Chasing Eliza (26 page)

That
left them in an uncomfortable situation given Jemima’s impending
fate.

They
couldn’t celebrate their marriage the way he wanted given one of
them was about to be hung.

“
Get me a fresh horse.” Peter ordered, making no attempt to
follow the group as they began to make their way towards the
house.

“
Peter?” Dominic paused and glanced enquiringly back at his
brother-in-law.

Peter
glared at him defiantly. “I’m going to Derby Gaol.” He announced
flatly.

“
Tonight? Do you think that is wise?” Dominic argued. “You are
exhausted. You’ll be no good arguing her case if you fall
asleep.”

“
I can’t wait another day.” He shifted uncomfortably and
glanced warily at Eliza. “We don’t know when they intend to carry
out the sentence.” He lowered his voice to prevent the stable lad
overhearing. “Another day may be a day too long. I’ve got this far,
I won’t delay my journey to Derby another second.”

“
You can’t go alone.” Sebastian sighed, eyeing Dominic with a
sense of defeat. He stared at the hulk of Havistock Hall longingly
for several moments, thinking of his warm and welcoming wife lying
in the big bed all by herself, and reluctantly turned to the
others.

“
Eliza, you need to stay here.” Edward ordered, taking hold of
Eliza’s arm and turning her towards the house.

“
What? No.” She dug her heels in and yanked her elbow out of
his firm grasp. “I’m going with you.”

“
They won’t allow us all in, and it is no place for a lady.”
Edward’s voice was hard and uncompromising.

“
I’m not a lady.” Eliza argued, growing desperate. “She is my
sister.”

“
You don’t want to cause her any more distress by appearing
there unannounced and getting her and yourself emotional. She has
to be strong to get through this, and so do you.” Edward raised a
hand to halt her argument.

“
Edward’s right.” Peter offered. “They won’t let you
in.”

Eliza
stared at the hard and uncompromising faces of each man in turn and
felt a weary sense of defeat settle over her. She was exhausted
beyond belief, but wanted desperately to go and see her sister. She
turned beseeching eyes to Edward who uncompromisingly shook his
head. She considered that after the past few days, she knew them
all well enough to realise that further argument would get her
nowhere. She wasn’t going.

“
Look, I need to at least leave a note that we are back but
heading over to the Gaol. If you can show Eliza which room to sleep
in Edward, we’ll go. We should be back by noon and by that time our
contact from the War Office should be here, if he isn’t here
already.” Dominic stalked towards the house, clearly expecting
everyone to follow him.

Sebastian remained at the stables to help prepare the horses
and Eliza suspected, to make sure Peter didn’t leave without
them.

As they
marched swiftly through the house, Eliza saw very little of the
shadowed interior. The confusing web of corridors interspersed with
a vast array of rooms of differing sizes made her so confused that
she wasn’t sure whether she was at the front or the back of the
building when she began to climb what appeared to be the main
staircase.

With
only the faint flickering of the solitary candle Dominic carried to
light their way, Eliza saw little other than the darkened shadows
of the portraits staring down menacingly at them. She ducked her
head with a shudder and hurried past them, moving significantly
closer to Edward’s reassuring bulk.

Within
moments, Edward was leading her into a huge room that was quite
obviously a bedroom. He quickly lit the fire leaving Eliza to allow
her eyes to adjust to the gloom. She didn’t have to say anything,
Edward sighed deeply and moved to stand before her in front of the
new roaring fire, drawing her comfortingly into his arms for a few
moments to savour the feel of her against him. He longed to climb
into the big bed beside her, but couldn’t shake the feeling that
they were on the verge of something that would change all of their
lives.

“
I’m sorry darling but it really will be best if you remain
here. It will be dawn by the time we get there and if we do manage
to gain access, we don’t know how the staff at the Gaol will
welcome us.” He didn’t add that he didn’t want her at the Gaol in
case it was already too late.

“
I can’t just appear as an unannounced guest here.” Eliza
murmured, feeling uncomfortable in the luxurious splendour of the
huge room.

“
You are expected and can bring Isobel and Amelia up to date
with everything in the morning. If you want a lie in and have
breakfast in bed, just tug the pull.” He motioned to a long
embroidered strip of material hanging beside the fireplace. “The
maids will see to anything you need, including a change of
clothing. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

He could
sense her argument, but was determined not to allow her near the
gaol to witness its gloomy sense of desolate hopelessness. On this
occasion he was going to follow his instincts and protect her from
her own determination.

Reluctantly she nodded, her shoulders drooping in weary
defeat.

Edward
tipped her chin up until her eyes met his. “Promise me that you
won’t try and sneak out after us?”

Eliza
huffed inelegantly. “I don’t even know where in the house I am. I
will have to wait until the maids get up to show me where the
stairs are.” She muttered making no attempt to hide her
confusion.

“
Try not to worry. If we can bring Jemima back with us, we
will. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He whispered, resting his
forehead briefly against hers for several moments. After several
moments he placed a gentle, lingering kiss no her pouting lips and
reluctantly moved away.

He found
Dominic closing the door to the master suite quietly behind him as
Edward moved down the corridor.

“
Do you think this is wise?” Edward whispered, taking the
stairs downwards alongside his elder sibling.

“
No, but I understand Peter’s sense of urgency. We really
don’t know when they are planning to carry out the next spate of
hangings. Hopefully we aren’t too late. The man from the War Office
hasn’t arrived yet so it looks like it is down to us.”

Edward
sighed and smothered a yawn. He really wanted to climb the stairs
and crawl into the bed beside Eliza, but a gnawing sense of urgency
dogged his every footstep.

