by Beverley, Jo
He’d been happy enough with his job, but then his life had been turned upside down.
Proof had been discovered that his mother had been married to the Earl of Wyvern when she’d borne her children. Despite the fact that she’d already fled the marriage and was living with another man, that made her children legitimately her husband’s, and David the legal heir.
David hadn’t leapt at the chance. He had many reasons not to want to be earl.
A major one was that he wasn’t the son of the previous earl, no matter what the legal situation. In addition, he much preferred a simpler station and home like the manor. And what sane man would want the responsibility of a bankrupt and neglected estate?
But above all, it would tangle badly with his position as Captain Drake, leader of the local smuggling gang, the Dragon’s Horde, which he’d inherited from his true father, Melchisadeck Clyst.
Eighteen months ago Mel Clyst had been caught and transported to the Australian penal colony Botany Bay. John Clyst, a nephew and his designated heir, had been killed in the same disaster. David had been the only person the remains of the Horde would accept as the new Captain Drake. Juggling his legal and illegal responsibilities was likely to turn him into another Mad Earl of Wyvern and he’d always known it.
In the end, however, he’d agreed to assert his claim for the sake of others.
The man everyone had believed to be heir to the earldom, Lord Amleigh, had a fine home of his own and wanted no part of the title or Crag Wyvern. That might not have swayed David if his sister, Susan, hadn’t been in love with Amleigh and wanted what he wanted. In addition, if David accepted that he was the earl’s legitimate son, it would follow that his elder sister was also legitimate, and Susan had wanted to begin her married life free of the stain of bastardy.
So he’d taken on the burden and was doing the best he could.
Including by marrying money.
“So you’ve settled on Miss Potter?” Nicholas said.
“Largest dowry,” David said, “plus her being an only child. She could inherit the lot, and though they live quite simply, her father’s notoriously rich.”
“With very lowly origins.”
“I took that into account. A man like that will be giddy with triumph at his daughter being a countess, so he won’t blink at my oddities. I’ve instructed my solicitor to write to Potter on the matter.”
Nicholas paused in the act of drinking. “Isn’t that a trifle old-fashioned?”
“You think I should go up to London to woo her? I prefer an honest, businesslike approach, and I can’t leave the Horde unshackled for weeks.”
“You need to find a replacement for Captain Drake.”
“Applying?”
Nicholas raised a hand. “I thank God I live too far away. But is it so difficult?”
“A few generations ago it required only toughness, brains, and organizational ability. . . .”
“Only? Would that our ministers had such qualities.”
David ignored that. “Mel’s father turned it into an orderly business, and Mel improved on that with records, ledgers, and complex accounting. Worked so well he absorbed some nearby groups, but now the leadership demands are more complicated. The new Captain Drake will have to be able to cope with the paperwork, plan and supervise runs, and rule the Horde, by force if necessary.”
“You’ve managed.”
“I spent as much time as I could get away with hanging around Mel and the Horde, and taking part in runs. He’d growl and tell me I must become a gentleman, but he never tried to stop me, and he shared some of the Horde’s ways with me. But my main authority comes from being his son.”
“Inheritance, just as with the earldom. But you do have a natural ability to command.”
David shrugged. “I’m big and strong.”
After the briefest knock, the door opened. “Trouble, cap’n,” said Maisie, one of the maids.
The “cap’n” revealed all. The trouble must concern not the earl but Captain Drake.
“Lloyd?” David asked, rising.
Lieutenant Lloyd was the new riding officer in these parts, a battle-hardened, ambitious Welshman who was determined to advance his career by crushing the Freetrade in his territory. He wanted to put an end to Captain Drake and his organization, once and for all.
“No, cap’n.” Maisie looked uneasily at Nicholas.
“Don’t worry about him.”
“It’s some of the men, zur. They’re off to Bradhole Cove to get the goods, zur, the moon being overcast and a sea mist coming up. Aaron’s in the side room.”
