by Jenny Hambly
“Lord Allerdale,” Lady Selena said, picking up the hat he had thrown on the seat, “what is wrong?”
He turned his horses, flicked his whip, and drove towards the gate at a recklessly fast pace, “I pray to God nothing is wrong,” he said, “but that is Miss Edgcott’s hat and I wish to know why it was left lying crushed in the park.”
He reached Audley Street in a matter of moments and took the steps two at a time. He rapped the knocker against the plate with such force that he dented it. As the door opened, he brushed passed Linton and said curtly, “Is Miss Edgcott in?”
“No, sir,” he said, his countenance rigid, “she went out some time ago.”
“What the devil is all this noise?” Lord Haverham said, coming into the hall. “Ah, it’s you Allerdale, well I can understand your impatience to see Eleanor, but she stepped out some time ago and is not yet back. She is expecting you, so I am sure she will not be much longer.”
He held up the battered hat, “Was she wearing this when she went out?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I never take much notice—”
“Yes, she was,” Diana said, leaning over the banister. “What on earth has happened to it? And where is Eleanor?”
“That, Lady Haverham, is what I intend to find out. Where did she go?”
“I am not sure, but she took Stanley with her, so I assumed she had gone to do some shopping.”
The band around Miles’ heart loosened its grip by a fraction. “He is your footman, I presume.”
“Yes,” she said.
“And did she also take her maid?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Fetch Linny to me, would you?”
Linny, having heard the commotion in the hall, was already descending the stairs.
“Lord Allerdale,” she said. “I don’t know where she went; she’s always disappearing off somewhere when my back is turned, but I didn’t expect her to do so today. She shed a few tears last night when she suddenly got the notion in her head that you might not come. Don’t you worry none, she’ll turn up, she always do—” She gasped. “That is her hat! Oh, my, and look at the state of it. What can it mean?”
“I wish I knew,” he said, running his hand across his head. “But I will not stand here and wait to discover it. I shall take Lady Selena home and then go to my parents to see if she is there. Haverham, send someone around to Somerton’s house in Mount Street, and Cranbourne’s house in Brook Street, they were still in Town this morning.”
Eleanor had awoken from a restless night, wishing she had not given Miles time to change his mind. Although she was almost certain he would not, a nagging doubt still remained. She was unusually indecisive, changing her dress three times before she was satisfied, and then, after coming down to breakfast and discovering that she could barely eat a morsel, she returned to her room and changed again.
When she came down to the morning room, to discover if she could distract herself with her sketchbook, Stanley handed her a card.
“This was delivered about half an hour ago,” he said.
Her stomach clenched as she saw it was Miles’ card. She swiftly turned it over and read the brief message. The hand was untidy, as if it had been written in haste, and it took her a moment to decipher it. She sagged with relief when she understood that he was not informing her that he had changed his mind. She drew in a long, slow breath and read it again.
My dearest love,
I cannot wait. Meet me beneath the leafy bower where our lips first met, and my heart was forever lost.
Allerdale
A slow smile spread across her face. He too must be as little like himself as she was this morning, for somehow the words did not seem like his. She could well believe the first part; I cannot wait, but the second seemed too romantic, too sentimental. She gave a low laugh. Diana might enjoy such treatment, but if Miles thought she wished to hear such stuff, he would soon learn otherwise. She would enjoy provoking him out of such flowery nonsense.
She found that she too, could not wait. And when she ran up to her room and Linny was not there, she threw on a pelisse and grabbed the first reticule her eyes alighted on. Knowing that Miles would not be pleased if she came alone, she resolved to take Stanley. He, she knew, would keep his distance and turn his eyes the other way if it became necessary.
As they approached the place where Miles had kissed her, she motioned for Stanley to stay back. She was not unduly alarmed when she did not immediately see Miles but peeped behind the trees, half expecting him to grab her and laugh. Someone did grab her from behind, but she sensed immediately that it was not Miles.
“Stanley,” she shouted.
A hard hand clamped over her mouth. “Stand very still and I will not hurt you,” a voice whispered in her ear.
She heard a cry followed by a thud, and even though she knew it to be useless, began to struggle.
“If you wish your footman to live, desist.”
She immediately stilled and found her head suddenly forced backwards. As she opened her mouth to protest, a hand holding a flask appeared and she felt a hot, fiery liquid course over her tongue and sting her throat. She began to cough.
The whisper came again. “Drink it.”
The flask tilted again, and she found she had little choice but to swallow or choke. Then the world went black.
Chapter 21
When she awoke, she found herself laid out on a sofa. The room was dim, the only light coming from the fire and a branch of candles. Her head felt thick and her senses dulled. As she turned onto her side, she felt something hard press against her hip. She pushed herself into a sitting position and took a deep breath, willing the nausea that gripped her to subside. She brought her hands up to her face and choked back a sob. If only she had listened to her instincts. She had known that the words on the card did not sound like any Miles would have written.
