“What about Mr Simpson?”
“He owned the land at the back of Dinnington Hall with his brother. Simpson signed his half over to Levant, but I cannot find out how much for. The brother refused to sign for some reason and, as such, the property sale couldn’t go through.”
“Because they both owned the land, they both needed to agree to the sale.”
Rufus nodded. “I think now that Simpson is dead, the brother gets his half and so now owns the entire property outright.”
“The brother lives at the farm?”
“No. The brother lives in London.”
This made Stephen’s brows lift and then drop into a thoughtful frown. “So, I guess that Levant, if not his man of business, Taylor, will look at making a trip to London soon.”
Rufus nodded.
“I need to send a note to my colleagues in London. Do you have an address for the brother?”
Rufus went to his desk and wrote the address down on a piece of parchment. “I don’t mind admitting that it is good to be able to have someone to work with on this. Although I have done a fair bit of investigation myself, there is just so much to do, in addition to my usual job,” he sighed and handed Stephen the information he needed.
“Do you have a map of the area?” Stephen asked as he studied the address.
Rufus drew a rough sketch of the village and outlying farms and properties. It was clear that Cragdale Manor, and the Simpson farmstead, were the only properties that prevented Levant from owning nearly a third of the county, which included a fairly sizeable portion of coastline.
“God, it is a massive piece of land, isn’t it?”
“I know. More importantly though, I think that you need to ask yourself where he is getting the money from to pay for all of this,” Stephen muttered quietly, and quickly outlined what he knew about the man who had changed his name to Ludwig Levant. He was aware that Rufus flicked a startled look at him, but couldn’t drag his eyes away from the small plot of land Rufus had marked on the map as Cragdale Manor.
It made Stephen realise just how important Cragdale was to Levant, and just how desperate he must be to get his hands on the grounds. Given what he knew of the French spies’ operation, he was also fairly certain that it wasn’t the house Levant wanted, or Prudence. It was the beach.
“I think that you had better be very careful around Levant from now on,” Stephen growled as he pushed away from the table. He motioned to the chairs and waited until Rufus took a seat before he told the magistrate exactly why he was in the area. He left no stone unturned as he quickly outlined his work with the Star Elite, and detailed their mission to unearth the missing French spies. By the time Stephen allowed silence to settle over the room, Rufus looked more than a little stunned.
“So your colleagues are from the War Office?”
Stephen nodded. “I am from the War Office. I don’t know yet just how deeply Levant is involved with the French spy smugglers, but I cannot discount that he is up to his ears in something to do with the entire fiasco. As such, that makes him a very dangerous man indeed.”
He didn’t want to unnerve the man but, magistrate or not, there now had to be clear lines of authority drawn, and Rufus needed to abide by them. He had to understand that in matters of the Star Elite, he had absolutely no authority as a magistrate.
“I think that you need to ensure that Humphrey remains behind bars and simply disappears for now. If you can, delay his trial until my friends get here. I think that Sir Hugo will want to question him as well so he needs to be kept where he is for the time being, or moved to Bodmin jail under the cover of darkness. Before you do move him though, I would also like to ask him a few pertinent questions.”
“He can remain in the cellars for a few days. It won’t hurt him,” Rufus replied dispassionately and made a mental note to tell Mrs Bridges to stay out of the lowest rooms for the time being. It wasn’t unusual for him to lock local drunks and petty criminals in there for a short time, so it wouldn’t come as any surprise to his housekeeper.
“I think that you need to stay away from Dinnington Hall,” Stephen added with a frown. “Don’t go there under any circumstance for the time being, especially alone. All of his staff are paid poorly and their duties are less than salubrious, shall we say? I don’t think they are there because of the pay; they are there mainly because they are able to be paid thugs.” Stephen gave Rufus a pointed look that had the man nodding in understanding.
“They are in significant danger, aren’t they?” Rufus asked quietly after several moments of companionable silence.
