The Crimson Cavaliers

by Mary Andrea Clarke

  “Really? Mama says all such creatures should be hanged, to teach them a lesson.”

  “Quite right,” said Miss Knatchbull with a shudder.

  “I’m sure he will have learnt a lesson,” said Georgiana, beginning to wonder whether she would be better employed in aiding Tom to escape. “He is likely to profit far better by it than on the gallows preparing to be a corpse.”

  Selina looked horrified by the image offered. However, she had no opportunity to remonstrate, attention being directed to the entrance of the butler.

  “I beg your pardon, miss,” said Horton, “but Mrs Grey has called with–”

  “Oh, no, don’t bother to announce us,” trilled an unwelcome voice as Lord Bartholomew Parker sailed into the room behind Georgiana’s quiet sister-in-law.

  “Amanda,” said Georgiana in some surprise, “and Lord Bartholomew. This is a…”

  “Now, now, Miss Grey, we just had to see you,” said Lord Bartholomew.

  “I did explain you were entertaining, miss,” said the butler.

  “That’s perfectly all right, Horton. Thank you.”

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, Georgiana,” said Amanda Grey as Georgiana stepped forward to give her sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek. “We won’t stay long. Hello, Selina, I hope you are well?”

  “Yes, quite well, thank you.”

  Amanda looked towards Louisa. “I do beg your pardon. You must think us shockingly rag-mannered.”

  Louisa returned the smile shyly and Georgiana made introductions.

  “I’m so pleased to meet you,” said Amanda. “I understand my husband made your acquaintance a few evenings ago.”

  “Oh, yes, that’s right,” responded Louisa, the barest hint of hesitation in her voice.

  Lord Bartholomew was studying her, a frown embedded between his brows.

  “It was your cousin’s theatre party which took Miss Grey away from us on Friday evening,” he said accusingly.

  Louisa looked at Georgiana in some confusion. She in turn gave Lord Bartholomew a glance of annoyance to which he seemed blind.

  “What has that to say to anything, pray?” said Georgiana. “It is my own business how I choose to spend an evening.”

  “Of course,” said Amanda swiftly. “Bartholomew did not mean anything. He was just disappointed you couldn’t join us, as were we all.”

  Georgiana looked at Lord Bartholomew for a moment longer before transferring her gaze to her sister-in-law.

  “Would you like some tea?” Georgiana asked Amanda.

  “No, thank you,” said Amanda. “We don’t wish to intrude.”

  “Nonsense, Amanda,” said Lord Bartholomew, “your sister will not object to us joining her for tea.”

  “Oh, no,” chirped in Selina, “you would be very welcome. We are always very pleased to see you. Isn’t that so, Georgiana?”

  Georgiana held her peace.

  “No, Bartholomew, we can’t stay long.” said Amanda. “I have left the children with Cousin Mabel, and she will begin to fret if I do not collect them soon.” She smiled at Louisa. “What must you think of us barging in like this?”

  “Oh, please, you mustn’t worry,” said Louisa earnestly. “After all, you are family.”

  “Exactly,” said Lord Bartholomew.

  “Was there something particular you wanted to speak to me about, Amanda?” Georgiana asked before he could expand on this.

  “Yes. I have an invitation for you,” Amanda said. “We are having a small party tomorrow evening and were hoping you and Selina would be able to come. You will also be very welcome, Miss Winters.”

  “Thank you, Mrs Grey,” said Louisa. “I shall tell Mama.”

  “Yes, of course,” said Amanda. “We should be glad to see you both.”

  Georgiana wondered how small the party would be and whether it was another excuse to throw her into the company of Lord Bartholomew. She was a little comforted by the inclusion of Louisa and her mother in the invitation. After avoiding the dinner party, Georgiana supposed she would have to accept.

  Georgiana had barely begun to thank Amanda when the sound of an altercation in another part of the house attracted everyone’s attention. There could be no doubt about the reason for the commotion. Tom was awake. Georgiana knew she would have to deal with the matter herself and had no doubt Selina would pour out the whole tale as soon as she was out of the room. She saw no way of avoiding this. Georgiana swiftly excused herself, her astonished guests staring at one another in stupefaction. The expression on Louisa’s face said plainly that she would have liked to join her hostess.

