‘Yes, Major. Do you want to have a look at them now? Red was troubled after the shooting and he’ll be pleased to see you. They both will.’
Over the next three days Harry’s strength slowly returned, and he became more active, involved once more with the plans for the estate. The farmhouse was nearly ready and they were considering who to take on. They wanted a family man, and there was no shortage of applicants. He was in the process of interviewing hopeful farmers, and this was keeping him occupied.
On the other hand, now his son had taken over again, Charles had only one job and that was to see he didn’t do too much. The doctor was pleased with his progress, but it had been a close thing and they didn’t want to take any chances of a relapse.
Joe had been away for five days and they were both becoming concerned, knowing that what they had asked him to do for them could prove to be dangerous. Late one evening, Charles was just deciding to go to Bath in case his son’s friend was in trouble when they heard a horse gallop in to the yard.
Both men were immediately on their feet and were relieved to see Joe stride in.
‘Ah, you are looking much better,’ he said the moment he saw Harry.
‘I’m well on the way to full recovery. We are pleased to see you. Do you have any news?’
‘I do, but I’m not sure you are going to like what I’ve discovered.’
‘You must eat first.’ Charles summoned the butler and ordered food, then poured a brandy for each of them. ‘Sit down, Joe; the news can wait until you are refreshed after your journey.’
Half an hour later they waited eagerly to hear what Joe had discovered.
‘Start at the beginning,’ Harry told him.
‘When I arrived I immediately began to search out the serious gamblers, looking for the high rollers, and joined their games. There was no sign of Edward Danton, and I had begun to think it was a wasted trip, when he turned up after two days. I spent a long night watching him at the tables. He won a little and was in a good mood, but he is a hardened gambler, and when someone like that gets desperate you don’t know what they will do. The next day I bumped in to him, accidently, of course, and he was happy to meet a fellow gambler. We became quite friendly and dined together, but he didn’t talk about himself. I decided he needed to be thrown off balance, and the best way to do that was to see he lost heavily. After dinner he invited me to join a group that evening. I agreed, and when I met them I knew I would have to be very careful. This was the first time I had seen any of them in the short time I had been there, and they were serious gamblers, so I was going to need all my skill.’ Joe grinned. ‘It was quite exciting.’
‘I hope you were armed,’ Harry said, frowning.
‘I had various weapons hidden on me in case I had to fight my way out. Anyway, for the first hour I lost and won a little, and no one noticed anything wrong, so I began to make sure the main loser was Danton. The others were coming out more or less even.’
‘You must be exceptionally good to be able to influence a game like that,’ Charles remarked.
‘I’ve been taught by the best, and I have a good memory, able to track the cards that have been played. It also helped that Danton is not a skilled player. He is too emotional and easy to read. One by one the others dropped out, leaving the two of us to fight it out. I gave Danton the chance to stop, but he wouldn’t hear of it. After a long night I took everything he had, and ended up with several markers.’
‘How much for?’ Charles wanted to know.
Joe handed the markers over and Charles gasped, showing them to his son.
‘Where is he going to get this kind of money from?’ Harry knew his cousin liked to gamble, but this was reckless.
‘I asked him that, and he said he was about to inherit a large estate from a cousin who had been mortally wounded. I questioned him further by asking how sure he was that his cousin was going to die. He said he’d seen him and was certain he couldn’t live much longer as the bullet was close to his heart. At the mention of a bullet I feigned shock and the others who had been watching our game gathered round with interest. He now had everyone’s attention and I could see he liked being the centre of attention, so I pressured him again for details. When he said the shooting had occurred while you were riding across your estate and the shot had thrown you from your horse, I pointed out that the marksman must have been an expert to hit a moving target. By now Danton was revelling in the attention and I was hoping he would slip up and say something incriminating.’
Harry was leaning forward as he listened. ‘And did he?’
‘That’s for you to decide. We were all discussing this, and everyone said it must have been someone very expert because they certainly weren’t capable of being that accurate—’
‘Just a minute,’ Charles stopped Joe. ‘I never told Edward that Harry had been hit with one shot only, and I don’t think anyone else but the doctor knew that fact.’
‘Ah, then you will need to ask everyone here if they spoke to Danton. If they didn’t, then that hints at his guilt, along with his boastful declaration that he was an excellent marksman, and could hit a moving target – even a cavalry man at full gallop.’
‘He admitted that?’ Charles was astonished his nephew could be so foolish.
Joe nodded. ‘I don’t think anyone believed him, though, and I smirked along with the others. Then I threw out a challenge and invited him to show us his skill with a rifle the next day. He said he would be happy to but, unfortunately, he was returning to London at first light. The game broke up after that.’
‘Damn!’ Charles swore. ‘I had been clinging on to the hope that he wasn’t involved.’
‘I’m afraid he is so desperate for money that I would consider him quite capable of doing something as extreme as this. Once I had his markers for such a large amount, no one thought it unusual when I began asking questions about him. The other gamblers were quite free with their information, and I was able to find out the time of his visits. He wasn’t there the day Harry was shot, but arrived the next day.’