“Damn and blast them!” David flung open the curtains and saw, indeed, a dense mist that didn’t even show the cliff’s edge.
“Goods?” Nicholas asked.
“A short while ago we landed a rich load, but a naval ship interrupted, so we stashed the contraband in a cave in an inaccessible cove. I’ve been waiting for a safe time to move it.”
“And they’ve run out of patience.”
“Which could land them in jail or worse.” He headed for the door, but paused. “Are you coming?”
“Wouldn’t miss the excitement for the world,” Nicholas said, rising with easy grace.
“Pray God there’s no excitement to it.”
They entered one of the narrow corridors that ran between the Crag’s rooms and its outer walls, except where the two new windows had been cut through.
“They know how chancy a sea mist is,” David muttered. “It might hide them now, but it could shred away in a moment. Damn the fools.”
David ran down one of the circular staircases that sat in each corner of the Crag. On the ground floor he walked swiftly to a small room that could be entered directly from the outside. The door was never locked. It would be a foolhardy thief indeed who tried to steal from Crag Wyvern.
Aaron Bartlett stood there, a man in his forties, stocky and disgruntled. “Overwhelmed me, cap’n. I was ordering them to have sense, but they were all fired up. And drunk.”
“Who fired them up?”
“Saul.”
“No surprise there. What exactly are they planning?”
“They’re already off, zur. In the boats, to get the goods and bring ’em into the village to stash. All the easier to move ’em on, see. And get their share.”
“Greed.”
“Well, zur, some’s need. Times is hard, and having a rich cargo stuck in a cave for nigh on a fortnight . . .”
“No one’s in that much need.” David glanced at Nicholas. “I’m going to ride along the cliffs to Bradhole to oversee and keep them safe. I’d like you to stay here, in case.”
“Not trying to protect me from danger, are you?”
“No.” It was flat and absolute.
“Then aye, aye, sir.”
Maisie came running in. “Zur! Lieutenant Lloyd and his men are here, zur. Asking for you! What should I say?”
David let out a string of oaths. “They must have been keeping watch. They’ll have set up a trap.” He thought quickly. “Get a few of the remaining men,” he said to Aaron. “Ones that can run. We’ll need crab pots and climbing ropes. Come on,” he said to Nicholas and strode out.
With an amused smile, Nicholas followed.
David led the way back up the circular staircase, then along a corridor to where the only normal stairs in the place ran down to the cavernous great hall. The stone walls of the hall were hung with weaponry, the furniture was all of uncomfortable dark oak, and the room was perpetually cold. The Crag never had welcomed visitors. The lieutenant and his men certainly looked uncomfortable as they stood there waiting for him.
As he descended the stairs, David said, “A strange time to call, Lloyd.”
The long-faced Welshman scowled. David guessed he was disappointed to find him at home. “My apologies, my lord. I thought I should inform you that some people from Dragon’s Cove are up to no good.”
“Thieving or wenching?”
Lloyd’s lip curled. “Smuggli
ng, sir.”
“With the moon half-full?”
“And the clouds heavy, not to mention the mist.”
“I’m surprised you risked riding here in such weather.”
“It’s clear a bit inland, my lord, and we were careful.”
“Glad to hear it. However, I was about to retire. What do you want?” It wasn’t in his nature to be discourteous, but here he must play the arrogant earl.
“Only to inform you, my lord, as a courtesy. If the men from Dragon’s Cove return with laden boats, we’ll arrest them.”
“As is your duty.”
“Precisely, my lord.”
After a moment, David said, “Be about it, then,” as if he couldn’t imagine why the Preventive officer was lingering.
Lloyd’s lips tightened, but he bowed and stalked out, his men trailing.
“Don’t you feel some compassion for him?” Nicholas asked.
“No. He has a job to do, but he would dearly like to see us all hang, especially Captain Drake. He suspects that’s me, but isn’t sure. If he catches me red-handed, my being the earl would not deter him.”
“Nor should it.”
