The Dangerous Lord Darrington (24 page)

‘My man told me you called late last night, my lord,’ said Mr Graveney, once the introductions were complete. ‘Not the usual time for a courtesy call.’

‘These are unusual circumstances,’ replied the earl. ‘We believe you have a visitor, sir, a Madame de Beaune.’

‘Indeed?’ Sir Richard’s face gave nothing away, but his tone was reserved.

‘We have come from the White Bear at Widley,’ put in Beth. ‘We arrived the morning after—after the dreadful events there.’

‘And how do you think I can help you, ma’am?’

‘We know that the younger Madame de Beaune fled from the inn yesterday morning. I have been told her sister lives in the area, and is married to an Englishman.’ She smiled a little. ‘That led us to you, sir.’

‘We called late last night because we have reason to believe your sister-in-law may be in danger,’ added the earl. ‘Our concern was somewhat relieved by our…reception.’

Mr Graveney stared at them in silence for a few moments, then walked over to the window, a crease furrowing his brow. After staring out at the park for a few moments he seemed to come to a decision.

‘My wife received a letter from her sister, disclosing that she and her mama-in-law had fled the terrors in France and were seeking refuge. Of course we wrote back, offering them shelter. My sister-in-law arrived yesterday, in a state of great distress. She told us old Madame de Beaune had been murdered and she had fled the scene, fearing for her life. She begged us not to reveal her whereabouts to anyone.’ He bent a frowning look upon the earl. ‘What is your interest in all this matter, my lord?’

‘Possibly none,’ replied Guy. ‘We wanted to talk to Madame concerning something that occured a couple of years ago—’

Their host waved an impatient hand. ‘Out of the question!’

‘Please, sir.’ Beth pleaded, her voice low and urgent. ‘We would not have come if it was not of the utmost importance! My brother’s life is at stake.’ She had his attention and continued quickly, ‘You may know, sir, of the attack on Madame and her husband as they were leaving the country after their visit to you two years ago?’

‘Of course, they wrote to tell us of it once they were safely back in France. Dashed thief escaped punishment, too.’ He sat down. ‘Drowned, I believe.’

‘He was no thief and he did not drown,’ she replied, struggling to maintain her calm. ‘He was my brother, who tried to fight off the attackers and was then wrongly accused.’

Emotion clogged her throat, she could not speak.

‘Perhaps you will allow me to explain,’ said Guy.

Briefly and succinctly he relayed the events as Simon had told them and when he had finished they waited. Beth’s nerves screamed at the ensuing silence until she could bear it no longer.

‘We require only a few moments of Madame’s time,’ she murmured, fixing her eyes upon Mr Graveney’s solemn countenance. ‘If she would give a sworn deposition of what really happened in Portsmouth, it would prove my brother innocent.’

‘And where is your brother now, madam?’

She bit her lip.

‘He is a fugitive,’ said Guy. ‘If he is brought to trial without Madame’s testimony, then there will be no chance of justice for him.’

Mr Graveney looked solemn. He drummed his fingers on the arms of the chair. At last he turned his fierce stare upon the earl.

‘This is all very well, but am I to believe you?’ he barked. ‘Am I to trust you? This lady I have never heard of, but you, my lord, your reputation precedes you. I remember there was a particularly unsavoury scandal—’

‘That was ten years ago,’ said Guy, his voice curt.

‘Aye, but it involved government secrets,’ replied Mr Graveney.

‘None of which were disclosed by me,’ retorted the earl. ‘I made an error, but it was a youthful indiscretion for which I paid dearly by retiring from government and public life—’

‘Indeed?’ Mr Graveney tapped the folded newssheet lying on the table beside him. ‘You may spend most of your time at Wylderbeck, my lord—and I have no idea what you get up to
there
!—but although your name is mentioned infrequently in the society pages, when it does appear it is always linked with the more…dashing hostesses. Your character, sir, is dubious, to say the least!’

‘Please, gentlemen!’ Beth jumped to her feet as the atmosphere grew dangerously explosive. She addressed herself to her host. ‘Whatever you may have heard of Lord Darrington, sir, all I can say is that in his dealings with me and my brother he has always acted with the utmost integrity. When my lawyer told me that Madame de Beaune was in England I determined to seek her out and was prepared to do so alone, but the earl would not allow that. His assistance in this matter has been…invaluable.’

