by Rebecca King
‘Is the house secure now? Do you want to go and stay with my sister until your parents return? She will be more than happy to have you, you know. She has a nice little garden room at the back of her house you could use until your parents come back. I know she will be glad of your company,’ Mr Muldover offered.
Geranium adored Jessica Muldover, but shook her head. ‘I don’t think I would sleep well knowing that the house was empty. Besides, Kitty is there, as is Rupert and Mrs Whiting.’
Mr Muldover suddenly hesitated. ‘Oh, but have you not heard?’
‘What?’ Geranium threw a worried look at her home.
‘Mrs Whiting’s brother-in-law has taken ill. His wife is struggling to cope with the children by herself. I thought Mrs Whiting had already gone to help them,’ Mr Muldover said.
‘I haven’t spoken to her yet this morning. I shall have to go and see if she needs to leave,’ Geranium murmured, wondering what else the staff weren’t telling her. She was annoyed with Kitty already for not telling her about the gossip. Now it transpired that the gossips in the village knew more about her staff’s lives than she did. It was galling but said everything about their level of trust in her capabilities.
Face it, they don’t see me as the lady of the house and never will. My parents employed them. They are merely looking after me while my parents are away.
‘Well, I shall say good day to you both,’ Geranium offered, throwing both Ronan and Mr Muldover a brisk smile. Without uttering another word, she turned and marched away, well aware that she now had more problems on her hands and no solutions to any of them.
Ronan watched her go with a heavy scowl. He was so lost in his thoughts he temporarily forgot about the man beside him.
‘Is she in any danger?’ Mr Muldover asked quietly.
Ronan pursed his lips. ‘We have men keeping a watch on her house, just in case. Lynchgate has already targeted her but we don’t know why. Until Lynchgate is behind bars, we have to assume that Geranium is in danger. He is in the area and has already tried to shove her under a carriage a few days ago, so please be careful. Don’t go out after dark, and don’t allow Lynchgate into your home. If you see him, let us know but hurry home and be wary. We will catch him, but it takes time. Geranium really has done nothing wrong.’ Ronan knew he was being too forceful but didn’t see why Geranium should have her reputation ruined by anything the Star Elite had dragged her into.
It is a warning that I have to stay away from her because people are gossiping.
Even so, Ronan felt a disquiet settle over him the likes of which he had never felt before when he watched Geranium disappear into her home and close the door behind her. It was as if she had entered another world, and he wasn’t allowed into it. Instead, he was to remain outside, in the streets, in the shadows, fighting criminals, and elusive oafs like Lynchgate. It was galling because just a few days ago he would have relished being able to retain the life he had, until now, adored for its complexity, its challenges, its many adventures. Now, he wanted something more, something more wholesome, livelier. He wanted a life outside of the Star Elite.
‘I am damned if I know why,’ he whispered.
‘Pardon?’
‘I am damned if I know why Lynchgate is trying to hide in the first place we would look for him. I know he is familiar with Malden, but there is no place for him to go, is there?’ Ronan corrected.
‘He didn’t move around in the village much. The only time Lynchgate was here was when he was riding through in his posh carriages, or on his horses. He never stopped to visit any of the shops or chat to the locals. He was essentially the squire in the village and wanted everybody to know that he was set apart from everyone else because of his wealth.’
‘So he isn’t likely to have help from the villagers.’
‘I shouldn’t say so. Many doors would close to him. Why, I have never heard a good word said about him. Many were disgusted when it became known that he had become the Chair of the Board of Governors at the workhouse.’
‘He is a criminal and has been treating the workhouse’s occupants no differently to how he has been treating the villagers.’
‘Aye, I can believe that,’ Mr Muldover snorted.
‘Have you heard any rumours?’
‘About what?’
‘Criminal activity going on in the workhouse,’ Ronan suggested.
