Fenella J. Miller (18 page)

Whilst he was achieving his objectives, he also decided to pre-empt Eliza’s possible refusal to marry him. He mentioned, in the strictest confidence, to several of the most garrulous of his acquaintances, that he had met a young lady named Miss Eliza Fox, who resided in a small town called Dedham, in Essex, and that he had every intention of making her an offer at the earliest opportunity. He made sure everyone he spoke to knew it would be a love match, that he had set eyes on her and fallen head over ears in love in an instant.

       It was after midnight when he eventually returned to his house and his back was sore from congratulatory slaps and his head spinning from the number of celebratory drinks he had consumed. Somehow a disaster had been turned into a triumph, at least there was no way Eliza could back out now. Word was all over town they were all but betrothed. When they got married, either in haste or at leisure, no one would think twice about it. He ran up the stairs and the front door swung open.

Endean bowed deeply. ‘Mr Reed, sir, there is a young gentleman waiting to see you. He arrived about an hour ago and as he was sharp set we have fed him. Now he is pacing up and down the drawing-room like a caged tiger.’

Fletcher was across the vast hall in three bounds. ‘Edmund, tell me, has Eliza gone?’

       Edmond’s face split in to a smile of welcome. ‘Thank God you’re here, sir. I arrived about an hour ago and have been most anxious to tell you what happened. Denver and one of my grooms are following the carriage that came to take Eliza to Sarah. Denver will stay, to be on hand if needed, and Roberts will travel post to you here as soon as he knows the location. He will stay with Denver until they are certain neither of them require immediate aid.’

       Fletcher embraced the young man. ‘Well done, Edmund. Wydale is still in town, so neither Sarah nor Eliza are in any danger from him at the moment. There is nothing we can do tonight, so I suggest we both retire and be ready to leave as soon as we have our direction..’

Fletcher turned and gestured to the butler who was hovering in the background. ‘Has a room been prepared for Mr Fox?’

       The butler nodded. ‘Yes, sir, he has the Green Room. Shall I show you up, Mr Fox?’

       Edmund took the candle stick the butler offered him. He smiled wearily. ‘I own I am more than a trifle fatigued, sir. I shall be glad to get my head down.’

* * * *

The next morning the two men were breaking their fast when there was a thunderous hammering on the front door. The breakfast parlour was on the front of the house and overlooked the street. Fletcher crashed back his chair and headed for the entrance hall.

It had to be Roberts with the news they wanted.

       ‘Are you ready to leave, Edmund?’

       ‘Yes, sir, my mount will be well rested and I have my pistols in my saddlebags, primed and ready.’

       Fletcher raised an eyebrow; the young man was more mature than he’d given him credit for. ‘Good lad, I also shall be armed.’

They met Roberts in the passageway with a footman whose expression indicated his distaste at being obliged to bring a servant through the front of the house.

‘Roberts, come with me. ‘ Fletcher escorted the groom down the passageway towards the study. ‘We shall convene in here, come along, Mr Fox, it’s better we discuss this between ourselves.’

        The groom had the information they had been waiting for. Both Sarah and Eliza were safe and well at the moment at a place called Winterton Hall, near a village named Newfield. It was less than two hours from London.      

‘Roberts, can you be ready to leave in an hour? Have something to eat and change your garments, I shall provide you with a fresh horse.’

       ‘I’m quite ready, sir. I didn’t leave until first light. I had sufficient sleep last night. I shall be more than ready to leave in an hour.’

* * * *

For the remainder of the tedious journey Sarah slept, the excitement and early start proving too much for her frail constitution. Her sister had always retreated into sleep when things became too much. Eliza wished she could do the same, but all she could do was feign unconsciousness and pray that Wydale remained silent on the far side of the carriage.

Eventually the coach began to slow and she realized she could no longer pretend to be oblivious. She straightened, adjusted her bonnet, replaced her gloves and looked out of the window. As she thought, they were just driving down the busy high street of Newfield towards the coaching inn. She glanced across at the dark, silent man opposite.

       ‘Will you permit me to alight here and enquire as to the whereabouts of my maidservants, sir?’