  Georgiana knocked peremptorily on the door of Tom’s bedroom, reluctant to enter and give the boy an opportunity of recognising her.

  “Emily?” she hissed. “James? What is going on in there?”

  The door was quickly opened and shut as Emily joined Georgiana on the landing.

  “For heaven’s sake, Emily, what’s happening?”

  “I’m sorry, miss. He’s just woken up. He seems to be feeling better, and is making a fuss about wanting to get out.”

  “Well, see if you can keep him quiet. I’ll send everyone on their way and come back.”

  Emily nodded. “Yes, miss.”

  Georgiana returned to the drawing room, bestowing a disarming smile upon its occupants. Lord Bartholomew’s horrified face told her she had been correct about Selina. Georgiana was irritated to notice an element of self-satisfaction and pride in her cousin’s expression.

  “I cannot believe you have a highwayman under your roof, Miss Grey,” said Lord Bartholomew. “That seems very unwise. You should not give him such encouragement.”

  Georgiana made a mental note to hold up Lord Bartholomew’s carriage at the first opportunity.

  “I’d hardly call it encouragement to nurse an injured boy,” she responded evenly.

  “But if he is able to hold up a carriage…” said Lord Bartholomew.

  “That is what I said, as did Lady Winters. Is that not so, my dear?” interrupted Selina, addressing herself to Louisa.

  Louisa looked startled. Before Georgiana could voice indignation at her cousin’s tactics, Amanda came to the girl’s rescue.

  “Of course you are concerned – I am myself. But I can understand Georgiana’s compassion for someone injured. Did you say he was just a boy, Georgiana?”

  “But what will Edward say?” asked the scandalised Lord Bartholomew.

  “Edward has nothing to say to the matter,” said Georgiana, beginning to lose her temper.

  “No, of course not,” said Amanda. “But he will be concerned over your safety. Are you certain you are not in danger?”

  “Perfectly,” said Georgiana.

  “Nevertheless, Miss Grey,” began Lord Bartholomew.

  “He made a mistake. I’m sure he’s learned his lesson,” said Georgiana firmly.

  “Very well, if you are certain, my dear,” said Amanda. “However, do be careful, I beg you.”

  “Of course,” said Georgiana.

  With the subject so definitely closed, neither Miss Knatchbull nor Lord Bartholomew could voice their opinions further, leaving each looking profoundly dissatisfied.

  “Now,” said Georgiana, grateful for her sister-in-law’s efforts, “about your party.”

  “You don’t have to give me an answer now,” said Amanda, rising. “Send me a note tomorrow if you prefer. We have intruded long enough. Come, Bartholomew.”

  Lord Bartholomew’s chagrin was comical to behold. Selina’s was little better, she seeming to mistake a sulk for dignified silence. Georgiana might have laughed out loud had her mind not been occupied with more pressing matters. As Amanda and Lord Bartholomew took their leave, Louisa also made her farewells.

  With the door safely closed on her visitors, Georgiana gave her waiting cousin no chance to claim her attention.

  “I’m sorry, Selina, I am needed upstairs.” Turning quickly, she moved as fast as her cambric morning dress would allow and knocke
d softly at the door of Tom’s bedroom. It was opened by James who gave her just enough room to enter before closing it.

  “What is the matter?” Georgiana looked towards Tom, sitting up in bed with a belligerent air about him. In a clean nightshirt, his face scrubbed, he looked a very different figure from the urchin she was accustomed to seeing at the Lucky Bell.

  “I want to leave,” he said.

  “Should I assume you are feeling better?” she asked him.

  “You can’t keep me here.”

  “Where do you propose to go, pray?”

  Tom said nothing, continuing to glower.

  “Well?” Georgiana persevered. “Where is home?”

  “The Lucky Bell,” he spat out.

  “The Lucky Bell,” Georgiana repeated. “That’s a tavern, isn’t it? Do you not think you are more comfortable here?”

