Slowly, she began to climb down the rungs of the ladder which rested above the little craft. Firm hands caught her and sat her in the bow.
Harward had dropped his guard. Sure of his companions, he turned his back on them as he came down the ladder.
‘Stay where you are!’ Wat’s companion threw back his hood and Sophie gave a cry.
With his pistol aimed steadily at Harward’s heart, Nicholas drew her to him. ‘It’s over!’ he told her quietly. ‘They are taken to a man!’
‘No! Don’t give me over to the law!’ Harward was pleading for his life. ‘I meant no harm to Mistress Firle. I would have released her.’
‘That isn’t true!’ Sophie told him coldly. ‘You told me not an hour ago that you would kill me.’
‘I didn’t mean it! I was trying to frighten you! I will testify, my lord. You shall have your men.’
‘I have them already. You, above anyone, will not escape your fate. You will hang for murder, sir.’
‘No!’ With lightning speed, Harward slipped a small pistol from his sleeve, but he was given no time to aim the weapon. Nicholas fired, and the shot took him in the shoulder. With a despairing cry, he lost his footing, and tumbled overboard. The water closed above his head, and he was gone.
Sophie gasped in horror. Then, sobbing with relief, she threw herself into Hatton’s arms.
‘I thought you’d never come!’ she cried. ‘Is it really over?’
‘It is, my darling.’ Too overcome with emotion to say more, Hatton enveloped her in the warm folds of his cloak. Then, holding her against his heart, he signalled to Wat, and the skiff drew away from the jetty.
Within minutes they were ashore, to be welcomed by a cheering crowd, and there was Wentworth, smiling as he came towards them.
‘Ma’am, you must give up my cousin,’ he advised. ‘He is much too fond of drama. He has a positive passion for a last-minute rescue! My nerves will not stand it!’
‘Nor will mine!’ Hatton told him grimly. Picking up Sophie in his arms as if she weighed no more than a leaf, he shouldered his way through the crowd to the waiting carriage.
‘My father is here?’ he asked.
‘At the town house, together with my parents, and my uncle Perry. You have quite a reception awaiting you.’ Wentworth swung himself up beside the driver and gave the man the office.
Sophie threw both her arms around her lover’s neck. ‘I thought I’d never see you again,’ she whispered. ‘Oh, my love, I’ve had such bitter thoughts. I sent you away without a word of love, and you might never have known how much I regretted it.’
He kissed her then, with such tenderness that all her doubts were banished.
‘I don’t deserve you,’ he said very quietly. ‘You speak of regrets, my dear one. I can’t begin to tell you how I felt when we found Nancy’s body. I was so sure that you…that you…’ He could not go on.
‘You didn’t hear the shot?’
‘No, but remember that you were well inside the tunnel. The walls must have deadened the sound. Had we heard it we should not have waited.’
‘They were too many for you at the time. You did well to wait until we reached this place.’
‘Did we? I went through the tortures of the damned wondering what had happened to you.’
‘You did not find my brooch?’
‘We did. That was when we suspected that they might have taken you hostage. It was the first small glimmer of hope, but I’ll never forgive myself for exposing you to so much danger.’
‘Don’t blame yourself, my love.’ Sophie pressed her lips into the hollow of his neck. ‘Your plan would have worked except for Nancy. We could not have known that she would reappear at just that moment.’
‘She too weighs heavily upon my conscience, Sophie. I should have listened to you. You sensed from the first that something was amiss.’
‘But, Nicholas, we had no idea that her mind had given way completely. Poor Nancy! I shall always wonder if she might have been restored to health.’
‘I doubt it, my love. Matthew almost caught her. She’d been hiding within the panelling of the walls. Unfortunately, he turned his back on her and she felled him with the butt end of his pistol.’
Sophie nestled in the shelter of his arms. ‘What will happen now?’ she asked. ‘Those men around the table? Were they the ones you wanted?’
‘Some of them. We have the names of others, many of them in high places. Harward kept the most detailed records of all his transactions. I suspect that he was planning blackmail as an easier way to riches than the smuggling trade.’