       He didn’t bother to answer, but rapped sharply on the roof of the carriage and it halted adjacent to the inn. The vehicle rocked as one of the grooms scrambled down and unfastened the door.

       ‘Miss Fox wishes to know if her servants are still within this establishment. If they are tell them to walk back to Winterton Hall immediately.’

       She was obviously not going to be allowed out of his sight. Eliza gently shook Sarah awake. ‘Sarah, we’re almost back at Winterton Hall. Lord Wydale has sent to discover if Jane and Ann are still waiting here for us.’

       Sarah sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning hugely. ‘Can Jane travel back in the carriage with us?’

       ‘No, my dear, there is not room for both of them so it’s better that they walk together, don’t you think?’

       The sound of booted feet on the cobbles was clearly audible and the groom appeared in the open door. ‘They was there, my lord, and they’re now on the way back to the ‘all.’ The man smirked at Eliza, but she kept her face impassive, it would not do to react to the insolence of these men.

The last few miles back to the hall took longer than she had expected. She realized the roads they had to take were more circuitous than the direct route they had followed that morning, straight across the fields. With any luck they might all arrive at the same time. What she had in mind required all of them to be there.

       The carriage halted and Wydale jumped down as soon as the door was open, leaving them to follow as they would. He knew they had nowhere else to go but inside. By the time Eliza had organized Sarah and collected their cloaks, he had disappeared. The front door was opened by the housekeeper.

       ‘I shall have trays sent up to you, Miss Fox, and there will be hot water coming up directly.’

Eliza looked at the woman in surprise; she had not expected such kindness from someone who regarded her as little better than a courtesan. Had there been a change of heart? Had her attempt to escape made the woman realize she was not as she had been described?

       The housekeeper went briskly up the stairs leaving Eliza and Sarah no option but to follow. They arrived outside her rooms and this time the door was opened and they were followed inside.

Mrs David glanced over her shoulder as if worried about eavesdroppers. ‘Miss Fox, I believe that I owe you an apology. We were grievously misinformed about your true nature. There’s nothing I can do to help you get away from here, but I shall do everything I can to keep you safe whilst you’re under this roof. I can assure you that anyone who asks shall know that you were an innocent party to this abduction.’

       ‘Thank you, I don’t expect you to put yourselves in jeopardy. Jethro helped me to escape and I fear that something dreadful has happened to him for his involvement. I shall be grateful if you could make discreet enquiries as to his whereabouts. I pray that he
was
just dismissed without reference. My two maids should be back very soon. Please ensure they come up here immediately, and that they also bring trays of food.’

‘Of course, Miss Fox, I said I shall do everything I can to help you both. Lord Wydale holds our livelihoods in his hands, but I shall not let that stand in the way if I think that either of you are in danger from the visitors that are expected tonight.’ She paused as if wishing to select her next words carefully. ‘Are you expecting anyone to come to your assistance?’

‘Indeed I am. We will have been missed and several gentlemen will be galloping here even as we speak.’ Eliza prayed her statement was true. She was relying on her brother and Fletcher to come to their aid, but had no certain knowledge that they had even discovered their whereabouts yet. It was down to her to delay the inevitable as long as possible.

       The woman smiled, making her appear far younger and less austere. For the first time she curtsied, and with a brief smile whisked out of the door

       ‘Sarah, let’s go into the bedchamber and take off our outer garments. I’m sure you could do with a nice wash and tidy, I know I could.’

       ‘May I stay in here with you, Liza? I don’t want to go to the other rooms on my own. I don’t like it here anymore, I want to go home.’

       ‘And so you shall, darling, as soon as it can be arranged. However, until we do leave we shall all be staying in here together. We shall close the door and keep everyone else out until Edmund and Mr Reed come to take us home.’

* * * *

Her love for Fletcher had re-surfaced. It was impossible to deny her feelings any longer. Even though their predicament was partly his fault she forgave him and prayed that he would have ignored her rejection and be racing to the house to save them.

