Julian sighed. ‘That’s true enough. I’m not much better at it—not with Mama. It probably would be wise to keep you away from her.’
‘You could ride with me, Giles,’ Maggie said, with a look of appeal. ‘The shooter must know that after the failed attempt, we will be looking for him. If he’s a stranger, he must also know he will stand out. My guess is that he won’t chance making another try. It’s just too risky—even the attempt is a hanging offence, after all. If you consider the circumstances dispassionately, the danger to me is small.’
‘I would prefer the danger to be “zero”,’ Giles said flatly.
Maggie shook her head. ‘Life itself makes that impossible! I could be thrown by a spooked horse, or hit by a falling tree limb, or trip on the stairs. Be reasonable!’
‘And do it your way?’ Julian said wryly. ‘I have to admit, Lyndlington, what Maggie says is probably true. If I were the miscreant, I’d be halfway to London or Dover by now.’
‘So we’ll ride out tomorrow, together, with the dogs?’ Maggie asked.
Julian looked at him. Giles wanted to insist she stay home—he’d like to lock her in a windowless inner room with three stout footmen outside to guard the door, until they learned who had fired at her today and why. But if her brother, who knew the countryside and its residents much better than he did, agreed the risk of her riding out was acceptable, he supposed he’d have to bow to their wishes.
There was the problem of keeping the incident from her mother, which, he conceded, would be rather difficult if she were locked in a room with footmen guarding the door.
‘Very well,’ he said at last. ‘I still don’t like it. You’d better tell all your outriders, if anyone she doesn’t recognise even looks like they are riding in her direction, I’m going to blow a hole through them first and ask questions later.’
Maggie shook her head at him. ‘Very well, we’ll send out a warning. Just don’t shoot one of my dogs.’
* * *
That settled, they went into dinner, a tense affair for Giles as he tried to respond with appropriate lightness to the banter she and her brother maintained to avoid having Lady Witlow sense that something was wrong. To his relief, the ladies left them to their brandy immediately after the sweet course, and he could finally relax.
He and Julian shared another brandy in solemn silence. ‘You’re sure she won’t be in danger tomorrow?’ Giles asked.
‘Sure enough not to try to stop Maggie doing what she wants,’ Esterbrook said. ‘Besides, I know how I’d feel, left to twiddle my thumbs, and there is the matter of concealing things from Mama. Maggie so rarely comes to Huntsford while Parliament is in session, Mama would find it very odd for us not to spend the day together, if she doesn’t ride out. Dinner tonight was enough of a strain; I’d not ask Maggie to have to prevaricate for the entire day. If I’m wrong...’ He shuddered. ‘I don’t even want to contemplate being wrong.’
‘Nor do I,’ Giles said sombrely. Especially since, if anything did happen to her, it would almost certainly be his fault.
Chapter Sixteen
The skies dawned clear the next morning, with an excellent visibility that made Giles feel a bit better. At least he’d not need to worry about fog or mist veiling a miscreant. They breakfasted early, since there was a great deal of territory to cover, agreeing to meet before supper at the Lamb and Calf in Tarney to share what they’d discovered.
Maggie seemed entirely unconcerned as they rode out, calling to the dogs and laughing at their high-spirited antics. She sat relaxed in the saddle as they rode across the open downs, identifying the first farmer they encountered from far enough away that Giles relaxed the hand he’d been keeping on his pistol.
They waited for the man to approach, and after a warm exchange of greetings—it appeared she did know every farmer, tradesman and tenant at Huntsford by name—she related the story they’d invented about a problem with a poacher shooting birds in the marsh.
The farmer frowned. ‘Don’t see why there’d be poaching, mistress. Lord Esterbrook is always good about giving permission, if anyone wants to go out after birds. Besides, none I know but the squire, and such gentry as his lordship invites, go out with guns.’
Maggie nodded. ‘Yes, we’re pretty sure whoever it is doesn’t live on Huntsford land. You haven’t seen any strangers about, have you? Asking directions to the village, or for a drink of water on his journey?’