“Turning republican? There has to be some advantage to my having the title. But we’ll debate that later. For now, I’m off. If I do end up in jail, I hope your ingenuity can get me out.”
“So do I.”
David went to his bedroom and took out the dark shirt and pantaloons he wore over his clothes for these ventures. They were made of cotton and dyed in a mottled way that would help him hide in shadows, but of thin cloth so he could bundle them small and hide them. He rubbed soot from the chimney over his face, then pulled on dark leather gloves and a dark cap over his hair.
He didn’t take a pistol. If it came to that the game was up, and he wanted no deaths. He did carry a sharp knife in a sheath. You never knew when that might be needed.
He left the Crag by the small room, meeting the four fleet-footed men Aaron had chosen. Each carried a load of wicker-and-rope crab pots, with a long climbing rope coiled around them. David didn’t take any, for he needed to make the most speed. Most of the men could escape up the cliffs by rope, but the boats needed explanation. Putting down crab pots would provide that.
They set off to run the three miles through the misty dark along cliff tops to Bradhole Cove, which was inaccessible without climbing aids since a landslip had wiped out the path leading down to the water. That and a cave had made it a good place to hide the brandy, tea, and gin brought in from France at the dark time of the moon. The cove would become a trap, however, if the wind blew the mist away and a prowling navy vessel spotted them.
But for now, the quiet and the mist told David the sea was calm. Sails would be useless, but it would be easy rowing for the Dragon’s Horde men. They could be there already.
He had to arrive before disaster happened.
* * *
Even shrouded in mist, the sea and coastline held no mysteries for the men of Dragon’s Cove; they were all fishermen in their honest hours. The smugglers had quickly reached the small cove, with its sandy beach and its cave, which was set high enough to stay dry in all but the worst high-tide storms.
Their plan was to slip in, slip out, and carry the contraband back to Dragon’s Cove, where it would disappear into secret basement and attic sections and holes in the ground. As soon as Lloyd was busy elsewhere, they’d move it inland to make a fine profit for the Horde.
Of course, Captain Drake had forbidden them to act without his word, but he was young, the new captain, and too cautious. Came of being raised as gentry by his mother’s family.
They dragged the boats up the sand and then left one man with each vessel. The rest of the gang scurried like ants up the rocky slope to the gaping cave, then slipped and slid back down with loads on their backs.
Before too long, the lookout yipped a warning. All the men looked around. Some swore. A light breeze had sprung up and was tearing holes in the misty veil. The moon was still covered by cloud, but some light escaped to touch silver ripples on the black water.
And out in the channel the keen-eyed ones could see a damned navy ship.
“They can’t see us,” growled Saul Applin. “Carry on.”
“Perhaps we should take off with what we’ve got,” Bill Carter said nervously. “We can come back.”
“One more load each and we’re done. Get moving!”
They moved. Saul Applin was a big man with big fists, so no one complained, but some were beginning to regret agreeing to this. Captain Drake had said to wait, that the right time would come. His second-in-command, Aaron Bartlett, had tried to stop them. Saul had knocked him out.
Times were hard. They all needed money.
But perhaps they should have obeyed Captain Drake. In fact, now that time and labor had sobered them, most worried about what the captain would have to say. Especially if they got caught and lost the whole cargo.
They hurried. One man slipped, tumbling down the slope, a keg of gin smashing to seep into the sand, the smell sharp on the air. The men in the boats squinted at the ship, trying to detect any sign that they’d been seen.
But then there was another sound.
Someone above?
The men carried on with the loading, but some looked up. Was Lloyd up there, too? Not too bad if he was. By sea, they could outpace him back to Dragon’s Cove.
But now someone was coming down the cliff by rope, hand over hand, nimbly kicking off the chalk. His clothes were dark, his face smudged with soot, but they knew him.
The captain was here.
Every man hunched, as if he could make himself smaller, even shrink away.
They expected a tongue-lashing, but the crisp voice said, “Lloyd’s in the village, waiting for you. Now the mist’s cleared, he’ll signal the navy ship to come in closer.”