“I am glad that they don’t realise.” It was the truth. Prudence had enough worries on her shoulders without having to live under the constant realisation that a very determined, and very ruthless killer wanted the house they lived in.
“Do you think that Levant is French?”
“I think Levant is about as French as I am, and my family have English heritage that goes back centuries. He is connected to the French in some way though. Looking at this –” he tapped the map before them, “- it is just a matter of time before we find out how. If Levant cannot purchase the beach, I have no doubt that he will just help himself.”
“You mean he is likely to ignore the fact that the ladies are there, and if they challenge him -”
Stephen had no doubt that anyone who approached any of Levant’s men on the beach, wouldn’t make it home. “I have to stay at the house for the time being, and the less people that know I am there, the better. Unfortunately, it limits what I can do to investigate Levant’s purchases.”
“I can do the leg work, if you tell me what you need. Nobody thinks anything of me going around the county asking people lots of questions. It is my job; it is what I do,” Rufus retorted crisply. “Tell me what you want, and I will see that you get it.”
Half an hour later, Stephen left Rufus with a list of things he needed. On the top of the list was a large variety of vegetable plants the family needed to replace the damaged ones that had been in the front gardens. The ladies had only lost a couple of days and, if they got the plants into the soil quickly, they should be able to ensure that they would be established before winter and be able to provide vegetables next year. If it didn’t work, then he would ensure that they had more than enough funds to go out and purchase what they wanted, when they wanted it.
He slowly made his way back through the darkened houses, to the outskirts of town. It was a good couple of hours yet before dawn, but he didn’t feel tired. All of his senses were alert and on edge. It wasn’t until now that he had realised just how much he lived on the fringes of life; always in the darkness; always in the shadows. He felt as though he had spent most of the last several years working throughout the night, while spending his days asleep. Being with Prudence and her family made him realise just how much he had missed out on actually living and enjoying life. He could understand Pie and Jamie’s decision to leave the Star Elite, and stay at home to try their hands at being gentlemen farmers. If he had a wife and home of his own, he would be apt to shun his life of secrets and lies and return to the light where he could spend his mornings beside the fire, his afternoons tending his garden, and the rest of his life watching his children grow.
He was so lost in thought over his future plans that he almost made an amateurish mistake and stumbled out into the open. A scurrying movement up ahead drew him to a halt and he instinctively melted back into the shadows to watch the darkened shadow of a man hurry toward the back door at Cragdale. He carried something that he dumped on the doorstep before he hurried off toward the copse of trees that lay at the far end of the Dinnington estate. Stephen followed him and, although couldn’t see much of the face beneath the large brimmed hat, was fairly certain that the man had been Will. What had he left them? A scowl darkened his handsome features as he hurried back to the house. He skirted the property once to make sure that nobody else lurked in the shadows and, once he was assured he was alone, he hurried to the doors
tep to see what Will had left.
“Jesus,” he whispered moments later as he peeled back the soiled sack to reveal the rotted corpse of a fox. From the stench that came from the body, the animal had been dead for a couple of days. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he folded the cloth back over the carcass and studied the land around him. He couldn’t bury the wretched thing because the gardens were mostly dug for vegetables. The land that wasn’t dug lay rampant with weeds and would be impossible to even poke a hole through. He could take the wretched thing back to Dinnington, and leave it in the woods, but he couldn’t be sure that Will wasn’t still outside somewhere. He studied the cliff top at the far end of the garden. If he threw it, hopefully the morning tide would drag the body back out to the sea and it would vanish. He had no idea which way the tides actually went but didn’t really care, as long as neither Prudence, nor her family, got up in the morning and found anything so hideous on their doorstep.
He was half way toward the cliff when he paused and considered the bag in his hand. Even with the top tied, the stench was unbearable. He had no doubt that Levant wanted the ladies to be frightened when he called to visit later with another ‘offer’.
