Thankfully, everyone was still moving, if a little battered and bruised.
“Thank you, Lord,” Tilly murmured as she peeked over the hedge and watched the carriage increase its pace as it sped over the brow of the hill.
She turned to Suzanna. “Are you alright?”
“I think so. Heavens, these bushes hurt,” she muttered, as she stared down at her new dress in dismay.
They both turned to watch Zack stumble somewhat awkwardly to his feet and begin to pluck thorns out of his breeches.
“We have to move,” Tilly urged.
“Which way?”
“I don’t think we go back the way we came,” Tilly reasoned. “If they realise we have gone, they will double back to try to find us.”
She silently wondered how they were going to get back to Tooting Mallow with no money, no food and, from the look of the dark clouds above, in the pouring rain. Still, needs must and, with renewed determination to stay out of Dandridges’ clutches, began to walk in a random direction across the fields.
“We are we going?” Suzanna asked as she stumbled across the ploughed field after Tilly, with Zack in hot pursuit.
“We are going to find the nearest town. Then we are going to see if we can find our way back to Tooting Mallow. We have to stay away from the roads as much as possible, so have to cut across fields,” Tilly replied, but stumbled to a stop. She turned to frown at Zack.
“How long were we travelling?”
Zack scrunched his nose up and shrugged. “About half an hour, I think.”
Tilly looked at Suzanna, and a wild thrill of hope began to surge through her.
“We have to be within walking distance then,” she declared triumphantly.
In spite of the first drops of rain that began to fall around them, Tilly felt certain that everything would be alright now.
“A bit longer than that given how fast we were travelling,” Suzanna corrected. “If we keep walking for as long as we can, we could reach the Rectory sometime before dawn.”
“Are you sure we should be going back there again?” Zack asked with a frown.
Tilly nodded, but it was Suzanna who answered.
“We have men there who are armed, and will protect us,” she reasoned. “They work for the government so if anyone can get Dandridge behind bars, they will.”
Tilly nodded. “We have to keep walking, and find our way back to Tooting Mallow. We have no choice.”
“How do we find our way in the dark? I don’t know where I am,” Zack moaned, and edged a little bit closer to Tilly as they walked over the uneven ground.
She immediately clasped his hand in hers, and drew him against her side. “We will get there, you wait and see,” she murmured gently.
Tilly smiled reassuringly at him but, as soon as she had turned to face forward again, clenched her jaw against the strong wave of dizziness that swept through her.
She knew that it was going to be a very long night indeed.
Harry stared at the silent mansion. They had been there for the last twenty minutes and not seen any sign of anyone inside. It was damned frustrating because he knew that with each minute that passed, Tilly was being taken further away from him.
“I need to get in there,” he growled, and broke free of his cover to make his way to the front door. As he stalked across the front lawn, he couldn’t help but wonder whether the woman they knew as Bolsworthy, had already left.
The front door was locked, and the windows were covered by shutters to protect from prying eyes. He hurried around to the window he had used earlier and slid it upward. Within seconds he was stalking across the hallway into the study where the woman had talked to her cohorts earlier.
He glanced behind him at the sound of movement and watched his colleagues climb through the window behind him. Within a few scant minutes, they had completed a tour of the house and were searching through the contents of the drawers in the desk in the study.
“Look familiar?” Luke growled, and tossed several sheets of Rectory parchment onto the desk. He dug further into the drawer and came up with an address that wasn’t recognised by anyone, and a small notebook of names and addresses of various notable people, some of whom had been crossed out.
“I wonder what that’s for.” Barnaby grunted.
“Look for Attingham,” Harry ordered, and peered over Joshua’s shoulder while he rifled through the book.
Lady Attingham’s name and address was in the book. The only difference between her entry and everyone else’s on that page was a small star beside her surname.
“Does the star mean that she is dead, or there is something at Attingham house of note?” Joshua asked.
“Something, or someone,” Harry replied grimly.
At that moment, Joseph returned to the room, and shook his head at them.
“There is hardly anything here. There are very few clothes in the wardrobes upstairs. What is there is expensive though,” he reported.
Harry sighed. “What about the servants’ quarters.”
“Nothing,” his colleague sighed.
“They may have their things with them if they are planning to move on,” Barnaby growled in disgust.
Harry shook his head in disgust. “Now that they have the women, there is really no reason to stay here now, is there?”
“We have to find them,” Barnaby growled.
Joshua shook his head in disgust. “I think Bolsworthy must have gone with them.”
“Come on, let’s go,” Harry sighed as he stalked outside.
Barnaby was already on his way to the door. “Where to?”
“Battlington Prison. We are going to speak to that governor.”
Tilly shivered when a particularly cruel gust of wind swept through her. While her walking dress was absolutely beautiful, it was completely inappropriate for walking out in the wind and rain and, as a result, she was absolutely frozen. From the look of the dark clouds overhead, the storm would be with them for some time to come, and they were going to get drenched too.
