With a curtsy, Nancy dashed out the door. “Now then,” Archie went on. “I’m off to my breakfast. Latham, you are welcome to join me. We need to discuss your tenants’ reports.”
* * *
Edgar stared at James, his eyes wide. “Did you hear that?”
In the darkness, their only light was the small flickering torch that gave off little smoke. James tilted his head to the side. “What? The bit about His Lordship and the wench spending time in the garden?”
Keeping their voices pitched low and stepping softly, they had moved about within the tunnels, climbing to the top floor and back down again, listening to the gossip from the maids cleaning the hundreds of rooms, the footmen chatting in the hallways, Rochester himself talking to his steward about rents.
Yet, the only thing they overheard about their employer’s runaway wench was complaints. Nothing at all about what rooms she occupied. “That may be the answer,” Edgar murmured. “Forget what room she is in. We sneak into the garden while they are holding hands. Kill His Lordship, then grab the Hill woman and be gone before they know it.”
James sat silent for a time, thinking. “That might work,” he slowly agreed. “Easier with them together, right? We’ll have our escape right there, I expect. While they are distracted and crying over his body, we can be off his lands before they start looking for us.”
“Take the girl to the master and collect what is owed us.” Edgar grinned. “Retirement, here we come.”
Chapter 25
Tense, Cornelia sat in the garden with Archie, holding his hand tightly, and fretting over things she could not control. There are so many things that can go wrong with this. The worst of which could be Archie’s death. Glancing up at him, she found him smiling at her as though reading her thoughts. Though they dared not speak aloud of the trap, she knew they did need to talk a little, even if to reassure those that stalked them that all was normal.
“You are so beautiful in the night, under the stars,” Archie said. “I am the luckiest man in the world to be sitting here beside you.”
Cornelia forced a light laugh. “I think I am the lucky one. To have caught the eye of the most eligible bachelor in the kingdom.”
Archie’s face leaned toward her, but his eyes flicked to either side, watchful, his smile as forced as her laughter. “How did you like your supper?” he asked.
“Your cook is superb. Is this wine imported from France?”
“Yes, before the war started.”
Wondering how long she could force inane chatter while the tension inside her threatened to explode, Cornelia also glanced around the garden while keeping her face demurely lowered. If something doesn’t happen soon, I am going to scream. “I have never had imported wine before. It has an extraordinary flavor.”
“My father was a connoisseur of fine wines,” Archie replied, barely turning his head as he tried to take in everything around them.
Cornelia knew the footmen Mr. North formed to spring the trap squatted in hiding amid the tall hedgerows and shrubs, Mr. North himself stood hidden in the deep shadows not three feet away, his pistol in his hand. Mr. Hamden, her own bodyguard, crouched in the shrubs immediately to her right, also armed with a pistol.
She and Archie sat on a bench with only one clear avenue toward them. If the rats in the walls took the bait, they could come from only one direction. The waiting wore on her nerves as they made conversation that she would immediately forget, unable to stop her eyes from trying to see everything at once. Her excellent night vison informed her that some of the shadows around her were not shrubs, but hoped that the men they planned to trap could not discern them.
Cornelia froze, her hand tightening in Archie’s. She felt eyes on her, gazes filled with animosity and malice, men with murder on their minds. Turning to him, she tried to convey her fears to him without words, trying to let him know that they were being stalked, that their trap was working. Archie frowned, his brows furrowed.
“Would you like to have company sometime?” he asked.
Cornelia nodded, her mouth so dry she was not sure she could speak. “Of course. We can entertain them here in the garden.”
Two dark shadows charged down the narrow lane between the hedgerows. At the same instant, Archie seized Cornelia and threw her to the ground, his body on top of hers. Mr. North’s pistol barked, and a man bellowed in pain. Mr. Hamden crouched beside them; Cornelia observing his boots not too far from her face.
From all around, bodies crashed through foliage as she craned her head to watch as the seven footmen tackled the two invaders to the ground. Wild curses abounded as the two men fought to escape the net they had stumbled into, throwing punches, kicking, trying to roll away and rise to their feet and run.
Rolling off of her body, Archie knelt beside her as Mr. North lunged from hiding, bellowing, “Crack them across their heads, knock them out. My Lord, are you all right?”
“We’re fine. See to them.”
Leaping over their forms on the ground, Mr. North waded his way into the fracas as the footmen used their staves to strike the pair across their skulls, their sheer weight of numbers pinning them to the ground. With Mr. Hamden still on guard, his pistol aimed at the tangle of men, Archie helped Cornelia up, then held her close as she shivered from reaction. “We did it, angel,” he murmured against her hair, stroking down her back. “We damn did it.”
“They intended to kill you, My Lord,” Mr. North said, stepping toward them, a second pistol in his hand. “I saw the light shine on the barrels as they took aim at you.”
“I am very glad you shot faster.”
