Lawrence kept his arm about Rose, but he was no longer leaning heavily upon her and he was walking almost normally as they stumbled further on into complete darkness. He kept the folded muslin fichu to his head, lifting it away occasionally to check if the bleeding had stopped.
At last Magnus told them to halt. He hung the lantern from a hook high on one of the pit props and Rose had the opportunity to observe her surroundings. She had never been inside the mine before. The dim light from the lantern bounced back from the low roof and jagged walls. She found the still, musty air oppressive and fought against her rising panic. To distract herself she glanced at the tunnels on each side of her and suddenly became aware that one of them was far from empty. She moved a step closer. Just discernible on the edge of the lamp’s glow were the outlines of the kegs, crates and bundles stacked high against the wall of the mine.
‘Is—is this the cargo from the Sealark?’
‘It is, my dear, thousands of pounds’ worth, safely stowed.’
‘But…you said it was lost.’ She frowned. ‘So you did scuttle her deliberately.’
‘Yes,’ said Magnus. ‘But not until everything had been offloaded. I have been waiting for the chance to move it, but with the path visible to anyone who happens to be out of doors in Mersecombe I have had to wait—a trail of ponies coming to and from the mine would have caused comment. If only you had agreed to my plan to reopen the mine, my dear, then no one would have thought twice about the activity. It is so galling to have all this valuable cargo and not be able to sell it. And thanks to your friend here I still haven’t received the insurance I am due.’
‘But you are due nothing,’ reasoned Rose. ‘This…this is fraud.’
Again that sinister smile lifted his mouth.
‘Only if we are caught.’
‘We?’ She looked at him scornfully. ‘I am nothing to do with your schemes!’
‘But this is your land,’ he reminded her. ‘And you are my fiancée.’
‘No, that is over. Do you think I can condone what you have done? Have you forgotten that Ruben Wooler lost his life because of your wickedness?’
‘That was an accident and his widow will get something.’
‘Ah, yes,’ said Lawrence. The cut on his head had stopped bleeding and he discarded the bloody fichu. ‘Your promissory notes. Very clever—you knew the crew would not speak against you, because if they did they would not get their money.’
‘Yes, that’s why I sent Captain Morris to Bristol to sign up a crew. I knew we could pick them from far and wide, and afterwards they would all go their separate ways. Pity was, Morris insisted we needed Ruben Wooler if we were to bring the Sealark safely into the jetty at Hades Cove. But Morris should have made some excuse to keep the brother out. I wanted a crew from as far afield as possible; I didn’t want them sitting around here after and discussing what had happened.’ Magnus turned his cold stare towards Lawrence. ‘Don’t think I don’t know that you have been snooping around the farm, trying to persuade Wooler to testify against me, but he’s a close one. He won’t talk, because his brother’s widow will be forty-five guineas the poorer if he does.’
Rose opened her mouth to speak, but Lawrence gripped her arm. Obediently she kept silent.
Lawrence said, ‘He won’t need to talk: this cargo is all the proof I need.’
Magnus curled his lip.
‘My dear Daunton, surely you do not think I can let you go now?’
‘This is the outside of enough, Magnus,’ exclaimed Rose. ‘You cannot think that I will let you do this!’
‘Oh, but you will, my dear.’
‘What do you mean?’
He smiled.
‘You will marry me and share in the proceeds of my ill-gotten gains—’
‘Never!’
‘—or I shall have to kill you, too.’
The words were so matter-of-fact that she thought she had misheard him, but as understanding dawned she said slowly, ‘You would really kill to protect your interests?’
‘Of course, if I must.’
Lawrence gripped her wrist.
‘You should save yourself, Rose.’
‘No. I will stay with you.’
He gave her a little push and said roughly, ‘Go on. To me you were nothing but a distraction.’ He pinched her arm on the last word. ‘Go.’
Rose took a step away from him. She looked at Magnus.
‘You would still marry me? Knowing I could ruin you?’
