‘It was the only thing we could do. We can’t have them realising how close Stephen and I really are. That would spell danger for us all.’
‘You’re completely safe, Laetitia. Now that Bowerman is out of the way at last, you’re a lady of leisure again. You don’t have to pretend that you actually love that gullible fool now. After a decent interval, you can look for another likely victim to ensnare in the same way.’
‘It was you who found Mark Bowerman for us, Rawdon.’
‘I’m sorry that you had to put up with his tedious company for so long.’
‘For all our sakes,’ she said, ‘I was prepared to do that. It was in the certain knowledge that he’d be shot dead by Stephen in a duel. That’s what happened last time. You found the target, I brought him to the verge of a proposal of marriage and he kindly gave me proof of his devotion by amending his will in my favour. Just when he thought his happiness was about to be secured, I told him that I was being harassed by a former admirer. You know the rest.’
‘Stephen killed him and we three shared the proceeds.’
‘That’s exactly what should have happened again.’
‘I know it is.’
‘Someone is toying with us, Rawdon. It makes me feel very uncomfortable.’
‘We’ll run them to earth, I promise you.’
‘I keep coming back to the same name,’ she told him.
‘That’s what I did at first, Laetitia,’ he said, ‘but it can’t possibly have been her. Rumours of her illness were true, it seems. To put our minds at rest, I’ve made enquiries and learnt the truth. She died somewhere in France several weeks ago. We have to look at someone else.’
‘Stephen mentioned a woman named Eleanor Gold.’
‘She is now our main suspect. I’ve instituted a search for her. She’s angry enough with Stephen to want to inflict real harm on him and, if she’s the beauty he described to me, Miss Gold would have no trouble finding an accomplice. It has to be her,’ he declared. ‘She was left alone in his house with access to his correspondence from you and to the room where he kept his military souvenirs. She would not only have been aware of the time and place of the duel,’ he went on, ‘but, if she’d been through his papers, she’d have known about the other property that Stephen owned. That’s why she had Bowerman murdered there – to give Stephen a fright.’
‘It gave us all a fright, Rawdon.’
‘We’ll get her, I swear it.’
Laetitia was reassured. She looked at him with a fond smile.
‘Where would we be without you?’ she asked. ‘You do so much for us.’
‘Don’t overestimate my contribution. You and Stephen do most of the work. I could never emulate your charms, nor could I be certain of killing a man in a duel. To be candid, I’d even have baulked at shooting as easy a target as Bowerman. I simply don’t have Stephen’s experience with a pistol in my hand.’
‘You do more than your share, Rawdon, and we’re deeply grateful.’
‘Hearing you say that is enough reward in itself.’
They exchanged a look of mutual regard and he smiled sadly.
She became businesslike. ‘There is another problem, of course. Paul Skillen must not be allowed to solve the murder before we do or he may learn some very sensitive secrets.’
‘We’ll get to the killer first,’ he promised her, ‘and shut his mouth for good. We’ll deal with Eleanor Gold the same way. Being a woman won’t save her life. As for Paul Skillen, he won’t bother us again, Laetitia. I devised a plan to send him running around in circles. I arranged the kidnap of a close friend of his.’
It had taken him time and effort to shift the cover on the coal-hole. When he finally moved it enough to see daylight above, Huckvale was almost exhausted and dripping with sweat. Tossing the shovel aside, he was breathing stertorously. Though there was now an aperture through which he could escape, there was no way that he could climb up to it. What he could do, however, was to call for help. In the street above, he could hear hooves clacking, cartwheels turning and voices rising in argument. Gathering up his strength, he yelled at the top of his voice.
‘Help! I’m down here!’
Nothing happened. Though he called out in despair a dozen times, nobody came to peer down into the cellar. So close to other human beings, he nevertheless began to feel that he would still be entombed indefinitely. He waited minutes before he was ready to shout again until his lungs and throat were on fire. This time, he accompanied his plea with a fusillade of coal, hurled piece by piece through the hole and into the street.