‘We get a few pilgrims from time to time, lost or misdirected on their way to Canterbury, but nobody in the last several months. Sorry I can’t help, Lady Margaret. Don’t need nobody out there, shooting willy-nilly.’
‘We certainly do not! Thank you, and please do keep an eye out.’
The farmer assured them he would, they said their goodbyes, Maggie called the dogs to order and they set off down the road.
* * *
They visited half-a-dozen farms that morning, but none of the farmers or their families or labourers had seen anything amiss. After stopping for bread and ale at the inn in the village of Hillendon, they inspected another dozen farms over the afternoon.
Finally, Maggie pulled up her mount, Giles reining in his horse beside her. ‘What is it?’ he asked, his anxiety instantly ratcheting up.
Obviously reading the tension in his face, she sighed. ‘We’ve found nothing all day, Giles. Couldn’t you relax now, and enjoy the ride? We have this very rare chance to spend the whole day together. Don’t waste it fretting! I know,’ she said, raising a hand to stop him before he could speak. ‘You feel somehow responsible for the attack. But you shouldn’t. And in any event, by now we can be reasonably sure that whatever danger there might have been, it’s now over.’
‘You are probably right,’ he admitted. ‘But as long as there is even a small chance, I can’t let down my guard.’
‘Would you try, for me?’ she coaxed. ‘If I did get shot, I’d hate to think the last day we had together wasn’t joyful.’
‘Don’t even say that!’ he snapped, unable to appreciate her attempt at humour.
‘Very well. I shouldn’t tease you to talk with me. I wondered on the drive down if you were naturally a quiet man, not speaking unless the topic under discussion was a matter about which you are passionate, like your politics. Not that I mind!
‘Robbie and I often shared quiet evenings together, reading or playing cards, without the need for constant chatter.’
He laughed. ‘I can promise I won’t give you that. I spent far too much time alone growing up, with only myself and the dogs for company. Not that I minded. There were endless wonders for an inquisitive boy to explore, and I needed nothing more than a pole, some line, and a stream to keep me happy. I do wonder how my mother endured it. She had been raised in a fine house with servants, then married into an even grander one, where family and guests milled about and entertainments went on constantly.’
‘Did she like to chat?’
Giles thought back, then shook his head. ‘I can hardly remember her having callers, and she certainly never paid calls. She liked to read, and she painted—watercolours. I don’t know where she got the books and supplies that sometimes appeared. Perhaps her sister sent them. None of her family ever visited us, though.’
His anger over that slight still smouldered, hotter perhaps because he’d not known he should be angry until much later.
‘Too intimidated by the earl?’ she suggested.
‘Or too guilty, after accepting Telbridge’s blood money. My aunt told me the earl settled all the family’s extensive debts when they married.’ He sighed. ‘But I shouldn’t castigate them too much. To a small boy too self-absorbed to be inquisitive, Mama seemed happy to me.’
‘I’m sure she was. She had her son.’
Something Maggie never had, Giles thought suddenly. It must be a great grief and an add
ed source of regret that the husband she’d loved so deeply had not given her a child.
One of the dogs darted off after a rabbit, and with an apologetic look, Maggie rode off to fetch him.
What would it be like to have a son? he thought curiously at he watched her chase after the hound. Would being with the child of the woman he loved be enough to keep him content, living in a remote cottage on the Hampshire downs?
Maybe—if it were the right woman, he thought, smiling at Maggie, who laughed as she herded the errant pup back to the group.
Though he hardly had the right to consider such a thing, after putting her in danger.
As his very existence had caused his mother’s ruin. Maybe George had been right about taunting him after all.
* * *
Some hours later, having found out nothing, Giles and Maggie rode into Tarney to meet with Esterbrook at the Lamb and Calf. The excitement in his bearing as they walked in told them immediately that he must have learned something useful.
‘What did you discover?’ Giles asked as soon as innkeeper moved out of earshot.
