The Wanderers of the Water-Realm (43 page)

“Father could carry this woman from here to Istanbul without tiring” the girl replied, “but is it possible for us to pass through the grounds of this place without being seen?”

Hetty shook her head. “I don’t know lass, but we must try. I will take the lead and you and your father must follow as quietly as you can.”

The girl turned and quickly translated the wisewoman’s instructions to Mehemet Bey, who cradled the injured girl effortlessly in his arms. The party then made their way to the front door of the east wing and began their escape from Westdyke Grange.

Fortune favoured them from the very beginning, for the door-key was still in the lock and they passed out into the yard without difficulty. However, a few lights still burned in the main house and their passage across the rear of the building was made even more hazardous by the fact that moonlight was illuminating the cobbled yard.

The witch paused at the corner of the east wing and listened intently. She also made use of her inner-eye to probe ahead and detect any unwanted human presence.

Satisfied that all was clear, she signalled for the others to follow her. Carefully, they began crossing the dangerous rear yard, making as much use as possible of the long shadows cast by the towering bulk of the house. Finally, after many heart-stopping moments, they reached the comparative safety of the landscaped grounds without the slightest sign of being detected.

Ten minutes of careful movement brought them to the shelter of the boundary wall, where Inspector Smith was waiting, together with Captain Wilson and three tough looking young men. Hetty quickly explained the reason for her change of plan to Inspector Smith and the other officer and requested the men to take Marsie’away from the Grange, along with the two fugitives. She begged the Inspector to lodge her friend in a place of safety and send to Elfencot for Jenny, whom she knew would tend her injuries with great expertise. The policeman instantly agreed to the witch’s requests, but he was utterly astonished when she declared her intention of returning to her domestic employment at the Grange. He began to protest but Hetty instantly silenced him.

“You are not my master!” She hissed. “Now listen to my words. Hell on earth will shortly break out when Oldshaw returns to the east wing, only to find out that his two overseas helpers have apparently absconded with his plaything for the night. If I also disappear, then I will be exposed as having served as their accomplice and Silas Oldshaw will then rightly blame me for everything that has occurred. He will undoubtedly use his great wealth and influence to discover my true identity and exact his revenge. Afurther consideration Inspector is that if I disappear tonight, then I will undoubtedly expose my ‘brother’Piggins as yet another traitor in their midst and no further information would be gained from that quarter. My revised plan is to return undetected to my post, then depart openly when the time is right and give that bastard Oldshaw no opportunity of suspecting me of depriving him of his future nights of pleasure!”

“A dangerous course of action lassie,” the policeman said reluctantly. “But there’s much in what you say, yet I council you to take care, yonder man is as unpredictable as a snake and you have already taken enough risks to my mind!”

The wisewoman said no more, instead she briefly shook hands with the newly rescued fugitives and disappeared in the direction of the elderberry thicket hiding the mouth of the disused sewer, and concealed her return route to the perils of Westdyke Grange.

Hetty completed her long passage of the sewer and hauled herself up into the basement of the main house. She carefully cleared away any of the fragments of mortar that had fallen into the base of the duct and gently lowered the masonry grid back into its original position in the basement floor. The wisewoman had no doubt that Oldshaw would order a complete search of his property, once the disappearance of the fugitives had been noticed and that the old sewer system would be re-discovered and carefully examined. She also scattered dust and grime over the floor of the basement cubicle in order to help disguise the position of the grid and then she exited the cellar leaving as little disturbance as possible.

The wisewoman did not return to her bedroom immediately. Instead, she entered the kitchen and lit a candle before removing her soiled outer garments. She tore away all the buttons and clasps that were not inflammable and then opened the fire-door of the cooking range and thrust the discarded clothing onto the still glowing coals. Hetty closed the door and opened the damper to its fullest extent, thus allowing the resulting draught of air to fan the coals into life and burn away the evidence of her subterranean journeys.

Hetty knew that a great deal still remained to be done, before she could return to the comfort of her bedroom and she wasted not a single moment. She placed the oilskin pouch, containing her collection of toxic potions, upon the kitchen floor and in close proximity to the cooking range. Afterwards, the wisewoman took a desert spoon from a utensils drawer and emptied the contents of the vial containing a red liquid into the bowl of the spoon. She added a little water and then boiled the mixture briskly by holding the spoon over the flame of a candle, until only a few grains of white powder remained. She poured the powder into a tiny glass vial and sealed the mouth of the container with a cork, then, with a smile, she held up the vial and viewed its contents in the light of the flickering candle.