‘Nobody knows about what goes on in the workhouse. The only gossip I have heard is that the Governors have tried to get Lynchgate out of the position of Chair, but he won’t go. He has blocked them at every quarter. The place will never come to any good while he is there, I can tell you that much. Lynchgate is by far the most arrogant man I think I have ever had the misfortune to meet.’
Eventually, Ronan took his leave of the informative neighbour and began to walk down the road toward the safe house. The rest of the congregation from the church had started to return to their homes. Ronan identified the source of the scurrilous gossip about Geranium from the spiteful look the woman gave him as she entered her house. Still, Mrs Unwin didn’t challenge him. Strangely, her husband doffed his cap and looked at him with wary respect before shoving his reluctant wife into the house with more force than usual. Ronan could only hope that while at home, the man would find the strength to curb his wife’s spiteful mouth. If not, then Ronan knew Roger would have to go and have a word with the woman about spreading lies about the Star Elite and the people who helped them. Mrs Unwin may not know it yet, but her gossiping could land her with a spell behind bars.
CHAPTER TEN
Later that night, Hamish, Luke, and Peregrine, were seated beside the fireplace in the safe house, holding Wardle’s papers up to the fire, warming them in search of hidden codes. Roger was at the table beside Ronan, looking through Judge Sminter’s court papers and the courthouse ledgers.
‘Have you found anything?’ Joshua asked when he entered the quiet kitchen. He had left Dean outside, on watch.
‘Not yet,’ Roger murmured. He glanced up at Joshua. ‘Have you checked?’
Joshua nodded. ‘Harrison has said that he has a growing list of things to do now that he is temporarily magistrate for Leicestershire as well. He has agreed to keep men at the workhouse but has warned that he can’t leave them there for much longer. They are needed elsewhere. There is no sign of Lynchgate, or Gorman for that matter. The guards change shift on a regular basis but there is no sign of their leaders. What Harrison’s men have reported is that nobody enters or leaves the workhouse except the guards. The only sign of occupancy are candles flickering in the building at night.’
‘What about food deliveries?’ Ronan asked only for Joshua to slowly shake his head.
‘The occupants have their own garden and grow vegetables and the like in there, but vegetables won’t sustain them forever.’
‘So, Harrison needs us to move quicker,’ Roger mused.
‘He has said that he can only give us another week at the most,’ Joshua confirmed.
‘We shouldn’t need any longer than that.’ Roger pointed to the ledger he was trawling through. ‘While none of the entries look suspicious, the court clerk has noted the sentences Judge Sminter passed. A lot of them are incredibly lenient.’
‘What crimes were committed? Who was sentenced? Are the criminals locals?’ Ronan winced when he realised that he was firing questions at Roger like Geranium had fired questions at him.
‘This ledger details the cases of four locals from Malden who have all received lenient sentences for their crimes. We have someone who has stolen a coin pouch from a patron in the village’s tavern. Another villager was arrested by Wardle for breaking into a local’s house and stealing a watch, money, and a valuable jug. We have another man who was caught poaching on a farmer’s land nearby. We have someone else who was arrested for beating his wife to the point that he almost killed her. None of them received sentences any longer than three months.’
Joshua blinked at him. ‘Three months?’
Roger nodded. ‘I have been searching the court papers and character reports from the Judge’s office. All four criminals have a history of committing crimes. One man, Tyler Fenner, has been in and out of gaol since he was fifteen. All his sentences have been for theft. The Judge should have given him at least five years, but he had a twelve-week sentence. After his last court appearance, Tyler hasn’t appeared in front of the judge again.’
‘No, because Tyler Fenner works at the workhouse now,’ Hamish warned. He dug around in his cloak pocket and retrieved a small notebook in which he had detailed all the locals who were currently employed in the workhouse. ‘Ready?’
Roger nodded.
‘We have Bernard Rawshaw, Walter Iggerson, Ralph Yewtree, Tyler Fenner,’ Hamish reported.
‘They all work at the workhouse and live in the village,’ Ronan murmured and watched Hamish nod.
