies the day before, and that’s why he wanted to join the work party, so he could try and escape from the workhouse and join them.’
‘Why didn’t you go after them and get him?’ Charlotte said.
‘I’m unfamiliar with the Mendips, and I wasn’t equipped to walk across them. Besides, they had a four-week start. It’s a long way.’
‘I would have crawled across them on my hands and knees to find him,’ she told him fiercely.
‘I daresay you would have done, but you’re a woman who is emotionally attached to the boy. Think on, Mrs Hardy . . . if I’d done as you suggest, I would not be here now with such encouraging news of him. Somebody left a note in my hotel room suggesting that he was safe and on his way home with Jessica.’
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to criticize. Jessica, you say. She’s one of the heath gypsies.’
‘You have nothing to apologize for. It’s hard waiting for news, especially where a child is concerned. You’re bound to be worried about him. But he’s a brave and resourceful little boy, and I feel that the outcome will be favourable.’
Seth offered her a smile and turned to Adam. ‘I’ve been working things out. The distance across is about seventy miles,’ Seth said. ‘Generally, the gypsies consider the welfare of their horses. The caravans wouldn’t move very fast, on average about ten miles a day, and they’d camp overnight. It would take them at least a week to get here I should imagine.’
Charlotte’s voice began to shake. ‘But if he left the workhouse four weeks before Mr Chapman got there and joined the gypsies, where is he?’
Seth was willing to clutch at the straw Adam offered him. ‘We could go out and look for them.’
‘They’ve already been on the road for several weeks, so obviously they’ve detoured.’ Adam pointed out.
‘What if your theory is wrong?’ Sir Charles asked him.
‘I admit that it could be, because much of my job is based on outguessing another’s actions. But this is the best lead I’ve had so far. We do know that John and the gypsies were in the same place at the same time. If he recognized any of them he would have asked for their help.’
Seth turned to his wife.‘Which way do the gypsies usually come on to the heath, Charlotte?’
‘I know nothing about the habits of the gypsies. It was my sister who was friendly with them. She had friends everywhere, some of them totally unsuitable.’
‘Which might stand John in good stead on this occasion, as it did for you once,’ Seth said.
Her face flamed, then paled. ‘What if John didn’t find the gypsies and is trying to walk here all by himself?’
‘Let’s prove or disprove Adam’s theory before we alarm ourselves with another. Would Marianne know the ways of the gypsies if it becomes necessary to organize a search party?’
Her face closed up and she shrugged as she said to her husband, ‘She might. You’d have to ask her.’
‘I will ask her. Perhaps you’d come with me, Adam?’
There was an undercurrent of tension in Harbour House . . . not surprising under the circumstances, Adam supposed. He nodded.
Edgar and Sir Charles rose too. Charles offered Charlotte a courtly little bow, saying with considerable charm, ‘Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs Hardy. Considering the circumstances it was more than I deserved.’
She gave a faint, self-deprecating smile. ‘My husband has convinced me it would be better for John if we tried to get on.’
But the woman was listening to her instinct . . . and that was telling her that Charles Barrie was untrustworthy. Adam could see it in her face, which was filled with doubt.
For a moment Adam saw something flicker in the depths of the old man’s wily eyes that strengthened his own suspicions that Charles Barrie was saying one thing and meaning another.
Adam had been taken in by him on more than one occasion. He no longer trusted the man an inch. He suggested, ‘Wouldn’t it be better to get the legalities set down in writing, then all parties will know where they stand.’
‘I know exactly where I stand,’ Sir Charles murmured.
Edgar said unhappily, ‘I’ve written an agreement along the lines of the sharing arrangement. We could go through it. If you agree, you need only sign it.’
‘Not now, Edgar,’ Charles said testily. ‘I’m waiting on the outcome of other matters.’
Seth exchanged a glance with Adam, and both understood without saying that the man had no intention of signing any agreement. Not without powerful persuasion.
‘What other matters is he talking about?’ Adam asked Edgar when they got a private moment together.
‘Sir Charles has expressed worry about the reputation of Mrs Hardy’s family.’
‘In relation to what?’
‘Anything that can be smeared. The Thornton family. The mother’s affair . . . the sister’s elopement . . . if it was indeed an elopement. Also, there is the sister’s association with common gypsies.’
‘The means by which the child will be safely conveyed to the family, I imagine.’