The angry red mist that had threatened to overwhelm Guy was receding. The look Beth gave him was so full of trust and confidence his heart swelled and he lifted his head proudly.

‘I still have many friends in government who would vouch for me, Mr Graveney, and if we had time I would furnish you with as many references as you could wish for. However, every moment we delay the life of Mrs Forrester’s brother is at risk, so I would beg you to consider that, sir, and allow us to speak to Madame de Beaune.’

Another long, agonising moment passed before Mr Graveney finally nodded.

‘Very well. I will go and talk to my sister-in-law. If she is willing to see you, then I will bring her here. If not, then I must ask you to leave immediately and you may set your attorney to approach us in the proper manner.’

Beth nodded. ‘I understand.’ She sat down again as he walked out of the room. Guy was watching her, but she would not look at him.

‘Beth, what he said—about my past—’

Quickly she put up her hand. ‘Not now.’ She gave him a fleeting smile but avoided his eyes. His past did not matter. For the present he was helping her to clear Simon’s name. And the future—she dare not even think of it yet. Last night’s dreams must be put away.

The silence hung heavy between them, but at last they heard steps outside the door and their host returned, accompanied by two ladies. The older of the two in her cambric gown and with a lace cap tied over her grey curls he introduced as his wife, and once curtsies had been exchanged Beth turned her attention to the woman she had been seeking for so long. Madame de Beaune.

Beth judged her to be not much more than twenty, but fear and suffering had aged her, dragging down the corners of her mouth and adding grey shadows around her eyes. The low neckline of her chemise-style gown was decorously filled with a muslin fichu and she wore a black lace cap over her dark unpowdered curls.

‘Madame.’ Guy stepped forwards and bowed. ‘I beg your pardon for disturbing you at such a time.’

She gave a distracted little wave and retreated to sit beside her sister. When she was settled she turned to Beth.

‘I received a note from your lawyer, Madame Forrester, saying you wished to see me. And now my brother-in-law says you wish to talk to me about my previous visit,
hein
?’

‘Yes, Madame,’ said Guy. He glanced at Beth. ‘Mrs Forrester’s lawyer has been trying to locate you and your husband for some time, but of course with the current unrest in France this has been very difficult. Forgive me—is your husband still there?’

Madame shuddered, hunting for her handkerchief, and Mrs Graveney quickly put an arm around her.

‘My brother-in-law is dead, milord,’ she said quietly. ‘Murdered during the riots in Paris. That is why his mother and Cecile decided to leave France and come to England.’ Her voice faltered. ‘They thought they would be safe here.’

‘They should have been safe,’ muttered Mr Graveney, shaking his head. ‘We live in such lawless times!’

‘I am very sorry for your loss, Madame,’ said Guy. ‘If there was any way we could postpone this meeting we would, but Mr Graveney may have told you we need to talk to you urgently.’

Madame wiped her eyes. ‘Of course. I will do my best, milord.’

‘I believe there was a young man at the inn where you dined while you were waiting to board your ship for France, a young man who came to your aid when you were attacked?’

The woman nodded and when she looked up there was a faint smile in her eyes. She suddenly looked less haggard.

‘
Mais oui.
Monsieur Wake…Wakeford. You see, I do not forget. He was very brave, for he was alone and there were two men to fight. Fernand, my ’usband, was already on the ground and could not help…’

‘Perhaps, Madame, you would tell us what happened?’ Beth urged her gently.

She nodded, her fingers nervously twisting the ends of her muslin fichu. ‘We were walking to the packet when two men attacked. I screamed, but no one came. They knocked poor Fernand to the floor, then set upon me.’ She shuddered and clasped at her sister’s hand. ‘They tore the necklace from my throat and I fear they would have done more if Monsieur Wakeford had not come up. One man ran away, but the other stayed to fight. Monsieur Wakeford knocked him down—he wounded him, I think, but I cannot be sure, because as soon as I was free I ran to help Fernand.’

‘And what happened after that, Madame?’