‘Farmer Adams told us he saw a man he didn’t recognise riding back and forth along the section of trail the two of you rode yesterday. Mr Williford, the innkeeper here, says he served a stranger in the taproom day before yesterday. He’s given us a description of the man, and the ostler at the stable identified his horse, a black-and-tan gelding. Williford said he returned here in the late afternoon yesterday, in a tearing rush. Declining an offer of supper, he asked for his horse to be rubbed down, then set off.’
‘Excellent!’ Giles said, both relieved that the man was gone, and anxious to catch up to him. ‘Did he mention his destination to anyone?’
‘Unfortunately, no. But the ostler said he took the London road. I’ve already sent one of my grooms after him on my fastest horse, armed with a description of rider and mount, to see if he can pick up the trail.’
‘There must be hundreds travelling that road,’ Maggie said.
‘If someone hired him out of London, he’ll most likely return there.’
‘Yes,’ Maggie said. ‘To a metropolis that shelters thousands.’
‘True, but finding him might be easier than you’d think,’ Giles said. ‘He’s certainly not gentry, and if he accepted a task like this, he probably resides in one of the shadier parts of the city—Seven Dials, maybe. Even there, he might stand out. He’s not just a petty thief or housebreaker—he knows how to ride and can handle a weapon. Might even be a former soldier. I’ll contact a friend who has connections with Bow Street; they might suggest someone we could hire to ferret him out. Lady Margaret, it would probably be best if you remain here while we investigate.’
Maggie looked at him in exasperation. ‘And just how are we to keep my mother from learning about the incident if I stay at Huntsford? With debate raging over the Reform Bill, and Papa busier than ever with the meetings and dinners, she’d think it extremely odd for me to linger in the country. I won’t hear of taxing her limited strength by having her worry about my safety. I shall return to London as planned.’
Neither Giles nor Esterbrook could argue with her desire to protect her mother. ‘Maybe you should return to London, to keep from upsetting Mama,’ her brother agreed.
‘Even so, I don’t think it wise for you to resume your hostess duties,’ Giles said, conceding reluctantly.
‘You think some assassin is going to sneak in with the dinner guests?’ Maggie asked with a grin. ‘Highly unlikely, I assure you.’
‘True, our assassin would never pass as a guest,’ Giles replied patiently, ‘but he might gain access to the stable or the kitchen by posing as a guest’s groom or coachman, or as a lackey from a supplier bringing ices or crab or champagne for a dinner.’
‘You’re right, Lyndlington,’ Esterbrook said, looking troubled. ‘Once Papa is acquainted with the circumstances, he’ll probably forbid Maggie from acting as hostess anyway.’
‘I still can’t remain at Huntsford,’ Maggie insisted. Then her eyes brightened. ‘Why don’t I stay with Aunt Lilly? Mama wouldn’t have to know I’m not at Papa’s. I could still co-ordinate his events from her house, much as it will pain me not to act as hostess. We’d use only our own footmen as messengers back and forth, and all the supplies would be delivered to Cavendish Square.’
‘That might work,’ Esterbrook said, looking encouraged.
‘Aunt Lilly would continue to attend entertainments,’ Maggie said. ‘She hears all the gossip, so although I still cannot imagine who might wish to do me harm, if someone in the ton were behind it, she would be more likely than anyone I know to hear the rumours. Though I warn you, I don’t intend to live in isolation for ever, so you’d better figure out what happened quickly! Well?’ She looked from her brother to Giles and back.
‘It seems as good a plan as any,’ Esterbrook said. ‘Will it do, Lyndlington?’
Giles still preferred the windowless room with three armed footmen outside...but that was as impractical as letting her remain at Huntsford. ‘I wish I could think of something more secure...but I suppose that will have to do until I can. But no going out—not to a musicale at a friend’s, not to pick up some item for the night’s entertainment that Lord Witlow’s housekeeper forgot. No morning rides in the park.’
She looked at him, stricken. ‘No rides?’
‘Certainly not!’ her brother said. ‘If it’s dangerous to ride at Huntsford, it’s even more so in the city, where there are buildings and alleyways all along the route to conceal a miscreant!’
‘No visits to Upper Brook Street?’ she asked, watching Giles.
‘Regrettably, that would not be prudent,’ he said, only that moment realising the full implications of her confinement.