‘We can only hope.’ Edgar sighed unhappily. ‘I haven’t said this to Colonel Hardy, but he once expressed an opinion that he
should return to Van Diemen’s Land with John. ‘It was said facetiously, but perhaps it’s time he carefully considered it.’
Seth was surprised when Nick opened the door. Then he grinned. ‘Nice to see you again, Nick. I’m glad to see you survived.’
‘So am I.’
Marianne appeared behind him, a big smile lighting up her face. She kissed his cheek. ‘Lor, Seth, you look a bit worn around the edges. Has John been found yet? What’s been going on? Are the children all right? Nick’s return is my big news. I’m going to parade him round town later, set the rumour mill going again. How is Charlotte? I’m too happy to be angry with her any more.’ She kissed her husband’s cheek this time. ‘I hate not having her to gossip with. Men are not very good at it, they only tell you the basic facts. Tell me what’s going on!’
Giving a chuckle, Nick lifted her to one side. ‘For goodness’ sake, Aria. Let them in first.’
‘I’ll tell Aunt Daisy to put the kettle on. Them?’ Her eyes went past him, then filled with curiosity. ‘Oh . . . who are you?’
‘Adam Chapman, Mrs Thornton.’
‘Ah . . . the genius detective. How mysterious. Are you here to question Nick about the shipwreck? Can I listen? He hasn’t told me a thing yet.’
Nick placed his finger over her lips. ‘I haven’t had time to talk yet. You’ve been doing it all.’
A blush touched her cheeks and she grinned.
‘I’m here to question you, Mrs Thornton,’ Adam told her.
Her eyes rounded in surprise and she squeaked on a rising note, ‘Meeee?’
‘We wondered if you knew where the gypsies enter the heath.’
Her eyes suddenly became bland. ‘That depends entirely on which direction they’re coming from. They have ways known only to gypsies, and they are secret.’
They went into the drawing room, and Seth filled them in on what had happened. He finished with, ‘Seth thinks that Sir Charles is going to try and rake up some family scandal, to give him an excuse to take the boy to London.’
‘He won’t have to rake too far. If the people here didn’t have the Thornton and the Honeymans to gossip about, they’d be struck dumb. Nick and I are the biggest scandal in town at the moment. And there will be worse to come now he’s home.’
Nick gave her a pained look. ‘Not if I can help it.’
Seth told them, ‘I simply can’t trust Sir Charles, and I’m thinking of going back to Van Diemen’s Land as soon as John is returned . . . if I can make arrangements without being observed.’
‘I can make those arrangements for you,’ Nick said. ‘Nobody will think twice about me hanging around a shipping office.’
Marianne remembered her sister’s attachment to Harbour House. ‘Charlotte would find it hard to leave her home.’
‘She’ll be given a choice.’
‘You’d go without her?’
‘I don’t want to, but if that’s what she wants.’
‘And your children?’
‘Would stay with her. She’s a good mother, and I’d make sure that they were all well provided for.’
Crossing to where he sat, Marianne placed a hand on his arm. ‘Seth, to set John above your own dear children is unfair to Charlotte – and unfair to John, who’s being given no choice but to part from many of those people who care about him. Indeed, it’s also unfair to Sir Charles who has been cast as the villain, when all he has done is express the natural desire of an old man who wants to spend time with his only grandson and heir before he dies. In the ways of men you see each other as combatants, and are butting heads. Surely he’s learned something from John running away. Surely you have.’
It crossed Adam’s mind that the young woman was talking a lot of sense, and they were all listening.
‘As worthy as she was, John’s mother is dead. You’d place her dying wish above all that is dear to you – one that she made when she was in despair and fearful of her son’s future, no doubt. Had she envisaged that you would marry and have children of your own she would never have placed that condition upon you.’
Seth shrugged. ‘Probably not.’
‘And what of the vows you exchanged before God with my sister? What you are thinking of doing will destroy everything Charlotte is beginning to build. She finds it hard to express affection, always has. Seeing her with her children – your children, including John, was always a joy to me. There’s nothing more she wanted than a family who loved her, and she would take your loss hard. Whatever has gone wrong between Charlotte and I of late, and however bad it looks to outsiders, I still love her dearly and she loves me. More importantly, she trusts you Seth.’
Seth looked uncertain then. ‘What would you have me do?’
‘Allow me to talk to Sir Charles Barrie on John’s behalf.’
‘Talk to Sir Charles?’ Clearly, this was not what Seth had expected her to say.
‘She’s convinced me,’ Adam said.
Nick gave a small chuckle. ‘And me, as long as she’s accompanied.’
