‘We’re assuming a great deal.’
‘Yes, but it’s possible.’
An hour later Alexander arrived.
‘There’s no sign of them on the Brighton road,’ he reported. ‘Is there any coffee?’ he added, yawning widely.
Bella rang the bell. ‘Cook has been pressing coffee on us all morning,’ she said. ‘She’ll provide you with some breakfast too.’
‘Good. Thank you, Bella. I didn’t stop to eat.’
‘So that was an attempt to throw us off the scene. Well done, Alex. Now when you’ve eaten go to Dan’s house, and snatch some sleep,’ Lord Dorney told him.
‘I’m not tired. I want to see this through.’
‘Even an hour will help. I can’t have anyone delaying us through tiredness, so if you want to come with us do as I say!’
Alexander protested, but when he yawned again gave in and departed.
It was two hours after midday before Jackson returned. Bella and Lord Dorney sat in the drawing room, both watching through the window, concealed from the view of anyone watching the house by carefully positioned curtains. They were too worried to make conversation. They both jumped to their feet when Jackson was seen walking rapidly towards the house.
‘You have news?’ Lord Dorney asked the moment he entered the room.
‘They went east,’ Jackson reported. ‘The coach and driver had been engaged only as far as Romford. He said Lambert said his sister was unwell, and they would stay at the inn there for her to rest. He, Lambert, carried her inside, saying she was unable to walk, but the coachman said she looked as though she’d swooned. Just let me get my hands on that damned devil! Beg pardon, Miss Bella.’
‘Damned is right, Jackson! How did he induce her to go with him in the first place?’ Bella asked. ‘Mary’s a sensible girl.’
‘Some lying trick, no doubt,’ Lord Dorney suggested. ‘It’s possible he was watching this house, saw you leave, and then Mary go off on her own. He could have followed her. Perhaps he told her you had been involved in an accident and needed her. If she didn’t recognize him, and I doubt she recalls much detail about what happened in the inn at xxx, she’d have been too frightened at the time. She’d have gone in a hackney, and he could have taken her somewhere while he organized the coach.’
‘Just let me get my hands on him!’
‘You’ll have your chance, Jackson. Was he alone? None of his friends with him?’ Lord Dorney asked.
‘Yes, he was alone until Romford, unless he had plans to meet someone there.’
‘Unlikely, I think. It seems to have been a spur of the moment action, he took his chance when it offered, though I imagine he had it all planned and only waited for his opportunity.’
‘He’ll have to hire another carriage there, unless he’s close enough to his home to have one sent,’ Bella said. ‘We can find out more there when we follow him.’
‘Dan and Alex and I will follow,’ Lord Dorney said. ‘Jackson, you too. I’ll go round to Sir Daniel’s house and tell them to get our horses ready. Take the best horse you have, and I’ll meet you there ‘
‘Before you do that, Jackson,’ Bella interrupted, ‘fetch me another pair of your breeches and a jacket of some sort. You’re not much bigger than I am. And find a good horse and a saddle for me. I’m sure the stables will have something suitable.’
Lord Dorney stared at her. ‘Bella, don’t be stupid! You can’t mean to create another scandal by riding through London in men’s clothes!’
That ‘another’ hurt, but Bella was insistent. ‘I’ve ridden astride since I was a child, at home.’
‘He’ll be sending a message soon. You need to be here to receive it, so that we can know his plans.’
She was exasperated. ‘And what good would it be if I did receive it? There would be no way I could tell you if you are somewhere in the wilds of Essex! Would you prefer that I am left alone to deal with him? To be abducted as well, no doubt, if I don’t do as he says?’
Lord Dorney frowned. ‘You need do nothing except stay safely indoors. If he is here he can’t be harming Mary.’
‘I doubt he’ll come himself.’
‘He still won’t harm her until he hears from you.’
‘And if I’m not to be found he’ll have to wait. That gives us more time to find her. Leave Sir Daniel’s groom here in case a message does come. He can ride after us if it does. I’m coming with you. And if you try to stop me I’ll follow.’
‘Heaven preserve me from stubborn women!’ He glared at her. ‘But pack a gown. And a long cloak. It may be necessary for you to change into petticoats, so be prepared.’
Bella chuckled. ‘I won’t delay you, don’t fear. But you’re delaying us if you want to argue with me.’
