by Anne Herries
‘If you murder me, they will hang you,’ she said. ‘Go quickly before they come.’
‘This is all his fault!’ The man swore, in French this time, and moved purposefully towards her. ‘Understand that I bear you no ill will, mademoiselle. If he had been waiting where he promised, none of this need have happened. He said that the old house was unsafe, for someone was living there, but he did not meet me as we had arranged and so I came here.’
‘You came to the house you had used before…’ Marianne understood what had happened. They must have used the cliff house to hide him sometimes, but Lady Edgeworthy’s agent had let it, and Joshua had arranged to meet him somewhere else, to guide him through the tunnel—but something had gone wrong. Either they had missed each other in the dark, or Joshua had changed his mind.
‘What do you know of him? Was this a trap he had set for me? Tell me and I may spare you.’
Marianne caught her breath. She had seen something behind him, something that gave her hope. ‘You speak of the traitor—the man who calls himself Joshua Hambleton. You should not have placed your trust in such a man, monsieur. Go now, I beg you for your own sake…’
At that moment Drew sprang. He had heard her shout to warn the soldiers, and knew why she had called out. Scrambling up the cliffs as swiftly as he could manage it, he had been in time to see her fall, and he heard her speak out, saw how bravely she had faced her adversary. Now he rushed on the Frenchman, taking him down to the ground with him.
Raoul cursed—he had not been aware of the danger from behind. He fought back almost at once and for what seemed an eternity to Marianne, the struggle went on as the two men rolled over and over on the hard ground. She could not move even had she wanted, for she was frozen to the spot, her heart racing with fear. She gasped as she saw the Frenchman bring out a knife, trying to plunge it into Drew’s chest, but Drew had a hand about his wrist and they tussled for possession, and then the knife went flying.
Marianne moved then, despite the pain; she seized on it, throwing it as far as she could. Yet still the fight went on and she was not sure which way it would go until Drew was suddenly sitting astride the Frenchman, banging his head on the ground until he stopped fighting and went limp.
Suddenly, another man was there, followed by yet another. Marianne caught a breath of sobbing relief as she recognised Robbie, but not the third man, whom she took to be one of the Revenue officers, for he was in uniform.
The Frenchman had stopped struggling. He was probably close to losing his senses for Drew had pounded him unmercifully, but she could see that he was still alive when they pulled him to his feet. He was swaying, his senses obviously disordered as more men came up to them, and his hands were bundled behind his back and tied with ropes. The soldiers took him away, one of their officers coming to inquire if Drew was all right. Marianne stood alone for a moment, and then Robbie came up to her.
‘Are you all right, miss?’ he asked, looking at her white face with concern. ‘We spotted you just before he turned up, but we dared not move for fear they should put back to the ship.’
‘But he was landed earlier and made his way over the cliffs,’ Marianne told him. ‘He was supposed to have met with Lieutenant Humble, but something went wrong. I think he must have stayed at the house sometimes in the past. When his contact was not there, he decided to find his own way here.’ She took a step forward and stumbled, crying out with pain. Robbie caught her, supporting her, and then Drew was by her side. He took one look at her white face and swept her into his arms.
‘I’ll take her home, Rogers,’ he said, glancing at the Revenue officer over her head. ‘When you’ve cleared up here, go back to the house. I’ll join you there, for we have some talking to do. We’ve got one of them, but it seems the other has slipped through our fingers.’
‘Put me down,’ Marianne said as he strode away from the others. ‘If Robbie helped me, I am sure I could manage to get home.’
‘Please do not be ridiculous,’ Drew said sharply. ‘What on earth brought you to the cliffs at this hour I have no idea, but I am certainly not letting you go home alone while that wretch Hambleton is still around! After what happened this night, he would as soon shoot you as look at you.’
‘I came to warn you that the drop was early this morning,’ Marianne said. ‘I found the entrance to the cellars last night…they came to check on it and I heard them talking.’
