He crossed the road, pausing for an instant as he thought he saw someone familiar moving past his lodgings, but the gentleman was walking quickly and disappeared from view among the street vendors before Hugh could place him. He realised it was unlikely any of his friends from the regiment would be back in London in any case; while all was kept secret, the change in the weather meant Wellington’s next offensive would surely take place soon. In fact, it was certain to be soon if they had fed false plans to the French via Courtenay, for it meant the true plans must already be in place.
Hugh sighed slightly as he sat down at his desk. He still didn’t understand what had driven Courtenay to do what he had. What could possibly lead a man to spy for another country? He knew Courtenay played deep, and had wondered if it was simply for money, but he thought it must be a character flaw more profound than that.
He wondered too about Theo. He had thought, when Theo first told him about investigating Hugh and Courtenay, that Theo had just happened to be a trusted officer who had volunteered. His leaving in secret for France gave the lie to that, and Hugh’s lips twisted as he remembered his declaration to Colonel Dalrymple that Theo did not have it in his character to engage in espionage. God, he’d been naïve. He’d never really known Theo. All he’d known had been what Theo had allowed him to see, and it turned out that none of that had been real.
But Theo had also fought in various battles in the Peninsula—his knowledge was not the sort that came from secondhand accounts. Perhaps he was simply a Rifles officer who had a facility for passing unseen or unquestioned, and that had been taken advantage of. Although as Hugh remembered the amount of influence Theo appeared to have and the networks he utilised to assure such things as Stanton’s disappearance from London, he supposed miserably that he was still being naïve.
He found himself wondering all over again when Theo would return from France. That led him to the realisation he might not return at all. Hugh refused to allow that thought to take root, instead turning his attention to the book he’d bought, because tomorrow he was going to begin the regimen of treatment that Dr Ling had suggested for him, or at least those parts he could do on his own. He was eager to see what, if any, difference it might make. Of course, it could never match up to what Theo had used to do for him. He cut off that thought immediately, because thinking about Theo caused only regret and confusion and a deep, abiding ache. He determinedly opened his book at the first page.
It was only when Murray came in to light the candles that Hugh realised he’d spent hours deep in study. It had been as if a new world had opened up to him, and he found himself with a sudden understanding of what drove Esdale with regard to his roses. Murray also brought with him a letter that had been delivered. It was from Sophia, begging his participation in a party they were making up to go to Vauxhall Gardens that evening, for there was to be “Great Entertainment”, the phrase heavily underlined.
Unable to resist Sophia’s excitement, he penned a quick reply before realising he had only two hours in which to change and have something to eat, for he knew the pickings at Vauxhall would be slender. With a feeling of regret, he closed his book, and then remembered that he would have all day free again tomorrow to continue his study. It appeared he was going to take some time to become accustomed to being on half-pay.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Fanshawe party walked for a while through the pleasure gardens at Vauxhall. Both Lady Fanshawe and Sophia pronounced themselves very well pleased with the evening as they stood upon a delicate iron bridge and regarded the waterfalls, admiring the way the droplets that flew free from the cascades glistened and sparkled in the light of coloured lanterns. Yet for all their enjoyment, it did not take long for them to agree that the only thing more comfortable than this would be taking their place in their box and enjoying a light supper. It was not long before the reason for both ladies’ eagerness became apparent, because among the company who joined them in the box was Lord Esdale.
Hugh partook of the supper, although the portions were scarcely enough to keep a sparrow alive, the size of the so-called chicken they were served leading him to suspect it was in fact a sparrow. The rack punch was pleasantly strong, however, and made up for the lack of food. He exerted himself to make polite conversation, but when the orchestra began to play and the fireworks started—the great entertainment of which Sophia had written so excitedly—he excused himself, after casting one final glance in his mother’s direction to ensure her eye was firmly upon Sophia. Not that he could imagine Sophia would ever do such a thing again as disappear along one of the dark walks. In fact she looked as though she would never willingly move from Lord Esdale’s side, listening intently as he explained something about the fireworks as they burst in bright streams of colour.