  “I’ve heard about that tavern,” interpolated James. “It’s a haven for thieves, mostly highway robbers, I believe.”

  “Really?” said Georgiana, hoping James’s knowledge did not extend beyond common gossip. She kept her eyes fixed on Tom. “That’s where you want to go, is it?”

  Tom was indignant. “Me friends are there,” he said. “If you don’t let me go, they’ll come to this ken and get me. Then you’ll be sorry.” He paused, then continued with a hint of pride in his voice, “I know the Crimson Cavalier.”

  “I’ve heard about the Crimson Cavalier,” remarked Georgiana in conversational fashion. “How can he possibly know where you are?”

  Tom appeared thrown. Georgiana turned towards James.

  “Leave us a moment.”

  James looked dubiously at the boy in the bed.

  “Are you sure, miss?”

  “Yes. Please do as I ask.”

  James departed with reluctance, assuring Georgiana that he would not be far if she needed him. Georgiana and the patient were left confronting one another. She sat down on the foot of the bed.

  “Why do you want to go back to the Lucky Bell?”

  “I told you, I got friends there.”

  “Ah, yes, the Crimson Cavalier.” She paused. “You haven’t told me your name.”

  The boy remained silent.

  “Oh, very well,” said Georgiana. “But I feel I should mention, you are in a great deal of trouble. Mr Lakesby, whose carriage you stopped, knows you are here. If he chooses to inform the authorities, there’s very little I can do.”

  A doubtful look crossed the boy’s face but his tone remained defiant.“Don’t need help.”

  Georgiana remained patient.

  “You’d rather hang?”

  She received no answer.

  “Look, it’s plain you are not suited to this sort of work. You could have been killed.”

  “I wasn’t,” he said, chin in the air.

  “This time.”

  “I can take care of myself,” interrupted Tom, using a phrase Georgiana frequently employed herself. “I done it before!”

  “What does that mean?” Georgiana demanded.

  Tom met her eyes in sullen silence. Georgiana knew he had been left to his own devices with the death of his mother some years earlier, his father having already deserted them both. It was not clear whether his assertion of having ‘done it before’ was a declaration of independence or a boast of experience in holding up carriages. Georgiana had never heard anything to suggest Tom had taken to the road. He had never hidden his ambitions in this direction, and Georgiana suspected pride would initially get the better of discretion.

  “What have you done before?” she asked. “Should I assume Mr Lakesby’s is not the first carriage you’ve stopped?”

  Tom gave no answer. However, Georgiana took advantage of the flicker of doubt she noticed in his eyes.

  “A gentleman was killed on the road a few nights ago,” she said, moving to the foot of the bed and taking hold of the rail. “Perhaps you heard about it. A highwayman is thought to be responsible.”

  “It’s not true,” said Tom hotly. “The Crimson Cavalier didn’t kill him.”

  “I did not accuse the Crimson Cavalier,” said Georgiana quietly. “Any highwayman could have done it, as indeed could you.”

  “I didn’t!” said Tom passionately.

  Georgiana was not blind to the fear Tom was trying to hide. It was easy to imagine his ambitions leading to the hot-headed action of holding up Sir Robert and equally easy to conceive of something going wrong with that robbery. Whether it had resulted in Sir Robert’s death was a question which made Georgiana acutely uncomfortable.

  “Did you hold up the gentleman who was killed?” she asked.

  “I told you, I wasn’t there.”

  A tap on the door prevented Georgiana pursuing the issue. James did not wait for an answer but slipped quickly inside and closed the door behind him.

  “I beg your pardon, miss, but Mr Lakesby has called.”

  “What?”

  “He said he was looking for his cousin, whom he understood to be taking tea with you today.”

  “She’s gone.”

  “So I apprised him, miss,” responded James. “He then asked to see you. I informed him you were otherwise engaged, but he said he would be happy to wait.”

  “What about my cousin? Could she not entertain him for a while?”

  “Miss Knatchbull has gone to lie down in her room with the headache. She asked that no one disturb her.”

  “Bother,” said Georgiana. “Very well, I shall be there directly.”