‘I’m glad you’ve caught them. They have much to answer for, especially Harward…’
‘The others are just as guilty. This was a dirty business and they knew it. They may have turned a blind eye to his methods, but in the search for profits they condoned them, if only by doing so.’ Hatton took her hands in his and kissed each of them in turn. ‘It is thanks to your bravery that we caught them.’
‘I didn’t feel very brave,’ she told him with a shaky laugh. ‘I was terrified. Oh, my love, I could think only of you and Kit. When it seemed as if…as if it was the end for me, I prayed that you would care for him.’
‘How could you doubt it! Even when we have children of our own, Kit will always have his own special place in our hearts.’
Sophie looked up at him. ‘May we go back to the inn today?’ she pleaded. ‘I long to see him. We have not been separated for so long before.’
‘You will see him sooner than you think. I left orders for Reuben to bring him up to London. My family wishes to meet both of you.’
Sophie did not answer him.
‘What is it, my love?’ he asked. ‘They are sure to love you as I do.’
‘I hope so, but…well…’
‘Well, what?’
‘Oh, Nicholas, just look at me!’
‘That is no hardship. I can’t take my eyes off you.’
‘No, be sensible! What will they think of me? My gown is torn and crumpled and I am…well…unwashed…’
Hatton shook his head. ‘Women never cease to astonish me,’ he answered solemnly. ‘Not an hour ago you were in the most appalling danger. Now your toilette is uppermost in your mind. Must we shop in Bond Street? I know of an excellent mantua-maker…’
She heard the laughter in his voice. ‘Now you are making may-game of me,’ she reproached. ‘I cannot think that your relatives will welcome someone as grubby and unkempt as I feel at this moment.’
‘You are beautiful, my darling!’ Hatton lifted her face to his and kissed her tenderly. ‘A lifetime won’t be long enough for me to convince you of it.’
Sophie sighed with content. ‘I can’t believe that we have our lives ahead of us, especially as we came so close to losing them. Now I feel that every day will have a special meaning for us. I’d given up hope, you know, when I was standing on the jetty…’
Hatton shuddered. ‘I should have spared you so much suffering. If only we had realised…if we’d seen them putting you into the wagon…but there was so much confusion as they loaded the cargo, with men and ponies milling about. They took good care to hide you.’
‘I knew nothing of it at the time,’ she confessed. ‘I must have been unconscious for some time after Wat was told to hit me.’
‘Wat hit you?’ Hatton stiffened. ‘I’ll make it my business to settle accounts with him.’
‘Oh, no, please don’t! He tried to help me. It was he who left the brooch for you to find, and he loosened my bonds as best he could. He planned to help me get away. It was only when I saw him in the skiff that I thought he had betrayed me.’
‘I don’t understand the man.’ Hatton frowned. ‘We feared to lose the wagons in the fog, and we didn’t know which of them to follow. Some were decoys, as I’m sure you guessed. Then we saw a length of lace trailing from one of them. I thought you might have tried to signal to us.’
‘I intended to, but Harward watched so carefully tha
t I dared not risk it. Wat must have seized his opportunity, but he took a dreadful chance.’
‘Why did he try to help you? There can be no doubt that he was one of Harward’s band.’
‘Wat is a fisherman, my dear. He was forced into smuggling as the only way to feed his children, but he didn’t hold with murder.’
‘He could have slipped away and left you to your fate.’
‘He felt he owed me his life. Didn’t you see the scar upon his face? At the very least, Harward might have blinded him. I couldn’t bear to watch that beating. I made Harward stop.’
‘I see.’ Hatton grew thoughtful. ‘Then that explains his actions when we entered the warehouse. He called a warning to us, and told me where you were. When we entered that room I thought that you were safe. I should have been prepared for trickery.’
‘Harward was clever,’ Sophie mused. ‘Who could have guessed that such an innocent-looking cupboard was his escape route? He must have prepared it months ago. I was so frightened, Nicholas, I thought that you would never find me by the river.’
