'I've nothing to say to you.' Lady Emily barely looked at Mr Cochrane. 'Gospatrick! Gospatrick! Where is that boy?'
'The gentleman you seek is not your son, my Lady,' Mr Cochrane said. 'He is an imposter.'
'I know my own son,' Lady Emily said.
'I'm afraid your son is dead, My Lady.'
I do not know what I had expected when I entered Huntlaw House. I had not expected Mr Cochrane to make such a brutally dramatic announcement.
'My son… Gospatrick?' For an instant, I saw sanity in Lady Emily's faded eyes.
'I am sorry to have to break the news.' Mr Cochrane took Lady Emily's arm and guided her to a long oaken settle that sat beneath an array of portraits in the grand hall. 'The Honourable Gospatrick Hume joined the East India Company as a clerk. He died of fever in Bengal seventeen years ago. I do have documentary proof.'
'Oh.' Lady Emily slumped on the settle for a long minute. I was sure I saw tears in her eyes, but then she straightened her back. The Scottish nobility do not reveal their emotions in public, however heart-rending the news. 'The line has not ended. The property will fall to my second nephew. The name will continue.'
Mr Cochrane nodded. 'I believe that is so, Your Ladyship.'
Lady Emily stood up, all traces of grief removed from her face. 'So be it. Where is the imposter who dared take my family name?'
'We are searching for him, your Ladyship.' Father spoke quietly. 'We will bring the rogue to justice.'
Sudden noises behind the house indicated that the search had been successful. 'Come this way, gentlemen.' Lady Emily gave me a brief nod. 'And you, Miss Hepburn.'
'Do you know who I am?'
'You are Miss Mary Hepburn of Cauldneb. Come along.'
My crazy old lady had proved to be less mad than I thought. People are seldom what they appear, in my opinion, and we have a habit of applying false, and often derogatory, labels to those we scarcely know. We do like to categorise our neighbours so we can store them in compartments within our minds. As will be evident from my own story, we are often well wide of the truth.
Moving with surprising speed for an elderly woman, Lady Emily guided us through her home. I had expected a mausoleum with empty or dusty rooms. The place was pristine. Lady Emily was anything but crazy. In nautical terms, she ran a tight ship.
The sound of voices increased as we drew nearer to the rear of the house.
'Excuse me, ladies,' Mr Aitken gave a brief bow. 'Duty calls.' He ran ahead, as eager as a young man in his prime.
We emerged from the back door to see Mr Ormiston and Mr Aitken struggling with three men. One man had his hands around the throat of John Aitken, while Mr Ormiston had one on the ground. The third was Captain Ferintosh. Without hesitation, Mr Cochrane and Alexander dashed forward.
'Be careful, Alexander,' I warned.
As Mr Cochrane leapt to help Mr Ormiston, Alexander banged into the man who held Mr Aitken. Now, I am no expert at describing scenes of mayhem, so suffice to say that between them, Alexander and Mr Aitken succeeded in overpowering their adversary. As Mr Aitken sat on him, Alexander produced a length of cord from his pocket and tied the fellow up. That man seemed to carry everything with him except a horse and carriage.
In the meantime, Mr Cochrane had disabled another man with a most effective punch. After a lingering look at me, Captain Ferintosh fled into the woods of Huntlaw policies.
'There are two more men in the gang.' As you may imagine, I was wild with excitement at all these goings-on. 'One is called Jack Samson. There is also a woman called Isabel Snodgrass.' I do not know why I mentioned the woman's name, but it seemed important to do so.
'Are you all right, Miss Hepburn?' Mr Aitken looked directly at me. 'You should not be involved in this squabbling. I'm surprised at you, Cochrane, allowing such a thing! And I am even more surprised at you!' Mr Aitken prodded Alexander in the ribs.
'I could not leave her outside,' Alexander held out a hand as if to touch me.
'Miss Hepburn is unharmed,' Lady Emily stood at my side. 'You gentlemen still have work to do.'
'Catch Charleton,' Mr Cochrane ordered. 'I want the head and the body of the snake. I don't want anybody to come back to the house until Charleton and Snodgrass are in custody.' He turned to me. 'Miss Hepburn. Can you say with certainty that these two fellows were part of Charleton's gang?'
Mr Cochrane pulled his prisoners to their feet by the simple expedient of grabbing them by the hair and yanking hard. I stared at the contorted, now mud-smeared faces. 'Yes,' I said.