What he wouldn’t be expecting was what he was going to get, Stephen thought sourly. With a disparaging snort, Stephen turned around and headed toward Dinnington.
An hour later, he crept out of the downstairs window with a smirk of satisfaction on his face. At some point before dawn the smell would be enough to wake Levant up from his laborious snoring. He would realise then that his latest victims had very neatly turned his torment back on him, but he would have no idea exactly who was so adept at thwarting his bullying tactics. Stephen wondered if he would ever get the smell out of his sheets but didn’t really care.
If the man wanted to scare a house full of innocent and vulnerable ladies, and a young boy, then it was down to Stephen and Rufus to teach the man a lesson or two. He had no doubt that Levant wouldn’t bother leaving another carcass on the doorstep for the ladies to find for fear of having a return visit. Instead, he would be forced to try a more direct route, but would find that any face-to-face confrontation would bring about more trouble than he was really prepared for.
By the time he let himself back into Cragdale Manor, dawn had just started to creep over the horizon. He was tired, but reassured that he had done everything he could to begin to draw Levant’s activities to a halt and bring about justice as quickly as possible. A perusal of the house assured him that everyone was safe and sound, and he stayed downstairs long enough to light the fires before he headed to the sitting room to collapse on the chaise. Within seconds he was fast asleep.
“What do we do with him? He looks very uncomfortable,” Georgiana whispered, eyeing the way that Stephen’s legs hung awkwardly off the edge of the chaise.
“Well, do you want to wake him?” Robbie whispered. “He has a scowl on his face even in his sleep.”
The young boy’s solemn whisper made Stephen want to laugh and he had to struggle to keep the smile off his face. He briefly contemplated launching himself upright and shouting ‘boo’, but considered that everyone had been more than a little unnerved enough recently as it was. Instead, he made a show of waking up slowly but, by the time he opened his eyes, he was alone in the room.
He lay still and listened to the hustle and bustle of the house. Maggie and someone else was upstairs talking to Agatha, while someone else was in the kitchen. The clatter of pots and pans accompanied the delicious aroma of cooked apples. The wonderful smell was enough to make his stomach rumble and he realised that he had not eaten for several long hours. He wondered if there was any ham, eggs and toast going, only to wrinkle his nose as he entered the kitchen and saw the vegetable pie next to a bowl of potatoes and some quince.
He was a man, and a hungry one at that. Nobody should be expected to survive on a strict diet of fruit, vegetables and bread. It wasn’t healthy; it wasn’t right, and it was something that he could change very quickly, very easily, and with very little expense.
“What day is it?” He mumbled as he entered the kitchen and grumbled a good morning to Prudence and Eloisa. For some reason the scent of the pie, which minutes ago had made him hungry, had suddenly put him in a bad mood.
“Wednesday,” Prudence replied gently. He looked even more tired than he had yesterday, but looked wonderfully fresh and alert for someone who had been up most of the night. She jumped when Eloisa’s rueful face appeared in the corner of her eye, and she realised that she was blatantly staring at him.
“Market day,” Stephen sighed with relish.
“Yes, Rufus is coming by any minute now to take Eloisa and Maggie to the market. Everyone else is going to stay here.”
“Good. While they are there, I need them to get a few things for me.” Stephen disappeared out of the room and reappeared moments later with a handful of coins, which he gave to Eloisa. He ignored her startled gasp and gave Robbie a frown.
“You are a man,” he informed the boy darkly. Robbie looked a little scared for a moment, as though he knew that Stephen was going to ask him to do something manly. “I think that we have to make a stance in this house full of women.”
Robbie merely looked a little awestruck.
“I think that, as men, we have to make it clear that we must have meat, and plenty of it.” He ignored Prudence’s sudden intake of breath and didn’t take his eyes off Robbie. “I think that money should be just about enough to cover what I need. There will be enough room in Rufus’ curricle to accommodate several large cuts of beef, ham and more than a couple of chickens. I don’t care how much you get, but I insist that you don’t come back until you get them and several large cheeses, oh, and some bread. Any money that is left over can be put to one side to cover the food next week.” Stephen knew that there was more than enough to cover the cost of the meat for the next several weeks, but made a mental note to add to the coinage anyway. He could only hope that Rufus would stick to his word and ensure that the plants were purchased from market at the same time.