Drew stopped and set her on her feet, looking at her in a stern manner. ‘Then why did you not send me word? Why come here when you knew it would be dangerous?’
‘I did not wish to rouse the servants last night. Besides, I thought it would be safe…that they would be on the beach…’ She faltered and then her eyes flashed with sudden temper. ‘You were waiting for them! You knew it was to be this morning. Why did you not tell me?’
‘Because it was too dangerous,’ Drew said. ‘I have an insider working for me and have known what was going on since yesterday, but Hambleton was there at the house, and if I had told you, you might have let something slip…’
‘How dare you?’ Marianne said. Her fingers itched to slap him, but she kept her hands at her sides. ‘I am not a fool though you may think it. Besides, had I not been there, you might have lost the spy. I was watching the ship and he came up to me in the dark. At first he may have thought I was Hambleton’s go-between, because I was near the house. I think you ruined all their plans when you leased it from my aunt. If Hambleton wishes to kill anyone, it must be you…’
‘All that is besides the point,’ Drew snapped, because he had suddenly realised how close she had come to death, and the risks she had been taking. ‘How do you think I would have felt if he had killed you? What of your aunt’s feelings—your mother and sisters? Have you no thought for them? You are a headstrong, wilful girl and I have no patience with you.’
‘Then go away and leave me alone,’ Marianne said, close to tears. ‘If you had not lied to me, I dare say I should never have—’ She broke off, then said, ‘You say that I am headstrong and wilful—but you are reckless and irresponsible. A man in your position should not be hiding on a windswept cliff waiting for French spies to land. You have people who rely on you for their living…’ She choked back a sob. ‘Leave me to make my own way home, my lord. I do not need your help.’
‘Whether you need it or not, I intend to carry you home,’ Drew said, and caught her up into his arms again. His expression was grim as he strode through the night and Marianne was too distressed to renew the argument.
She closed her eyes and tried not to think of the throbbing pain in her ankle, refusing to let the tears fall. It would shame her to cry, but she felt wretched and she wished that she was anywhere but in his arms.
Drew did not speak again until he set her down outside her aunt’s house. His expression had not lightened, his mouth was set in a hard line.
‘I need not tell you to continue to be careful. I believe that Lieutenant Humble will be far away by now, for he must know that his plans have gone wrong. However, you must still be wary—he may want revenge.’
‘Thank you for bringing me back,’ Marianne said in a low voice. Her ankle was hurting so much that she knew she could never have managed it alone. ‘And for your warning.’
‘You can manage on your own now? I have work I must do,’ he said harshly. ‘Unfortunately, this business is not finished as I had hoped it would be by now.’
‘Yes, of course I can manage.’ Marianne turned from him and limped towards the house, keeping her back straight. For pride’s sake she would not let him see what even those few steps cost her. She knocked at the door and a moment later, Bessie opened it to her. ‘I have hurt my ankle…could you help me?’
‘Yes, of course, miss,’ Bessie said. ‘Wherever have you been at this hour, Miss Marianne?’
Marianne glanced back. She saw that Drew had waited to see her in, but now he was striding away. She had brought him out of his way and he clearly still had much to do.
They had caught the smugglers in the act as he had hoped, and they had the French spy—but the man who had betrayed them to the French had got away. He must be angry about that, for it was the capture of the traitor that had brought him here in the first place.
Marianne caught back her tears as she hobbled inside the house. She thought that Drew blamed her for what had happened, and he was as angry with her as she had been with him when she discovered his true identity.
He would probably stay well clear of her now. The thought made her want to weep, but she told herself she was being foolish. It could not matter that Drew was angry with her, because he had only wanted to seduce her in the first place. He was the Marquis of Marlbeck, and a man of his importance would never marry a girl of no fortune, even if she were of gentle birth.
‘Shall we send for the doctor, miss?’
Marianne became aware of Bessie’s anxious look as she helped her to a sofa. Her ankle was very painful, and, despite hating to make a fuss, Marianne realised that it needed attention.