‘That will be a grievous loss indeed,’ she said quietly. ‘And, I devoutly hope, a temporary one.’
‘I hope so, too,’ he said fervently.
‘I’ll ride in the coach with you back to London,’ Esterbrook said. ‘I can easily find an excuse for the trip that will satisfy Mama. I’ll send some of our footmen to Aunt Lilly’s, too—I’ll tell her Papa needs them. They can provide extra eyes to watch over the stables and the kitchens.’
‘I’ll ride outside the coach,’ Giles said. ‘How soon can you leave?’
‘Let me check with the estate agent to make sure there is no other pressing business; otherwise, I could be ready day after tomorrow.’
Giles nodded. ‘That will give me time to send a note to my friend in London.’ He turned to Maggie. ‘So we can clear this matter up speedily, and let you return to your normal life.’
‘I surely hope so,’ she said. ‘It will be hard to be away when Papa needs me—and not be able to visit Upper Brook Street.’
It was going to be bitterly difficult for him as well, Giles thought.
Esterbrook finished his ale. ‘If we’re agreed on the details, I must visit that land agent. Maggie, I’ll see you at dinner tonight. Lyndlington, walk with me a moment, won’t you?’
Once they were out of the taproom, where his sister could not overhear them, Esterbrook said, ‘Whoever had the audacity to target Maggie, I want him found.’
‘You can’t want that any more than I do,’ Giles replied.
‘I want him found, and I want to know why—for I find it incomprehensible.’
Unfortunately, Giles knew one possible assailant whose motives were all too understandable.
‘It will take a number of men to canvass a city the size of London. I want you to hire as many as Bow Street recommends. I’ll transfer funds into an account at my bank for you to draw on—’
‘Please, that won’t be necessary. I can fund this.’
Esterbrook shook his head. ‘I appreciate the offer, but Maggie is my sister—my responsibility. Besides, in your presen
t situation, I imagine your funds are more...limited.’
‘I still can’t allow you—’ Giles began.
‘But you will,’ Esterbrook interrupted, for the first time acting like the landed autocrat he was.
Esterbrook could make funds available. He couldn’t make Giles use them. ‘Very well.’
‘Good.’ Esterbrook gazed into Giles’s eyes. ‘I’m depending on you to keep her safe, Lyndlington.’
‘I’d rather die than see her harmed.’
Esterbrook nodded, a glimmer of a smile on his lips. ‘I rather thought so. Very well, I’ll see you at dinner.’
* * *
Soon after, Giles and Maggie collected the dogs from the stables and left the Lamb and Calf. Once they were away from the village, she said, ‘Now that we know for certain there’s no danger at Huntsford, let’s enjoy the ride home—especially,’ she added with a grimace, ‘since it will apparently be the last ride I have for some time. I don’t want to be foolhardy, but being cooped up at Aunt Lilly’s will be very difficult.’
‘I’ll send you some books.’
‘You will call, won’t you, and keep me informed? Even though we can’t...indulge in anything more satisfying than conversation, while I’m stuck under my great-aunt’s roof.’
‘We won’t be indulging in anything more satisfying until this matter is cleared up for good and all,’ he said flatly.
Maggie sighed. ‘Why is it that while I didn’t do anything, I feel like I’m the one being punished?’
If it turned out George was responsible, he was the one who should be punished—for ignoring the possible danger, and proceeding anyway. ‘Try to think of it as safe refuge, rather than punishment. And know that I won’t rest until we uncover the truth.’
They rode on in silence, Maggie taking a trail through the forest, rather than proceeding back across the open downs. Once under the cover of the leafy canopy, she pulled up her mount.
Immediately concerned, Giles reined in beside her. ‘What is it? Do you hear something?’
‘No. The dogs would let us know if anyone or anything were lurking in the woods.’ She slid off the saddle and dropped the horse’s reins. ‘If I’m going to be incarcerated and deprived for the indefinite future, with Julian at my side all the way back to London, I at least need one final kiss.’
Forbidden Nights with the Viscount Page 19