‘Tyler Fenner stole the pouch of coins from the tavern. He was let off with a sentence of three months. Walter Iggerson beat his wife and nearly killed her. He should have had a few years but was given a sentence of three months. Ralph Yewtree, notorious for breaking and entering and theft, was let off from breaking into a villager’s house and helping himself to money, a watch, and a valuable vase. He only received a six-week sentence. Then we have Bernard Rawshaw. He enjoys helping himself to a local farmer’s pheasant and grouse but was given a two-week sentence.’ Roger looked at his men. ‘These men weren’t at the cotton mill.’
‘No, because the thugs at the cotton mill were local to the mill. Those who weren’t killed were arrested but were also convicts who have served time behind bars. All of them received lighter sentences for their crimes. The presiding judge over their cases was Sminter,’ Ronan muttered. ‘Lynchgate then employed these thugs to help him either in the workhouse or the cotton mill.’
‘What about Gorman? Does anybody know anything about him yet?’ Joshua asked.
‘He doesn’t have a house in the village. Nobody seems to know much about him,’ Hamish replied.
Roger rifled through the pages of the court ledger before him. He ran his finger down the columns of names of criminals who had appeared before Judge Sminter on various crimes over the last two years. After several minutes of searching, he suddenly jabbed his finger onto the ledger and swore fluidly.
‘Oswalde Gorman. It says here that he appeared before Sminter fourteen months ago on a charge of beating an elderly gentleman to death and stealing money from the victim’s house. Three months prior to that he was also arrested by Wardle for assaulting a local and trying to steal her coin purse and then trying to kill another victim who caught him attempting to break into his house in the middle of the same night.’
‘An outright fiend,’ Hamish drawled.
‘What sentences did Sminter give him?’ Ronan asked.
‘One month for the attempted theft and burglary, and six months for the murder.’
‘Six months for murder?’ Joshua scowled.
Ronan looked at his colleague. ‘Sminter had to increase the sentence for the murder given how swiftly Gorman re-appeared before him and that it was for murder, but Gorman still didn’t receive the sentence he should have had for any of the crimes he committed.’
A string of curses echoed around the kitchen.
‘Was it Lynchgate’s house he tried to burgle?’ Hamish asked.
Roger shook his head. ‘It doesn’t say. This is the ledger which details the cases the judge presides over and what sentences he issued. It doesn’t give much information about the crimes. That will be in the more detailed court documents still in the courthouse or in Wardle’s papers.’
‘We don’t need much more paperwork to know that the fiends are all working in the workhouse when, in fact, they shouldn’t be anywhere near that place,’ Hamish said.
Roger agreed. ‘Their presence in the village explains why this small, seemingly peaceful village experiences so much crime.’
‘Has anybody seen these people’s homes? How long have they been living here? Are any of them portraying having come into sudden wealth? Is there any sign that they are profiting from far more than a decent wage?’ Joshua asked.
‘I have been to a few of the houses. Most of them are barely inhabitable dumps. If the men are profiting from what they are doing, it is more likely in the form of coins they are taking to the tavern. I have seen one or two of them in person. They are surly thugs. I am not surprised the Board of Governors want them out of the place,’ Joshua said. ‘What I have learnt from the locals is that Iggerson and Rawshaw have been born and raised in the village. The other two moved here a few months ago, probably after their last appearance before Sminter.’
‘Well, they are perfect for Lynchgate’s purposes. There are few who would get through determined thugs like these violent career criminals,’ Roger warned. ‘We aren’t going to find it easy either.’
‘Might it be best if we don’t arrest them in the workhouse but do it when they return home? They must be arrested for being involved in criminal activity going on in there. Because they are guards, and some of the deceased have come out of that workhouse with bruising, or had been murdered, we can arrest the guards wherever they are.’
‘One less guard is a guard we don’t have to fight to get in there,’ Ronan added.