‘Oh, I don’t think you would do that, my dear. The trappings of luxury are very hard to lay aside.’ He held his hand out to her. ‘Come, we will go back now and you can put it about that you have decided we will open the mine again. My people can be moving the goods out within the week. We won’t attempt to sell anything in this area, of course, although I need to raise some money. I have been dipping far too deep recently, living on credit. I expected the insurers to pay up by now.’
Lawrence shook his head.
‘If I do not make my report, I doubt they will ever pay up.’
‘Nonsense. Once they are made aware of last night’s little scene they will not think it odd that you have disappeared, gone to ground rather than face up to your responsibilities. Your reputation goes before you, Daunton. My sister is just the last in a long line of women you have seduced.’
‘By God, Emsleigh, I’ll make you pay for this!’
Magnus laughed, the sound magnified and monstrous as it bounced off the walls.
‘Empty threats, Daunton.’ He held out his hand. ‘Come here, Rose, and let us end this—no, don’t stand in front of him—!’
The brief moment of diversion was enough. Un sighted, Magnus lowered the pistol. Lawrence hurled himself at him and the two men fell to the ground. Lawrence grabbed his wrist, twisting viciously. The pistol dropped from his fingers and Rose swooped upon it, carrying it safely out of the way.
It was all over in a minute. Magnus was no match for Lawrence’s superior strength and Rose heard him cry out, ‘Enough, enough!’
Without taking his attention from Magnus, Lawrence jumped to his feet and took the pistol from Rose’s shaking hands.
‘Well, I think the tables are well and truly turned now,’ he ground out. ‘Get up, Emsleigh; it is time we took you to the magistrate.’
Magnus stood up, brushing the dust from his sleeve with rough, angry movements. He glared at Rose.
‘So he has you in thrall, too. Just like my poor sister.’
‘I am under no illusions about Sir Lawrence,’ she retorted. ‘But I would see justice done.’
‘Justice!’ Magnus gave a savage laugh. ‘After all I have done for Mersecombe, providing alms for the poor, supporting your wretched school—’
‘And bankrupting yourself with your excessive spending,’ broke in Lawrence. ‘Not that the people of Mersecombe know anything of that. You confined your gambling to your trips to Bristol and Bath; I made enquiries there before I came to Mersecombe and found you lost a small fortune in Bath last winter.’
‘As did many others!’ Magnus threw at him.
‘Undoubtedly, but you have been obliged to live on credit since then, have you not? That is why you needed the insurance, to pay your debts.’ Lawrence paused. ‘I am surprised you did not get yourself a rich wife.’
‘I tried,’ he retorted bitterly. ‘A rich widow, in charge of her own fortune, would have solved all my difficulties. There are any number of ’em in Bath, but they were all so damned cautious, wanting to know the state of my finances!’
‘But you had asked me to marry you,’ objected Rose. ‘We were betrothed.’
His lip curled. ‘And what did you have to offer me? A brat of your own and a worthless mine! If I could have secured a woman of sufficient means I would have found some way to break our engagement. But by the time I came back to Mersecombe I had already decided there was only one way to solve my problems. I could still raise enough funds for one last venture, so I loaded the Sealark with ca
rgo and took out the insurance. But I needed somewhere to hide the cargo. Hades Mine was the obvious choice. It was an excellent plan.’ His malevolent glance shifted to Rose. ‘Then you decided to postpone our wedding. Not only that, you would not allow me to open up the mine. Damnation, if you had consented, then no one would have thought twice when they saw pack ponies on the road. I could have moved the cargo out months ago and sold it.’
‘I am glad I thwarted you,’ said Rose. ‘Even if it was unwittingly done.’ She shivered. ‘Let us get out of this horrid place. We will take him to Sir Jonas Pullen. He will know what to do.’
Lawrence gestured to Magnus to go first, but even as they began to move, footsteps echoed through the tunnel. A high, nervous voice called out and Rose halted.
‘Sam!’ Her cry was shrill with alarm.
‘Mama, Sir Lawrence? Are you here?’
‘No, no, Sam, go back!’
‘Sam, stop, don’t come any further!’