‘Everything is beginning to point in his direction.’ Harry shook his head in sadness. ‘We grew up together. How could he do such a thing?’
‘Addicted gamblers will do anything to obtain money for the next game and the next.’ Joe pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Charles. ‘There’s your money back. Thank you, but I didn’t need it.’
‘Keep it as payment for what you have done for us.’
‘That is generous of you, but I won’t take money for helping out a friend. What are you going to do next?’
‘Well, we still don’t have anything but gossip and suspicion, so let’s approach this in a military way. How do we back him into a corner and convince him there’s no escape?’
Joe considered this for a moment, and then said, ‘Again you need someone outside the family. Do you know anyone connected to the law? Someone with enough authority to make him believe there is enough proof to take him to court.’
‘Someone like a barrister?’ Charles asked.
‘As long as he’s a tough prosecutor.’
‘The man I’m thinking of has that reputation.’
‘Then have a talk with him and see what he thinks.’
‘Who are you thinking of?’ Harry asked his father.
‘Stuart Gretham. He’s a barrister now.’
‘Is he? I haven’t seen him for years. But would Stuart go along with this? We really don’t have a lot, do we, and Edward could come up with a reasonable explanation why he wasn’t in Bath when he said he was. Stuart wouldn’t be able to prosecute without definite proof of some kind.’
‘You need a confession.’
Father and son looked at Joe in disbelief.
‘How do we make him do that?’ Charles asked. ‘Edward is a hardened gambler, but he’s not fool enough to admit to attempted murder.’
‘If he is faced with a barrister he might really believe he has been caught and panic. Would
this man you know be prepared to suggest to him a more lenient sentence if he confesses?’
Harry looked at his father. ‘Do you think he would do something like this for us?’
‘I really don’t know. The only thing we can do is tell him what we suspect and ask for his advice.’
‘That will be the way to approach him. If he can’t help then I will have to confront Danton for payment of his debts, and see if I can trick him into a confession.’
Harry grimaced. ‘I’m still reluctant to believe he did this. You’re a good judge of character, Joe, so what’s your honest opinion?’
‘He’s your man, and once he realises you are fully recovered he will try again,’ he stated without hesitation.
Charles began to pace the room. ‘In that case he must be told he will not inherit the estate. That might remove the danger, Harry.’
‘And place it on whomever will inherit,’ Joe pointed out.
‘No one knows who that is. My son won’t even tell me who it is, and I agree that the fewer people who know the better.’
‘Agreed. Now, I suggest you have a talk with your friend before I start pressuring Danton for payment of his debts. This barrister is in London, I presume?’
‘He works there, but he does have a home some ten miles from here, where his wife and children live all the time. I’ll send a message and ask when he will be there, and if he would see me on a legal matter. Let’s keep this official to begin with.’
‘Good. There isn’t anything else we can do at the moment. I will take lodging at a local inn in the village in case Danton comes here and sees me. He mustn’t know I am a friend of yours, Harry.’
‘Keep in touch, and while we are waiting will you see if you can trace that girl?’
‘Chrissie,’ Charles reminded his son. ‘Why do you still insist on calling her “that girl”?’
‘Perhaps because I need to remind myself that she really is a girl.’ He winked at Joe. ‘The only time I saw her she was working in the stables and wearing men’s breeches.’
Joe grinned. ‘So you said before, and I’m looking forward to meeting her. It would help if I knew what you intend to do when she is found. Will you give her the job back?’
‘Certainly not. I have not changed my opinion that it is unseemly for a female to be working as a stable lad, but I will find her something else if she so wishes. However, there are two reasons I am anxious about her, and one is that I acted unkindly, without thought, and that does not sit well with me.’
‘You said two reasons,’ Charles prompted.
‘Did I? It must have been a slip of the tongue.’
Chapter Twenty-Two
She’d been here a week, and although it was interesting she couldn’t wait to leave. No more had been said about new clothes for her, but the Martins she was staying with had given her an old but smarter skirt and blouse to wear. They had also given her a lovely room, not in the servants’ quarters, which had surprised her, but she took her meals with the servants. She had spent all day yesterday in court and watched Sir Gretham in action. It had been exciting and somewhat confusing, but the way the lawyers fought the cases was astonishing, and her sympathy went out to some of the witnesses as they endured cross-examination by both sides. The prosecutor – who was Sir Stuart Gretham – had won the case, and the next one didn’t start for two days.
Brian bounded in to the office, a broad smile on his face. ‘Wasn’t that terrific? Anyone who finds themselves prosecuted by our boss doesn’t stand a chance.’
‘Even if they are innocent?’ she asked.
‘If we take on a case they are never innocent. We make quite sure of that before the trial.’
‘We?’
‘The law firm of Gretham and Gretham. The boss had an older brother, and after he died he kept the name. I expect he’s hoping his son will join the firm one day.’
Oh dear, she thought silently. From what she’d seen of the boy there wasn’t much hope of that happening. The child must be a big disappointment to him, and he had been right to get him away from his mother in the hope the school could straighten him out.