Roger looked at each of his men. ‘We could arrest them at home but if they don’t appear at the workhouse to work their shift Lynchgate might become suspicious and try to find them, or realise we are planning something and hide any condemning evidence. I don’t want anything disappearing, either evidence or people. We need to arrest everyone in the workhouse and then round up the guards who are at home.’
‘We don’t have enough men for that,’ Hamish warned.
‘We do if we use Harrison’s men while they are still here,’ Ronan argued.
‘There will be other thugs, ones who don’t live in the village,’ Hamish said. ‘The men I have mentioned live locally. The villagers told me about them because they know about their criminality and don’t want them here. But there are other guards who live further away. It will take time to get to them.’
‘Well, we have to interrogate the guards we arrest to find out about anybody else who works there. Harrison’s men can search for them once the workhouse has been liberated,’ Roger warned.
‘When do we liberate it?’
‘Seeing as Harrison cannot keep men here for much longer, we need to get in there sooner rather than later. Lynchgate has been unlucky whenever he has targeted Geranium so far, but luck won’t always be against him. We have to arrest him before he gets her alone and gets whatever information he wants out of her.’ Ronan shifted uneasily and stared hard at Roger.
‘Is it worth going through all these papers?’ Hamish asked, lifting yet another sheet up to warm it on the fire. He immediately froze and tipped the paper a little more. ‘Jesus.’
Roger launched out of his seat. ‘Have you found something?’
Hamish grinned. ‘It says here that Gorman is the thief. It’s faint but there. Wardle has put his name to it, so he meant to leave evidence that convicts the thief.’
‘So Geranium was right,’ Roger mused, openly impressed.
‘Keep checking. There may be something else,’ Joshua said.
‘I don’t think we need to,’ Roger argued. ‘Now that we know that Wardle has written notes on the papers, we can search them another time.’
‘What else do we know about Gorman? Does he have any relatives? Do they live in the village?’ Joshua asked.
Hamish sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ‘We need to see if Wardle has left us any notes on Gorman. What we do know is that nobody in the village knows much about him.’
‘We need Gorman,’ Ronan warned.
Roger sat in contemplative silence for several long moments. ‘We have to raid the workhouse, but we must make sure that Geranium is safe. We can’t do both at the same time.’
‘There is nowhere we can mov
e her to in this village that is safe.’ Ronan sighed with frustration and wished that he had a home of his own he could take her to until the investigation was over.
‘Why not raid the workhouse tonight?’ Hamish suggested, glancing at the clock. ‘The hour is still early. Harrison’s men will have continued to monitor the place as usual. If Gorman’s men have seen them outside, nothing about their routine will have changed. If we don’t waste too much time planning what we do, we should be able to get into the building without the guards suspecting that something is wrong.’
‘A surprise attack,’ Ronan mused.
‘We cannot leave Geranium vulnerable,’ Roger warned, but knew that a surprise assault on the workhouse was the only option they had. He removed one of the guns from a bag beside the back door and held it out to Ronan. ‘Take her this.’
Ronan warily took the gun off him.
When he sensed Ronan’s hesitation, Roger warned: ‘Geranium is alone and vulnerable where she is but will be no safer here. At least if she is armed, she might be able to scare Lynchgate away and keep him at bay until we return. We have to have finished our work at the workhouse by dawn because we need to round up the missing guards.’
‘Because Lynchgate is watching here, we have to make sure nobody watches us leave,’ Hamish warned. ‘Gorman and Lynchgate have men working for them who are familiar with the village. There is nothing to say that they don’t keep a careful eye on us. They are certainly watching Geranium because they knew she had gone into town the other day.’
‘When we leave here, we all use different routes. Luke and I can leave through the front door. Roger and Ronan can use the back door. Dean and Hamish must use the carriage track. We can use the woods. It will be impossible for anybody keeping watch to follow everyone. We can all converge on the workhouse within half an hour,’ Joshua suggested. ‘Time is short, gentlemen. As soon as we get Lynchgate and his thugs behind bars, we can take our time looking through the paperwork, and don’t need Harrison’s men to do it.’