Courting Lord Dorney (28 page)

She forced herself to swallow an indignant retort, and spoke calmly. ‘I’m not worried by that poltroon! But where will you sleep? There isn’t even a sopha.’

‘I’ve slept on far harder floors on campaign.’

Bella could see there was no reasonable alternative. She could scarcely offer to share her bed, even if he’d accept the offer. She bade him a cold goodnight, swept through to the adjoining bedroom, shut the door and stood considering. Then she stripped one of the blankets from the bed, dragged off the bolster, and marched back into the parlour with them.

‘At least have these,’ she said curtly, and turned to go.

He had removed his riding coat and shirt, and was standing just in breeches. The muscles of his arms and back rippled, but as he turned towards her Bella saw an ugly scar running from one shoulder down across his chest and ending near his lower ribs.

She gasped. ‘What happened?’ she demanded, and stepped towards him.

‘A stray bullet. At Waterloo,’ he said, unconcerned. ‘The fellow was flat on his back and he fired as I rode past.’

‘Does it hurt?’ Bella was only a step away from him, and she stretched out her hand and gently touched the scar.

Was it her imagination that his breathing quickened? He stepped back, out of her reach, and turned away.

‘Go to bed, Bella. We have to be away early in the morning.’

* * * *

Bella retreated to bed, and eventually fell into a restless sleep. Her dreams were all of battlefields, and once she woke up crying, to find Lord Dorney holding her hand and trying to calm her.

‘What is it?’ he asked softly. ‘You were crying out in your sleep. Don’t fret, we’ll find Mary, and Lambert won’t have harmed her.’

Bella clung tightly to his hand as she slowly regained her senses. ‘I - ‘

How could she tell him that it had not been Mary and her plight which caused her dreams? That she had been imagining dreadful horrors, battlefield skirmishes such as those she’d read about in the newssheets, and his own near encounter with death? Over and over she’d seen some French soldier, probably dying himself, but with just enough strength to fire his pistol at an enemy, in the hope of taking one more with him to whatever eternity awaited.

‘I - I know,’ she managed. ‘I’m sorry if I disturbed you.’

‘Old soldiers sleep lightly,’ he said, releasing her hand.

Bella restrained the impulse to cling to him. ‘You’re not old,’ she said, sleepy again.

‘Old enough,’ he replied. ‘Will you be all right now?’

She nodded, and turned over in bed, sinking almost immediately into sleep. Was it her imagination, she wondered as she lost consciousness, that he dropped a light kiss on her brow?

* * * *

They rode swiftly eastwards on the following morning. Bella was back in her boy’s clothing, after a restless night when she had dreamed Lord Dorney had come to her, held her hand and kissed her. Of course he hadn’t, she told herself firmly. He had seemed more friendly this morning, after the coldness of the previous evening, and he was putting himself out by searching for Mary, but that didn’t mean his feelings towards her had changed. He’d merely wanted to keep her spirits up. He’d called her his dear, she argued. But that was merely the sort of patronising address older people used towards those they considered were being nuisances. As for his help, he was the sort of man who would want to put right any injustices. It didn’t indicate any warmer feelings towards herself. The situation had not changed. Indeed, it had probably been made worse by her outrageous conduct of the previous few weeks, when she had scorned the opinions of society and gone out of her way to antagonize them.

She forced herself to push these musings to the back of her mind, and try to plan for any eventualities that lay ahead. It was Mary who mattered. Their first task was to find and rescue her. If they could apprehend Lambert too, and charge him with abduction and blackmail and extortion, she would not hesitate. Bella was uncertain of the legal charges they might bring, but she determined that nothing would stop her from making him pay, and heavily, for what he had done.

The postilion from the inn led them to a small villa surrounded by an overgrown garden and orchard. No one was at home, not even servants, and Lord Dorney, dismissing the postilion with a large tip, and a recommendation that he told no one of their movements, turned to his companions.

‘There’s the village inn, and the neighbours,’ he said. ‘Jackson, go to the inn and try to find out who lives here and where they are. Dan, you and Alex can ask the neighbours. Say you’re looking for someone else and must have mistaken the direction. They’ll tell you who lives here, maybe even where they are to be found. Bella, you and I will go and ask the vicar. But you must remain silent. If he invites me inside, you’ll stay outside to care for the horses. You look like a groom,’ he added.

