Prudence swallowed awkwardly and tried to keep her face averted from the sight he made atop the huge chestnut horse, but failed miserably. She was only faintly aware of Rufus issuing his warning.
“Unless there is some dire emergency at Dinnington that nobody else in the area can help out with, I am telling you now, Levant, to stay away from Cragdale, and keep your men away too. The ladies have come to me in my capacity as magistrate to complain about your regular visits because they are an unwelcome intrusion. I, for one, have absolutely no intention of allowing them to sell the house to you, or anyone else, if they don’t want to. Because of that, your visits are pointless. So, I suggest that you take your men, and go home. I also warn you that I have my men investigating your recent property transactions in the area. If any of them should look to be suspicious or unfair in any way, then I shall ensure that you meet with the full weight of the law.” Without a further word, he waved the ladies before him and clapped a hand companionably on Robbie’s shoulder as he directed him around the horses.
By the time they reached the door to the kitchen, Rufus glanced back to study the four riders as they disappeared out of the driveway. He frowned at the direct look the last man on the right; the tallest, and by far the most lethal, gave him before he disappeared from view. There was something about him that warned Rufus that he needed to be on guard. The man was far too observant; far too menacing, and far too fixated on Prudence. There was an almost military bearing about him that gave Rufus pause to consider how the man could have made contact with someone like Levant. What on earth was going on?
It was only when he stepped into the hallway that he realised he still held Eloisa’s hand. She made no attempt to ask for it back though and merely stood, dripping wet and shivering next to him. Upstairs, a rhythmic banging started at the sound of movement downstairs. Maggie and Georgiana gasped and hurried toward the stairs leaving an uncomfortable silence in their wake.
Prudence turned awkwardly toward their guest. “Would you like to stay for tea?” There was little else she could say without having to explain that the noise upstairs was their mother, but her hopes that he would take his leave were dashed when he nodded and released Eloisa’s hand so he could remove his cloak.
“I think that I will, if I may. I want to ensure that Levant has left the area before I leave.” Although Rufus’ voice remained impassive, his attention was locked firmly on the distress of the woman upstairs who wailed randomly about nothing in particular, and whose voice was occasionally blanked out by the sound of the heavy thumps she made.
Prudence nodded and hurried to the kitchen. If she was honest, she was glad to have a few moments to herself. Once again, the stranger on the horse had stared at her with a fixation that had been more than a little unsettling? Was that what he had been brought here for; to unnerve her? If so, it had worked. Still, Rufus was here now and, if his interest in Eloisa was anything to go by, would be around more frequently from now on and for that Prudence could only be glad. However, it didn’t go anyway toward giving her any idea what she should tell him about her mother upstairs.
She put a pot of water onto the fire to boil and stared absently into the flames while she waited. She saw little of the red, orange and amber glow; her mind was locked firmly on the ripple of muscle beneath the shirt that had clung so lovingly to his very masculine chest. It was difficult to believe that any man who was so wonderfully handsome could be involved with someone as abhorrent as Ludwig Levant. It was only when the pot began to bubble over and created a loud hiss as the water hitting the flames that her attention was drawn back to the new problem that had presented itself: what to tell Rufus about her mother.
CHAPTER FIVE
“We are going to get some kindling,” Prudence called later that night. When silence greeted her, she shared a frown with Robbie and moved to the sitting room.
Georgiana had already decided to retire to bed early, and had left Madeline sewing before the fire in the library. Maggie had gone to put mother to bed for the night, and Eloisa was alone in the sitting room, staring absently into the fire. Prudence sighed at the dreamy look on Eloisa’s face and shook her head. She had been like that ever since Rufus had taken his leave several hours earlier. None of them had managed to get much sense out of her, in spite of the repeated bouts of teasing and many, many unanswered questions. Prudence merely smiled softly at her younger sister and couldn’t find it in her heart to issue her a warning. Rufus was a wonderfully sincere, caring and gentle man who had an air of calm authority about him that never ceased to assure them that he did mean what he said and would help them.
Throughout their tea earlier that afternoon he had glanced several times at the ceiling but had never once raised question as to who it was wailing and weeping, and why they were locked upstairs. He had merely drunk his tea while reassuring them once more that he was going to visit Levant and investigate his behaviour. Before he left, he took one final opportunity to give them further advice about keeping the door locked, not opening it at night to anyone, and had promised he would return the following day.
She shook her head at Eloisa and closed the sitting room door. If the man on the horse had been of fair character and an upstanding citizen like Rufus, she knew that secretly, she would have had that same dreamy look on her face. As it was, the only man who had captured her interest in all of her life, and made her feel like a female rather than a housekeeper, was the unnamed stranger on horseback who was undoubtedly as disreputable as he was handsome. She sighed and shook her head.
“Come on, Robbie, let’s go.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Got too cold this afternoon, probably,” Prudence murmured and smiled ruefully at Robbie’s youthful ignorance as she followed him out of the door.
She hated to go down to the beach in the dark, especially with Levant having shown so much interest in the place but, given that Rufus had remained with them for most of the afternoon, it had been impossible to go out and collect the drift wood and debris they needed to keep the fires alight.