'Good.' Mr Cochrane nodded, 'Mr Aitken, could you put them somewhere safe? And you, Miss Hepburn, remain in the house if you please. This is no job for a lady.'
'Miss Hepburn will remain with me,' Lady Emily said. 'Come, Miss Hepburn. Leave the men to do their work.'
After years of thinking of Lady Emily as an eccentric old lady, now I sat opposite her as we drank tea, ate the most delicious scones imaginable and watched as the men spread out to scour the woodland.
'I'm sorry to hear about your son,' I said.
'Thank you.' Lady Emily bit delicately into a scone. 'He chose his path. Men do that.'
'So it seems,' I said.
'That man Edmund Charleton; he has chosen a different path, one that will invariably lead to the gallows.' Lady Emily sighed. 'It is such a pity. He is a handsome fellow with such impeccable manners. It's hard to believe that a man with the pretensions of a gentleman could be a wrong 'un.'
I nodded. 'I liked the fellow, your Ladyship.'
'So did I,' Lady Emily said. 'He did remind me of Gospatrick. He gave me a few hours of such intense pleasure when I thought Gospatrick had returned.' She looked at me from her ancient, rheumy eyes. 'You must think me such a fool to believe that such a man could be my son.'
I shook my head. 'Not at all, your Ladyship. Captain Ferintosh, or Edmund Charleton or whatever name he chooses to call himself, is a most accomplished actor. He should be on stage.'
'I feel such a fool.'
'You're not.' I wondered what the protocol was for a woman such as me consoling an elderly Lady. I sighed; after the past few days, I did not really care. Leaning forward, I patted Lady Emily's arm. 'You're a very sensible lady.'
That sounded far more condescending than I had intended. I sat back, expecting to feel the full wrath of an insulted aristocrat. Lady Emily only smiled.
'Your husband will be happy to know you are safe.'
'I don't have a husband,' I said.
It was Lady Emily's turn to pat my arm. 'You have, Miss Hepburn, in all but name. I saw the way that man looked at you. He was not concerned about any old gentlewoman.' Lady Emily gave a throaty chuckle. 'He had very tender eyes for you.'
That man could only mean Mr Aitken when he had rebuked Mr Cochrane and Alexander for allowing me to come here. Once again I had pushed the thought of my impending engagement to John Aitken to the back of my mind. Now it emerged again in all its depressing reality.
'My Lady.' The voice came from behind me.
Captain Ferintosh emerged from behind a curtain with a pistol in his hand. 'I think we have unfinished business, Lady Emily, and you, Miss Hepburn.'
Chapter Fourteen
I rose, prepared to fight but not knowing how to begin. In a lonely childhood bereft of brothers and sisters, one does not gain the necessary skills required to challenge a man with a pistol. Oh, I tried. I threw myself forward as women do in all the worst romances, and got a hefty slap on the jaw for my pains. I sprawled on the floor in an undignified heap.
'Get up,' Isabel joined Captain Ferintosh. She kicked me, as she had done before. 'Get up!' She called me some foul names that I will not sully this page by using.
Jack was also there, looking a trifle concerned as he took Lady Emily by the arm.
'Let go of me!' Lady Emily's attempted slap was no more effective than my lunge had been. Neither of us gave much resistance as Captain Ferintosh rounded us up like cattle. 'You are our way out,' Captain Ferintosh sai
d.
I tried another tactic. 'Captain, for the sake of old times, you could let us go.'
'There were no old times,' Isabel emphasised her words by another vicious kick. Honestly, that woman was a devil with her feet. 'Now move, or I'll set about you.'
I had learned not to like Captain Ferintosh or Jack, but it was Isabel who scared me the most. Although the captain was the nominal leader, I genuinely believe that Isabel was the driving force of that unpleasant little group.
'You spoiled my plans,' Isabel confirmed my suspicions with her next words. 'We were going to act as Lady and Lord of the manor. We were going to use this house as our base for a company that would control whisky distilling in southern Scotland.'
'So that was why Captain Ferintosh attacked Simmy and Peter,' I said. 'Not to help me! He was getting rid of the opposition.'