“Silas Oldshaw!” She muttered to herself as though uttering a curse. “You will never be given the opportunity of sending your evil minions from the slums of Manchester to seek out the ‘Wisewoman of Elfencot.’ Nor will you use another woman as cruelly as you did my friend Marsie.’ The revenge that I will shortly wreak upon you will be for her sake as much as my own!”

Hetty opened the door of a store cupboard and took out one of the many blocks of rough household soap used to scour the floor and the kitchen equipment. She took a sharp knife and dug out a hole in the soap-block that was just large enough to hold the vial. Hetty then inserted the vial and covered the aperture with a fragment of soap, which she smoothed down with her dampened thumb until the surface of the block had a uniform appearance. She completed the task of concealment by marking the block of soap with a scratch from her fingernail before hiding it beneath its fellows in the cupboard. Finally, the witch cast the oilskin pouch upon the hot coals within the range followed by the contents of the remaining vials and watched as the heat destroyed the dangerous liquids. She then took the empty vials, the buttons and clasps from her discarded clothing and her reserve of gold coins and dropped them down through the hole in the staff privy and into the mass of liquid sludge lying in the cess-pit beneath.

Afterwards, Hetty washed the grime of the night from her body, before returning to her room to await the inevitable hue and cry that would result when Silas Oldshaw eventually discovered the loss of his pet fugitives together with his latest victim.

Hetty was dozing when she heard the sound of voices drifting up from the yard that lay far below her bedroom window. It was still dark as she rose from her bed, but looking out of the window she was able to make out a number of shadowy figures, bearing lanterns, moving about in the yard and the surrounding grounds.

The wisewoman lit a candle and looking at the clock and she realized that it was almost time to begin her daily chores. She quickly dressed and was descending the stairs when she ran into one of the housemaids.

“Thank heavens you’re up.” The girl said breathlessly. “Mr Crowther says you’re to brew tea and prepare sandwiches for the men searching the grounds and the surrounding countryside!”

“What on earth has happened? Hetty asked, pretending to be completely ignorant.

“Why, last night, thieves broke into the masters private workshops in the east wing and tried to steal all his secrets,” The girl gasped. “Some of his business rivals, I expect. The master thinks that some of them may still be in the vicinity and he’s ordered the men of the household to conduct a close search. Hurry, for Crowther is demanding that refreshments be available for the men as soon as humanly possible.”

The girl rushed away and Hetty entered the kitchen and immediately shook down the ashes and re-lit the cooking range. She placed a cauldron of water to boil on the hob, before hastening to wake Mrs O’Day.

The women set to work and prepared platters of cheese and cold meat sandwiches, which they served to the men as they began drifting into the staff dining room from first light onwards. Crowther was amongst them and it was easy to observe the signs of the repressed anger distorting his features. He still clasped the walking stick, that he had so recently used to beat the shrubs growing abundantly in the grounds, and so tightly did he grip the head of the stick that his knuckles where completely white and bloodless. The butler uttered not a word as he drank his mug of tea, then he angrily banged the container down onto the dinner table and urged the men to resume their search.

The dining room soon emptied and the two women cleared away the used crockery and prepared a cauldron of stew placing it upon the hob to simmer, for there was no telling at what hour the men would return for their midday break.

At exactly twelve noon, Hetty happened to glance out of the window of the kitchen and she noticed that Silas Oldshaw was standing in the middle of the yard with his hands on his hips. Before him stood Crowther with his normally immaculate house-suit covered in dirt and clay. Another member of the staff stood at his side, a wiry individual, who, it was whispered, had once been an accomplished housebreaker.

Between the men lay an old ladder that Hetty instantly recognized as the one she used to climb over the boundary wall little more than three nights ago; with it lay the old quilt that had protected her from the hooks.

“Hetty’s heart gave a lurch, for she realized that she had quite forgotten about the two items of equipment that she had left hidden in the elderberry thicket and close to the mouth of the disused sewer. The presence of the two articles lying at the industrialists feet, suggested conclusively that he now knew of the subterranean duct running beneath the Grange and he also knew that some trusted member of his household staff, had assisted in the escape of the trio from the east wing.

“A foolish oversight,” The wisewoman muttered, as she chided herself for her dangerous stupidity. “Now I must push along with my plan to encompass yon bastard’s downfall, before I’m eventually discovered.”

A little before one o’clock, Crowther entered the kitchen and informed the two women that every person employed at the Grange, would be expected to attend a meeting in the staff dining room in exactly fifteen minutes time, when they would be addressed by Mr Oldshaw himself.

The butler departed and the pair removed their kitchen aprons and entered the dining room. Other members of the staff began arriving and the room was soon filled with visibly worried individuals by the time that Silas Oldshaw finally appeared.