“I hate this,” Robbie muttered. Ever since he had been accosted at Dinnington the other night, he hated being out in the dark. He even went so far as to close his shutters before it got dark so that he didn’t know just how black it was outside. He edged closer to Prudence and squeaked when her hand landed on his shoulder.
“Settle down, it is only me,” Prudence sighed. She could understand his nervousness. She didn’t like being outside now either, especially after Rufus’ warning. It made her feel far too vulnerable, and she didn’t like it one bit. “Let’s not go too far, we only need enough to last us overnight. We can come back in the morning when it is light and get whatever else we need.”
She sighed as her feet sank into the soft sand and peered through the darkness for the dark strips of wood that had been washed ashore. Most of it at the top of the beach had been there for an age and was dry enough to burn on the fire, even though it had rained for the most part of the day. After several moments of wandering along she spied several items and moved toward them. Robbie was further down the beach, closer to the shoreline. They had about an hour before the tide came in, but it was more than enough time to get what they needed without risking drowning.
Thumps and clumps were the only sounds that broke the silence as both she and Robbie began to gather driftwood and drop it in a pile at the base of the path that led toward the house. They first filled the basket and then created a small pile beside it. Once it was big enough, they would both then make several trips to carry everything up to the house.
“Aahhh!” The suddenness of Robbie’ scream made her jump.
Prudence spun around, her eyes wide with fear and gasped at the sight of the tall figure bearing down on her brother.
“Get away from me,” Robbie pleaded. He couldn’t see much in the gloom but was very aware of the tall, dark shadow suddenly looming menacingly toward him out of the darkness. His stomach lurched and, although
he was aware of the man rushing toward him, he struggled to tear his gaze away from the blank, empty eyes of the dead man at his feet.
“Come here, lad,” Stephen growled. He had to stop the young land from screaming so much. He had been watching Robbie collect wood, but was too late to stop him from stumbling over the body. Now, it was too late to stop him screaming and send him on his way.
“No! Get away from me!” Robbie stumbled backward and, in his desperation to escape, fell over his own feet. His bottom landed in the sea with a splash but he was oblivious to everything except for the blind panic that swamped him.
“Prudence!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. His frantic gaze flew this way and that as he tried to see his sister, but couldn’t. For all intents and purposes, he was the only person on the beach, apart from the dead man, and the stranger who had threatened him the other night.
Desperation clawed at him. Robbie clambered onto all fours and began to scramble away only to yelp when a large fist grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and stopped him from running for home.
“Get off me! Get away from me!” he cried desperately.
“Settle down now, I am not going to hurt you.” Stephen cursed fluidly when one particularly efficient foot caught his shin with rather too much directness, but daren’t let go just yet.
Unable to see Prudence, and panicked at the sight of the dead man, Robbie began to scream at the top of his lungs.
Prudence felt sick. She knew immediately who that tall shadowy figure was. She couldn’t make out who lay at his feet, but they had nothing to do with Robbie. Her gaze flew up and down the beach but she couldn’t see Levant, or anyone else. The house was too far away to get someone from home to come and help her. Even if she did get home, what could they do that she couldn’t? She couldn’t go and fetch Rufus, there wasn’t time. There were very few options open to her, so she sent a silent prayer of forgiveness heavenward as she picked out the thickest piece of driftwood she could see in her bucket and swung it hard at the man’s head.
Stephen sensed movement to his right and turned around. He only just managed to catch sight of the woman his soul seemed to know and recognise before pain exploded in his head and the world went black.
Her makeshift club was heavier than she had thought it was, and was difficult to control as she swung it at him in a wild arch that nearly dragged her off her feet. She winced at the sickening sound the wood made as, with more luck than judgement, it struck the back of his head. As soon as the man slid silently to the ground, she threw the driftwood onto the sand beside him and turned to Robbie.
“Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” She caught her brother’s bony shoulders in her hands and shook him until he tore his gaze away from the lump at his feet and turned to look at her.
He silently pointed to the mound beside him. Prudence sidled around the body of the handsome stranger, and edged closer to what had captured Robbie’s attention with such determination that the young boy didn’t seem able to move.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, but it is dead,” Robbie whispered solemnly. “It is a man, but I don’t know who he is.”
“A man?” Prudence’s stomach dropped to her toes and she felt a wave of acute disappointment sweep through her that was so strong that she immediately wanted to cry with the sadness of it all. She quickly blanked it out, and fought the wave of sickness that threatened. Instead she sucked in a deep breath, and peered through the gloom to get a better look. “Who is it?” She had no idea why she was whispering, there was nobody else on the beach to hear them.
“I don’t know.” Robbie clutched at her hand tightly and refused to let go.
Prudence had to practically drag him with her as she edged forward to get a better look at the face of the man who had been washed ashore.
“Oh, merciful heavens,” Prudence gasped. She stared in horror down at the familiar face of Mr Simpson, a local farmer who had owned a large area of land on the other side of Dinnington Hall. “It is Mr Simpson.”