‘Help!’ he cried. ‘I’m down here in the cellar.’
All of a sudden, he got a response that made him cry out with mingled joy and relief. The faces of Peter and Paul Skillen appeared above. Huckvale waved to them. When Peter saw his friend’s dilemma, he lay face down on the ground and reached out his arm to its full extent. By standing on his toes, Huckvale was just able to grasp his hand. He was lifted slowly upwards and out of the cellar, emerging to find that Yeomans and Hale were there as well, each one holding a prisoner.
‘Is that you, Jem?’ asked Paul. ‘You’re covered in coal dust.’
‘That’s him,’ said Huckvale, pointing to Swait. ‘That’s the Reverend Philip Needham, the barefaced liar who kidnapped me.’
‘The other man is his accomplice. Both of them are under arrest for the kidnap and my guess is that they may have had something to do with those two mad dogs let loose at the gallery one night.’
‘We’ll get the truth out of them,’ vowed Yeomans.
Swait gave a snort. ‘We’re saying nothing.’
‘It was all Luke’s fault,’ said his accomplice. ‘I wanted to have him released but Luke said we should leave him down there in the coal cellar to rot away. He’s got no conscience but I have.’
‘Your conscience didn’t stop you from committing serious crimes,’ said Peter. ‘Who was your paymaster?’
‘We don’t know his name,’ said Swait, sullenly.
‘He’s lying,’ grunted Yeomans. ‘But if he was planning to leave Huckvale trapped down there, then it’s a case of attempted murder. Come on, Alfred. Let’s take these villains where they belong.’
He and Hale marched the two prisoners off and left the brothers to console their friend. Huckvale shuttled between fear and delight.
‘I thought I’d be left down there for ever.’
‘You wouldn’t have survived all that long without food,’ said Peter. ‘And if you were tied hand and foot, you’d have been in great pain.’
‘I was, and my hands went all numb.’
‘How did you get free of your bonds, Jem?’
‘That was the easy bit,’ replied the other. ‘Getting the cover off was much harder. My arms are still aching.’
‘Charlotte is the person to thank,’ said Paul. ‘When he came to arrange instruction, she met the man calling himself Philip Needham and fancied she’d come across him before. That gave us a vital clue.’
‘How did the Runners get involved?’
‘They came to the gallery to accuse you of burglary.’
Huckvale tensed. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have climbed into that place.’
‘You committed no crime,’ Peter assured him. ‘On the contrary, you were helping to solve one by getting hold of an important piece of information. The Runners have suspicions but no evidence whatsoever to connect either of us with the burglary. If they challenge us again, deny their charge.’
‘You need a bath,’ said Paul, looking at his friend’s black face. ‘Let’s get you back to Gully. He’s been worried sick about you, Jem.’
Huckvale grimaced. ‘I don’t blame him,’ he said. ‘I was worried sick about myself.’
In all the time he’d been back in their accommodation, Abel Mundy had said no more than a few words. His wife didn’t need to ask him what had happened. His expression and manner were eloquent. The attempted reconciliation had been a total failure. He and Hannah Granville were farther apa
rt than ever. The only thing his wife could do was to put food and drink in front of him then stay discreetly out of his way. She was alone in the other room when he came in. Marion looked up from the Bible she’d been reading.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, quietly.
‘You don’t have to say anything until you’re quite ready, Abel.’
‘I’m not sorry for what I said to her. Someone should have done it ages ago. Miss Granville is a tyrant. Give her full rein and she’ll trample all over us. That’s what she tried to do to me today and I refused to bow down before her.’
‘I can see that tempers must have flared.’
‘There was passion on both sides.’
‘What about Mr Fleet?’
‘He could do nothing, Marion. We were both out of control.’
‘I’m so sad to hear that. Naturally, I take your side, Abel, but I did hope that you could moderate your demands and … take a step or two towards her.’
‘If I’d done that, I’d have been tempted to strike her.’
She was shocked. ‘You’d never raise your hand to a woman!’
