The Gallows Bride (28 page)

He
wondered if Jemima had realised. One glance at the thoughtful look
on her face assured him that Jemima was also suspicious.

Mentally
applauding her for not allowing her logic to be tainted by old
friendships, Peter clasped her hand tightly in his and lengthened
his stride, silently urging the group onward. He suddenly had a
burning desire to get the trip over and done with before something
went wrong.

Clearly
visible further around the coast, he could see the stark outline of
the ruins of Tintagel castle. He wanted to hurry even more but, in
deference to the ladies’ shorter stride, slowed his pace to walk
more patiently alongside them.

He could
sense the tension in Hugo, and knew the man wanted to go back and
join his men. He smothered a smirk as Hugo shot Harriett a dark
glare that included Harrold, and sympathised with him. As a man who
had lost his heart many months ago, he wanted to advise Hugo that
he couldn’t outrun his emotions; they would catch up with
him.

“
Look, we can carry on by ourselves. I assume you have
arranged for some transportation for us in Tintagel?” Peter stopped
walking and saw the brief flicker of relief Hugo tried to
hide.

“
There is a carriage due to arrive around eleven o’clock. The
driver is under instruction to take you directly to Willowbrook and
only stop to change horses. Two Redcoats will be riding on the box
seat to give you more protection.”

He was
interrupted by Harriett, who lifted a hand to interrupt.

“
What do you mean, not stop until we get to
Willowbrook?
I’m
not going to Willowbrook,” she objected. “I’m going
home.”

“
You have to come with us,” Peter argued gently, trying hard
not to lose patience. He couldn’t believe the ease in which
everything had happened. If he was inclined to be a suspicious man,
he would be tempted to think that it had almost been too easy to
get out of Padstow, literally under Scraggan’s nose,
unchallenged.

“
I don’t
have
to go anywhere or do anything,” Harriett reminded him, her
temper rising.

“
When he is arrested, Scraggan is going to be angry and
looking for someone to blame Harriett. His men are going to be
desperate to get away from that lot,” he nodded backward in the
direction of the Redcoats. “Do you really want to be stuck in your
home, alone, without protection, with a vengeful Scraggan, and a
desperate gang of smugglers on the loose?”

Harriett’s stomach churned at the thought of being at home
alone, when the Redcoats came calling, but was torn by the need to
be at home in case she was needed. But she realised that, even if
she was at home, there was little she could do to help now. It was
far too late for everyone concerned.

“
Where is Willowbrook anyway?” Harriett asked, carefully
considering the options available to her.

“
Oxfordshire,” Eliza replied softly, watching in consternation
as Harriett stared at her, nonplussed.

“
Nobody is going to be around to protect you if you stay in
Padstow, Harriett,” Jemima stated boldly, knowing from the look in
Harriett’s eye that she was still considering going
back.

“
I’ll be in my home, where I want to be. Please believe me
when I say that I don’t mean to cause anyone any offence; I just
don’t want to leave Padstow and venture so far.” Although nobody
said anything, Harriett felt their suspicion and felt she needed to
explain her reluctance to leave Padstow behind. For the first time,
she felt a distance between herself and Eliza and Jemima, and
wondered if their friendship was as strong as she had once thought
it was.

Their
lives had gone in opposite directions since the simpler days of
their youth. The events that had happened to each of them had
changed them all, turning them into the people who now stood on a
windswept cliff top on the outskirts of Tintagel.

Jemima
glanced at Peter, stuck for a way to convince Harriett to come with
them.

“
Thank you for taking the time to come and reassure me that
you are indeed alive and well.” Harriett was torn. She had to
protect her life in Padstow, but also felt driven to try to close
the chasm that had opened up between her and her only friends. She
moved forward to clasp her friends’ hands in hers. “It is wonderful
to see you again, and I know you will go forward into the future
with a heart full of love. You deserve nothing less.”

“
What about you, Harriett? What if Scraggan takes a chance and
drops by to seek vengeance before he is arrested?” Jemima asked,
staring down at their clasped hands. She felt the instinctive jerk
of slender fingers in hers and knew she had struck home.

“
You need to come to Willowbrook, if only for a short while.
Hugo and his men will clear the area, and rid Padstow of the
lawlessness that has plagued it for the last several months. Give
yourself a chance at future happiness, and come with us,” Eliza
added, sensing Harriett’s hesitation.

A strong
gust of chill wind swept over them, teasing the edges of their
cloaks and reminding everyone of the urgency of their situation.
Sensing Harriett’s hesitation, Peter stepped forward.

“
Hugo, why don’t you go and rejoin your men? We can meet up
with the carriage and make our own way back to Willowbrook. Edward
and I are both armed, so can deal with any challenges thrown our
way.” He knew his suggestion would be accepted by the sheer relief
that was visible on Hugo’s face.

“
If you are sure ...” Hugo began, torn between his
responsibility to his men and his duty toward Jemima and her small
entourage.

“
I’m sure,” Jemima said, meeting Hugo’s questioning gaze with
calm reassurance.

“
The next couple of days will be arduous,” Hugo warned, his
voice heavily laced with apology. “But the sooner you are out of
the area, the safer you will be. Please forgive me for abandoning
you so abruptly, but I really do need to check on my
men.”

“
Go!” Jemima ordered with a soft smile, pushing him in the
direction of the village they had just left.

Without
hesitation, he spun on his heel and left the party alone. They
watched him disappear over the horizon before turning toward
Harriet, who was still standing with them. By forcing Hugo to
leave, they had effectively made Harriett’s decision for her.
Unless she was prepared to argue her way through a solid line of
Redcoats, she now had no choice but to go to Willowbrook with
them.

