“You touch this gun, Robbie, and I swear that as God is my witness, I will stake you by your breeches to the front lawn and let the rabbits have you.”
Completely unconcerned, Robbie merely edged closer. “Can I hold it? Was it in the attics? Does it have shot?”
Prudence lifted it out of his reach when his hand snuck out to stroke the long barrel reverently. “I mean it, Robbie Freestone. Touch this gun and you are going to be in serious trouble.” She hated even holding it herself, and could only hope that she hadn’t just made matters considerably worse by bringing it to Robbie’s attention. His youthful face was alive with curiosity and intrigue, and she knew that if she wasn’t careful, the first opportunity he got, he would be practicing taking pot shots with it.
“I am just looking at it,” Robbie argued dismissively.
Prudence didn’t even want him looking at it and merely cast him a dark look as she walked around him and marched straight into her bedroom. It was the only place that Prudence knew she could leave it that her brother wouldn’t be able to get at it, because Robbie was banned from entering any of his sister’s bedrooms. He would face dire consequences if he dared venture into her room, even for a second, and he knew it.
She carefully lifted the lid to her blanket box and placed the gun beneath the top layer of sheets before she slammed the top closed and sat on it for good measure. She physically trembled with fear and seriously started to wish that she hadn’t been in such a rush to go up to the attics and fetch it. If she had stopped to think, she would have realised that she may have actually made matters worse. Not only did nobody in the house know how to actually hold a gun, much less use one, they had an avidly curious young boy in the house who would be more than willing to have a go. The thought made her shudder and she briefly contemplated whether she should sneak upstairs again, and put it back into the relative safety of the trunk, but knew that Robbie would probably go up there the first opportunity he got and fetch the thing back out anyway. It was safest now, kept in her blanket box, well away from prying eyes and curious fingers. Later, when she was alone and everyone had gone to bed, she would have to practice holding it so at least she could point it in the right direction if the need ever arose.
“Prudence, dinner!” Georgiana called in a voice that made the rafters shake. Prudence rolled her eyes and made a mental note to have a quiet word with her sister about yelling like a sailor as she left the bedroom. She was still covered from head to foot in cobwebs and dust, but that was of little consequence given the events of the day.
CHAPTER THREE
Stephen arrived back at Dinnington Hall, cold, wet and hungry. The faint scent of stew hung in the air but the rather cloying odour made his stomach roil alarmingly. It seemed that stew was all the cook was able to prepare because it was all anyone at Dinnington ever ate, apart from breakfast when the choice was bread, cheese, cheese and bread, or bread and cheese, in that order. He couldn’t wait to get back to some semblance of civilisation where at least he would have a choice of stew with his bread and cheese. As it was, if he ate any more of the wretched stuff he knew he would be sick to his stomach.
“You took your time.”
Stephen paused and turned to face Levant’s accusatory glare.
“I’ve been to take a closer look at the Cragdale estate.”
Levant beckoned him into the study where he poured himself a brandy and motioned Stephen toward one of the chairs before the fire.
“I cannot recall asking you to go there to do anything.” His voice was a little too calculating.
Stephen studied him in the firelight. Gone was the almost affable, clownish yet smarmy charm and in its place was someone who was ruthless, calculating and undoubtedly knew how to change persona to accommodate any given situation. It warned Stephen that there was far more going on with the man than he understood just yet, and he would be a fool if he dismissed Levant as an arrogant wastrel just yet. He had no idea if Levant was connected in any way to the import or export of the French spies the Star Elite were after, but Stephen’s instincts warned him that Rousseau wasn’t far away. If Rousseau wasn’t the man seated opposite, then the man seated opposite certainly knew who Rousseau was and where to find him.
“I have been checking out that beach. The far end of the beach, furthest away from Cragdale Manor, runs straight into the village. The path is fairly invisible to the villagers, so anyone can come and go without being seen for miles around.” This made Levant lean forward in his chair.
“You have tried it, why?”
“Because I wanted to see if someone could get to Cragdale Manor without being seen.”
“And?”
Stephen shook his head. “Impossible,” he lied. “It is impossible to get anywhere near that house without being seen from the road, the house and the beach. The beach is accessible without anyone from the house noticing because you can use the path from the village, but I cannot see any way that anyone can get to the house without being spotted by at least four people. The place is full to the rafters with people.”
Levant nodded. “There are five sisters, that boy and their mother. I believe their father died of syphilis or something several years ago, in London, with his mistress.” He smirked at Stephen in silent masculine approval.
Stephen carefully kept his face impassive. Personally, he couldn’t think of anything worse. Why on earth any man would want to leave such a wonderful place as Cragdale, and especially a wife and family, to move to London, God only knew. There must have been something significantly wrong with the man’s marriage for him to practically abandon everyone. It was little wonder that Prudence didn’t trust men.
“They are a bunch of women though, without a man in the house, and that leaves them vulnerable.”
“To what?”
“Me,” Levant replied simply. He eased back in his chair with a look of calculation on his face. “I want them to feel on edge; vulnerable, confused and wary. Do you really think that I want to make thrice weekly visits to that God awful place to speak to someone who hates me?”