Rose and Lawrence shouted at the same time, their voices bouncing off the walls, distorting into an unrecognisable cacophony of noise. It drowned out any further footsteps, but even as the echoes died away Sam hurtled around the corner, directly into Magnus’s arms.
Rose watched in horror as Magnus gripped Sam’s shoulders, pinning the boy in front of him like a shield.
‘You should have shot me while you had the chance, Daunton.’ He cursed as Sam squirmed and wriggled to free himself. ‘Be still, Samuel, or it will be the worse for you! Well, Daunton, what do you say now? How good is your aim in this light, with a strange weapon? You have only my head and shoulders to aim for. Will you risk hitting the boy?’
‘You know I won’t,’ said Lawrence, lowering the pistol.
‘Very sensible.’ Magnus began to back along the tunnel. ‘You will both stay where you are. If I see you following us out of the mine, then I will break the boy’s neck, do you understand?’
‘Mama!’
Sam’s distressed cry ripped at her heart
‘It’s all right, my love, I’m—’
‘Get back,’ snapped Magnus as Rose reached out for her son. ‘He will be safe as long as you do as you are told.’
‘Sam, remember what I taught you—about staying safe?’ She heard Lawrence’s voice beside her, calm and reassuring. Sam stopped wriggling. Lawrence said, ‘Do it now, lad. Make it count.’
Sam’s little hands clenched into fists and he jabbed his elbow with all his force into Magnus’s groin. Magnus doubled up, shock and surprise loosening his grip, and Sam jumped away. Almost immediately a shot rang out and Magnus jerked back against the wall of the mine, clutching at his shoulder.
Lawrence gave a grunt of satisfaction. ‘Not bad, even with a strange weapon. How is the boy?’
‘Unharmed, thank heaven.’ Rose had gathered Sam in her arms and was holding him tightly. ‘I think,’ she said unsteadily, ‘I would like to go home now.’
Rose walked around the little sitting room at Bluebell Cottage, trying not to give in to the anxious thoughts and questions that threatened to overwhelm her. It was late, everyone else had gone to bed, but Lawrence had promised to come back once Magnus was safely locked up and she knew he would keep his word.
Before they left the mine, she had bound up Magnus’s shoulder as best she could, then left Lawrence to take him to Sir Jonas Pullen while she took Sam home. Their arrival had coincided with Mrs Molland’s return from Minehead and it was only to be expected that Sam would want to tell his grandmother all about his adventure.
The tale was recounted and revisited many times over dinner. Mrs Molland exclaimed over Magnus Emsleigh’s villainy and praised Sir Lawrence’s bravery, but she was mildly reproachful of her daughter and grandson for their foolishness in going to Hades Mine at all.
‘But if Mama had not gone, then Sir Lawrence might well have been killed,’ argued Sam, not at all chastened by the gentle rebuke.
Rose had been at pains to make light of her part in the proceedings and she was a little shocked at her young son’s astute grasp of the situation. Her head was still buzzing with all that had occurred and she desperately wanted to be alone, so she was grateful when, soon after they had finished dinner, Mrs Molland declared that she would take Sam up to bed.
‘He is far too excited to sleep,’ she said when she rejoined Rose in the sitting room some time later. ‘I have left Janet with him, and he is telling her of his adventure. He thinks of Sir Lawrence as quite the hero of the hour.’ When Rose did not reply she added, ‘I think we should invite him to call, that we may thank him properly.’
‘We shall see.’
‘You are not minded to receive him?’
‘I do not deny that he was very brave, but it does not alter the fact that he is a libertine.’
‘But perhaps it puts him in a slightly better light.’
‘Mama, Althea Emsleigh is carrying his child!’ Rose spread her hands. ‘What would you have me do?’
Mrs Molland sighed.
‘I do not know, but I admit I am seriously disappointed. I had begun to think that Sir Lawrence was just the man for you.’
She had risen then, and gone to bed, leaving Rose to pace up and down and wait for a knock on the door.
It came just after midnight.