Chapter 16
As they rode Lord Dorney told Bella what they had, between them, discovered.
She had bundled her hair into a net, pulled a cap Jackson had provided over it, and with his breeches and jacket, and a shirt he had also offered her, looked a passable boy.
‘Lambert is heavily in debt. He has been gambling on the cards, horses, anything, it seems, where he is likely to lose badly. He inherited a moderate fortune but was soon going to the moneylenders. He has a small estate in Essex, near Colchester xxx.’ (Check distances from London, how long it would take to travel, and distance from Essex marshes)
‘Is that where he’s taking Mary?’
‘It might be, but he has servants there, and he may not be able to trust them to keep quiet if he tries to keep Mary captive. And I cannot imagine she would agree to stay otherwise.’
‘She certainly would not! Mary is no coward, to be constrained by threats.’
‘Then he will be keeping her prisoner somewhere else. A cottage, a barn, or even a boat if he’s near the sea. There are lots of creeks along the river where a boat could be hidden. When we are closer to his house we can begin making enquiries, ask about possible hideouts. You and Jackson must stay out of sight. I mean it,’ he added as Bella began to protest. ‘He knows both of you, but I doubt he knows Dan or myself. Or Alex. Even if he has been watching you, none of us have been seen with you recently.’
Bella, frustrated, had to admit the sense of this. ‘But I won’t be kept out of any confrontation! Mary will need me.’
Lord Dorney laughed. ‘Perhaps. But don’t you think Jackson will be able to give her better consolation?’
‘But if he’s hurt her?’
‘Bella, when she’s free, and Lambert captured or fled, you can go to her. I don’t want to risk anyone being hurt.’
She fumed, but nodded.
They had ridden about ten miles out of London when dusk began to fall.
‘We won’t achieve anything by riding further tonight. We’ll stay the night at Romford, where the coach left them, and we’ll have opportunities there to ask questions,’ Lord Dorney decided.
Bella agreed. Eager as she was to carry on, she knew it made sense to make enquiries at the last place where they’d been seen.
‘Jackson, you can ask amongst the ostlers, find out what sort of carriage Lambert hired and if possible where he was going,’ Lord Dorney went on.
It was almost as though he were organizing a military campaign, Bella thought.
‘Right, sir, and I’ll find out, don’t you worry!’ Jackson replied, his expression grim.
‘Good man. Dan and Alex can mingle in the tap room and try to find out what they can there. Bella, you won’t be able to pretend to be a boy close to others, so you can wear that cloak until you are safely inside the private parlour I’ll hire for you. When you look respectable again you can gossip with the maid.’
Bella nodded. She would have objected to the word gossip, if she hadn’t been so concerned for Mary. This was the second night that villain had imprisoned her, and she must be so frightened, terrified of what he intended for her.
‘I have an acquaintance in the town, I’ll visit her and discover what I can about Lambert,’ Lord Dorney said.
Bella frowned. A woman? They she told herself not to be selfish. She ought not to be considering her own situation with regard to Lord Dorney while Mary was being held prisoner. But she could not banish her thoughts, especially after she had been conducted to the private parlour, with a bedroom off it. She changed into a somewhat creased gown that had been hastily stuffed inside her saddle bag, and was left to eat the solitary supper Lord Dorney had ordered to be sent up to her.
He had been supportive. He had held her closely. He had called her his dear. And now he was going to see a woman he knew. What woman? Bella’s imagination conjured up a young, beautiful female. He had paid no special attention to any of the debutantes in London. Was that because he was in love with someone? At times she had thought he was turning his attention to Mrs Ford, after he had rejected her, but that was not the case. Was there an unknown women he admired? How convenient that they had stopped in the town where she lived, so that he could visit her.
She tried to still her confused ponderings. He had not planned this journey. It made sense to ask at this inn. And when the maid came to clear away her supper she had her own part to play.
* * * *
‘A friend of mine came this way yesterday,’ Bella said, smiling at the young girl. ‘She was unwell, and I’m on my way to her now. Did you see her?’
‘Oh, yes, miss. Though I didn’t see her properly.’
‘What do you mean?’ Surely, Bella thought, Lambert could not have covered Mary’s face with a mask and a gag? That would have made people ask questions.
