Authors: K. R. Richards
Lyon
walked slow and unsteady
.
He ambled
along
with his cane
, stumbling occasionally, l
ike a man high on opium
.
After two blocks, Deveril Pendarves fell in with him
.
“Carlyon is still in the den,
” Lyon informed him
.
“No
, he’s not
.
He heard your conversation
.
He
left
.
Crow is on to you, Lyo
n
.
Carlyon heard him talking after you exited the Jasmine Star.
We’re
being followed
.”
“I know
,
I could tell
.
Harry told me to
return
to Horethorne Hall
if
this happened
.”
“Let’s go by
Newt’s
place
first
,
then
yours
.
We’ll
collect your things
.
You’ll stay with
the Trevelyan’s
tonight
.
August
Trevelyan
and his cousin
are
in Town
.
They’ll get you back to Templecombe.”
“What’s the situation
in Templecombe
?
I haven’t gone by Harry’s
London house
since
yesterday
morning
to check for messages
.
As you remember,
I was followed when I left Crow’s den
last evening
and didn’t think it wise to go out of the way to Harry’s.
”
“
Lady
Wincanton
is
back
,
Fitzlewis
got her
.
Percy Davitt cut her face.
They saw no sign of Brown Coats yesterday or last night
.
In Cornwall, it’s the same
.
No sign of Brown Coats.
One of St. Mabyn’s men followed them and the last we heard, they were in London
.
We’re keeping our numbers though, because we expect they will strike again
.
They don’t have what they want yet.”
“
Davitt
!
We need to kill that bastard once and for all, Dev
.
Poor Libby
, h
ow bad is her face
?”
“Harry said your Lady stitched her up, and that might save her from a
horrible
scar
.
It’s lar
ge, Lyon
.
Harry says h
e cut through half her face
.”
“And Micah will live?”
“
He’s still weak, but doing well
.”
“Good
.
I’m ready to get back to my wife
, and
to
see Libby and Micah, even if we are all in each other’s business at
Horethorne Hall
.”
“You should
be at
Menadue!
” Deveril
Pendarves
laughed
heartily
.
“
There’s sixty plus in residence there
!
It’s a
loud, b
usy place
where e
veryone
is
in everyone else’s business
and
most of us
are
family
.
But
it’s
safe
.
”
“We number less than
twenty at Templecombe
!”
Lyon shook his head
.
“
We’re spread pretty thin.
”
“Last I
heard
Trevan
sent
reinforcements
that way.”
“Good
.
We can use all we can get there.”
“
Since Carlyon
and I
know wh
at
Crow
looks like now
, we’re going to watch the
Jasmine Star
in Limehouse
from afar
.
We’ll s
ee if we can’t track that bastard to someplace where we can identify him as Crowhurst
, or whoever he
in fact
is
.
It’s too dangerous for anyone to sit in the den
now
.”
“I agree.”
Lyon
quick
ly gathered
his things
from Alloway
Hou
s
e
.
The first items
he
retrieved
from his
own London home
were Sophia’s jewels
.
He also took some money from his safe since he’d given a stack to Crow
.
He
bathed
quickly and changed
.
He packed his
two small
bags
.
Deveril changed into
evening attire
he borrowed from Newt
’s house
and waited in the study
.
Lyon
and Deveril got into a hackney
.
They
went to
Lyon’s club
.
They stayed a half hour
.
They
exited
out the back
and took a
plain carriage Deveril arranged for
.
They were delivered
to another
fashionable
club.
Lyon left
immediately
out the back with
August and Marcus
Trevelyan
who awaited him
.
Deveril
would stay awhile and exit through
the front
.
He would return to the
Pilchard
Inn
and meet
Carylon
.
T
hey would hold up in a
n Avalon S
ociety
safe house while they kept an eye on Crow
’s opium den
.
Lyon and the Trevelyans
took
an unmarked
c
arriage to the outskirts of London and spent the night at an inn owned by trustworthy connections.
“So, Lyon
, I
c
ongratulat
e
you
on your
recent
marriage,”
Aug
u
st
Trevelyan
, the Earl of Penkevil,
said as they
partook of a meal
in a private parlour
be
fore retiring
.
“Trevan told me you
took
a wife.”
“Thank you
, August
.
I like it.”
“Like what?”
Marcus
Trevelyan
, August’s cousin
asked.
“Being married
.
I n
ever thought I would
take to marriage, but I was wrong
.
I
truly
like it
.
But then my wife is
very
beautiful
,” Lyon grinned.
“Good
.”
August
laughed, “Better you than me
, Amesbury
!”
A
buxom and attractive barmaid
entered the parlour
.
She flirted shamelessly with all three gentlemen, bending before each of them so her large breasts were enticingly displayed
.
She particularly seemed to like Lyon
.
B
ut Lyon
had no interest in such a woman
.
H
e thought only of his copper-haired
, green-eyed
wife
.
When the
serving girl
left, Lyon said, “I’m a happily married man
.
One of you
wish
es
to have a go at her be my guest
.”
He threw his coin on the table, rose and went to his room
.
“See you at dawn.”
His dreams were of Sophia.
The next morning, Lyon
began his journey
back to
Templecombe
.
More importantly, he
would return
to
his wife,
his lovely
Sophia.
They stopped at an i
nn in a small village
along the road
at mid-day to take refreshment
.
Lyon
immediately noticed a
man in a long brown coat exit from the side of the public room when he entered
.
“We’ve got company here
.
Just saw a Brown Coat slip out toward the stables.”
Marcus Trevelyan
went
out
side
to alert their driver
and footman
to be on alert
.
The three traveling companions quickly ate a meat pie and downed a pint
.
Once
back
inside the carriage, all three produced their weapons, setting extras on the seats beside them
.
Ten minutes later, the driver alerted them that
riders were
approaching fast from the rear.
“There
are
four of them
!”
The driver called
down
.
When Lyon heard the pounding of hooves approaching on his side of the carriage, he
dropped the window and leaned out
, pistol in hand
.
He steadied himself, took aim and hit the lead rider
.
The man clutched his shoulder and
slid
from his horse
.
The runaway
gelding
crashed against another, sending its occupant tumbling as
that
horse reared in protest
.
“Two down.” Lyon slid his torso back into the carriage as the two remaining Brown Coats fired
.
He picked up another pistol, leaned back out and fired, hitting one of the two
riders still in pursuit
in the leg
.
The wounded rider slowed
.
August Trevelyan leaned out and took down the fourth before he could squeeze off a shot
.
“That was
almost effortless
,” Marcus Trevelyan commented.
“
It was almost like child’s play
.” Lyon frowned
.
“We should expect more trouble, up ahead, gentlemen.”
August nodded
.
“
I agree
.
They were
too eas
ily d
ispatched
.
I know from our experience in Glastonbury and at Menadue
they are not usually so easily stopped or so careless
.
These must have been green recruits who were considered expendable
.
To give us more confidence perhaps
?
Slow us down?”
“I agree, August
.
Every action the Brown Coats take has a purpose
.
I’ve learned that
as well
.”
Lyon nodded his agreement.
Hours
later as they neared
the end of their journey, just ten
miles out of Templecombe, Lyon and his companions found the trouble they expected.