Hugh appreciated the excitement of fireworks—as a boy, he had imagined nothing could be more splendid than creating his own, which he could set off whenever he wished—but since the Peninsula, the noise brought back memories of artillery fire, of attacking across open ground and men falling around him. These days he preferred not to observe them for long.
Shaking off memories, and finding the Grand Walk a little too crowded for his liking as people gathered to stare up at the display in the sky, he took himself along one of the dark walks. There were fewer lanterns in the trees here, but those few were still brilliantly coloured. He scarcely encountered a soul along the walk—it seemed everyone had gone to where they could better see the fireworks. Such privacy suited Hugh after the evening he had spent, and he wandered peacefully, despite the loud bangs as rockets burst overhead. He could almost imagine he was in some fairyland, with the trails of glittering light across the sky from the fireworks, and the lanterns in the trees forming groups of violet and blue and red that looked like sparkling flowers caught among the branches.
A body slammed into him suddenly, sending him staggering into the hard trunk of a tree just as a particularly loud rocket exploded. Before he could get his leg back under him to fight off his attacker or recover his breath to demand what the devil was going on, a hand was across his mouth and a body was pressing him back against the tree.
“Quiet,” a voice hissed, and Hugh was shocked to realise his assailant was none other than Theo.
With a heroic effort, Hugh kept obediently silent and still, seeing with confusion that there was a small pistol in Theo’s hand as he watched a drunken figure staggering along the path towards them. The gentleman stopped long enough to cast up his accounts all over the roots of one of the trees before setting out on his wavering way once more, muttering to himself as he did so and looking as if he might measure his length on the grass at any time.
As he passed them and continued on his unsteady way, Hugh could feel Theo relax slightly. Once the man was lost in the distance, he slid the pistol out of sight. He released Hugh’s mouth from beneath his hand, only to frame Hugh’s face with his hands.
“You’re safe?” he asked urgently, and his face looked almost wild in the half-light. “You’re not hurt?”
Hugh, confused, shook his head. There was part of a branch jutting most uncomfortably into his back where Theo had forced him against the tree, but he didn’t think that was what Theo was asking. He could not understand why Theo was here when he had thought him in France, let alone why he had set upon him in such a way and now seemed to be quartering his face with narrowed eyes as if he were assuring himself of the veracity of Hugh’s response.
“Thank God.” Theo’s hands dropped from Hugh’s face, and he pulled Hugh in close against his body. Hugh was even more confused, but it felt so good to have Theo hold him again like this that, for a moment, he didn’t care. It lasted only briefly, then Theo drew back. “We must get you somewhere more defensible,” he said, keeping his voice low.
Growing ever more bewildered, Hugh decided he had had quite enough and dug his heels in. “What the devil is going on, Theo?”
“Come with me and I’ll explain everything,” Theo said, already striding down the walk. He turned back after five paces when he realised Hugh was not accompanying him. “God’s sake, Hugh, this is not the time for you to come over all masterful again.”
Hugh made a frustrated gesture and joined Theo. “Tell me now,” he demanded as he tried to keep pace. Theo, usually so careful to match his stride to Hugh’s, was hurrying and it was all Hugh could do to keep up. “Why are you not in France?”
“Courtenay,” Theo said at last, and he did not stop looking around the entire time he was speaking. “It appears he is still in London, and he has got it into his head you are to blame for his plight and he means to murder you. What else could I do but return to ensure your safety?” He swung round on Hugh. “And you, you great idiot, you not only make it easy for him but you practically invite it, wandering off on your own in the darkness like that. Do you have any idea how long it took me to find you?”
“Well, how the devil was I supposed to know?” Hugh shot back, incensed at the unfairness of Theo’s accusation. “And I’m not some schoolroom miss who can’t take care of herself, you know.”