‘I came close to doing so today,’ he confessed, ‘and I’m ashamed of it.’
‘Do you think that Miss Granville will be ashamed in any way?’
‘She’s not capable of it. Other people are always in the wrong. It’s never her.’
Marion Mundy wanted to offer him comfort but she couldn’t find the words even though she’d been searching for them in the scriptures. Bible stories were shot through with anguish and disaster but she’d never found one that related to the work of a playwright. Creating a drama of high quality had taken her husband almost a year and there’d been endless revisions after that as he strove to make it sufficiently appealing to win the interest of Lemuel Fleet. Having his play praised and accepted in London had been the pinnacle for Mundy. The ensuing period of time was one of constant disappointment and regret. All the joy had been squeezed out of him like a wet rag. The delicate hands doing the squeezing were, in his view, those belonging to Hannah Granville.
‘What will you do now, Abel?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Would you like me to speak to Mr Fleet?’
‘That would do no good.’
‘Shall I try to reason with Miss Granville?’
‘You’d only expose yourself to abuse and I won’t allow that.’
‘There must be something I can do, surely?’
‘Just pray for me, Marion.’
‘That’s what I have been doing.’
‘Pray for me and for my poor, dear, hapless play.’
Peter Skillen had decided to go to Bow Street to see what information he could glean from the two prisoners. It was left to Paul to take Huckvale safely back to the gallery. Both rode on the same horse. Jangled by the ordeal in the cellar, Huckvale was recovering quickly and blamed himself for being taken in so easily by someone masquerading as a priest.
‘I should have known that he was an impostor.’
‘You’ll be more careful next time, Jem.’
‘Working at the gallery used to be such a pleasure,’ said Huckvale. ‘Nothing ever went wrong. Yet in the last few days, it has. I’ve been charged with a crime I never committed, set on by a pair of angry dogs and kidnapped by two men who locked me up in a coal cellar. What’s next?’
‘Don’t take it to heart,’ said Paul. ‘You suffered in a good cause. You’re helping us to solve the murder of Mr Bowerman.’
‘Am I?’
‘That’s why they abducted you. They know how much you mean to us. When you’re in jeopardy, Peter and I won’t rest until we’ve rescued you. While we’re doing that, we can’t be investigating the murder.’
They arrived back at the gallery to a cordial welcome. Though none of them was prepared to embrace him because of the filth on his clothing, Ackford, Charlotte and Hannah offered sympathy and kindness. They sat him down, brought him a glass of brandy and made much of him. It was rare for Huckvale to be the centre of attention and he savoured it. Charlotte produced her record book and showed him the sketch she’d once done of Luke Swait.
‘That’s him,’ said Huckvale. ‘That’s the rogue who cozened me.’
‘His days as a sham priest are over,’ said Ackford. ‘If he escapes the gallows, then he’ll be transported for certain, and so will that friend of his.’
‘Good riddance!’
‘You, meanwhile, need a good bath and a long rest.’
‘I’d be glad of the bath but I’m not going to rest. After what’s happened, I’m eager to rejoin the search for the killer.’ He indicated his apparel. ‘He did this to me. It was on his orders that I was knocked unconscious and thrown into that cellar. Whoever he is, he has a lot to answer for.’ He took a sip of brandy and winced. ‘I don’t like the taste at all.’
‘Drink it up,’ advised Paul. ‘It will do you good.’
‘Then perhaps I should have a glass of it,’ suggested Hannah. ‘After my clash with Mundy, I’m in sore need of something to revive me.’
‘Was the meeting with him a failure?’
‘No, Paul, it was a catastrophe.’
‘Whose fault was that, Hannah?’
‘It was his fault, of course,’ she said, annoyed that he should even ask the question. After a few moments of reflection, she made a slight concession. ‘Well, he wasn’t entirely to blame, perhaps, but he was the one who lit the fire in the first place. All that I did was to fan the flames a little.’
‘I can imagine,’ he said with a wry smile. ‘But how do you feel now?’
