Lord of the Abbey (24 page)

“Where’s Micah?” Lyon looked about the abbey grounds in alarm.

“Last I saw, he dived into the Lady Chapel.”

“Isn’t that where the armed rider came from?”

“It is.” Harry nodded.

“That’s not good.” Lyon swore under his breath when a bullet hit the pile of rubble very near him, “Damn and blast!”

“No. It’s not good. We’ve got to check on Micah as soon as we can,” Harry said. A few moments passed without a shot. He raised his head again to see the four men now galloping across the abbey grounds. They were more interested in fleeing now than shooting at him and Lyon.

Harry stood, judged the attackers to be too far away to hit with his pistol. He began to run back toward his black, which wandered off and now stood near the Abbey gate entrance.

“Don’t, Harry! There are six of them,” Lyon called after him. “Our horses have scattered. You can’t go after them alone. We need to find Micah!”

Harry stopped. Lyon was right. Instead he turned and followed Lyon who was already running toward the Lady Chapel.

“Micah!” Lyon called as he entered through the old entrance door.

He heard a noise, saw Micah climbing up from a hole in the basement area of the ruined chapel. A small patch of blood stained his sleeve.

“Were you hit?” Lyon started through the mounds of dirt that over the years seeped into the destroyed chapel’s basement. He headed toward Micah.

“It’s just a scratch, I think. But yes, the bastard got me. I dove down here. St. Joseph’s Chapel was located beneath the Lady Chapel, I believe. Did you know there is a well down there? An altar and what looks like the opening of a crypt below that?”

“Wincanton, give me your hand.” Harry entered farther up the side of the Lady Chapel at the spot he saw Micah dive in earlier. He stood just above Micah, closer to the original ground floor level of the Lady Chapel.

Harry pulled him up and inspected the wound on his arm. “A bit more than a scratch. You were lucky it was just a graze.”

“We did not know when we came in that there were six of them. We saw only three, which Lyon and I could have handled. The others were probably positioned to look-out. They called out to the others to get away when we took the first two down. The two on lookout mounted up. If you hadn’t come when you did Harry, we might have ended worse.” Micah took the handkerchief Harry handed him and pressed it to the wound on his upper arm. “Ouch!”

“The two on lookout sat their horses like gentlemen, Harry. They ran immediately when Lyon and I came in.”

“What were they doing?” Harry asked.

“Digging a hole. On the other side of the Lady Chapel, over there.” Micah pointed. “I’ll show you. I had only a moment to look at it.” Micah followed Harry.

Micah looked down into the hole and studied it. “It appears they knew exactly what they were looking for and where to find it. It seems they dug right into a tunnel.” Micah shook his head, “No one could be that fortunate.”

Harry peered into the very large hole the men in brown coats managed to dig. He saw evidence of stone walls below ground. “It appears they do know what they are looking for. But how? If William told no one.”

“Someone clearly found a letter or document describing the whereabouts of the tunnel,” Lyon suggested.

“
The first letter was long and detailed, full of history,” Micah mused aloud. “The second was short and only about the location at Beckery. I remember in the first letter William stated he hid several letters in various places. What if the other letters each describe just one location of the hidden treasures?”

“And the first letter was hidden in a book that meant something to William Dulac, but whose title would give no real clue.” Lyon shrugged. “I don’t even remember the title of that book now. St. Augustine or some such thing.”

“The second letter we found in a wardrobe that more than likely belonged to William Dulac,” Micah said pointedly, then remarked, “I should have checked Lady Rowena’s bed closer.”

When Harry glowered at him, Micah quickly explained, “I mean I should have checked for secret compartments, for another letter – but I guess I’ll leave that to you, Harry. You can be in charge of checking your Lady’s bed. My mistake.”
Harry heard Micah mumble something afterward, but he didn’t quite catch it. He wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Lyon jumped down into the hole to retrieve a couple of shovels. He peered into a small opening that was dug out from the side of the hole. “I think part of the tunnel beyond this point is intact. Can’t say for sure. The wall caved in here, maybe even when they were digging.”

How does someone know if William never told anyone?
Harry turned the question over in his mind. Then he realized. “Someone possibly found a letter in the books that were stolen from Stonedown Manor. The history of the Dulacs and Glastonbury both being of utmost importance to William Dulac.” Harry kicked at the pile of freshly dug dirt beside him in frustration. “One of those books possibly contained a letter which gave the exact location of this tunnel and the chamber it was hidden in. We are near the Lady Chapel, but what was here?” Harry saw they were near the foundation of another building.

“St. Dunstan’s Chapel, I think.” Micah looked around. “I’d need to consult your map of the Abbey on the wall of your library at the Grange to make certain. But I think this was Dunstan’s Chapel.”

Harry sighed heavily. “I hope Charlie sent those letters asking for help from the society. We are more than spread thin at the moment. Is he with the ladies right now?”

“Yes. Sir John is there as well.” Lyon nodded. “Charlie did send the letters this morning, thank goodness. We now have to guard the abbey grounds, as well as the treasures we’ve hidden, guard the ladies, circulate among the people of Glastonbury, make all the preparations for the Abbey Faire, and try to find out where the rest of the treasure is before whoever this is beats us to it.”

“I’ll have Woollard set up work crews to come in shifts to dig through this tunnel and shore it up during the day, and set a watch for night. At least until our reinforcements arrive.”

Harry continued, “The four of us need to alternate staying in the gallery at Stonedown to protect the sapphire and
ampullae
. I’m certain Lady Rowena, her aunt and Sir John won’t mind taking turns sitting in the gallery together for a few hours during the day. Let’s just hope some of our society fellows arrive soon!” Harry paced, ran a hand through his hair as he thought.