They stepped out onto the brightly lit Grand Walk and Theo made no answer to Hugh. “There’s a boat waiting for us at the stairs,” he said instead.
“My mother and Sophia—”
“I have men watching over them discreetly as a precaution.”
Hugh stopped and turned to face Theo. “You think this so serious? He doesn’t have an army.”
“No, but he has run mad from what I am told, which makes him more dangerous than a sane man, for he will not care about consequences. He also has friends. I don’t know if he could persuade any of them to join him on such an endeavour, but ending up dead because we made an assumption would be rather annoying, don’t you think?”
Something of Theo’s urgency was beginning to communicate itself to Hugh. As they crossed the Thames, his blood was thrumming, sending a sharp undertone of alarm through his body, because Hugh had never before seen Theo worried. This must be serious.
Theo didn’t relax his watchfulness until they were in the hackney coach that was waiting to take them back to Hugh’s lodgings. As the hack made its way through the streets, Theo finally turned his attention to Hugh.
“Please have some consideration in future, Hugh, and do not wander off like that again with a lunatic spy on the loose. It is bad for my health, not least because had he appeared, you would doubtless have gambolled up to him like a friendly puppy.”
The mockery stung. “I am not entirely stupid, you know, no matter what people seem to think.”
“I didn’t mean—” Theo paused, then sighed. “You worried me,” he confessed. “Your man said you had gone to Vauxhall Gardens and I knew you didn’t, couldn’t know the danger you were in. I was searching and I couldn’t find you, and there were the rockets banging, and I couldn’t tell if one of them might be a gunshot. You had me worried, Hugh.”
Hugh had never before heard Theo sound so grim, and he realised suddenly that the teasing had been Theo’s way of communicating his concern.
“But, Theo, I don’t understand—why does Courtenay bear me a grudge? And what the devil is he doing still in London? I would have thought he would have fled to France immediately he knew he was discovered.”
“As to why he is still here, I can only think it’s because we have the ports and the South Coast sewn up so tight he can’t get out. Perhaps it helped that I suggested we set a close watch on all roads out of the city, not only the ones leading south, after I had heard the detail of your daring plan to set me free.”
The dazzling gaslights of Pall Mall shone through the carriage windows, and Hugh could clearly see the amusement that crossed Theo’s face as he referred to Hugh’s scheme. He clenched his jaw and turned away. After the apology Theo had made to him at Carswell, Hugh could not believe he would raise the subject again, let alone mock him with it.
Theo leaned forward suddenly. “What is it, Hugh? I know I’ve made a hideous mull of things between us, but I don’t understand what’s going on in that head of yours.”
Hugh shrugged helplessly, for what could he say? Only the truth. And perhaps it was time to have this out in the open, for he didn’t understand Theo and it seemed Theo didn’t understand him.
“I don’t appreciate having my mistakes thrown in my face,” he said, his voice low so that Theo had to lean in closer to hear him above the creaking of the carriage. “You tell me what you did was only for information and that you are sorry for it, yet you continue to raise the subject of my susceptibility and evidently find it amusing. I don’t know what to believe, whether you were indeed merely spying when you—when we…” He faltered over his words, then decided Theo would understand his meaning well enough without Hugh having to humiliate himself further, and plunged on. “Or perhaps you were instead simply having fun at my expense. Either way, I do not enjoy being reminded of the whole wretched business.”
That was plain enough. Baring his soul in such a way left Hugh feeling shaken, but one small mercy was that Theo would never know, for they had left the brightness of Pall Mall behind them and the hack was in near darkness once more.
Theo drew in a sharp breath. “Is that what you—”
The jarvey rapped loudly on the roof to announce they had arrived at their destination. “Damn it to hell,” Theo swore. “Hugh, we are not done with this conversation. You have this all wrong.”
Hugh had no chance to wonder what he might mean, for Theo had sprung lightly down from the hack and was inspecting the street around them as Hugh climbed out of the carriage.
“We must get you inside and discuss what to do next. You have pistols, I take it?”