The maid explained. ‘She was all wrapped up in a cloak, and her brother carried her in and said she was cold, but needed to rest for an hour.’
‘Did you help her undress?’ Bella asked, but without much hope of it. Lambert would have thought it too dangerous to allow anyone near Mary.
The maid shook her head. ‘They had this very same room, but he said she didn’t need me, she’d lie on the bed in the room next door. He had some food sent up, but none of us saw her.’
She must have been unconscious! Bella wished she had Lambert with her now. She wouldn’t hesitate to use her pistol. Had he drugged her? Or even hit her on the head?
She forced herself to appear calm. ‘And when they left? Did you not see her then?’
‘Well, no, miss. I’d been to fetch the dishes, see, and was down in the kitchens. But Billy, one of the ostlers, said she was all wobbly on her feet, and had to be lifted into the chaise.’
‘Chaise? Not the one they arrived in?’
‘I wouldn’t know, miss.’
That was all Bella could discover.
* * * *
‘She must have been drugged all the time,’ Bella said indignantly later that night when they all sat round the parlour table comparing notes. ‘She’d not have gone willingly with him otherwise, when there were people round who might have helped her.’
‘I’m afraid so. What did you find out, Jackson?’
‘Well, my lord, it was a post chaise he hired, just the one stage to xxx. But they were took to a private house, not an inn.’
‘You have the direction?’
‘The postilion didn’t know who lived there, but he said he could find it again. I took the liberty of asking him if he’d guide us there tomorrow.’
‘Capital! Dan?’
Sir Daniel shook his head. ‘Lambert didn’t go into the taproom. He stayed upstairs, had food taken up, and asked that everyone be kept out of the way while he carried his sister down, when they left. Said she was uncomfortable if people watched her while she was so ill and incapacitated.’
‘He must have drugged her! I’ll kill him!’ Jackson snarled.
‘Not before he’s led us to Mary. I found out he has only a small manor house, and all the farms are let, so it’s not likely she’s concealed on any of them. He’s not a good landlord, not liked by his tenants, so they would be unlikely to help him. He has a boat, but I wasn’t able to discover where. Someone on his estate will be able to tell us, though. I suggest we make straight for there in the morning, if Mary isn’t at the place the ostler takes us to.’
‘He might be staying in his own house,’ Sir Daniel said.
‘He might, but I doubt he’d take Mary there. He wouldn’t be able to trust the servants, particularly if he’s late with their wages. You and Alex can go and make enquiries. Now it’s time for bed.’
‘I’ll be back to the stables, my lord. It’s comfortable enough up in the loft, and I’d rather keep an eye on the horses.’
Sir Daniel and Alex went too, though Alex cast a speculative eye at Bella as he left. She felt her face grow warm. He would have known of the gossip in Bath, the expectation that Lord Dorney had been about to offer for her. And he’d have seen the coldness which had existed between them in London.
She slipped into the bedroom where her breeches had been hidden in the saddle bags. With them was a purse. She took it out, went back to the parlour, and handed it to Lord Dorney. He frowned, and looked a question.
‘Money, to pay for our expenses,’ she explained.
‘I don’t need your money!’
His voice was cold, and he turned away abruptly.
‘Mary is my maid, so I should be responsible for whatever it costs us to find her. She’s not your responsibility, nor that of Sir Daniel and Alex. I’m grateful for your help, but I can’t permit you to bear the cost.’
‘Don’t behave like a miserable tally clerk!’
Bella felt as though she had been slapped. How dare he throw such a wounding accusation at her! It was clear he considered her to be beneath him, unfit to be his wife. No wonder he had so swiftly recanted from his intended proposal when he found a reason to do so. He must have been regretting it even after the hints he had given.
‘Then I’ll say goodnight, my lord,’ Bella snapped, and marched towards the adjoining bedroom.
‘Good night. I’ll sleep in here, so you needn’t worry that Lambert might discover you.’
She turned and looked at him. She’d somehow assumed he had taken a room for himself. She didn’t know whether to be pleased at this evidence of his care for her, or furious at his implied assumption that she might be afraid and in need of protection. Why did the wretched man make things so difficult? Sometimes she thought they were almost back to the friendly relationship they’d had in Bath, before he’d discovered about her fortune, then he would do something or utter some remark which clearly showed he had not altered his opinion of her.