The door opened and Stuart strode into the room. ‘I have to return home, but will be back in time for the next trial. I want you to remain here and finish those documents,’ he told Chrissie.
Her disappointment showed. For a moment she had believed she would be leaving with him. ‘Can’t I come with you and bring them with me?’
‘No, Mr Martin is going to stand in for me in case I’m delayed, and he will need you here.’
‘I didn’t know he was a lawyer.’
‘He is, and a very good one. Brian, you know what to do while I’m away. Will you go now and purchase my usual ticket for the train?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Why do you have to rush home?’ she asked, wondering if there was a family crisis, or something.
‘I have received a message from an old friend of my father’s who needs to see me on a very urgent matter.’ He glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘I must clear up a few things and then I’ll be on my way, but I’ll be back as quickly as possible.’
She watched him go and yearned to be leaving with him. It was ungrateful of her to feel like this, she knew, because by giving her this job he had given her a lift up in life. There was only one thing she really wanted and that was to be with her beloved horses. It was silly to be so attached to them when it was unlikely she would ever see them again. She wondered if they were missing her as much as she was missing them.
Pushing aside the sadness she picked up a pen and began working on the documents he had left for her to copy. There was a job to do and it must be done well to show appreciation for the chance he had given her. She must move on, but one thing she was absolutely certain of, she wasn’t going to stay in London for much longer. Regardless of all the trouble and heartache she had experienced so far, her desire to live in the country had not diminished one tiny bit.
Stuart’s country home was in a rural area and the London train only went part of the way, but it did speed up the journey, and he collected his horse for the rest of the way. He was intrigued by the urgent message he had received from Lord Charles Frenshaw. He hadn’t seen him in years, and couldn’t imagine why he wanted a meeting with him on a legal matter. He could have asked him to come to his chambers, but as there was a delay in the next trial he had decided to come back. It would give him a chance to check that his son was settling down at the school, and see his two delightful little girls. There was no eagerness to see his wife, which was sad, but once they were married she had changed, and he quickly realised she was not the girl he had been fooled into marrying. She was selfish and, quite frankly, not very bright. He had wanted and needed someone by his side who would mix with, and entertain, friends and associates. Once the first child had been born, she had insisted on retiring to the country, and had resisted all attempts to make her join him in London. How different it would have been if he’d found someone like Christine Banner. All right, she came from the slums, but her dark eyes shone with intelligence, and she had spirit. He didn’t doubt she could be shown how to mingle with society. That was another reason he hadn’t wanted Charles to come to his chambers, as he felt there was a chance he would try to take her back. He didn’t want that, and refused to look too deeply at his reasons for feeling that way.
He rode straight to the school and saw the principal. ‘How is my son getting on?’ he asked.
‘Very well. He’s bright and gets on well with the other boys. They are on the playing field at the moment. Would you like to see him?’
‘Please.’
The noise coming from the game was deafening and Stuart smiled, remembering his own bruising games. Robert was in the thick of the ruckus, laughing and shouting as loud as the others. When he spotted his father he ran over with a huge smile on his face.
‘Father! I didn’t know you were coming.’
‘This is just a quick visit to see how yo
u are. You look as if you are enjoying yourself.’
‘I am. It’s terrific here. Thank you for bringing me. I know now why I misbehaved so much at home. I didn’t have anyone of my age there and the lessons were too easy. I was bored and didn’t know what to do with myself. Mother kept fussing over me, as well, and I got angry at times.’
‘You should have told me how you felt.’
‘I know, but you are away such a lot.’
Stuart felt guilty, but his work was in London, and he couldn’t do anything about that. ‘I must try and spend more time at home. You are happy here, then?’
‘I love it. Do you know there’s a picture of you here as one of the past students who have achieved something in life?’ He gave a cheeky grin. ‘My aim now is to get my picture next to yours one day.’
Relief swept through him as he looked at his son’s animated face. The school was doing what he had hoped, and was giving his son a sound purpose in life. ‘Well, my firm is still called Gretham and Gretham, and waiting for you to join it if you should feel like studying law.’
‘I’ve already started.’
‘Excellent. That pleases me very much. I can’t stay now, Robert, but I’ll come and collect you at the term break. Now, you’d better go and get cleaned up.’
His son giggled when he looked down at the mud and dirt on his boots and clothes, then he threw his arms around his father. ‘Thank you for coming.’
Quite shaken by the show of affection, he watched his son tear off with the other boys. What a difference from the sullen boy he had brought here. He must make sure his other children didn’t suffer as Robert obviously had.
The next day Stuart waited for Charles to arrive, and went out to meet him the moment he rode up to the house.
They exchanged greetings and he studied the magnificent horse his visitor had arrived on. ‘What a beautiful animal,’ he exclaimed.
‘This is Red Sunset, but we just call him Red.’
The horse lowered its head and looked straight in to Stuart’s eyes. ‘What’s he doing?’ he asked Charles.
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