Mr. North stood beside them, watching as the footmen bound the captives’ hands behind their backs in case they returned to consciousness before they were chained in the cellar. “The big one took my ball in his upper right arm where he appears to have had a previous injury.”
He grinned suddenly. “I suspect that’s where you shot him that night.”
“So that’s the bugger who killed my horse,” Archie gritted. “He’ll certainly pay for that. Get them down into the cellar before they wake up, Latham. Chained hand and foot like the other. I’ll be down there in a few moments.”
“Right you are.”
Mr. North strode back to the footmen, who lifted the prisoners by their shoulders and dragged them toward the house. Lifting her face from Archie’s chest, Cornelia finally felt her shaking subside, and she felt calmer, more in control of herself. She drew a deep, cleansing breath. “I would like to be there when you talk to them.”
Archie frowned down at her. “That’s no place for you, angel.”
“It is indeed. They would have killed you and taken me. I have the right to confront them.”
At last, Archie nodded. “I suppose you do that. Come along then if you’re ready.”
“I am.”
He kept his arm over her shoulders until they entered the house proper, then dropped it once there were witnesses to their impropriety. Nancy stood amid a few kitchen and cleaning maids, Mrs. Cates beside her as they walked into the foyer near the kitchen and the dining room. Archie lifted his hand to beckon to the head housekeeper, who whispered briefly in Nancy’s ear. Nancy nodded, and disappeared, wending her way through the small crowd.
“We have need of you as a chaperone again, Mrs. Cates,” Archie said, heading toward the door that led downstairs.
“My Lord, you are not taking her down there.”
“You want to stop her?” he asked over his shoulder. “You are welcome to try.”
Muttering under her breath, Mrs. Cates fell in behind Cornelia as they walked down the steep wooden stairs into the dank darkness below. Torches lit their way, and Cornelia shuddered to think of being trapped down here with the true rats, unable to escape. She would not plead for the men held prisoner down here, knowing full well how they would have killed the man she loved without compunction, without mercy.
This is the least of what they deserve. They would have put me i
nto the hands of an evil man, then left me without a backward look.
The stairs ended a distance below the house and the broad cellar extended far beyond the several torches down there. Metal rattled against metal as the unconscious men were chained, Mr. North offering suggestions as to how much leeway they would be given. Stepping out from behind Archie’s back, Mr. Hamden at her side, Cornelia got her first good look at her enemy’s henchmen.
The fellow with the scarred face watched in fascination as the others were chained and shackled as much as he was. The biggest man with the blood on his upper right arm and more trickling from his brow, stirred, and moaned. His eyes blinked, confused, then cleared as he stared at the circle of men around him.
“Damn hell.”
“I suppose that’s an appropriate comment for your situation,” Archie said with a lazy drawl. “If you supply me with the information I wish to know, you will be well treated.”
The big man’s eyes found Cornelia’s. “So you’re the freak my employer wants so badly,” he marveled.
When Archie would have stepped forward, his fists clenched, her hand on his arm halted him. “Yes, I am,” she replied, her tone cold. “Who is he?”
“Ma’am, I have never turned on any of my employers in the past, and I do not intend to start now. Your pet aristocrat can torture me all he likes, but I will not tell him or you.”
The second man roused, groaning, as did the first henchman, regaining consciousness to discover himself chained hand and foot. Growling, he fought against them, glaring his hatred at the half circle of ten men and two women watching them. “Let me go,” he snarled, lunging forward only to be brought up short by the chains and shackles.
“Sorry,” Archie drawled, looking down his nose at the three. “Unless you cooperate, you’ll sit down here until you rot. And by the look of that wound, it won’t be very long before you do. I suspect that arm will become infected in no time. The damp down here, you know.”
Cornelia watched the big man glance involuntarily at his arm before catching himself. “You would let men die down here?” he sneered. “That’s not very noble.”
“My title is of the nobility,” Archie replied. “That doesn’t mean I adhere to their standards. Your friend over there informed me that only you know who you work for, and therefore you will be the target of my inquisition.”
Both men stared hard at the face of the scarred man, who shrugged. “How can he tell you anything?” the leader demanded. “He’s mute.”
Archie’s grin was feral. “I have my ways of gaining information. I will find out your names and your employer, so it is up to you as to how you want to be treated while you’re here. Tell me everything, and I won’t let your arm rot off.”
“Stick it up your arse.”
Archie chuckled with a shrug. “I hope you two ate well from the food you took from my kitchen. Your mute friend will continue to be fed generously while you two will receive the barest amount of bread and water to keep you alive. As you may have noticed, you all have been spaced far enough apart that you cannot reach him or his food.”
“What did you tell them?” the leader screamed at the scarred man.
The other shrugged again as Archie said, “He told me enough. Enjoy your evening, gentlemen. I will certainly be enjoying mine.”