‘I saw your candle in your window.’ Sir Lawrence stepped into the hall. It had started to snow and the shoulders of his jacket sparkled with a frosty dusting. ‘How is Sam?’
‘Sleeping peacefully. He is very resilient. He spotted me on the hill, riding down to Hades Cove, and decided to follow.’
‘And how are you?’
Rose evaded his searching gaze.
‘A little tired.’
She led him into the sitting room, where she had banked up the fire.
‘I did not expect to be so late.’
He removed his hat and Rose looked intently at him for signs of injury. Apart from an angry graze on his temple there was no sign of the wound he had suffered; the cut itself was covered by his thick dark hair.
‘Sir Jonas agreed to put Emsleigh in the lock-up, but insisted upon going back to the mine to see for himself. Abel Wooler was with him when I arrived. He had just finished making his deposition, so Sir Jonas already knew most of the story.’ He held his hands out to the fire. ‘We replaced the boards across the entrance and he has set a couple of stout fellows to guard it, until the goods can be moved.’
Rose watched him as he gazed silently into the fire. She was looking for similarities with her late husband. Harry had been floridly handsome; there was nothing florid about Lawrence. He was lean and dark with a slow smile that set her pulse racing in a way that Harry’s boyish grin had never done. Harry had been incorrigible. Whenever she had confronted him with his latest transgression, be it heavy losses at the gaming table, or another woman, he would always react in the same way: first the denial, then the apology. Time and again he had promised her that this indiscretion would be his last; time and again she had believed him…
Lawrence straightened and turned to look at her, his eyes sombre.
‘I am sorry, I should have trusted you. I should have told you I was investigating the loss of the Sealark.’
‘I thought you had come to Mersecombe to find me.’
‘I gave you my word I would not do that. An old friend asked me to investigate the loss of the Sealark, to find out if it really was an accident. He is one of those standing surety for the loss, and very reluctant to pay out if it was a fraud.’ A wry smile twisted his lips. ‘Knowing you were here made me keener to accept.’
‘But for all you knew I might have been married!’ she challenged him.
He shrugged.
‘I knew that, but I needed to know. When I found you had postponed the wedding I thought…I hoped there might be a chance for us…’
Rose put up her hand. She did not want to hear any more of his hopes.
‘That explains your frequent visits to the Woolers—you were questioning Abel.’<
br />
‘Yes.’
‘And you befriended Sam to get to me?’
‘No—not exactly. If Sam had not been your son, I would have treated him just the same. He is a fine boy.’ She turned away, unable to meet his gaze. He said quietly, ‘I have changed, Rose. After you left me last Christmas I wanted to prove I could do so—to myself as well as to you. It was not hard to give up the rakehell lifestyle I had been living, but it was harder not to come and find you. When I had an excuse to come back I took it, but returning to Knightscote revived all the memories of those few precious days we shared. It was bad enough in London, constantly thinking of you, wondering what you were doing, if you were happy, but back at Knightscote—I kept opening doors and expecting to see you there. Even riding the moor I am reminded of you—I see your eyes in the blue-grey rocks, hear your laughter in the babbling of the stream.’ He reached out for her. ‘I cannot bear us to be apart any longer, Rose—’
‘Impossible! Please, say no more!’ Tears scalded her eyes, but she would not let them fall. She walked away so that he could not see her trembling lip.
‘Impossible? No, why do you say that?’
Anger at his insouciance made her turn back.
‘What about Althea? Will you still marry her?’
His black brows drew together.
‘I have never had any intention of marrying her! If she expected that little outburst last night to persuade me, then I am sorry for it, but she has been deceiving herself.’
Just like Harry.
Hot, boiling fury erupted inside her. If there had been a knife to hand, she would have plunged it into him.
‘A rake to the last,’ she raged. ‘Get out!’
‘Rose, I have already sworn to you—I have had nothing to do with Althea Emsleigh.’
‘And you expect me to believe that?’
‘Yes! Do you think a woman cannot lie?’
‘A woman could not lie about such a thing.’
‘Perhaps you could not, but—’
Snowbound With the Notorious Rake Page 19