Sarah seemed somewhat reassured by this information and obediently trailed into the bedchamber as she was bid. Two chambermaids appeared with jugs of steaming water and they were shortly followed by two maids carrying laden trains with enough food and drink to feed a large family for several days. Mrs Turner had obviously anticipated her plan to barricade themselves into the bedchamber until help arrived.

       All they needed now was for Jane and Ann to arrive and then they could begin to push the furniture across the doors, close the shutters, and make themselves secure from attack. She was relieved to find that there were two empty commodes and a pail with a lid - so their bodily functions were provided for. They had enough food and drink to last them for two days at least, but until all of them were safely inside Eliza could not begin to make her apartment safe. She could see her sister becoming anxious and upset long before Jane arrived.

       ‘Sarah, darling, why don’t you find our bags in the bottom of the closet and hang up all our garments? They must be sadly creased after being left down there all day. ‘

       There was nothing Sarah liked better than to occupy herself with such mundane tasks and with luck this would occupy her until Jane appeared.

       Sarah had just placed the final dress, a dark blue, serviceable cotton belonging to Ann, when the door in the dressing room burst open and the two women, red-faced and breathless, appeared.

       ‘Lawks a mercy, Miss Fox, we’re that tired, we ran most of the way back.’

       Sarah squealed with delight and flung herself into Jane’s open arms, needing all the reassurance her beloved companion could give. Eliza, forgetting protocol, embraced her own abigail warmly.

       ‘Ann, I’m so glad you’re both here safely. No, don’t ask me what happened, I shall tell you all as soon as we have completed blockading ourselves in. We have enough sustenance here to keep us for two days, but I doubt it will be that long before Mr Reed and Mr Fox arrive to rescue us.’

The two women needed no further urging. They understood instantly that it was imperative to keep Lord Wydale and his friends out of these rooms.

       Ann pulled the servant’s door in the dressing room flush to the wall allowing Jane to ram home the two iron bolts. ‘It’s a good thing someone decided to put these on this door, we don’t have locks on the doors like this at Grove House.’

       ‘No, we don’t. Do you think we need to push a set of drawers in front of the opening, just to be on the safe side?’

       Jane shook her head. ‘No, the passageway is so narrow only one man could try and break open the door; there is no room for a second to help him.’

       Sarah was looking bewildered by all this unaccustomed activity.

       ‘Sarah, why don’t you take one of these trays into the sitting room and lay out a lovely meal for all of us? The housekeeper has supplied pretty napkins and a matching tablecloth.’

       This was another thing Sarah enjoyed doing. Arranging a tea party using real food, crockery and cutlery made it even more exciting. She looked at the two trays with some surprise.

‘We don’t need both of these, do we, Liza? There’s enough food here for lots and lots of people.’

       ‘You’re right. You choose which one to take whilst we start work.’

Sarah carefully picked up the smaller tray and carried it into the sitting room placing it on the central, circular table. She looked around and spotted four elegant Chippendale chairs for them to sit on. Satisfied her sister would be occupied for some time, Eliza turned her attention to the more difficult task, that of barricading themselves in safely.

       ‘I thought that the daybed could go across the main door, and then the bookcase and books on top of that, I defy any man, or men, to break open the door with all that in front of them.’

       She knew it would be disastrous if they banged on the wooden boards or crashed against the walls with any of the furniture. She had no wish to alert his lordship, or any of his personal retainers. She had no idea where he was, whether he was even in the house or still in the stables. She could not risk him arriving before they were ready.

       Twenty minutes later the main door was safely blocked but she still had to find and secure the servant’s entrance which was going to be more difficult as it opened inwards.

       ‘Jane, where was the servant’s entrance in Sarah’s sitting room? I believe that these rooms are identical to the ones she occupied.’

       Jane smiled broadly. ‘Over in the corner, miss, just by the shutter. Do you see where the stripes on the wallpaper don’t quite match?’

       Eliza looked where she was pointing. ‘Excellent. I’m not sure how we shall manage with this one, but let me think. Please, could you close the shutters and draw the curtains, I don’t want anyone clambering in through the windows.’ Jane walked over and pulled the shutter out.