Hatton held her close. ‘We might never have done so had it not been for Wat. Harward trusted him, believing that he, above any of the others, had good reason to hate you. He told us of the skiff. It was the simplest of matters to take the place of the second man.’
Sophie cupped his face in her hands and kissed him again and again. ‘Let us not speak of it again,’ she whispered. ‘But, my darling, what will happen to Wat? We owe him so much. He risked his life for me, you know. I could not bear to think of him transported…or worse…’
‘Nor could I, my love. It will not happen. Wat’s bravery will be recognised.’ Hatton looked at his betrothed and smiled. ‘His future is in your hands. Shall you care to employ him in some way? There are cottages enough on my estate, quite large enough for Wat and his family.’
Sophie kissed him again. ‘Then I may offer him a living? Nothing would please me more…’
‘I’m hoping that a great many things will please you more!’ Hatton kissed her ear as the carriage drew to a halt.
She was still blushing as he led her up the steps of the family townhouse in Brook Street. Any anxieties she might have had were quite forgotten as a small figure rushed towards her and threw himself into her arms.
‘Mama! Mama! Reuben has been teaching me how to tool along, and take corners to an inch!’
‘Has he, my darling?’ Sophie clutched her son. ‘How are you, Kit? Were you well wrapped up?’ It was an inadequate greeting, but she was very close to tears, remembering how she had feared never to see her son again.
‘Of course!’ Kit dismissed the enquiry with some impatience. ‘Mama, you are squashing me again!’
Sophie relinquished her hold on the child and rose to her feet as a slender woman walked towards her.
‘Mistress Firle, I am Prudence Wentworth. You must be very tired. Won’t you allow me to show you to your room? You may care to rest before you meet the family.’
Sophie gave her a grateful look. ‘I thank you, ma’am. I am more in need of hot water than a rest, I believe. You must excuse my appearance…’
Prudence laughed. ‘My dear, you may believe that the men of this family care much more for spirit than for the niceties of an elegant toilette. Even so, a change of clothing will not present a problem. You and I are much of a height, I think.’
She led Sophie up the curving staircase and into a well-appointed chamber. A maid was already in attendance, presiding over a steaming bath which stood before the fire.
A number of gowns were laid across the bed, and Prudence eyed them critically.
‘I hope you will find something to your liking, Sophie. I may call you Sophie, may I not? My sons have spoken of you so warmly that I feel I know you already.’
‘Mr Wentworth is your son, ma’am?’
‘Thomas is the eldest of my boys. All three of them have the highest admiration for you.’
‘You are very kind.’
‘No! It is no more than the truth. But your bath is getting cold. Is Bess to help you, or do you prefer your privacy?’
‘I shall manage without help, ma’am, I thank you.’
Prudence motioned to the girl to leave them. ‘Good!’ she said. ‘I have long suspected that we ladies are not nearly as helpless as our maids would have us believe. Perhaps if I were to unfasten you at the back…?’
Sophie turned obediently, but Prudence was not done. ‘Do please call me by my given name,’ she pleaded. ‘It may not describe me very well—in fact, it has amused my husband famously ever since we met. He feels that Prudence is hardly my outstanding trait of character. I threatened to change it, but he would not hear of it.’
Sophie saw the twinkle in the eyes which met her own, and she warmed to this warm-hearted woman who was still so lovely, although, with three grown sons, she must be in her middle years.
‘Call me if you need me, Sophie. I shall be in the dressing-room next door, looking out some under-things for you.’
She was as good as her word, leaving Sophie to revel in the luxury of slipping into the scented water. The warmth was soothing, but she had no desire to rest. She bathed quickly and was drying herself by the fire when Prudence returned at her call.
‘I’ll leave you now…’ her companion laid a pile of snowy underclothes upon the bed ‘…choose whatever you wish, my dear. Claudine assures me that any of these gowns will fit you.’
‘Madame Arouet is here?’ Sophie was beginning to feel nervous. As young Wentworth had predicted, there must be quite a crowd awaiting her below.