Adam envied Nick Thornton his wife when the lively Marianne bestowed a flirtatious little smile on him. She was a peach, and if he was ever in the position to marry he hoped he’d find a woman just like her.
It wasn’t until after they’d gone that he realized she hadn’t answered his question about the gypsies, and wondered if it had been a deliberate oversight.
‘I’m given to understand that you’re worried about my character, Sir Charles,’ Marianne said.
Adam and Edgar exchanged an astonished glance before they retired to the window. Nick stayed.
‘I’ve heard idle talk.’
‘Idle talk is cheap, and you don’t need to repeat it to me. I don’t usually feel the need to satisfy the curiosity of those who indulge in it.’
This time Sir Charles’s eyes flared in astonishment. He opened his mouth and shut it again when she took from a small satchel she carried two pieces of paper. She laid them on the table. ‘That is a copy of the certificate of the marriage between myself and Captain Nicholas Thornton there. And that is the certificate of the son who was born to us.’ She bestowed an adoring smile on her husband, who looked bemused that anyone could feel that way about him.
Sir Charles began to look uncomfortable. ‘There is no need—’
‘Ah, but there is, Sir Charles. I want you to be entirely satisfied that the people surrounding John are fit and proper people to guide him. I believe you have also heard scandalous talk about my mother. She died giving birth our sister, and Charlotte and I still grieve the loss of her. Charlotte brought me up as best she could.’
‘And made a good job of it, I see,’ Charles murmured gallantly.
‘There was talk, but I’ve determined that the next time I hear it repeated in public I will no longer turn the other cheek, but will consult a lawyer. That person will then be given the chance to prove their allegations in court.’
Edgar smiled, and murmured, ‘Allow me to be your advocate if that ever happens.’
‘Mrs Thornton, please, there is no need to go on,’ Sir Charles said.
‘Ah, but I feel I must, since it appears to me that you are casting about for an excuse not to honour the verbal agreement you made with my brother-in-law, Seth Hardy.’
‘I’m actually trying to make sure that my heir has a good home, as any grandfather would. I don’t like the thought of him being friends with gypsies.’
‘I can understand that because the fear stems from ignorance, but I’ve known the heath gypsies all my life, and have never come to any harm. They taught me a lot, and if John is travelling with them I can only envy him his good fortune, for it will be an adventure he’ll remember forever. They know John well, and if he’s gone to them for help in his journey home then it’s because he’s learned to trust them. Now, if there is anything else worrying you, please let’s get it into the open.’
‘What do you hope to achieve by this meeting, young woman?’
She smiled at him. ‘My sister and her
husband only have John’s welfare at heart, so do I. We all love him. He loves all of us. They need to know they can trust you, and John needs to know that he can trust you. For me, I would like all those I love to be happy.’
‘My word is my bond.’
She gazed at him quizzically, and he laughed. ‘I never could resist a beautiful face, or a woman who pleads so prettily. All right. Edgar, pass me that agreement. I’ll sign the damned thing, you can witness my signature, and Mrs Thornton can deliver it personally to her brother-in-law.’
The agreement was signed and handed over to Marianne.
Her smile warmed him. ‘There . . . I knew you weren’t as unreasonable as you at first seemed, Sir Charles. You must come to dinner the next time you’re here.’
‘I will, young lady, since I’m considering taking up a lease on a house here.’
‘How wonderful. Then John will be able to visit you quite often. We’re looking for property ourselves. My husband intends to give up the sea and open an emporium.’ When she rose to her feet so did he. Marianne kissed him on the cheek. ‘Thank you, so much. You’ll never regret it, Sir Charles.’
‘Let’s hope not.’
‘Now I must go. My son will be needing me.’
Surprisingly, Sir Charles kissed her hand. ‘My grandson spoke of you fondly, and often. Now I know why. Thank you for being a friend to him.’
‘All of us are his friends.’
She turned to Adam. ‘I’ll ask Nick to take me to see Charlotte tomorrow. There’s something I wish to sort out with her.’
Marianne Thornton was nobody’s fool, Adam thought. She picked her moment to give her the best advantage.
As for him, he needed to think seriously about the proposition put to him by Edgar Wyvern and his associates, and the advice of the people he trusted. Who better than Seth Hardy and Nick Thornton? His own investigating agency, with his own staff. It was an exciting prospect, as long as he was answerable only to himself and could choose his own cases.
But first, he wanted to see John restored to the bosom of his family, and that day was close, he knew it.