The Gallows Bride (26 page)

“
You let him out!” Harriett scolded, wagging a finger at
him.

“
There is no way that damned thing is coming with us,” he
snarled, ignoring her to glare at each person in turn, daring them
to object.

“
Go where with you?” Harriett asked, her anger swiftly
replaced by alarm. She turned to look at Jemima, who was looking
uncomfortable, then at Eliza, who was studying her feet with far
too much interest.

An
awkward silence settled over the room until Jemima realised she had
to be the one to broach the subject.

“
Harriett, we need you to come with us,” Jemima stated
carefully, aware of the dark frown that settled over her friend’s
face. “You are in grave danger at the moment.”

“
Why?” Harriett demanded, flicking each of the men a careful
glance. Although she didn’t like men, or trust them, there was
something about these three standing in her kitchen that made her
feel safe and protected somehow. She wasn’t sure what to make of
them, but trusted Jemima and Eliza to be intelligent enough to know
who
they
could
trust. Clearly they trusted the men now commanding most of the tiny
space in her kitchen. Although Harriett wasn’t entirely comfortable
with them being there, she couldn’t find any cause to demand they
leave.

Casting
them a wary glance, she was about to put a pot of water onto the
fire to boil, when Eliza touched her arm.

“
We don’t have time for that. It will be safer if you don’t
leave your fire burning while you are not here,” she said, her eyes
full of sympathy for her friend.

Harriett’s hackles rose and she realised something was
dreadfully wrong. Clearly both Jemima and Eliza were struggling to
find a way to tell her.

“
Although it is wonderful to see you, do you mind my asking
why you have come together
?”
Harriett asked, motioning for everyone to sit at
the table.

“
Hugo works for the War Office, Harriett,” Eliza began once
everyone was seated. Although it had been agreed she would do most
of the talking, now she was there she wasn’t sure of the best way
to broach the subject they needed to discuss.

She
threw Jemima a beseeching look and was relieved when Jemima
immediately stepped in.

“
Scraggan set me up for murder, Harriett and thinks I was
executed for it in Derby Gaol just over a week ago,” Jemima told
her. It felt strange to talk about such an important day in her
life with such detachment.

Harriett
gasped, her eyes immediately going to the pale, unmarked flesh of
her friend’s throat before turning to the tall, protective man now
holding her hand.

“
Scraggan?” Even saying the man’s name made her feel sick. She
hated Scraggan and everyone associated with him, and not only
because he was a man.

“
So how come you are still alive?” she asked, trying not to
throw too many questions at them. “What happened? What did he
do?”

Jemima
quickly described what had happened to them since they had left
Padstow all those months ago, culminating in her rescue from the
gallows.

“
How were you saved?” Harriett gasped, not sure whether she
should be cheering her friend’s cleverness, or booing at Scraggan’s
evil intent.

“
We knew she was being set up, and made plans to rescue her,”
Hugo replied, shooting an apologetic glance at Jemima for
interrupting. He quickly briefed Harriett on the events in Derby,
Jemima’s survival and the hurried journey to Padstow in a quest to
save her from Scraggan’s fury.

“
But why do I have to leave? I mean, I don’t think Scraggan
suspects it is me. I have given him absolutely no cause to suspect
it is me. None of his men have come anywhere close. This is my
home; I can’t simply walk away.” Harriett’s voice was laden with
distress at the thought of leaving the only thing in the world she
held dear, besides the two ladies now seated opposite.

“
Because one or two of his men have said they’re suspicious
that it is you.” Hugo ignored her startled gasp and continued
explaining. “Although we have gone over the plans time and again,
and have a backup plan if something should go wrong, we still have
no idea how the next few hours will work out. Redcoats are
converging on Padstow as we speak, and for the next day or so, it
is going to be a very dangerous place to be. Not only are you
isolated and alone, but if someone does decide to find somewhere to
hide, we don’t want it being here with you. For your own safety,
you need to come with us.”

Although
he had agreed to allow Eliza to do the explaining, he was aware
that it was taking too long. If they didn’t hurry things along a
little, they would all be stuck in the little cottage, and that was
something Hugo wasn’t prepared to let happen, especially with that
feral feline on the loose. They would all be sitting ducks. Briefly
Hugo wondered if they should just send Harrold after Scraggan, then
they would all be certain who would come out the winner, but
decided it wouldn’t be fair on Scraggan to be at such a
disadvantage.

“
So what do I do? Leave for a couple of days and then return
when it is all over and done with?” Harriett frowned at Eliza who
was staring at the man seated opposite - Edward - far too
intently.

“
If you like,” Hugo replied noncommittally. “We cannot leave
you behind. Besides, there is the important issue of
Scraggan.”

“
What about him?”

“
Do you know him?” Hugo’s voice dropped a notch, and became
hard and vaguely threatening.

“
Of course not. We hardly move in the same circles,” Harriett
snorted. If she was honest, she didn’t move in
any
circles. The resident witch
didn’t usually get too many invitations to parties and the like,
but she wasn’t about to announce that fact to a room full of
strangers.

“
You have been watching him, though.” His eyes met and held
hers.

Harriett
felt a flicker of awareness deep in her stomach and shivered at the
strange sensation that swept through her. Something, some innate
sense of self-preservation warned her not to let this man too
close. Although he wouldn’t physically harm her, he posed a threat
to her way of life, and she felt it went way beyond the need to
leave the village while Scraggan was captured.

“
I haven’t been watching
him
, but rather the activities of
the ships and the gangs,” Harriett argued, throwing Jemima a
careful look.