She drew her shawl higher on her shoulders and looked worriedly at Zack. The blueness of his lips was so very unnatural that she knew that he would be ill if they didn’t warm him up soon. She draped her shawl over his thin shoulders, and began to search the horizon for any sign of a village, and somewhere they could take shelter.
“Come on, let’s keep moving. If we stop, we are going to freeze in this weather,” she murmured. When Zack looked at her, she gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his thin shoulder encouragingly.
Unfortunately, half an hour later, they came to a road marker, but none of the names on it meant anything to them.
“We could be moving in completely the wrong direction. You do know that, don’t you?” Suzanna sighed in disgust.
Tilly turned around and looked at the road to the left and the right of them. She opened her mouth to speak only to frown in alarm when the low rumble of carriage wheels suddenly broke the silence.
“Oh no.” She shared a panicked look with Suzanna. “We can’t take the risk that it is not them,” Tilly gasped.
She looked around but, to her consternation, there were no buildings for miles around. The only thing in the area they had to hide behind was the thick hedge beside them. She studied it for a gap that was big enough for them to fit through.
Panic began to build as the rumbling noise got considerably louder. Unfortunately, because they couldn’t see it yet, they had no idea how fast the coach was travelling, or who it was, so each moment they were out in the open, and visible, left them increasingly at risk.
“In here,” Suzanna gasped, spying a tiny space at the bottom of the hedge that they could all clamber through.
The spikes on the thick bramble tugged relentlessly at their clothing, and scratched red welts on their arms and faces as they climbed through. It was of little consequence though because they just managed to pull Zack out of sight of the main road before a large black carriage rolled slowly pas
t. Although there was only one driver, and the carriage looked smaller, they weren’t prepared to take any risks, and remained perfectly still while they waited for it to roll past.
“He has to get out of this weather.” Tilly’s voice was laden with worry as she realised that Zack’s trembling had grown considerably worse now that they were on the ground.
“If we stop, the cold is only going to get worse,” Suzanna replied. “He needs to get warm and dry, but we can’t do that until we get to Tooting Mallow.” She sighed and studied the area around them. “We have to come across a town sooner or later. There must be someone around who we can ask for help, surely to goodness?”
Tilly nodded. “If we can get to a town, there should be outbuildings or something we can shelter in overnight.”
She threw a frozen arm around Zack’s already cold shoulders, and gave him a reassuring hug.
“I will be fine,” Zack muttered grimly. “Let’s go.” He didn’t wait for either of them, and started to walk along the edge of the field with his head down, and his shoulders hunched against the biting wind.
Several hours later, they had all descended into misery. Darkness had started to fall over an hour ago and had cast everything into increasingly darker shadows. Although none of them said as much, they all knew that it wasn’t going to be long before they couldn’t see anything at all.
“Over there look,” Suzanna gasped a few minutes later when the faint outline of a small group of buildings became visible in the valley ahead of them.
Tilly sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward and nodded encouragingly to Zack.
“Look, Zack, it’s a town. We won’t be long now. Then we can get somewhere warm and dry.”
I hope, she added silently although didn’t say as much aloud.
As they approached the small village, the lights of what appeared to be a much larger town became visible in the distance. A wild thrill of hope swept through her, and she began to pray that it was Tooting Mallow. Unfortunately, now that dusk had already fallen, it was difficult to know for certain if it was. It was so dark now that she couldn’t see the rather notable bulk of the poor house on the horizon, or any discernible features on the landscape to indicate that it was the place they all needed to be.
The thought of Harry being just over there filled her with excitement and relief in equal measure, and she lengthened her stride enthusiastically now that their final destination was in sight. Even though it was several miles away, the realisation that they could reach safety was immensely uplifting, and they all immediately cheered up, in spite of the cold wind and rain.
Zack looked at her and smiled.
“All better now?” she asked him.
Zack nodded firmly. “I am alright, Tilly. I am just cold, that’s all.” He looked at Suzanna. “I could do with some of that pie you made this morning.”
“Me too,” Tilly sighed. “With lots of potatoes and vegetables.”
As they walked they all began to talk about their favourite foods, and quickened their pace as much as they could without actually breaking into a run.
Tilly held the memory of Harry’s beloved face before her as she walked. She had never wanted to see anyone so much in her entire life as she did him right now. She didn’t care how long she had to walk, or what kind of weather she had to endure, she wasn’t going to stop until she got back to him.
Harry leaned over the desk toward Cragdale, the poor house’s now ex-governor, and stared the worried man right in the eye.
“I warn you now that you will be arrested for hindering our investigation on behalf of His Majesty’s government if you do not answer out questions, and quickly. You are already facing trial for abandoning your position as Governor to the poor house. I have it on good authority that you are guilty of the kidnap and false imprisonment of residents there as well. So, right now, it is not looking good for you.”
“I haven’t kidnapped anyone,” the governor snapped, clearly panic-stricken at the thought of having to remain behind bars for any longer than he absolutely had to.