The
sudden chiming of the large grandfather clock as they passed hung
like an ominous omen in the silence of the large cavernous hallway
as the men slipped into the night.

Cha
pter Eleven

When
Eliza awoke the following morning, her thoughts immediately turned
to the men and her sister at the Gaol.

As she
stretched against the luxurious softness of the thick mattress,
guilt assailed her. She should be over at the Gaol arguing to get
Jemima released, and felt practically useless just lying around in
bed. Eyeing the bell pull for several moments, Eliza shook her head
with a sigh and eased from the crisp sheets.

She had
removed her dirty clothing the night before and was now left with a
problem. Should she don the same dirty and smelly clothing she had
worn for the past few days? Or should she ring for a maid and
request a dress? She had never rung for a maid before in her entire
life and was filled with uncertainty.

Her
problem was answered for her when the door suddenly opened and a
young maid quietly entered. She drew to a startled halt as she saw
Eliza and mumbled a hasty apology.

“
I’m sorry ma’am. I didn’t mean to disturb you. The mistress
told me to bring you this by the mistress.” She carefully placed
the most stunning dress Eliza had ever seen on the chair beside the
bed and stood back to wait for further instruction.

Eliza
stared longingly at the beautiful cloud of pale peach muslin
liberally sprinkled with tiny pink flowers that awaited her. The
long flowing material was gathered beneath the bust and embellished
with lace edging and tiny capped sleeves made of the most stunning
lace.

She
followed the young maid’s lead and saw to her ablutions, before
stepping into the dress the maid held out for her. Encased in the
softest muslin, Eliza was speechless as she sat at the dressing
table and watched the maid set about her startling transformation.
She watched with something akin to awe as her hair was primped,
curled and pinned into a riotous cascade of curls upon her head to
complete her look of regal elegance.

It had
been some time since she had seen herself in a looking glass and
Eliza took a moment to study the astonishing transformation that
had happened in such a short space of time. Not only did the dress
make her look like someone she didn’t know, but there were other
changes to her that were startling.

Her
breasts were still full and round but her waist was thinner than
ever before. Her curves more pronounced due to her recent arduous
riding and lack of appetite. She twirled in front of the mirror,
delighting in the simple feel of the soft material against her
skin. She felt like a princess.

The
thought made her pause, a slight frown on her face as she
considered the vision in the mirror. Her feminine delight in the
new luxuries waned as she remembered her sister wallowing in
squalid filth in a condemned cell in the darkest parts of Derby
Gaol.

She
jumped at the light knock on the door and turned to
wait.

After
several long moments when nothing happened, Eliza called out a
hesitant. “Come in.” Not certain if the person knocking was waiting
for a response or not. It felt strange to be in command of anyone
other than herself.

“
The mistress asked if you would like to come down for
breakfast or if you wanted a tray in your room ma’am.” The young
maid murmured respectfully.

“
Oh – erm, I will go down please but I need you to show me
because I don’t know my way.” Eliza murmured apologetically. “I’m
sorry, I don’t know your name.”

“
My name is Maggie, ma’am. I’ll be your maid while you are
here.”

“
Hello Maggie.” Eliza paused. Should she introduce herself as
Eliza? ‘Ma’am’ sounded awfully pompous. But she had never had a
maid to herself before; how friendly was she supposed to
be?

“
My name is Eliza, Maggie. I hope you and I can become friends
while I am here.” She offered hesitantly, looking at the flicker of
surprise on the young maid’s face with concern.

“
Oh, ma’am if you are ever so sure?” The young maid gasped,
clearly relieved that the new guest was so affable.

Eliza
nodded decisively. “Now, if you can show me where the breakfast
room is, I am a little hungry.” She felt inordinately pleased to
have cleared that particular hurdle without too much embarrassment
and followed the maid from the room.

Within
moments she found herself entering the luxuriously furnished
breakfast room. In the centre of the large room stood a long,
highly polished table set with the finest crystal and silverware
that positively gleamed in the early morning sunshine.

At the
far end, two beautiful ladies sat deep in conversation as they ate
toast and fruit.

“
You must be Eliza.” The tall, dark haired lady with a large
rounded tummy stood and smiled warmly at her, beckoning her closer.
“Dominic told me last night you were here. I’m Isobel, Dominic’s
wife and this is Amelia.”

She
stood back and motioned to an auburn haired woman sitting next to
her.

Within
moments Eliza found herself seated beside them, eating breakfast
supplied by an efficient footman while patiently answering the
steady flow of questions.

Time
passed quickly and when the plush dining chairs became
uncomfortable, they moved from the breakfast room into an equally
elegant sitting room. Decorated in hues of yellow and cream, the
room was clearly a lady’s room.

Once
seated Isobel summoned a tray of tea leaving Eliza with barely the
time to draw breath before the questions flowed again. After her
initial hesitation, Eliza could detect no censure or disgust at any
of her answers so decided not to spare them. Clearly they were
curious and didn’t like the fact that their expectant status meant
they couldn’t be directly involved. Eliza felt a little sorry for
them and readily detailed the conflict in the inn, along with
Peter’s determination to get to Derby Gaol without delay. Although
in deference to their condition, spared them details of the
bloodshed and bodies they had left behind.

By the
time the questions ran dry, the butler appeared in the doorway to
announce luncheon. Eliza looked at the man in surprise. She had
already eaten more at breakfast than she had eaten in several days
and was still full. With a sigh she followed the ladies from the
room towards the front of the house and the dining room, wondering
if she would be as fat as a barrel by the end of the week. She
crossed the huge expanse of marbled hallway and glanced curiously
out of the front windows.