‘Yes, I think perhaps I must trouble him,’ she said. ‘I stumbled on the cliffs and I am afraid I have twisted my ankle. I do not think it is broken, but I cannot be certain.’
‘Best to be on the safe side,’ Bessie said. ‘I’ll send a groom for him straight away. You just bide here, miss, and I’ll bring you a cup of tea in a moment. Unless you would like something stronger?’
‘No, I do not think so, thank you,’ Marianne said. ‘Tea will be very nice.’
She watched as the maid hurried away to send word to her aunt’s groom. Her ankle was truly painful, but it was not that which caused the tears to trickle silently down her cheeks.
Her display of temper would have given Drew a disgust of her…and she must cease to think of him by that name. If they met in future, she must remember to call him by his proper name. He was Marlbeck and now that the smuggling ring had been broken he would leave here…and she would never see him again.
‘You must stay in bed for a few days, as the doctor bid you,’ Lady Edgeworthy told Marianne when she visited her in her bedchamber later that day. ‘You were lucky it was not much worse, which it might have been. The cliffs are dangerous, especially at that time of the morning. If you had seen where you were going, you would not have tripped and fallen.’
Marianne had not told her that she was running from a French spy who wished to kill her, because she did not wish to distress her great-aunt further. Aunt Bertha was already upset enough as it was.
‘It was very foolish of me,’ she said meekly. ‘I shall not do it again, Aunt. I promise.’
‘I think I ought to write and ask your mama and sisters to come here at once,’ Lady Edgeworthy said. ‘You have had a nasty shock and if anything should happen…’
‘I assure you that I am quite well,’ Marianne told her. ‘It is just that my ankle hurts a little.’
‘I think it hurts more than a little,’ Lady Edgeworthy said. ‘Jane told me that Dr Thompson said it was a nasty sprain. I cannot imagine what made you go out so early, my dear!’
‘I was awake early and I thought I should like to walk.’ Marianne gave her an apologetic smile. ‘Please do not be cross with me. I promise I shall never do anything so foolish again.’
‘Well, your mama may as well come here, you know. We can all go on to Bath after Jane’s wedding, and it will be nice to have young people here again. Now, stay there and rest, and Jane will run any errands you need. I shall send her up to you in a little while.’
‘Thank you, but I am quite content with my book for the moment.’
Marianne sighed as her aunt left her. She knew that Lady Edgeworthy was frightened because the accident had happened on the cliffs. Having lost Cedric in an accident there, she would naturally fear the worst, even though Marianne had not been near the cliff edge when she fell.
A little shudder went through her as she realised that she might well have died. It was dangerous to go too near the cliffs before it was light, even if there had been no smugglers. She ought to have roused Jensen the previous night and told him what had happened. Indeed, she must speak to him and tell him about the cellars, because she had both the keys and he might be looking for the one that usually hung beside the door.
However, she could not get out of bed, because she knew she must rest her ankle. It had begun to swell by the time the doctor arrived to look at it, and though he had bathed it with cold water and applied a bandage, it was extremely painful. She could ring for a maid, of course, and ask Mr Jensen to come, but that might set everyone wondering what had happened. She decided that when Jane came in to see her, she would ask for her writing slope and pen a note for Mr Jensen. In the meantime, she was very tired. Perhaps it was the medicine that the doctor had left her.
Closing her eyes, she drifted into a restful sleep.
When Jane looked in on her later, she smiled and tiptoed away again, going down to the parlour where Lady Edgeworthy was entertaining her visitor.
‘She is sleeping,’ Jane said. ‘I think Dr Thompson gave her a draught to help her relax and it has worked very well.’
‘Then I shall not disturb her,’ Drew said. ‘You will tell her that I called, if you please. I have to travel to London almost immediately, and after that I must visit my home. I shall hope to be down again in a few days—a week at the most.’