Her reticule was still attached to her wrist, and as it gently bumped against her arm, she suddenly understood what had dug into her hip. Her pistol! She had been so annoyed with Miles when she had returned to the house after her near-disastrous visit to Madame Lafayette’s, that she had impetuously thrown it aside without putting the gun back in her drawer.
She bit her bottom lip. Although its presence offered her some protection, she would not use it lightly. Her skin suddenly felt clammy. Miles’ words came back to her; Miss Edgcott, there are at least a dozen things that could have gone awry, especially if your pistol had come into play. She had dismissed them, in truth, she had never expected to have to use it. Her father had made her practise over and over again and when she had become proficient, had told her not to think, just choose her spot and fire. But she suspected that a live, moving target would be a very different thing. She stood and walked a little unsteadily to the closed shutters, but she soon saw that the bar that secured them was padlocked.
“There is no escape for you that way, Miss Edgcott.”
She spun around, closed her eyes, and staggered as a wave of dizziness hit her. She felt a hand grasp her arm and lead her back to the sofa.
“Here.”
She took the glass of water offered to her and drank greedily. Her vision cleared and she looked up at her captor. He smiled maliciously down at her, before seating himself on the chair set on the opposite side of the fire.
“Lord Sandford,” she whispered.
He leaned forwards a little and bowed from his waist. “Did I not tell you, Miss Edgcott, that it was unwise to meddle in my affairs? Yet not only have you turned Diana against me, and I suspect informed the authorities of my duel, you mortify me in public, and to add insult to injury, you whip Miss Finchley from under my nose. I do not think you can have expected me to withstand such provocation.”
Eleanor shook her head as if to clear it. “You turned Diana against you, sir, I only helped keep you at arm’s length. I did not wield the cane that tripped you up, although I will admit I derived some enjoyment from the spectacle.
And I did not take Miss Finchley away from you, I merely enabled one who loved her to do so.”
Lord Sandford sneered. “Love! Love is nothing but an intense burst of lust that soon wears off.”
“Mr Pavlov, will at least marry Miss Finchley and provide a home for her.”
“I would have provided a home for her,” he said bitterly.
Eleanor remembered Miss Finchley mentioning that he had offered her a nice little cottage not far from London.
“Is that where you have brought me?” she said. “To the cottage you keep for your mistresses? If you think I will take her place, you are mistaken. I would rather throw myself from the roof.”
Eleanor was surprised to see a glimmer of respect in his eyes.
“I believe you. But no, that is not my plan.”
“Then what do you want? Is it money? I have heard you are very expensive. Do you think to hold me to ransom? Or ruin me so I will marry you?”
He gave a harsh laugh. “This is not about money, Miss Edgcott, this is about revenge. I do not wish to marry you, only to ruin you.”
Eleanor felt a cold shiver run down her spine. “If you attempt to lay one finger upon my person, you will be sorry.”.
“But I don’t wish to lay a finger upon you,” he said. “I prefer my women to come willingly to my bed.”
“Miss Finchley was not willing.”
“That was not the impression her aunt gave me.”
“What about the impression Miss Finchley gave you?”
He shrugged. “I thought she was playing with me. It is not unusual. Women always play games; they think it adds to their allure.”
Eleanor realised he was in earnest and that there was no point in arguing with him. She changed tack.
“I assume that you saw what happened between Lord Allerdale and myself in the park yesterday.”
“Not personally,” he said. “I am not often abroad at that ungodly hour, you understand. But after Lady Crouch informed me of your interference in the matter of her niece, I put a man on to watch you, hoping he would discover something I could use against you.”
“You do realise that Miles will kill you for this.”
“He may try, Miss Edgcott, but he is unlikely to succeed. You need a cool head in a fight, and Allerdale is known for his hot-headedness.”
Eleanor went cold with fear and then with anger. She would not let this man ruin her reputation, her chance of happiness, and above all, she would not allow him to kill Miles.
“Let me go,” she said quietly. “If you do so, I will say nothing. This sordid episode will be forgotten, and no one will get hurt.”
“Do you expect me to believe that, Miss Edgcott? I have never known a woman yet who could keep her tongue between her teeth. No, my hand is dealt, and I will play it out.”
“Very well,” Eleanor said softly, drawing her pistol from her reticule.
“I am about to leave, do not try and stop me.”
Lord Sandford laughed and drew a key from his pocket.
“I locked the door before I spoke to you.”
“Throw the key to me,” she said, backing towards the door.
“No,” he said baldly. “That is a very pretty piece you have there, Miss Edgcott, but I do not believe you will use it.”
One moment he was lounging in his chair, and the next he was on his feet and striding towards her. “Give it to me.”
Eleanor aimed and fired. Lord Sandford went reeling backwards, his hand clutched to his shoulder, a stunned expression in his eyes.
“I’ll be damned,” he said, sinking into his chair.
“Undoubtedly,” Eleanor said.
She turned and tried to put the key in the lock, but her hand was shaking so much that she dropped it.