“
When we left here, Eliza and I each took two of the sheets of
information you gave to Father. We have kept them safe while
evading Scraggan and Rogan since the day we left. When Eliza felt
it was safe, she gave her papers to Edward and I gave my papers to
Hugo. With the help of the information you have so painstakingly
gathered, they have put arrangements in place to arrest Scraggan,
but need as much evidence as possible to ensure he is tried and
given the death sentence.” Jemima hated even saying the word, or
condemning anyone else to such a fate as the one she had faced, but
since the man concerned was Scraggan, she felt she could at least
try to make an exception.

“
Have you been keeping track of comings and goings since
Jemima and Eliza left?” Hugo asked hesitantly. He didn’t want to
offend her, but he was practically bristling with urgency not only
to have the valuable information she had so meticulously gathered,
but to get everyone out of the area.

Harriett
nodded, rose from the table and motioned everyone to follow her.
She led them to a small room at the front of the house. Although
lace curtains at the windows blocked her from view, she had a
perfect view of the harbour at the bottom of the hill, and could
even see the main thoroughfare that ran around the harbour. Several
streets veered off in different directions, through shops, past the
Revenues office, up toward the fishermen’s cottages. It was all
laid out below her in clear view.

Hugo
studied the scene carefully and shook his head in wonder. He looked
in admiration at Harriett and took the opportunity to study the
room.

It was
clearly some sort of work room. Rows upon rows of jars, bottles and
storage containers lined one wall, each neatly labelled in the
same, small scrawling script that had so painstakingly detailed the
smuggling activities, and each filled with something
different.

They all
watched as Harriett moved to a small cupboard at the back of the
room, nearly invisible because it was located in the darkest corner
of the unlit room behind a large tree-like plant. She pulled out a
large wooden box and placed it carefully on the table. Inside were
copious hand written sheets that looked very similar to the papers
Jemima and Eliza had carried that they could have been copied from
them.

“
Oh, lord,” Peter whistled, staring at page after page of
parchment, each clearly detailing shipments, people and
times.

“
How do you know the contacts?” Edward asked, tilting the
sheet of parchment he held to study the tiny script.

Harriett
stared blankly at him, momentarily lost for an answer. Clearly she
had someone who was supplying her with information, but
who?

“
Harriett?” Hugo persisted when she made no attempt to
answer.

“
Does it matter? We have done nothing wrong. After all, these
papers are what you need to bring Scraggan to justice. Take them. I
have no use for them. I will be glad when I don’t need to make such
detailed notes, and can get on with my life,” and her voice became
almost defensive as she tugged her shawl tighter around her
shoulders.

“
You have done an excellent job as always, Harriett.” Sensing
her friend’s disquiet, Jemima hastened to reassure her. “Can you
thank your helper the next chance you get? They have done a
commendable job.” She hoped her soft voice would mollify her
friend, and shot a warning glance at Hugo.

If they
hoped to get out of here before the Redcoats arrived, they couldn’t
afford to antagonise her. Clearly she wasn’t prepared to identify
who had provided such a valuable source, and that was that. They
couldn’t force her. If her contact was a smuggler, then he would be
rounded up with the others and would face his own justice. Though
Jemima didn’t tell her friend that, she wondered if Harriett
already knew. Clearly something was bothering her friend, and she
wasn’t prepared to talk about it.

“
How do we get this out of here?” Edward sighed, studying the
size of the box warily. “We certainly can’t carry it on foot, and
we don’t have the time to sift through it to pick out the most
important pieces. This is incredible,” and he waved a hand toward
the table in general, still shocked at the sheer volume of
information they had been given, and the painstaking hours it must
have taken to write such notes.

Hugo bit
back an impatient curse and wearily rubbed a hand down his
face.

“
There is nothing else for it,” Jemima replied, picking up a
large sheaf of parchment and tucking it into the deep pocket of her
cloak. “We each take some. That way, if we do get caught up in
anything, not all of the information is compromised.”

Peter
felt a surge of pride at Jemima’s logic, and took his own share of
the parchment. He stood back and watched as the remainder of the
box’s contents was split between Harriett, Hugo, Eliza and Edward.
It seemed that Miss Harriett Ponsonby had decided to go with them
after all.

“
I want it known that as soon as the Redcoats leave, I am
coming back,” she mumbled, her voice trailing off, lost in the
heavy cloak she was dragging across her shoulders. “I am not going
too far away either,” she added, tucking her own share of the
papers into her pockets. “I need to water my plants before I
go.”

Hugo
felt his patience snap. “You secure the cottage, I’ll water your
damned plants!” He ignored her protests and stomped moodily toward
the back door. He didn’t like the feelings that the witch was
stirring in him and had the sudden urge to get her off his
hands.

“
Don’t you dare,” Harriett snapped, grabbing hold of the back
of his cloak with more force than was necessary.
“
I
will water my
plants.” She glared at him as she stalked past, her small pert nose
high in the air.

As she
passed him, Hugo caught a whiff of roses and something alluringly
unusual. Despite her fairly dainty stature, her glare was fierce as
she silently challenged him to stop her as she swept past. The fact
that she had to tip her head back to sniff haughtily at him was not
lost on him.

The tip
of her head barely reached his shoulder, so she would have to stand
on tiptoe when they kissed. He abruptly snapped off that thought
and shook his head, more disturbed than he cared to admit. He
didn’t object when Edward brushed past him to keep a careful watch
on her while she tended to her beloved plants.

“
What about Harrold?” Harriett asked moments later, when Hugo
tried to usher them out of the house.

“
Leave him here,” Hugo snorted, rubbing his chest
absently.