‘Thank you for explaining everything to us,’ Lady Edgeworthy said. ‘Marianne did tell me that she thought there might be some smuggling going on—but I could not think it was so. It seems that we have been harbouring a traitor in our midst, Lord Marlbeck. I wish that I had known, for I should have liked to tell him what I think of such wickedness.’
‘It is perhaps as well that you did not—he is a dangerous man,’ Drew said. ‘My hope is that he is far away from here, Lady Edgeworthy—but if you should see him again, you must send word immediately to Major Barr. He will know what to do.’
‘I am most disturbed to know that my dearest Marianne was in danger last night. She never said a word of it to me, you know—nor has she mentioned the cellars.’
‘I dare say she means to do so, however,’ Drew said. ‘I shall speak to your butler before I leave. He will know what must be done—but you will need to ask Marianne where the entrance is, for she has not told me.’
‘I shall certainly do so when she is better,’ Lady Edgeworthy told him. ‘I am sorry that you are leaving, sir. I do hope that you will come back and visit us again—as yourself next time.’
‘Thank you, you are most kind,’ Drew said. He got up a little reluctantly, for he had hoped to see Marianne before he left. ‘You will not forget to tell her that I called?’
‘Of course not,’ Lady Edgeworthy said. ‘I have sent word for her mama, you know. It is my hope that the whole family will come down. We shall all attend Jane’s wedding, and then we may go to Bath for a little visit.’
‘That will make a pleasant change for you—but I hope you do not mean to give up your estate?’
‘I am not sure that the income is what it should be,’ Lady Edgeworthy said on a sigh. ‘When the mine ran out it meant that we relied on the land, but that is not as fertile as it might be—the land is too stony.’
‘Did you not know that there is a rich seam of copper in your mine?’ Drew asked. ‘I saw it when I went down looking for contraband. I know that the tin ore ran out, but I believe it would be worth opening up again for the copper. You would need advice on how best to go about it, but I am sure that it might be arranged without too much trouble.’
‘Copper? Are you sure?’ Lady Edgeworthy was surprised. ‘It might make all the difference and it would bring more work to the men of the area. I shall have to consider this carefully.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Drew told her. ‘I must leave you now, but we may talk about this another time.’
‘Please see the marquis to the door,’ Lady Edgeworthy said and Jane got up to oblige her.
‘I hope to be back in time for y
our wedding,’ Drew said to Jane as they reached the front door. ‘You will not forget to tell Marianne that I called?’
‘We shall tell her,’ Jane promised. ‘I might have woken her, but she looked so peaceful.’
‘Oh, no, what I have to say to her can wait for a while. Excuse me, I must go. This business is not yet settled and there are people I must talk to.’
‘Goodbye,’ Jane said, smiled and went back into the house.
‘Are you feeling better?’ Jane asked as she took a tray of tea and sweet cakes up to Marianne’s bedroom a little later. ‘You were sound asleep when I looked in earlier.’
‘I think I was very tired for I did not sleep much last night,’ Marianne said and yawned. ‘My ankle is throbbing, but I expect it will for a day or two.’
‘Yes, I dare say,’ Jane said and laughed softly. ‘If you will go chasing French spies in the dead of night, Marianne!’
‘What do you know of that?’
‘Lord Marlbeck called earlier today on his way to London,’ Jane said. ‘He asked to see you, but you were asleep and he did not wish to disturb you. He told us all about the smugglers landing their contraband on the beach. And that by crying out a warning from the top of the cliffs, you had helped them to catch the French spy.’
‘Oh…’ Marianne wrinkled her brow. ‘In that case, you may take these keys down to Mr Jensen and tell him that I kept them with me so that no one could walk in on the smugglers and perhaps be harmed by them. They will discover that the wine rack at the far end of the cellar can be moved forward by means of a lever somewhere. It can be opened from the other side, but I am not sure about this side—however, it needs to be made safe so that no one can use it again.’
Jane looked at the keys. ‘You must be very brave to have gone down there and discovered it—and to have gone out to the cliffs to warn Lord Marlbeck when you knew what was happening. I do not think I should have cared for it.’