“You want me to buy meat?” Robbie asked weakly, as though he couldn’t quite believe such good fortune could be his.
“I want you to sit down and make a list of all of the things that you need, including the items that I have just told you about, and make sure that your sister’s know what they should not return without,” he declared firmly.
He glanced at Prudence, saw the objection in her eyes, and immediately softened his stance. He didn’t want to stand on her pride, but she had to set aside her own feelings and allow him to improve the family situation.
“I am here, under your room, living off your grace and favour. It is only right that you should be recompensed for housing me. This is money from His Majesty’s government and, as such, is your right to have. I do have a few dietary requirements given that most of my work is on foot, out in the cold, in the middle of the night.” He sighed almost dramatically, and was reassured that he had captured the ladies’ imagination from the avid way they stared at him and voiced no objection. He mentally gave himself a pat on the back and tried not to smile. “I love vegetables as much as the next man, don’t get me wrong, but the work I do takes a lot of time and effort and I need a full stomach to do it properly. The only thing I ask is for meat and cheese, and lots of it, along with the vegetables of course. However, I don’t expect you to pay for it.”
He saw Prudence’s eyes widen at the money Eloisa placed on the table. It was most probably more than they had ever seen in all of their lives. He felt more than a little uncomfortable at just how difficult their lives had been, but was fairly confident that the temptation of being able to eat the foodstuffs that they hadn’t been able to afford before would stave off any objection Prudence could come up with. He suspicions were right and he stood back to watch Robbie carefully scratch a list of all of the things he had been instructed to purchase.
Prudence wasn’t sure what to make of it. She saw the long list of ite
ms and knew that Stephen would never manage to plough his way through it all, even if he was ravenously hungry all the time. Could she sit back and allow him to pay for food for the family? If she objected though, the joy and excitement on Robbie’s face would be quashed. It would be hideously unfair on him to cook foods like that for Stephen and not give some to Robbie. However, she couldn’t exactly refuse to purchase the things that Stephen wanted without seeming churlish and pious, and she couldn’t do that. Wracked with indecision yet unsure what to say, Prudence remained quiet.
“We will of course prepare you anything you want us to. If you have any preference; meat pies, or chicken pies, then all you need to do is ask,” she murmured quietly once Robbie had raced off to put his boots on.
“Stew and dumplings,” Robbie piped up. “I had that once at Christmas time. Can we have that again, Prudence? Pleeeaassee?”
Prudence sighed. “The meats are for Stephen, Robbie, hush now.”
“Wait!” Stephen’s shout drew everyone’s attention and they turned to stare at him with more than a little fear in their eyes. He wondered just what kind of upbringing they had been subjected to that made them fearful of a man’s shout, and put that thought to one side to ask Prudence about another time, when they were a bit better acquainted. He had no idea if their parents had argued a lot prior to their father’s abandonment, or whether their mother’s wails and rants caused them more distress than they wanted to acknowledge. Whatever, Stephen raised his hands in a placating gesture and glared at them.
“While I am here, I do not expect anyone to segregate my food from yours. I am purchasing the food here for us all to eat purely because I will undoubtedly eat the most. I expect everyone to share the same meals, so you only prepare things that everyone is going to eat. There will be no meals for me and separate meals for you. Everyone is eating together and that is final.”
His words held an authoritative tone that irked Prudence a little and she debated arguing with him for a moment. Government money or not, it didn’t feel right for him to have to pay for meats and the foods that he really wanted to eat, but they simply couldn’t afford the meats and cheeses, however much they wanted to. What harm would it do to be able to savour them while they had the opportunity?
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