‘She is, but you must not let that trouble you. I shan’t allow the family to descend upon you in a horde. First you must meet your prospective father-in-law, but even that may be delayed if you should wish it. Are you quite sure that you don’t prefer to rest?’
‘I couldn’t!’ Sophie told her frankly. ‘I feel that this is all a dream. I want to convince myself that it is happening and that there is no longer any danger.’
Prudence laid a comforting hand upon her arm. ‘I know the feeling, Sophie. My own adventures as a girl almost matched your own. I’ll tell you about them sometime. Now, let me fasten this gown for you. The blue is a good choice. It will suit you to perfection.’ She waited by the window as Sophie slipped into a petticoat and drawers of the finest cambric, then her deft fingers dealt with the rows of tiny buttons as Sophie arranged the matching fichu of the garment over her bosom.
Prudence spun her around. ‘You’ll do!’ she said drily. ‘If Nicholas doesn’t long to eat you alive, my nephew is not the man I think him!’
Sophie cast a nervous look at her reflection in the mirror and could scarcely recognise herself. Suddenly she felt more confident. In her borrowed plumage she would not disgrace her love. The blue gown fitted her to perfection.
‘Prudence, I have you to thank for this,’ she said shyly. ‘I feel like a new woman.’
‘But not too changed, I hope,’ Prudence cried in mock dismay. ‘Nicholas won’t forgive me if he cannot recognise his love…though there is little danger of that, I think. My dear, won’t you take a little refreshment? You must be very hungry. Let me send Bess to you with a tray.’
Sophie shook her head. ‘If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to go down now.’
Prudence didn’t argue. She guessed rightly that Sophie was feeling nervous at the prospect of meeting the old Earl, and wished to get the ordeal over with as soon as possible.
‘Very well!’ she said. ‘His lordship won’t eat you, Sophie. You’ve taken a great worry from his mind. He’d begun to wonder if his heir would ever wed.’
‘I hope he will approve of me…’
‘How could he not do so? Besides, your little Kit has been an excellent ambassador. I haven’t seen the Earl so entertained for years.’
‘I hope Kit has behaved himself. He is no respecter of persons, as I’m sure you have discovered.’
‘It is that happy, open quality which has
endeared him to all of us, my dear. Kit and the Earl have been closeted together for a full hour this morning. The Lord alone knows what plans they’ve hatched.’ Prudence began to chuckle. ‘Come on, let us go down to them.’
She took Sophie’s hand and they moved to the head of the great staircase. Then, even as they began to descend, Nicholas strode across the hall below.
‘Your love is impatient for you, I see.’ Prudence prepared to slip away. ‘Go to him, my dear. You have all my wishes for your future happiness.’ She turned and whisked away along the landing.
Sophie did not see her go. Her gaze was fixed on Hatton. She had a curious sensation of floating towards him in some kind of dream.
He stopped her before she reached the hall. ‘Stay there for just a moment!’ he begged. ‘I shall remember you all my life just as you look now.’
Sophie blushed, but she did as he asked, though she felt disposed to tease. ‘I am in borrowed plumage,’ she smiled. ‘Your aunt has been very kind.’
‘In borrowed plumage or your own, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.’ His look was so ardent that she blushed again. Then he took her in his arms and kissed her with an overwhelming passion which took her breath away.
At last she was forced to protest. ‘Nicholas, the servants!’ she whispered. ‘They will think this most unseemly.’
He held her away from him and gazed into her eyes. ‘Look about you!’ he suggested.
Sophie glanced about the hall. She could see no footmen, and even the porter’s chair was deserted.
‘Don’t you sense the air of celebration?’ he chuckled. ‘If I am not mistaken, they are gathered below to drink a health to us.’
She looked at his laughing face. The air of strain had gone, and happiness had smoothed the worried lines upon his face. She reached up to caress his cheek. ‘You look like an eager boy,’ she told him fondly. ‘They must have guessed our secret just from your expression.’
‘Certainly my father did so. Come and meet him, Sophie. He cannot rise to greet you, but you will understand…’ He took her hand and led her into the study.
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