'That's right, my little lady!' Isabel's face twisted with hatred when she glared at me. 'You think you are so important. Edmund was only getting information from you, you little…' she repeated her earlier obscenities. 'Now,' Isabel poked a hard finger into Lady Emily's ribs. 'Her Ladyship here will show us her best treasures. We'll rob this place inside out.'
'I'll show you nothing,' Lady Emily lifted her determined old chin. 'We won't help you one iota.'
It may have been flattering for Lady Emily to include me in her defiance, but it was also a little bit frightening.
'You old crow!' Isabel responded with insults and a back-handed slap that threw Lady Emily to the ground. 'I'll teach you!'
'You leave her alone!' I tried to intervene as Isabel landed a couple of hefty kicks on Lady Emily's hip and thigh. Inevitably, Isabel turned her attention to me.
'Enough!' Captain Ferintosh snapped. 'We don't have the time for this. You can have them both later.'
I did not find Captain Ferintosh's words very reassuring as I picked myself up and helped Lady Emily to her feet.
'Come on, your Ladyship,' I said. 'We'll get out of this, don't you fear.'
'We'll take what we can find,' Captain Ferintosh said, 'throw it in the coach and run. With these two as hostages, Cochrane and Hepburn won't dare pursue us.'
Ferintosh led us through the house, grabbing any object he thought might be valuable. As thieves go, he was thoroughly unprofessional, while Isabel, for all her violence, knew nothing about art or silverware. Ignoring a beautiful portrait by Alan Ramsay, they stole cheap prints that would not fetch a guinea in any decent art shop. Opening drawers they grabbed handfuls of gold-plated cutlery, leaving those of solid silver and three times the value; breaking a glass cabinet, they lifted Indian brassware in the mistaken belief they were made of gold.
After our crazy careen through the house, Captain Ferintosh halted at one of the side doors. 'Jack: look out the window. See if Cochrane or his boys are about.'
Jack returned a minute later. 'The coast is clear,' he used the old smuggling term.
'Go and get the coach,' Captain Ferintosh ordered. 'We're right opposite the stables.'
'How about Wullie and Tam?'
'Leave them. All the more pickings for us.' Isabel decided, proving to me that there was no honour among thieves.
If ever a woman needed a white knight to ride up and rescue her, it was me at that minute. If Captain Ferintosh and especially Isabel retained us as captives, I could not see any brightness in our future.
If I were alone, I would have lifted my skirts and ran. I was as fit as any woman, and I would have defied Isabel to catch me, or Captain Ferintosh to shoot me. Pistols are notoriously inaccurate at anything except very close range. I also suspected that, for all his words, the captain had some affection for me. His initial hesitation would enable me to increase the distance. However, I was not alone. I refused to even contemplate leaving Lady Emily with these three blackguards.
I did have one weapon, a woman's last line of defence. Immediately that Jack opened the door I opened my mouth and screamed as loudly as I could. It was the first time in my life I had ever done that. Screaming was not allowed in Cauldneb. The Lord only knows what my mother would have done if I had ever acted in such a manner.
As it as I only had time for one full-blooded scream before Captain Ferintosh clamped his hand across my mouth, while Isabel, predictably gave me a hefty kick. As I winced under Isabel's boot, I hoped that my single scream had been sufficient.
It appeared not. There was no clatter of hooves, no white knight in shining armour galloping to our rescue. Captain Ferintosh held me tight as Isabel continued with her kicking practice while Jack scrabbled across the cobbled courtyard to fetch the coach. The rain had increased to a downpour that bounced from the ground. Miniature waterfalls wept from the guttering.
I struggled in the captain's grip, tried to bite his fingers and kicked back at Isabel, all with an equal lack of success.
Either the horses were still standing in their traces, or Jack was a highly skilled coachman, for the coach rumbled out of the coach-house within minutes. Shortly before, I had been hoping for a white knight. Now he appeared. I had thought that the eminently capable Mr Cochrane would have acted as Sir Lancelot, however, it was the unlikely figure of Alexander who raced around the corner.
'Who is that damned lunatic,' Captain Ferintosh said as Alexander pranced in front of the horses, waving both hands in the air.
I felt my heart-beat increase, for the Lord knew that Alexander was a decent fellow, but hardly Sir Lancelot. Even so, his capering halted the horses, one of which reared up while the other turned aside.
'Mary!' Rather than run to me, Alexander pulled open the door of the coach and peered inside. 'Are you in there?' That was all the time it took for Jack to get the horses back under control.