“You want the woman as your wife.”
“Only to get hold of the house and land. Oh, she is pretty, I don’t deny it, and she would make a biddable wife once she had been broken, but I have no intention of actually keeping her.”
“Even though she would be your wife?” Stephen felt himself go cold all over at the matter of fact calmness in the man’s voice.
“There are ways and means of getting rid, I can assure you. Women like that don’t remain pretty all of their lives, and I have no intention of being saddled with some old crone.”
Stephen watched as Levant stood, moved to the fire and lit his pipe. The man gazed thoughtfully into the flames for several moments before turning cold, hard eyes on him.
“Don’t go off by yourself again. I haven’t given you instruction to go anywhere near that place. You do as you are told, when you are told and no more, do you understand? I don’t pay you to think.”
“Fair enough.”
After several moments of heavy silence, Stephen stood and moved to the door only to pause with his hand on the latch at the sound of Levant’s voice.
“Don’t go near that place again. I am warning you, I won’t have your interference. If you cease to work for me now, you cease to exist. Do you understand?”
Stephen merely looked directly into Levant’s eyes and stared the man down for several long minutes before he quietly left the room. The man before the fire was a ruthless adversary who would think nothing of cutting Stephen’s throat to get him out of the way. He now knew how the man had managed to land grab as much of the countryside around Marchwell as possible, even from people who had lived on their properties for generations and had previously had no intention of selling.
Stephen had been in the area for several weeks now, and had asked enough questions to know that at least two of the property owners had died, apparently of natural causes. It was a little suspicious that the u
sually fit and healthy property owners had passed away shortly after Levant approached them with an offer for their property, which they had refused. As a result of the deaths, their property, which would ordinarily have been handed down to the next in line, had mysteriously been sold instead. Had the beneficiaries been forced to sell under duress? He had no doubt that heavy handed pressure may have been applied but, without more resources and the time to question the locals a bit more, he had no evidence to base his suspicions on.
How all of this related to French spies he had no idea, but he couldn’t leave his mission without having more facts to take to Sir Hugo, his boss in the War Office.
Not for the first time that evening, his attention turned to the rather intriguing family at Cragdale Manor. He couldn’t stand the thought of any of the sister’s dying unexpectedly, or even the young lad, Robbie, for that matter. The thought of Prudence, or any of the Freestone ladies, being subjected to marriage to the redoubtable Levant filled Stephen with a disgust that was so strong that he wanted to punch something, or, rather, someone. Unfortunately though, he had no way of providing assistance to Prudence without telling her who he was, and that he was friend not foe. If he did that, he would then be placing his own life at risk, and all of the meticulous work he had done over the last several months would be in jeopardy. However, he couldn’t exactly sit back and do nothing, and watch Levant bully and manipulate Prudence or her sisters up the aisle.
Ignoring the loud growling in his stomach, he quickly changed into dry clothes and threw himself down on the bed. He tucked his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling while he tried to come up with an adequate solution that would enable him to keep Prudence in her home, well away from Levant, while trying to find out if the man was linked to French spies, all the while trying to keep himself alive and able to carry out the jobs that Levant wanted him to do.
Robbie cast a furtive glance around the upper hallway. The sound of Eloisa and Madeline chatting as they cleared away the dinner pots assured him that everyone was busy. He had just watched Prudence and Maggie head outside to bring in more firewood and they would be at least twenty minutes, and Georgiana was busy in mother’s room.
With his heart thumping heavily in his throat, he eased the door open before him just enough so that he could slither into the room. Without making a sound, he tiptoed over to the end of the bed and frowned down at the box at his knees. Beside a chest of drawers, a bureau and a chair, as well as the bed, there was very little in the room except for the blanket box at his feet. If he was Prudence, he would have put the gun in the blanket box. With his ears tuned to the sound of anyone coming up the stairs, Robbie quickly lifted the lid and rifled through the blankets and sheets. He didn’t have to go too far into the box before his hands landed on the cool, smooth surface of the gun. A wild thrill of excitement swept through him as he lifted the heavy weight out of the box.
He stared reverently down at the shiny object for several long moments while he absorbed the feel of its heavy weight in his small hands. He wanted to point it and pull the trigger so much, but he knew that he couldn’t. He had no idea if it was loaded, but didn’t know how to check. He daren’t just pull the trigger anyway; Prudence would have his hide if he shot her bed. Still, he couldn’t resist lifting it like he had seen farmer Jones do once, and peered down the long barrel while he squinted with one eye. His finger itched to pull the trigger, just once, and hovered uncertainly over the small curve of metal for several moments. A sudden trill of laughter downstairs broke his excitement. It was louder than he had expected and he jerked in alarm at the thought of the trouble he would be in if Prudence caught him in her room, let alone holding the gun she had warned him not to touch.