‘Rendezvous?’ Sir Dan asked briefly.

He was a man of few words, Bella decided. At least he was friendly towards her, hadn’t been shocked by her boy’s apparel, and didn’t talk down to her as a mere woman.

‘A mile outside the village, on the road to xxx.  The chances are it will be on our way. And Lambert’s house is a few miles further on. We’ll try there next.’

* * * *

Bella, fuming inwardly, did as she was bid and waited some distance from the Rectory. She knew he was right, and close to she could not be taken for a boy, but the need to be inactive while others made all the enquiries, made her impatient.

Lord Dorney merely nodded as he returned half an hour later, took the reins of his horse and mounted. He set off without waiting for her, and she scrambled up into the saddle, her temper barely under control, and followed.

The others were all waiting for them, sitting in the shade of a huge beech tree. Lord Dorney dismounted, hitched the reins over a low branch, and sat down with them. Bella followed suit.

‘The house belongs to a young fellow who sounds like Lambert’s twin,’ Sir Daniel began. ‘Benjamin Hill, by name. He’s the son of a master bootmaker, trying to be a gentleman. Apparently he’s run through the small fortune his parents left him, and is waiting, impatiently, for an elderly aunt to die and leave him her money. He’s rarely at home, takes no interest in the place, neglects repairs, and forgets to pay the caretaker and his wife, who are his only servants. But during the past week he’s been kicking his heels here, drinking at the inn every night until he’s barely able to stagger home to bed.’

‘He’s been put to bed by one of the ostlers more than once,’ Jackson added. ‘Can’t think why the fellow bothered, unless he managed to pick his pockets on the way.’

‘More or less what the Rector told me. Hill and Lambert were at school together, and do little but gamble, drink and wench. Most of the people round here will have nothing to do with them, and several shopkeepers have refused to extend any more credit. Is it known where he is?’

Jackson nodded. ‘He and Lambert went off in his old chaise, towards xxx, with just a pair pulling it. They’ll have Mary with them. The man I spoke with said the chaise was ancient, hadn’t been out on the roads for years, and the horses were more used to pulling a hay wain than a coach. Hill was driving, which he thought made it certain the coach would overturn if it met a deep rut or some other obstacle. He didn’t think either the carriage or the horses would survive more than a dozen or so miles.’

‘xxx is near Lambert’s house. It’s about twenty miles from here. Perhaps they won’t have reached there. In which case they might have some difficulty concealing Mary. But we’re on the right track. Let’s follow.’

They mounted and set off. Bella fretted that they were not making plans for how to rescue Mary, but Lord Dorney and Sir Daniel both said they would have to wait and see what the situation was when they found her. Jackson rode in grim silence, but Bella could see his lips moving, and she suspected he was cursing Lambert and rehearsing what he would like to do with the man. She had a few ideas about that herself.

* * * *

They had gone about ten miles when Alexander’s horse cast a shoe.

‘Leave me. There was a smithy a mile or so back. I’ll catch up with you later,’ he said.

‘If we have time we’ll leave a message at the nearest inn,’ Lord Dorney suggested. ‘If there’s nothing you’ll have to wait there until one of us can come and meet you.’

An hour later they drew rein at the small lodge which, they had been informed in the village, marked the main entrance to Lambert’s small manor house. Walls, overgrown with moss, stretched in either direction. The driveway curved round, lined with ancient oaks, and hiding the house from view. It looked almost as unkempt as Hill’s house, and presumably Lambert spent nothing on any but essential upkeep.

There was no sign of life in the lodge, and the gates, with lank grass growing around them, had clearly not been closed for a long time. They rode inside and Lord Dorney led the way behind a thicket of overgrown bushes.

‘We’ll wait here, out of sight. Dan, he won’t know you. Can you go and ask if he’s at home?’

‘And presumably be a friend of his father’s, just home from soldiering, come to pay his respects?’ Sir Daniel asked with a grin.

Lord Dorney grinned back. ‘You’ll know what to say. If he’s not, find out whether he has other property nearby.’

‘Aye, aye, Captain.’