“I spoke with Woollard earlier. He has hired some carpenters to begin making benches and tables to spread about the grounds on the day of the Faire. That’s one thing being taken care of,” Lyon informed his friend in a positive tone.

“Good. Lyon may I place the planning for the Faire on your shoulders? I shall help whenever you require it,” Harry propositioned.

“Absolutely, Harry. I will be happy to do it.”

“Micah, will you devote your time to research so we can locate the rest of the treasure, especially these ‘Holy Secrets’ William emphasizes. And the chamber. If you found the secret chamber it would help immensely. William said the Abbot’s letters told the exact location of everything hidden.”

Micah nodded. “May I have the assistance of Lady Rowena? I find her intelligence and knowledge of these matters quite invaluable.”

Harry looked at Micah for a long moment. He narrowed his gaze. “As long as her intelligence and knowledge is all you are interested in Micah, you may.” He lifted one dark brow in warning.

“We are all quite aware that you’ve staked your claim on Lady Rowena, Harry.” Micah righted his spectacles and grinned widely.

Harry laughed, nodding his head as he did. “Yes. I suppose I have, at that. That being said, my responsibility shall be keeping the ladies and Sir John safe until help arrives. Lady Sperring and Lady Rowena will have much to do in town with the Ball. So I will accompany them on their errands when necessary. And I’ll ask Charlie to spend as much time among the locals in town as he can for now. See if he can’t find out anything about those damned men who wear the brown coats.”

Harry sighed in frustration, “First one, then two, and today six of them! It would be too good to hope that some of our society members decided to drop everything upon receiving our messages, leave immediately and rush to Glastonbury and appear by nightfall. My nerves would be calmed tremendously if even one man showed up this evening.”

“I dropped everything and rushed to Glastonbury, Harry! Why wouldn’t someone else?” Micah questioned.

“True, Micah. Very true.”

“I’ll stay here until Woollard sends some guards,” Lyon insisted. “Leave me one of your pistols. I’d feel better having two seeing as I am alone.”

“From this moment on, we shall always be well armed and carry extra ammunition.” Harry stated. “And by twos unless it can’t be helped.”

“Micah, do you wish to accompany me to Abbey Grange and have your arm looked at there, or do you wish to wait for me here and return to Stonedown.”

“Stonedown. The bleeding has slowed. I’ll sit with Lyon until you return.” Micah lowered himself to sit on the edge of the large hole. “There’s safety in numbers. Will you bring a couple extra weapons back with you? Maybe some clean rags and good bottle of brandy? To clean the wound.”

“Yes. I’ll tell Woollard to send at least two armed men to guard until he can get a work crew together.” Harry mounted his black and headed toward Abbey Grange. “I’ll be back in a quarter of an hour with weapons and brandy.”

It was past time for luncheon when Harry and Micah returned to Stonedown. Micah went straight up the stairs to change. He didn’t want to upset the ladies by the sight of blood on his clothing. Harry nearly plowed into Rowena as he passed the stairs, for she was hurrying from the gallery to meet him.

“Is everything in order at the Abbey? Did you find out what those men were doing?” Rowena searched Harry’s face and person to make certain he was hale and whole. “You are not harmed, are you Harry?”

Though Harry knew Rowena was nervous and impatient to hear an explanation, he did momentarily savor the warm tug at his heart at the realization that she was concerned for him and rushed into the entry to seek him out. “There were six of them this time, Rowena. Brown coats and hats. There was a struggle. Micah was shot, but just grazed. He’s fine. He’s gone upstairs to clean the wound and change. They discovered a tunnel. It seems they knew exactly where to dig. The scoundrels got away. We are wondering if they found a letter in one of the books that were stolen. Where are Lady Sperring and Sir John?”

“In the gallery, with Charlie. We didn’t want to stray too far from our treasure while you were gone,” Rowena informed him.

She continued, “I will go check on Micah after I fetch Betsey, and get some clean linen and salve from the kitchen.” Rowena was about to turn away from him when Harry’s hand caught her arm.

Harry looked around to make certain there was no sign of a servant lurking about. He lowered his head and kissed her. It was quick but passionate. Then he grinned devilishly at her. Wishing he could do more, he reluctantly watched his Lady smile back at him, then head the opposite way while he continued on toward the gallery.

Harry briefed the others. Micah joined them, just as he was finishing up. Rowena followed him.

“
So, for now, until more of our members arrive, we shall hold vigil in the gallery and take turns guarding our precious find from St. Bridget’s Well. We all need to be very careful. We definitely have competition in our hunt for the Abbey treasure. And chances are those two riders of yesterday watched us remove a box from the well. Today we found there are at least six of them. They, just like the original thief, and the men at the Brides, wore brown coats and hats. It appears there are a couple of gentlemen among them, least wise they sat their horses like gentlemen,” Harry informed them.

He then looked to Sir John, “Tomorrow, Sir John and I shall escort the ladies into Glastonbury to conduct what business they have for the Ball. As our fellow society members begin to arrive, they shall be put up at the Grange, and should be able to take over the guarding of the abbey grounds. If enough arrive we shall place a guard of two on the Tor. Had it not been for our walk there today, we might never have caught the intruders at the Abbey before they found what they were looking for.”

“
If we find a lot of our members answer the call for help, we can put three or four of them to guarding the gallery around the clock. That gives us more time to prepare for the upcoming festivities,” Micah added.