She shrugged. ‘I do not know. Fernand was anxious that we should not miss the sailing. He was very…
dérangé
following the attack and wanted only to go home. He did not notice until after we had sailed that his watch had been stolen. That saddened him more than all the rest.’

‘But what happened on the quay?’ Beth sat forwards, pressing her hands together. ‘Please think, Madame. It is important.’

Madame de Beaune put her fingers against her temples and rubbed them. ‘I do not know. Someone else had come, a man who promised to guard the thief while Monsieur Wakeford escorted us to the packet, I remember.’

‘But you are quite, quite sure that Monsieur Wakeford was not one of the attackers?’

Another smile transformed her countenance. ‘
Mais non
, Madame,’ she murmured softly. ‘He was a…how do you say it? A hero.’

Beth sat back, anxiety sliding away. ‘Thank you, Madame.’

‘And your attacker,’ said Guy. ‘The one who ran away. Did you see his face? Could you recognise him?’

‘Really, my lord,’ protested Mr Graveney. ‘How can you ask that, after all this time—?’

Madame raised her hand. ‘No, no, Richard, I will answer. It was very dark, milord, and both men had their faces covered, like so.’ She lifted the muslin fichu across her face so that only the eyes were showing.

‘Can you remember anything about them at all? Anything unusual?’

‘No…they wore ragged jackets that stank of fish.’ She pursed her mouth in a little moue of distaste. ‘One—the man Monsieur Wakeford captured—he was short and he carried a knife, which made it all the more brave of Monsieur to fight with him, I think. The other—’ she lifted her shoulders ‘—he was tall. That is all I remember, except I did knock off his ’at.’ She put a hand up to her curls. ‘
Cheveux en brosse
—his ’air, it was very…small.’

‘Short,’ Beth suggested. ‘Like a brush,’

‘
Oui.
I am sorry I cannot ’elp you more.’

‘You have been
very
helpful,’ Beth assured her. ‘And would you be willing to sign a sworn deposition of all you have told us? It is very important, you see, because my brother is accused of the attack.’

‘
Mais oui
. I would like to help Monsieur Wakeford.’ She looked at her brother-in-law. ‘As long as I do not have to leave the house…’

‘My attorney lives in the village—no more than ten minutes away. I will send for him now and we will get this settled all right and tight.’

The earl bowed. ‘Thank you.’

‘Good.’ Mrs Graveney smiled upon them all. ‘While we wait for him, we shall have some refreshment.’

She rang the bell and almost immediately the butler brought in a tray with ale for the gentlemen and sweet ratafia for the ladies.

‘Thank you again for your assistance, Madame,’ said Beth as soon as the servant had departed, ‘I know this has been a distressing time for you.’

Madame de Beaune shrugged. ‘Per’aps if we had waited to talk to you in London then Belle-Mère would not be dead.’

‘If only you had asked me to send a carriage for you!’ put in Mr Graveney sadly.

She paused to wipe away a tear. ‘Belle-Mère was a very proud woman. She did not want to be a burden to anyone. We fled to England with very little,’ she explained. ‘We brought with us letters from our bank in Paris and Belle-Mère insisted we should take them to the banks in London, but they all told us the same thing, that they were worthless. We sold a few jewels to pay for our lodging, but Belle-Mère would not allow me to hire a private coach and outriders to bring us here. She said we would attract less attention on the public coach…’

‘And why should you want to travel secretly?’ asked the earl, frowning. ‘Why did you leave London so suddenly?’

‘I thought we were being watched. There was a man in the street outside our rooms. I saw him again when we called upon Sir Henry Shott, and also when we went to the bank. Belle-Mère would not believe it, she said it was nerves, but then we left town, and stopped at the inn…’

She broke off, tears suspending her voice and her sister gathered her into her arms.

Mr Graveney looked at them, then turned to the earl, saying solemnly, ‘I do not know if there is any truth in all this. I have no idea why anyone should try to harm my sister-in-law, but you see now why I have taken the precaution of setting the dogs loose of a night.’ He pursed his lips. ‘I would appreciate your discretion in this matter, my lord. My servants are all long-standing members of my household and are sworn to secrecy—we have set it about that we have a Madame Rendoit residing with us. I am even now deciding how best to arrange for the burial of the poor murdered woman. It must be done anonymously, through a third party.’