“Of course,” Hugh said, feeling mildly insulted that Theo would feel the need to ask.
“But not, I suppose, with you now,” Theo concluded, walking with Hugh to the front door of his lodgings as they both kept a careful watch.
“I was attending an evening’s entertainment at Vauxhall Gardens,” Hugh said. “What do you think the odds are?”
“I think, my dear Hugh, that we need to talk about just how trusting you are.”
Hugh opened the door, finding the hall was lit only by a candle in a glass lantern upon the table. “Murray won’t expect me back for some hours yet,” he explained to Theo as he undid the lantern to light a spill and then used it to set alight the candles in the candelabra. “I expect he has gone to the tavern he frequents.”
Hugh led the way into the sitting room. As he entered the room, he saw something from the corner of his eye and swung round, raising the heavy candelabra as a weapon. His movement sent wild shadows chasing across the room; they obscured the face of the man who stood in the opposite corner, but the silver mounts on his pistol glinted in the candlelight as the muzzle pointed at Hugh’s chest.
“Theo—” Hugh started in warning, though it was too late. It was far too late.
“Gun down, Lindsay. Now.”
Hugh had never heard Courtenay speak in such a way, his voice like a whip crack. Every last trace of studied laziness or boredom had vanished.
“Do it, Lindsay,” Courtenay said, “or I will shoot you before you can raise it fully, and you know it.”
As the light steadied once more, Hugh could see Courtenay properly. His eyes were trained on Theo, who was just behind Hugh. With every appearance of reluctance, Theo placed his pistol down upon the carpet. Hugh put down the candelabra on the sideboard next to him so he had his hands free for whatever might come next.
As Courtenay stepped forward from the corner, Hugh stared. Courtenay looked as if he had not shaved for some days, but it was the gauntness in his face and the way his bloodshot eyes were glassy above his hollow cheeks that led Hugh to realise this was not the man he had known. He could not be entirely sure he wasn’t drunk or drugged
.
“What the devil do you want, Courtenay?” he demanded.
“Do you really think me that stupid? You may drop the act now, Fanshawe.”
“The act?”
Courtenay’s jaw clenched, and the gun that had been steady on Hugh’s chest jerked violently. “Damn you, Fanshawe. No one is as dull-witted as you pretend to be.”
“You’re mistaken, Courtenay.” Theo pushed forward to stand beside Hugh, though he did not step far from where his pistol lay on the floor.
“I didn’t expect to see you here, Lindsay, I must confess,” Courtenay said, and for a moment he sounded like his old tart-tongued self. “Unless—oh, God, that’s it, isn’t it?” His voice rose wildly. “You’re in this together! You were there to distract me from the fact that Fanshawe was spying on me. The two of you had me as good as hanged between you. I never had a chance, damn you.”
Hugh was briefly tempted to point out the ridiculousness of Courtenay’s charge, but found the muzzle of the pistol trained on his heart had a remarkably sobering effect.
“You’re wrong,” Theo said, obviously not suffering the same concern as Hugh about upsetting the lunatic with the loaded pistol. Then again, it wasn’t currently pointing at him. “Fanshawe is exactly what he seems. I’m the one who uncovered you. Fanshawe was simply my dupe. Truth to tell,” he said, with a slight smile as he stepped away from Hugh, “he still hasn’t worked it out.”
Courtenay looked confused all of a sudden, and his gun moved from Hugh to Theo.
Theo shrugged. “He really is just that slow,” he said. “You can’t shoot the man for that, now can you? But if you’re going to go ahead with this, you don’t mind if I have a last drink?”
Courtenay began to shake as Theo stepped further into the room. “Stop!”
Theo halted at the shrill command.
“I don’t believe you—you’re both to blame.” Courtenay’s eyes were moving wildly between them, though his pistol held steady on Theo. Hugh was busy calculating angles and distances, but he could see no way either of them could safely disarm the madman from where they currently stood.
A Minor Inconvenience Page 19