“You know about them though, don’t you?” Harry drawled silkily. “You know that young people – women – have been lured to the town with the promise of gainful employment. Then, once they are in Tooting Mallow, you and your associates arrange for them to be robbed so that they are destitute and have nowhere to go except for the poor house. Once they are forced to go there for help, they disappear because they are not in the registers. They simply vanish. Their pleas to leave are ignored by Taylor and Cruickshank, and so they are effectively imprisoned until you are ready to move them on.”
As he spoke, Harry felt tension within the room rise several notches as everyone waited for the man to speak.
“Where are they taking them?” Harry demanded when Cragdale didn’t speak.
Cragdale looked down at his hands for several long moments. “I don’t know,” he replied reluctantly. “I was paid to look the other way, and not ask questions.”
Harry leaned forward menacingly. “You, sir, are a liar. I know you are involved in this. You were working with the wardens to make sure that everyone allowed the young women into the poor house, but also that their entrance was kept out of the registers. You were aware that Taylor and Cruickshank were paid by someone to refuse to allow them to leave. You were the one who has accepted regular payment, and looked the other way when some of the resident’s vanished as quickly as they arrived. You were the one who has lied to the Board of Trustees, and carefully covered your tracks so they would never find out about the residents who shouldn’t be there.”
Harry snorted in disgust when the prisoner made no attempt to deny the allegations. He thought carefully for a moment, and began to think aloud. He studied the prisoner’s face as he spoke, but knew that he was about right with his summarisation of the facts when the man began to look more than a little defeated.
“As soon as we took over the poor house, you and your people knew that you had to do something with Tilly and Suzanna, or else they would report that they had been confined in the poor house against their will to us: the authorities. They are the only ones around here who can testify what happened to them. So you sent the Dandridges’ to get them out of the area. That way, you had a chance of retaining your freedom.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Cragdale replied firmly. Harry would have believed his denials too, if it hadn’t been for desperation in the man’s gaze as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“Put the man on rations. Keep him confined to his cell,” Harry ordered the Head Jailer. “He is to have no visitors. No letters; in or out. My boss from the War Office will come to question him. He is to be arrested for kidnap, imprisonment, and abandonment of his position of authority.”
He was about to turn away when an idea suddenly occurred to him.
“By the way, your plan failed. We have them already. That’s why we are here. We just wanted to know if you had the wisdom to co-operate with us, that’s all. It would have knocked at least five years off your sentence. Now though -” he shook his head, and sighed almost dramatically.
“Look, I don’t know where they were going,” the man snapped in desperation. The thought of having to spend an additional five years behind bars just for keeping his silence had clearly had the desired effect because the man suddenly lost his belligerence, and now looked truly horrified. He contemplated his options for a moment before he shook his head in disgust.
“They are on their way to Shepney Mallet. There is someone waiting for them.”
“Where in Stepney Mallet will they be handed over?”
“The Dog and Crow,” the prisoner replied readily.
“Who is the ‘someone’ they will be handed over to?” Harry asked dully.
“He is a people trader.”
Harry went cold, and stared at Cragdale in horror.
Silence fell over the cell.
“Say that again,” he demanded in a voice that was cold and deadly.
Cragdale looked up at him, but his gaze quickly slid away and he studied his hands instead.
“A people trader is waiting to take all of them off the Dandridges’. Cruickshank is with them. They are all in it together. Cruickshank is Roberta Dandridge’s brother.”
“What about Taylor. What relation is she?” Harry asked with a frown.
Cragdale shook his head. “She isn’t related to anyone. She is paid no differently to the other wardens. She is just spiteful, and enjoys tormenting the residents.”
“What do they do with them?” Barnaby demanded in a voice that was nothing short of a low growl.
“You knew that the people trapped in the poor house; those who had been manipulated into destitution; were going to be sold as slaves?” Harry growled.
“Jesus, it is barbaric,” the Head Jailer snarled. “Nobody trades slaves these days. We are not in the dark ages. Who in the hell buys them? Where do they go?”
Harry stared at the prisoner, and slowly stalked back across the room until he stood on the opposite side of the table. He placed both hands carefully onto the desk, and waited. The prisoner eventually looked up at him.
“Let’s see now. Young, beautiful women, in their twenties. They are capable of many years of hard work in servitude.” Harry felt a little sick. “Depending on what kind of servitude you have in store for them.”
The prisoner had the good grace to look awkward and evasive. It was as though what he was about to admit to didn’t sit comfortably with him either, but Harry was determined to get the facts out of him if he had to beat the man to within an inch of his life.
“What kind of servitude are you selling them into? Washing pots? Or something else?” He growled huskily.
The prisoner looked up. “The worst kind,” he replied quietly.
Harry struggled to absorb the full horror of what could have happened to Tilly if he hadn’t forced his way into the poor house. Of what could happen to her still, if he wasn’t successful in getting her back.
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