  James nodded and departed to convey this information. Georgiana looked towards Tom. “I’ll have to talk to him. He may want to see you himself. I don’t know that I’ll be able to stop him.”

  The boy remained silent and Georgiana departed, sweeping downstairs to the drawing room where Mr Lakesby awaited her. He was standing by the fireplace, his foot stretched before the hearth. He smiled pleasantly as she entered.

  “Ah, Miss Grey. Good day to you.”

  “Good afternoon, Mr Lakesby. I understand you were hoping to see Louisa. I am afraid she has gone home.”

  “So I’ve been told. No matter. I thought I would do myself the honour of paying my respects to her hostess.”

  “That’s very civil, Mr Lakesby.”

  “Would you care to come for a drive with me?”

  Georgiana hesitated, hoping her astonishment was not too apparent.

  “Well, I–”

  “Only through the park,” he assured her with a smile. “I promise I shall not try to abduct you.”

  “No, of course not. What an idea,” responded Georgiana. “It is just that I am rather busy at the moment.”

  “Are you?” asked Lakesby. “Can you not spare just a little while?”

  Georgiana spoke in guarded tones.

  “You forget I have a guest, Mr Lakesby.”

  “I do not in the least forget it, Miss Grey. Surely you can leave him to your servants? You do not need to attend to him yourself?”

  “I’ve been trying to talk to him, in the hope he might tell me something,” said Georgiana.

  “Oh?”

  Georgiana cast a wary look towards Lakesby. “Have you decided whether you will hand him over to the law?”

  Lakesby’s tone grew inviting. “Come for a drive and we’ll discuss the matter.”

  Georgiana noticed him twisting his signet ring in a seemingly idle gesture. She knew it was dangerous to go with him, but a voice at the back of her mind told her it would be more dangerous to refuse. She found herself capitulating.

  “Very well. I shall have to fetch a bonnet and pelisse. Could you grant me a few minutes?”

  “Perfectly easily.”

  “What about your horses?” inquired Georgiana. “Surely you will not wish to leave them standing?”

  “They are being walked up and down. You need not concern yourself.”

  “Very well. I shall not detain you long.”

  Returning a few minutes later, Georgiana drew on her glove
s as she walked into the drawing room. She wore a pale green pelisse over her morning dress while a cream coloured bonnet, interlaced with green ribbon, sat perched on her auburn locks. The effect was quite striking. She smiled at Lakesby.

  “Charming, quite charming,” he said as he came forward. He offered her his arm. “Shall we go?”

  “Certainly, I am quite ready.”

  As Lakesby handed her into the curricle, Georgiana noticed his two matched greys were being held by one of her own stablehands. She experienced a check of apprehension at the realisation that his groom would not be with them. This was a double-edged sword. While the groom might recognise her from the robbery of Lakesby’s coach, a third party could buffer her against any suspicions Lakesby himself might have. She took care her manner gave no indication of her thoughts and smiled as she settled herself in the well-sprung equipage. Lakesby did not speak as he climbed up next to her and picked up the reins, giving a nod to the stablehand to stand off.

  “What fine animals,” Georgiana said by way of conversation.

  “Thank you,” said Lakesby. “You have not, I think, seen them before.”

  “No, I believe not.”

  Georgiana noticed him shoot a quick glance towards her.

  “I understand you are something of a judge of horseflesh, Miss Grey.”

  “I? You flatter me, sir.”

  “Oh? My cousin tells me Sir Robert Foster remarked on it when they called on you after meeting that highwayman.”

  Privately, Georgiana considered this an odd thing for Louisa to discuss with her cousin. Her response was cool.

  “I have been fortunate,” she said, remembering how Sir Robert had expressed his opinion of her horses.

  “I’m sure you are too modest,” Lakesby said, his eyes on the road ahead. “I understand your stables are quite a matter for envy. I should like to see them sometime.”

  “What a curious ambition,” smiled Georgiana.

  “Oh, I don’t know.”

  Lakesby fell silent again, his concentration apparently on his driving. His manner was relaxed, his touch on the reins light, his control firm. Georgiana would not have been surprised to discover he was a member of the Four Horse Club.