‘I feel desperately sad because the play will be abandoned.’
‘I’m not thinking about that. I was wondering if you’d got over the shock of being hit by that shattered glass.’
‘That’s something I’ll never forget until we find the culprit.’
‘And we will, Hannah.’
‘It’s the one advantage of losing The Piccadilly Opera,’ she said. ‘I won’t have to step onto a stage and be at the mercy of an unknown enemy in the audience. When I’m in the middle of a performance, I’m totally unguarded. He could do far more than throw a stone at me then. There,’ she went on, turning to Huckvale, ‘I’m doing it again. I’m going on about myself when I should be thinking about you, Jem. You’ve had far worse to bear than me. You must have thought you’d die down there in the dark.’
‘I was afraid that nobody would ever find me,’ said Huckvale.
‘Well, we did,’ added Paul. ‘Not that we can actually recognise you. I’ve seen chimney sweeps with cleaner faces than you.’
‘Time for that bath,’ said Ackford, taking over. ‘Off we go, Jem.’
Before they could leave the room, however, Peter returned. He looked grim and determined. They all gathered around to hear his news.
‘Luke Swait couldn’t give us a name,’ he explained, ‘because he was never told it. His paymaster was careful to give very little away. That said, I did eventually get a good description of the man out of Swait.’
‘Did it sound like anyone we know?’ asked Paul.
‘Oh, yes, we’ve got to know him all too well.’
‘What’s his name, Peter?’
‘It’s the one I was expecting to hear,’ said his brother. ‘Mr Rawdon Carr.’
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
As they marched into the chief magistrate’s office, they did so without a shred of their usual apprehension because they had a triumph to report. Kirkwood looked up from his desk with weary cynicism.
‘What setbacks have you come to relate?’ he asked.
‘We’ve brought nothing but good news, sir,’ said Yeomans, brightly. ‘To be honest, we feel that congratulations should be the order of the day.’
‘That’s right,’ said Hale. ‘We’ve made two important arrests.’
Yeomans nudged him. ‘Let me explain, Alfred.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Remember your place.’
‘I w
ill, Micah.’
‘I always take the lead.’
‘When you two have finished arguing,’ said Kirkwood, ‘perhaps one of you would be kind enough to enlighten me. To what arrests do you refer?’
‘We apprehended two men guilty of kidnap and other crimes,’ said Yeomans, grandiloquently. ‘Thanks to our quick thinking and prompt action, they were seized at The Black Horse in Covent Garden. Both men resisted arrest so we had to overpower them before dragging them back here.’
‘What are their names?’
‘One is Luke Swait, a bootmaker; the other is Nathan Cooper, a greengrocer.’
‘And how did you find them?’
‘It was by a combination of hard work and clever deduction, sir. We’d had our suspicions about them for some time. When we caught wind of the abduction, we knew that someone was in grave danger as a result so we moved swiftly to round up the malefactors.’
‘That wasn’t exactly what happened, Micah,’ put in Hale.
‘Keep out of this.’
‘A certain amount of luck was involved.’
‘Any good fortune we enjoyed was fully deserved,’ said Yeomans, silencing him with a glance. ‘Our experience at policing was the telling factor. That’s why two villains are now languishing in custody and facing the prospect of transportation. In my view,’ he added, voice deepening for effect, ‘both of them should hang.’
‘Oh,’ said Kirkwood with light sarcasm, ‘so you’ve promoted yourself to the magistracy now, have you?’
‘No, no, sir, that would be presumptuous.’
‘You’ll need a far better knowledge of the law if you are to sit beside me.’
‘I know my limitations.’
‘We both do,’ said Hale.
‘In this instance, however, we feel that we surmounted them.’
‘Let me recapitulate,’ said Kirkwood. ‘Suspecting these two individuals of various crimes, you heard of a kidnap and attributed it immediately to them. You therefore hastened to Covent Garden to make the arrests. Is that correct?’
‘More or less,’ said Yeomans.
‘Do you have anything to add?’
A Date with the Executioner Page 24