A Bright Particular Star (49 page)

****

A quick interrogation of
the ostlers
revealed
Pereg
rine
’s
carriage had turned
out of
the inn courtyard
towards
Islington Green
and the Great North Road
beyond.
Theo and Luc set off
in pursuit and fortunately
suffered no delay at the turnpike.
The keeper, hearing their approach
and bellowed
instructions
to open up at once
or suffer the consequences
, had emerged from one of the twin octagonal lodges which, along with the double gates, marked t
he entrance to the turnpike.
After deftly catching
the coins tossed in his d
irection
, he
opened the left
gate without delay
, allowing their carriage
to sweep through without checking
its
pace.
Luc gestured
at
the road ahead
with his whip
.

“T
here
’s
the rogue
, a little way in front of
us!
”

Theo peered into the distance.
“
Yes
I see him, but it l
ooks like he
’s
tak
ing the right hand road at the G
reen
.
T
hat
’s
odd
. H
e should bear left for
Highgate.
Where the deuce is he going?
”

“
I don
’t
know,
but wherever it is, we
’
re following,
”
said Luc,
raising his voice to be heard over the thundering hooves of his greys
.

They passed Islington Green, a
charming spot surrounded by houses and tall trees
with the church spire clearly visible against the late afternoon sky, but they had no time to appreciate its attractions as Peregrine
’s
carriage veered suddenly right
and disa
ppeared
.

Luc
urged
his horses on
.
“
He
’s
turned down Queen
’s
Head Lane
.
”

Theo threw his companion
a
n
admiring
glance.
“
You
know this area well
then
.
”

“
In my type of work, it
’s
advisable to know
the haunts of thieves and highwaymen,
”
said Luc
,
with a
wry grin
.

“
Is that what
Queen
’s
Head Lane
is
?
”
asked Theo.

“
No, that
’s
the curious thing
—
at
least
,
not in recent times,
”
he replied
.
“
Highgate and Finchley Common offer richer pickings.
There
’s
nothing but
a few
cottages
in Q
ueen
’s
Head Lane and
open land
beyond
.
It doesn
’t
make sense
for him to take that route
.
”

They sped down the lane
, much to the disg
ust and alarm of several
of its
inhabitants, who
, out for a leisurely afternoon stroll,
had been
sent scurrying out of the way by first one, then another
,
s
porting curricle bearing down on
them.
Peregrine
’s
carriage
was out of sight
, but the
tell-tale
cloud of dust it sent
into the air as it sped on
was
still
visible.

But
by the ti
me they reached the narrow lane running
a
t right angles to
Queens Head Road,
there was no sign of the carriage
.

“
Which way now?
”
Theo demanded
.

Luc hauled
his team around
in an expert fashion
.
“T
o the r
ight!
Now I know what he
’s
doing.
H
e
’s
not heading for
the Great North Road a
t all
.
H
e
’s
heading back to the city
.
This is
Frog Lane and i
t leads to the Islington tunnel which is
being constructed
on the new Regent
’s
canal.
S
loane can cross there and get back to London
.
Blast
him for a conniving scoundrel!
We
need to h
u
rry or we
’
ll
los
e him
.
”

Islington had been left behind and
open country
now
flew by
them
on either side.
Since there had been no rain f
or
weeks, Frog Lane w
as easily passable although the
lightly sprung curricle bucked and pitched
in an alarming fashion
over the uneven ground flying beneath the wheels.

Theo pointed ahead.
“
Look, there he is
!
W
e
’
re
closing on him.
”

It was true
.
T
he distance between the two carriages
was diminishing
fast
.
Peregrine could
be
clearly seen
,
his arm flailing above his head as he
whipped
his horses in an attempt to outrun
his pursuers.

“T
he
fool is
going too fast,
”
muttered Luc.
“
He
’
ll neve
r make it safely over
at this speed.
”

He
cupped his hand and
shouted
a warning, but
either
it was either lost on the breeze before i
t reached
Peregrine
’s
ears
or he
c
hose to ignore it
.
T
he
curricle
continued unchecked
towards the new canal
crossing
and, moments later, disaster struck
.
One of the wheels of Peregrine
’s
carriage struck a stone
.
Theo and Luc
watched
helplessly
as he fought to k
eep his seat and in the process
lo
st control of the
horses.
They
veer
ed
suddenly
to the left
and
,
i
nstead of negotiating the
bridge
, t
he
carriage
left the road
and
plunged
down the
steep embankment
which marked the
east portal
of the tunnel
.

“
By Jupiter
, he
’s
gone into the canal
!
”
cried Theo
, giving a whistle of consternation
.

It seemed to take an age to reach the spot where Perry
’s
carriage had disappeared from view.
Luc pulled
his team
up
as near to the edge as could be safely managed,
and they both
leapt down to peer
below
.

The sight
that met them
was a chilling one.
The water level was low in the cutting, the water not
being
fully admitted as the canal was not yet open.
Both c
urricl
e and horses had pitched into in the
canal
basin, t
he
distre
s
sed screams
and snorts
of the bays
now
pierc
ing
the
air
.
Theo knew at once
their efforts
to escape
would be
futile
and u
nder his
horrified
gaze, the
carriage
sunk lower.
I
t
was already half submerged
.
Even if he had the means to make the attempt, t
her
e could be
no hope of rescuing the thoroughbreds
.
T
rapped in their
harness, they would
drown when they
were
dragged beneath the surface
.

A deafening report rang out, startling him
.
He turned
to see Luc
standing nearby
,
a
smoking
pistol in his
hand.
W
ith
speed and unerring accuracy, he
had shot the animal with its head furthest above the water
line
in order
to hasten its death.

Peregrine
had
either jumped or been thrown clear
and
now
lay
motionless on the embankment
.
Theo
scra
mbled down t
he
steep
slop
e
toward him
.
His
stomach lurch
ed
violently
as he approached th
e
tumbled,
sodden figure lying on the ground
.
Peregrine
’s
right
leg was twisted at a
n impossible
angle
to the rest of his body
.
His boot had been ripped off and t
he impact
had
broken both bones which now
protruded through the skin
bel
ow the knee, creating a wound that
was a dreadful combination
of damaged tissue and jagged bone.
And blood.
There was
plenty
of blood.
It
had
seeped
on
to Peregrine
’s
breeches and stained the
tops of his boots, and was already trickling onto the ground.
He
was
moaning faintly
,
his
ashen
features twisted in agony,
still
conscious
—
just
—
al
though his eyes were closed.

Luc knelt down
and
assessed the extent of Peregrine
’s
injuries
with calm efficiency
.
“
Blow to the head
—
nothing too bad
there
—
and a few cuts and bruises, but
the break to his leg is serious.
”