“
Thank you,” Peter whispered to her, knowing she was fully
aware of what they had just done.

“
For what?” Harriett replied, confused.

“
For giving yourself a chance.” With that he turned around,
held a hand out for Jemima and resumed the journey to
Tintagel.

Harriett
followed hesitantly, aware that Edward and Eliza had fallen in
behind her, probably to stop her turning around and running after
Hugo.

By the
time they reached the rough stone path running along the cliff tops
close to Tintagel, a thick sea mist had crept inland, encasing
everything in its thick fog of confusion.

“
This is the last thing the Redcoats need,” Edward announced
with a baleful glance at the white sky.

“
It will be here for a while by the feel of it,” Harriett
said. Nobody thought to question her.

“
We only have to go round the coast and take the pathway down
to the estuary, which we can follow inland to Tintagel,” Edward
announced from the back of the ground, aware of the despondency
that had settled over the group just as the mist had settled around
them.

Nobody
bothered to reply to him. They were all wet with dewy moisture and
could barely see the path in front of them.

The
stiff breeze blowing inland had turned considerably colder, leaving
them all exhausted, frozen and soaking wet. There was very little
anyone could find that was positive in their situation.

“
What’s that?” Harriett gasped, drawing to a halt and staring
into the mist behind her.

“
What?” Jemima whispered, moving closer to Harriett and trying
to peer through the gloom. She couldn’t see anything, but strained
her ears to listen for anything beyond the crashing of the waves of
the rocks far beneath them.

After
several minutes, Peter shook his head. “I can’t hear anything,” he
said, turning away and tugging Jemima with him, clearly expecting
Harriett to catch up.

“
Wait!” The urgency in Harriett’s voice was not lost on
anyone.

From his
place at the back of the group, Edward tried to peer through the
fog toward Peter, his own senses suddenly warning him that danger
was imminent.

A swift
flurry of movement behind him alerted him to the danger – but it
was too late. The thud of the large object that hit the back of his
head was heard even through the low howl of the increasing
winds.

Edward
hit the ground with a dull thud. His body was dragged away from the
group and vanished into the thick fog.

“
Edward?” Eliza tried to peer through the gloom for signs of
him. “Edward!” she screamed, when he didn’t immediately respond.
They had all heard the heavy thud. “Oh God, Peter,” Eliza gasped,
wondering if Edward had fallen off the cliff. She moved to stand
where Edward had been, desperately trying to see through the gloom
for any sign of him.

All
sorts of thoughts flickered through her mind as she began to search
the area, her hands held out before her as she tried to find
him.

“
Edward, answer me!” Her heart pounded heavily in her chest.
Edward wouldn’t simply vanish; he wouldn’t leave her. Where could
he be? She took several steps forward and was abruptly swallowed by
the thick fog.

“
Eliza?” Harriett called, her voice rising in panic. She too
had heard the thud and wondered what had happened to Edward to make
him ignore Eliza’s pleas.

She had
no doubt that Edward had fallen victim to something. Or someone.
She jumped as Harrold began to growl and hiss in her arms. His
yellow gaze fixed on the swirling fog behind them.

“
Eliza?” Peter and Jemima appeared beside her. Harriett threw
them a panicked look when Eliza didn’t reply.

“
Eliza!” Jemima shouted, her voice deadened by the heavy mist.
“Edward, talk to us!” Jemima shouted. “Where are you?”

“
Oh God, Peter,” Jemima whispered in horror moments later when
neither Edward or Eliza had reappeared.

“
Edward, answer me! Eliza, where are you?” Peter’s voice rang
loudly through the fog. They paused and waited for any response but
could detect nothing. Peter slowly withdrew his gun.

Every
hair on Jemima’s neck stood on end. She hated to keep leaning on
Peter’s shoulder, but was spooked by the sudden disappearance of
two of the most precious people in her life.

She
almost screamed when Peter grasped her wrist fiercely, his other
hand motioning frantically for her to remain quiet. He gestured to
Harriett to come closer to them, and put himself in front of both
women, and studied the mist surrounding the path Eliza and Edward
had just been standing on.

For
Edward not to answer, something was very wrong.

They
were out of options. They couldn’t go forward because they were
missing two people and couldn’t leave without them. Nor could they
go back and leave Eliza and Edward to their fate, whatever that
might be. At the moment all he had to go on was a gut instinct that
was still screaming at him: that danger was imminent.

His
thoughts quickly turned to Hugo. Had he really returned to Padstow?
Or had he doubled back, planning to strike while they were isolated
on the perilously slippery cliff path? Peter cursed his stupidity
in not questioning Hugo further after the cart accident.

Harriett
was shivering, her eyes filled with terror as they flicked around,
desperately trying to see through the haze.

Jemima
studied her friend and tried hard not to be affected by her fear,
but felt sick with terror. Although she had lived in Cornwall for
many years, she had never grown used to the thick sea fog, which
had a tendency to appear unannounced, rolling inland ominously in
an impenetrable wall of mist that immediately sucked all warmth out
of the day, and turned the skies a forbidding grey. She could feel
moisture on her face, although it wasn’t raining. The rocks beneath
their feet had already turned wet and slippery and intensely
dangerous. Had Edward and Eliza merely slipped off the
path?

“
Well, well, well, look who we have here.” The eerie voice
came out of nowhere, making them all jump. “If it isn’t Jemima
Trevelisk, and Lord Harlec. I saw you last night at the inn, and
couldn’t believe my eyes!”

Peter
froze, and closed his eyes for a brief moment, mentally cursing his
luck. He knew that this was the person behind Edward and Eliza’s
disappearance.

“
Scraggan,” Harriett whispered, her eyes filled with horror as
she stared at the darkening shadow emerge from the swirling
mist.