He took a moment to stare down at the wicked looking object before he gently placed it back on the soft quilt on which it had been sitting. He gave it one final stroke before tucking it in with a clean white sheet. The quiet thud of the blanket box lid closing echoed around the room and he quickly spun on his heel and hurried into his own bedroom. He had just thrown himself down on his bed when Georgiana appeared in his doorway.
“Are you going to do some reading tonight, Robbie? Prudence says you ought.”
“I suppose so, if I must.” He dodged the hand that Georgiana swung at the back of his neck and raced her down the stairs. Although he settled down to read to her, his thoughts were very firmly locked on the gun carefully tucked away in Prudence’s room and he began to think very carefully about how he could get hold of some shot.
The following day, Prudence sighed and studied the darkness outside. She didn’t need to look at the clock on the mantle to know that Robbie was late home, again. Her temper surged. She had given him explicit instructions to be home before nightfall, and had only agreed to allow him to go fishing on the understanding that he promise to be home before it got too dark to see where he was walking. Had he gone to Dinnington for some reason?
Prudence shook her head and tried to quell her fear. She hated the thought of Robbie even being close enough to pass the main gates at Dinnington Hall. If he had gone onto the land, she had no doubt that Levant would take great pleasure in returning her brother and taking the opportunity to issue another smarmy threat, or offer for her hand, or house.
“What are you doing?” She turned at the sight of Eloisa’s reflection in the window and watched her sister put her boots on.
“I am going to go out to see if I can find him. He may have stayed at that Craig Brown’s house and forgotten the time. You know what he can be like.”
“I am going to go,” Prudence replied quietly. She hated the thought of anyone having to go outside but, if anyone had to, she would much rather it be her than Eloisa. She briefly contemplated taking the gun with her but immediately dismissed the notion. The last thing she wanted was to have to drag that heavy weight around with her wherever she went. Her thoughts turned to the man in the shadows outside and, although she knew who he had been, she also knew that he was one of Levant’s henchmen. Did he have Robbie? Was that what, or rather who, he had been after when he had been lurking outside yesterday?
“We will both go,” Eloisa declared firmly. She drew her shawl tighter around her shoulders and had no sooner reached the door than was aware that Prudence was beside her.
“Lock the door behind us, Maddie, and don’t open it to anyone except for us.” She was aware of the nervous tension in the room behind her as she closed the door, but Prudence didn’t have the time or patience right now to deal with their delicate sensibilities. Her temper boiled as she stalked, tense and silent, beside Eloisa down the driveway.
Ten minutes later, they caught sight of the huge stone pillars that marked the entrance to the long driveway. Prudence felt her stomach tighten with dread. She hated to even step on the property let alone go all the way up to the main house. The large rambling structure lay in the valley beyond like a cobra waiting to strike those unfortunate souls who dared venture too close. She shuddered against a particularly strong gust of wind and walked a little faster, all the while muttering dire threats toward her brother of what she would do when she got a hold of him.
“Do you think he is up at the main house?”
“I have no idea, Eloisa. I am not going to go and knock on the door though.”
“He likes to loiter at the old woodman’s cottage in the woods.” Eloisa nodded toward the dense woodland that lay to the right of the entrance gates.
“I know,” Prudence sighed. “I cannot see him staying there after dark, though.” She paused and studied the road that led to the village for several long moments.
The crunch of twigs and dried leaves nearby was enough to make both women gasp and hurry to the sheltered protection of the shadows. Prudence was aware of the tight grip of Eloisa’s icy fingers on her arm and was glad of her presence beside her. Her own heart thumped in her ears and she glanced around them with wide, horrified eyes as she tried to establish what, or rather who, was nearby.
“I was just looking for Will,” Robbie gasped. He was forced to walk on tiptoes because the hold the man had on him was practically lifting him off the ground. He was still trembling from the fright that the stranger had given him when he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and swooped down on him. Robbie hadn’t even had the chance to utter a squeak before he had been captured in the man’s ruthless hold and marched toward the gates.
“I am sorry, sir, but I just wanted to see my friend.”
“Will is no friend of yours, lad, and you are a fool if you think that he is.” Stephen knew that Will had been instructed to encourage the lad to come onto the property by Levant, who was intent on getting him to join the staff at Dinnington in order to be able to establish some sort of link he could use as leverage to get his hands on the Cragdale property. As far as Stephen was concerned, it was up to him to make sure that Levant never stood a chance.
“I am not telling you again,” Stephen snarled. He yanked the boy to a halt at the side of the road that led to the village and Cragdale. Silence enveloped them as they stood in the darkness. Despite the gloom, Stephen could see the rampant fear in the boy’s eyes and knew that he was finally getting through to the boy. He glowered down at Robbie for emphasis and lowered his voice to a husky growl. “If I catch you here again, you are going to have to face the consequences and I can assure you that they are going to be dire.” He yanked the young boy up until his small round face was inches from his own. Stephen could feel the hot breath on his cheek and saw tears pool in the boy’s horrified eyes. “This is no game. Stay away from Dinnington or face the consequences.” He shoved the boy away and pointed toward home. “Get out of here now. If I ever see you here again, you had better run and make it quick because I will be right behind you.”
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