Lord Sandford gave a weak laugh.
“You do have some nerves then.”
Eleanor ignored him, retrieved it, and this time managed to insert it into the keyhole. She twisted it, pulled the door open, and stepped into a small, dark passageway. Reaction set in and she stood there for a moment breathing in short, rapid gasps, her legs trembling beneath her. She became aware of a rumbling noise, and then the sound of horses’ hooves. She found she could breathe again and rushed to the front door and wrenched it open. She blinked, blinded for a moment by the sunlight, and then a curricle drew up before her, and she found herself in Miles’ arms.
He held her to him fiercely for a moment. She could feel relief and anger within him in equal measures.
“Are you hurt?” he said harshly, his arms gentling a little.
“No.” She looked up and gave a small gasp. His jaw was clenched, his dark eyes almost black, and they burned into hers with an intensity that made her a little afraid.
“He never touched me,” she said quickly. “He never intended to, he only meant to ruin my reputation by keeping me here.”
Miles lifted her into his arms.
“I will kill him; I will throttle the life out of him inch by slow inch and enjoy every moment.”
She said in a small voice. “I think I may have done so already.”
Her words seemed to break through his fury. A humourless grin twisted his lips and he pressed them briefly to hers.
“Good girl!”
He deposited her in the curricle and strode into the house. She moved as if to follow him but felt Tibbs’ hand on her shoulder. “You stay there, miss. Whatever he says, he won’t lay a finger on him if he’s injured. And besides, here comes the cavalry.”
She realised that the thunder of horse hooves had not stopped and twisted around. Four horsemen emerged through a cloud of dust. Lord Somerton arrived first and dismounted with a swiftness that made her blink. He sprinted into the house with a speed she would not have thought possible for so large a man. Lord Cranbourne came next; he nodded at her and strode hastily towards the cottage. Lords Brigham and Carteret arrived together.
Lord Brigham paused by the curricle. “You are unharmed, Miss Edgcott?”
“Yes,” she said. “It is Lord Sandford who is injured.”
He raised a brow and said softly, “I am happy to hear it; now I know my son will not be accused of murder.”
She swallowed. “If anyone is, it will be me. I shot him.”
He took her hand and squeezed it gently. “My compliments, Miss Edgcott. But do not concern yourself. If you have killed him, he will have come by his just deserts. I shall see to it that you do not suffer any ill consequences.”
“Thank you, sir.”
As he and Lord Carteret began to walk towards the house, she suddenly cried, “I don’t know where Stanley is.”
Lord Brigham glanced over his shoulder. “He will be found, never fear.”
Miss Edgcott began to fidget.
“I cannot just wait here, Tibbs,” she said, for the first time taking in her surroundings.
The curricle took up most of a narrow lane, that judging from the grass that lined the middle of it, was rarely used. She thought the cottage might have at one time been a farmhouse, for a wide gateway a little way ahead gave onto a large courtyard and she could see a long barn at the far end of it.
“Where are we?”
“About eight miles from London, ma’am. As we appear to be blocking the lane, miss, I intend to drive into the yard. Do you think that you could lead the horses?”
Miles stood over Lord Sandford’s slumped body, his fists clenched. The marquess was unconscious, his face deathly pale, his breathing shallow, and dark blood still welled from the hole in his coat. Even though it galled him, he could not let Sandford bleed to death. He would not have his blood on Eleanor’s hands.
“Miss Edgcott is full of pluck, it seems.”
Miles whirled on his heels and saw Somerton bend and pick up Eleanor’s small silver pistol. It looked like a child’s toy in his hands.
Somerton turned his head as Cranbourne came into the room. “Go and discover if you can find some clean sheets, will you?”
Cranbourne
nodded and went quickly out of the room.
“I know precisely what you are feeling,” Lord Somerton said with a wry smile.
Miles gave a hollow laugh. “The circumstances are not the same.”
“Not quite the same,” Somerton amended. “But you did abduct Georgianna and would have ruined her if it had suited your purpose.”
“That is very true,” Lord Brigham said coming into the room. “And she had not provoked you in the way Miss Edgcott has Sandford. I am afraid it was I who did that.”
“My God! I do not know how you prevented yourself from wringing my neck, Somerton,” Miles burst out.
“Ah, but you had the merit of bringing her safely home. If I had found you before you had done so, it would have been another story, so I fully understand your wish to murder Sandford. However, we must make a push to save him, I think.”
“I know it, damn you!” Miles said.
“We will think of a way to punish him,” Lord Carteret said softly.
The marquess suddenly groaned and his eyes fluttered open.
“I am sorry I cannot offer you any refreshments, gentlemen,” he murmured, a ghastly smile on his face. “I was not expecting company.”
Somerton firmly pushed Miles to one side and picked him up.
“Save your breath, Sandford, whilst you still have some to save.” He strode towards the door with his burden. “I shall take him upstairs. Cranbourne is finding sheets, Carteret, see if you can find me some water and some brandy.”