* * *
After quietly ordering the footmen out of the cellar, Archie watched the two men struggle against their unrelenting chains, cursing him, his parentage, and Cornelia. She calmly exchanged a glance with him and shook her head, informing him he was not to rise to their bait and retaliate against them for their insults.
“It does not matter what they say about me,” she murmured as he guided her toward the stairs. “They are helpless and their words are all that remain to them.”
“I say let them rot.” Mrs. Cates sniffed as Archie urged her up the stairs in front of him. “They deserve nothing less.”
At the top of the wooden steps, Latham waited for him to close the door securely and lock it. “The men did a fantastic job this night, My Lord. Will you have a few words with them?”
“Of course.”
The seven footmen stood at attention in the foyer, then bowed as one as Archie stepped toward them. “Thank you all for your extraordinary service this night, gentlemen. You have all earned a bonus this month, as well as my heartfelt gratitude. You risked much for me and Miss Hill, and I promise, I will never forget it.”
“Nor will I,” Cornelia said from his side. “I also wish to thank you.”
Dipping low, Cornelia curtsied to them, her head lowered. Astonished, Archie observed their grins, as they, in their turn, bowed to her. “We are happy to have served,” said one, and Archie felt a jolt when he recognized Benjamin Anders, the footman Cornelia had dropped to the floor in the servants’ quarters. It seemed Cornelia recognized him as well, for she smiled.
“I trust we might be at peace, you and I?” she asked.
He placed his hand on his chest and bowed, grinning. “You have earned my highest regard and respect, Miss Hill. No one has bested me since I was a lad, and to know that you could do it again, well, I think I would be a wise man if I said yes.”
Cornelia laughed. “Thank you. I would truly hate to smash your knee again.”
Latham ushered them away while giving them the rest of the night away from their duties. Archie’s glance took in Mr. Hamden and Mrs. Cates. “I know it’s late, but I would like us to talk further about our continued strategies. Mrs. Cates, will you order refreshments for us all and join us in the library?”
She nodded. “Of course. I’ll be right along.”
With Latham and Mr. Hamden in attendance, Archie escorted Cornelia across the house to the library, gesturing for Latham to pour them all drinks. “Wine, Cornelia?” Archie asked as she sat in her usual place at the desk.
“Yes, please.”
Mrs. Cates bustled in and closed the door. “The servants will be along shortly, My Lord,” she said.
“Thank you,” Archie replied, gesturing toward a chair. “Please have a seat, for I would appreciate your advice as well.”
Taking a chair that faced them all, Archie sipped his whiskey, and said, “What do you think will happen next? We have taken this buyer’s henchmen, and unless he has more thugs in his pocket, we have robbed him of his tools.”
Latham nodded thoughtfully. “If he does not, then he will have to go to a larger town and recruit more. Berwick-on-Tyne is the closest and even then that is a long way to travel to hire bullies.”
“Barrett will send his own,” Cornelia said softly. “You can count on it, Archie.”
A knock at the door heralded the servants, and Mrs. Cates opened it, ushered them in. and set the tray on the table. The kitchen maids curtsied, then hustled out. Taking plates, Mrs. Cates placed bread, cheese, cut meat, biscuits and fruit on each one, handing Archie’s his first. He nibbled on a piece of cheese as he watched Cornelia.
“What do you think he will do?” Archie asked her.
Putting a slice of meat between pieces of bread, she chewed thoughtfully, then sipped her wine before answering. “First, he will try to bargain again. Probe you for weaknesses, perhaps offer to trade me for a couple of servants, Mortimer perhaps.”
Archie made a face. “Not damn likely.”
“Barrett knows this, and will no doubt send Felix and Maurice to persuade you by other means.”
“Are they smart enough to try the tunnels as well?” Latham asked her.
“They may not think of it themselves, but Barrett will. We can expect them to try.”
“But our trap may not work a second time,” Archie suggested. “Not when they get wind of what we did. They will be too wary.”
“Which means they may not try to enter the house, My Lord,” Mr. Hamden offered. “Not if they think there’s a trap waiting for them.”
“Thus they will lure me out,” Archie said with a sigh. “It worked before, as I love my horses too much.�
��
“Can you trust us to deal with any threat to the stables?” Latham asked. “Knowing that it is indeed a set up to get you out and into the open?”
“I can say right now, of course,” Archie replied easily. “But when it comes right down to it, I’d most likely run out there in spite of of the threat. You know I’m just that way.”
“Yes, you are,” Mrs. Cates said with a snort.
“So what else can we do to protect life and property?” Archie asked, tossing her a wink. “The patrols are not working well enough.”
“Take the fight to them,” Mr. Hamden suggested. “Challenge this Barrett Hill. Force him to move on. Through him, get this buyer fellow angry enough to get involved himself. Get him to show his face, to come himself rather than send his cronies.”
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