'Over here!' I tried to shout, but with the captain's hand over my mouth, all I could manage was a stifled squawk.
Not so her Ladyship. For all her advanced years, Lady Emily possessed a splendid pair of lungs, which she now put to good use in a mighty, a tremendous scream. If ever prizes were given for loud, ear-shaking screams, Lady Emily's would win accolades wherever screams are honoured.
Alexander turned around in an instant, only for Jack to slam into him in a charge that must have shaken every bone in his body. I fully expected my poor plant collector to fold under the impact. He did not. Thrust back against the wheel of the coach; he abruptly lifted his knee to catch Jack in a most personal place. As Jack doubled up, gasping, Alexander ran towards the open door.
Captain Ferintosh released me to grab at the pistol that he had thrust through the waistband of his breeches.
I can still picture that scene in vivid detail. I saw Alexander running with his hat fallen off to roll on the ground, his mouth open and hands closed into fists. I saw Captain Ferintosh hauling at his pistol, his oh-so-handsome face contorted into a snarl. I saw Lady Emily gamely trying to wrestle with Isobel, who was a full head taller and bigger in every way. Only then did I realise that everybody had forgotten about me in this mad escapade. Without thinking, I barged into Captain Ferintosh, unbalancing him so when he fired, his shot flew well wide of anybody. The captain lashed out at me with his pistol, missing when Alexander grabbed hold of his arm.
I joined in the melee, with all five of us wrestling in a quite undignified, if very exciting, manner. The opposition was beginning to get the upper hand when Mr John Aitken arrived, panting like a dog in midsummer, with my father at his heels.
'Mary!' One-handed as he was, Father lifted Captain Ferintosh from me and threw him against the wall, where John Aitken held him secure with his forearm across the captain's throat. 'Are you injured?'
'Only a couple of bruises,' I said. 'Nothing that won't heal.'
'Your Ladyship!' Father turned his attention to Lady Emily, who Alexander and Mr Ormiston had released from the furiously-struggling Isabel. 'Are you hurt, your Ladyship?'
'Not in the slightest,' that indomitable lady replied. 'I rather enjoyed that little encounter. This woman requires a sharp lesson in manners!'
Lady Emily scowled at Isabel. 'Her language would defile the gutter.'
I leaned against the wall, careless of the rain that continued to thunder down. 'Thank you, gentlemen.'
'I heard you yell,' Alexander said. 'I knew it was you.' Sodden after spending two hours scouring Lady Emily's policies for Captain Ferintosh, he shook some of the rainwater from his hair.
'Did you get them all? Well done!' Mr Cochrane arrived, all efficiency and bustle. 'Well, Mr Hepburn, it looks like Charleton and all the gang are in custody.'
'It looks like it,' Father said. For a moment we stood in the teeming rain, gasping for breath.
'You will recall that Charleton escaped from the local lock-up last time,' Mr Cochrane said.
'That is correct,' Father looked uncomfortable at the reminder.
'I think we'd be best taking the whole lot to the jail in Haddington,' Mr Cochrane said. 'We can do all the paperwork there.' He looked around. 'We don't need everybody to come. Miss Hepburn, you can come along. Lady Emily, there is no need for both of you.'
'I'm not staying behind,' Lady Emily said. 'That Snodgrass woman swore at me. I want to see her locked up.'
'As you wish your Ladyship,' Mr Cochrane said. 'In that case, Miss Hepburn, there is no need for you to come along. I'll need you, Mr Hepburn, of course, with Mr Ormiston and Mr Aitken. The rest of you, thank you for your assistance. You may return to your homes. I will send an officer around for your depositions during the next few days.'
'You're soaking wet,' Father said to me. 'You'd better get home and change as quickly as you can.' He raised his voice. 'Lady Emily! Remember to lock the doors!'
I stood in the rain, watching as Father and Mr Cochrane ordered their now manacled prisoners across the courtyard.
'Come on!' Lady Emily encouraged them with a riding whip, landing stinging blows on Isabel. 'You foul-mouthed harridan! You kicked me, you viper!'
'More power to your arm, your Ladyship.' I watched Isabel jump when the lash cracked across her prominent behind.
'I can do this all day,' Lady Emily said, striking again. 'Go on; get into the coach!'
The Name Of Love (Lowland Romance Book 4) Page 15