“The Mr Simpson?” Robbie gulped incredulously.
“How many Mr Simpson’s do you know?” Prudence demanded sarcastically. She glared at the man she had knocked out and wasn’t sure whether she felt sorry for him or not.
“What did you do to him?” her brother asked as he peered over her shoulder and nodded toward the unconscious stranger a few feet away.
“I hit him with some driftwood, but I think I may have done it a bit too hard.”
“We can’t leave him here,” Robbie sighed. “The tide will be in soon. He is going to drown.”
“What about him?” Prudence demanded, pointing to Mr Simpson’s body. “We cannot get both of them out of here, there isn’t time.” She was already aware that the sea had started to creep ever closer and wondered if they even had a full hour before the sea swallowed the sand where they stood, and the men lay. They could just about drag one man off the beach but couldn’t manage both of them.
While Levant’s man was tall and muscular, he was undoubtedly twice the weight of Prudence and Robbie combined. Mr Simpson was smaller in stature, but was heavier, and he was dead already.
“We need to take him,” Robbie muttered and pointed to the handsome stranger. “Mr Simpson is already dead; look at him.”
“I know that, Robbie, but if we leave him here, he is going to be swept out to sea and then Rufus will never be able to find out how he died.”
“He drowned, Prudence,” Robbie declared flatly. “Look at him.”
Although Prudence had to admit he had a point, she couldn’t ignore the fact that the handsome stranger, the same man who had been watching the house, was on the beach, in the dark, with a dead man. She kept this thought to herself and waved Robbie toward Mr Simpson. There was nothing to say that Mr Simpson had died where he lay; the handsome man may have been disturbed leaving the body on the beach.
“We don’t have time to get him off the beach as well, so we will just have to drag him to the dry sand and hope that the tide doesn’t get that far. By the time we get to Rufus’ house, the tide will have come in anyway, so there is little we can do except pray for a miracle. Grab a hold of his arm.”
“I am not touching him,” Robbie protested. “He is dead,” he wailed, as though Prudence didn’t realise.
Prudence sighed and knew that her brother could argue over something until the cows came home. His folded arms were enough to warn her that she wouldn’t be able to move him on this and she sighed as she tried to keep hold of her patience.
“Fine, then run back to the house and get Maggie and Eloisa; Georgiana and Madeline too, if they are still up and about.” When Robbie didn’t immediately move, she shoved him roughly in the direction of the path that led toward home and hurriedly picked up the piece of driftwood she had used as her weapon. She closed her mind to the fact that, for the time being at least, she was alone, on the beach, in the dark, with a dead body and an unconscious thug, and stared blankly out to see while she waited for help.
The minutes Robbie was gone ticked by as slowly as hours on a clock. She wondered if he had forgotten what he had gone home for and shivered as a particularly cool breeze swept over her already chilled flesh. She couldn’t bring herself to consider what they were about to do.
Eventually though, her conscience demanded that she turn her attention to the handsome man she had almost killed. Was he dead? Had she hit him too hard? She had never hit anybody over the head before. How hard was one supposed to hit someone without causing them permanent injury? Her stomach lurched at the thought that she might actually have taken his life, and guilt almost brought her to her knees. Panic began to build until she just had to know. She had to find out if she had taken the man’s life, and Rufus would have to come and arrest her in the morning rather than Levant.
“Hello?” She called softly, and clutched the piece of wood like a talisman as she edged closer. “Can you hear me?”
The man didn’t respond.
“Hello?” Prudence bent down and pushed at the man’s shoulder. It rocked gently but he didn’t move. “Oh God, please don’t tell me you are dead.”
She nudged him harder and harder for several moments before she began to pat him down. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, and was fairly certain that whatever injuries he had sustained were not on his relatively broad and well defined back. It took her several moments before she realised what she was doing. She immediately stopped prodding him and sat back to study his head and face for any sign of blood. From memory, his hair was jet black, which made it impossible to see any sign of blood in the thick tresses. She began to tentatively run her fingers through his hair to feel his scalp in search of a wound, and jumped back as though scalded when he groaned at the persistent probing of her fingers over a small mound of swollen flesh. She swallowed and winced at the wet, sticky patch just below the crown of his head. The sight of his blood on her fingers, combined with the knowledge that she had inflicted the injury made her stomach lurch warningly. For one brief moment, she wondered if she would be sick right there and then, but swallowed and pushed to her feet only to jump when her foot was suddenly soaked by the grasping tide.
“We have to get you out of here,” she muttered. She bent down and grabbed one heavily muscled arm with two hands to try to drag him away from the threat of the ocean only to scream when his arm was suddenly snatched out of her fingers. The sight of the heavily muscled limb across her waist was immediately replaced by the stars in the night sky as she was lifted clear off her feet and swung around. She landed on her back in the sand with a dull thud that wasn’t painful, but took the wind out of her chest. She barely had time to draw a breath before her view of the stars was suddenly blocked out by the face of the handsome stranger, who glowered down at her with a dark frown on his face.
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