‘It’s not a game!’ Bella burst out as Sir Daniel rode off along the drive. ‘You two treat it as though it’s some form of sport, while poor Mary may be undergoing all sorts of ill treatment, as well as being frightened out of her wits!’

Lord Dorney sighed. ‘Bella, would it help Mary if we spend the time wailing and gnashing our teeth? I am as determined to find Mary as you are, and to hunt this man down and punish him. But the punishment will be through the law, not by a pistol. And if you have any intention of shooting him, forget it now! You would be at fault.’

She ground her teeth in frustration, but the sensible side of her had to admit he was right. She could not shoot the man down even though she considered him no better than vermin. Unless in self-defence, she decided, and smiled grimly.

‘Can’t we be doing something? Asking round the village to see if Lambert has some place where he could hide Mary?’

‘We could, but that might possibly alert him to our presence. I’d prefer to act more silently if possible, take him by surprise. First we need to know if he is at home, or has been here. If he isn’t here, and Dan doesn’t glean anything, we’ll begin to ask.’

Bella subsided. When Sir Daniel came trotting down the driveway towards them, she urged her horse forwards to meet him. He was shaking his head.

At that moment a shot rang out, and Sir Daniel clapped his hand to his shoulder and toppled slowly from his horse.

Chapter 17

As Bella and Lord Dorney dismounted and ran to Sir Daniel, Jackson urged his horse out of the thicket and pointed it in the direction from which the shot had come. Bella had a fleeting impression of him passing them, but her main attention was on the wounded man.

He had fallen onto his back, and lay frighteningly still. His horse had bolted through the gates and vanished. Blood was oozing from the wound in his left shoulder.

Lord Dorney was kneeling beside his friend. He pulled a small knife out of his pocket and began gently cutting away the sleeve of Sir Daniel’s riding coat.

‘Untie my cravat, and let me have your shirt,’ he said calmly. ‘If we can pack it well enough we can stop the bleeding.’

Bells fumbled to untie the muslin cravat, and then slipped out of her own coat and dragged off the shirt she was wearing. A cool breeze played on her skin, and she flushed as she realized her nakedness. Pulling on the jacket, she tore the shirt into large pieces and began to fold them.

Lord Dorney had cut away the coat to reveal the wound. ‘It’s just a flesh wound, it hasn’t hit the bone, and the bullet isn’t lodged,’ he said as he took the folded pieces of material and pressed them against the wound. ‘It passed right through. He must have hit his head when he fell. Now, can you hold this firm while I bind the cravat round it?’

Before they had finished Sir Daniel began to groan and try to sit up. Lord Dorney gently held him down.

‘Steady, Dan. It’s only a flesh wound. How’s your head? There’s a huge bump coming up where you hit the ground.’

Sir Daniel’s eyes were glazed, he groaned and subsided onto the ground. He looked ready to pass out again at any moment.

Lord Dorney glanced up. ‘Get my horse, Bella. We must get him to the inn where he can be properly examined. He’s a big man, but between us we can lift him up.’

‘Who was it? Did you see?’ Bella asked as she went to the horses.

‘No, but Jackson’s ridden after him. I hope the man manages to keep out of trouble.’

‘I hope, if it’s Lambert, Jackson catches him and thrashes him till he squeals!’

It was difficult, for Sir Daniel was both tall and heavy, a dead weight and unable to help them. They were anxious not to dislodge the makeshift bandage, but they eventually hoisted him into the saddle. He slumped forwards so that Bella was afraid he would fall off again.

‘Now your horse. Can you ride alongside and try to hold him steady? I’ll walk on the other side and do the same. We’d best make for the inn.’

They walked slowly out through the gates and turned towards the small village. A couple of children playing in the road in front of the first cottages stared, thumbs in mouths, at the little procession, then with shrieks of excitement turned and rushed inside.

‘The whole village will know before we even reach the inn,’ Lord Dorney said with resignation. ‘I’d have preferred a less dramatic arrival!’

‘Lambert will hear about it. But if he shot Sir Daniel, he’ll know in any event. And we’ll lose the advantage of surprise.’

‘If Lambert knows we are here delay won’t matter so much. We simply change our tactics.’

‘Perhaps he’ll move Mary from where he’s keeping her,’ Bella said. ‘If only we knew where that was!’

‘He won’t have many places where he can keep her hidden.’