“Sorry, cap’n,” someone muttered.
The apology was ignored. “Get the goods back in the cave. Crab pots are coming down. Some of you will go out to put them down, about your honest business. The rest come back up the cliff with me. More ropes are dropping.”
“It’s all loaded,” Saul protested. “We can—”
The captain’s gloved fist slammed into Saul’s jaw.
Saul staggered, but rallied to swing for the captain’s gut. He managed a glancing blow but the captain used the movement to duck and turn, then land a two-fisted blow to Saul’s back that made him grunt.
“Get to it!” he snapped to the watching men, before kicking Saul’s knee so he went down. Grabbing Saul’s shirt, the captain said, “Still think you can lead the Horde, Saul?”
Saul spat blood. “Mel would’ve—”
The raised fist silenced him. “Mel got caught and took good men to Botany Bay with him. You’re coming up the cliff with me.”
“I can’t,” the man whined, eyes going wide. He was known to be afraid of heights.
“Then you’ll stay in the cave until someone has time to collect you by sea.”
David stood, rubbing his knuckles, watching his men haul the contraband back up to the cave. More ropes had slithered down, with crab pots tied to the end.
He glanced down at Saul. “What are you lying about for? Get the crab pots and take them to the boats.”
Saul pushed to his feet, swaying slightly, fingering his face, glowering. He obeyed, however.
Soon the goods were back in the cave and the crab pots were stowed. The boats were shoved off, two men in each. No one could be arrested for taking crab pots out at night.
Four ropes were dangling down the cliff, and the nimbler men had stayed behind. Plus Saul. David would dearly love to get rid of the troublemaker, but he was a Dragon’s Cove man and his family went back further than David’s. He was Captain Drake’s to take care of, and the Earl of Wyvern’s, too.
He looked around once more to be sure he’d not overlooked anything. “Smooth the sand,” he told Saul, then grabbed the remaining rope to climb up.
They made a sport of this in Dragon’s Cove. David was too big a man to win at it, but it was easy work for him. Saul was too beefy by far, and had his fear as well.
Aaron wasn’t a good runner, but he’d arrived at the cliff top to take command there. He’d already sent the other men off, to slip in ones and twos back to their homes. Lloyd was watching for the returning boats, not for men on land.
He gave David a hand to haul him up onto the grassy top. “All right?”
“As right as it can be.”
“Saul’s a menace.”
“What do you want me to do? Hang him for insubordination?”
“Nay, but perhaps a storm’ll come up and drown him.”
“Leaving a widow and four fatherless children.”
“You can’t save ’em all, Davy.”
Aaron was a cousin on David’s Clyst side and was entitled to use the fond name when they were alone together.
“I can try. I can do no other. Especially not now.”
“Now you’re the earl.”
“Now I’m the earl. Off with you. We’ll hold a meeting tomorrow.”
“And many’ll not sleep well at the thought of it. Go carefully, lad.”
“And you. I can’t afford to lose you.”
Aaron was the most experienced of all the Dragon’s Horde’s council and a trustworthy man, but he struggled with numbers. He couldn’t run the business side of the Horde.
They clasped hands, and Aaron walked away, soon to be out of sight. David took a moment to sense the air again, seeking anything out of the ordinary that could be trouble.
All was quiet, and the fickle mist was drifting back. He was glad it had cleared for a while. If this rebellious enterprise had gone well, the Horde would have become even more difficult to control. Though he’d spent time with his father and taken part in smuggling runs for the thrill of it, he’d not been raised to be Captain Drake. Mel had wanted him to be as much of a gentleman as was possible.
He was lucky to have the build to impress most men, but in the past eighteen months he’d had to learn to command, by words if possible, but by violence if necessary. Sometimes he worried about what he was becoming. But he had no choice.
If he didn’t run the Horde, people like Saul Applin would bully their way in and carry everyone in the area into disaster.