A Perilous Marriage (20 page)

“Whoa!” Richard’s breath left him in a loud huff. “You are advocating no trial and execution based on suspicion which goes beyond the principles that have governed my life. I have sought to bring these miscreants to justice. Whilst my innermost feelings have sympathy with what you propose, I cannot justify the intent. Face to face with a man, I will fight, each of us having an equal chance, but to kill in the way you suggest is no chance at all.”

“What chance did Tasker give her ladyship’s grandmother?”

With a wry face, Richard could only answer, “None. She died in great pain. You are a great advocate of ‘an eye for an eye.’ But I still can’t sanction it.”

“That’s
your
answer, but I will think over our talk and see if there is another way we can achieve our ends. My reasons are for my village. Villains in such close proximity can only cause distress. I have a wife, children, and a widespread family to think of. After what happened to Matthew, I must employ any means to prevent it happening to one of my kin.”

Richard was silent for a long moment as he digested Aaron’s words. He could readily see the man spoke the truth. Tasker
was
rabid. Indeed, he might have been that way all his life with no one strong enough to take him down and quell the violence of his actions. Except it went against the grain he upheld to collapse a mountain on three men without a trial.

“Whatever we do should stay within the law,” he answered. “The fact that we may be justified in taking any means to do away with these villains puts us at risk of being equally culpable. I think the horses are the key. Sooner or later, one of them will come out to see to them. I hope sooner. We need to put two men on guard near the horses and one on the back entrance. Let them think we don’t know where they are, that it is all clear to use the front entrance. When their man does not return, they will guess Matthew has told us where they are and we are waiting for them to emerge. I guess they will know they can’t stay in the cave forever. They’ll need water. There used to be a small spring at the back of the cave, but when I last visited, it had dried up. So I believe they will try to make their way through the passage that goes further into the hill. Neither will know the danger of rock falls. If one occurs, likely happen-chance, then that is their fate and not occasioned by us. However, they are not stupid. Certainly, Tasker isn’t, and they are all strong men, so shifting boulders out of the way will not present too great a difficulty. We need to arrange a few suitable men, well-armed, to take turns in watching. They need to be armed to protect themselves but only shoot if they run into danger. The law does provide for self-defence.”

Aaron grinned, his teeth showing up against the darkness of his beard. “Aye, you are right, milord. Much as I’m eager to give fate a helping hand, I’d not like to stand in the dock for killing a man. I’ll get the men you want.”

“We will meet again tomorrow, Aaron, and confirm the plan. For now, I think we should take the rest of the night to hopefully sleep, though I confess it will be difficult. I have to return to my wife’s estate in the next two weeks, and I’d like to see an ending before that. The sooner we have these men in jail, the better for us all.”

“Give me a couple of hours, and I’ll get the men I think will help. I’ll send a lad to bring you to our meeting place. There is no sense in letting the village know more than they should, just in case those rogues have acquired friends, though I doubt it. Most people here won’t want you harmed. Does that suit?”

“Yes, I’ll be waiting at the inn.” With a final wave, Richard turned his horse and trotted on to the village, heading for bed and well satisfied with the evening’s work. He felt confident he would be rid of Tasker in due course.

Chapter Fifteen

Richard tapped the dozing valet gently on the shoulder where he was resting on the bed in the second room and whispered, “I’m back, stay where you are and sleep.”

Edgar nodded. Richard moved away and, going to the decanter, poured a measure of brandy and went silently to the other bedroom. Inside the room, he stood listening quietly to the soft breathing of his wife as she slept. With adrenalin still running high after his midnight foray, and while tempted to wake her to relieve the tension, he decided instead to sit, drink his brandy, and plan his next moves against Tasker.

Underestimating him would be fatal and possibly put Lucie at risk. He was up against a man, who, according to those he believed knew the truth, had survived the murder of his young wife, the murder of a prostitute, a bank robbery, and lastly, the murder of his beloved godmother. If anyone should be brought to trial, he should, even though in his heart he agreed with Aaron and wanted to kill the beast.

He was thankful he had spoken to Matthew. Had he not, he would have visited the cavern, unaware it was inhabited by a man who wanted him dead. Against three of them, who knew what could have happened despite the fact he was a strong fighter. Yet, although Aaron thought the boot was on the other foot and they had the rogues pinned, he tried to put himself in Tasker’s place and plan an escape.

The obvious way would be trying to find a passage out through the back of the cave. He had always known that the draft which eddied through the rocks implied that, as air got in somewhere, so there should be an exit out. Aaron had been right when he said a young lad could never have shifted the barrier, but with three strong men—or even two, if their plan worked to capture whoever came to deal with the horses—it could easily be managed.

Therefore, the back way in was the one to guard. Not simple. There were ditches and hollows in plenty on that side, but then Richard knew he would have the men to keep watch. Satisfied he had covered as much ground as he could at this moment, he drained the last of his glass and stood to get undressed. Sliding into bed, he edged close to Lucie and slid a hand round her waist.

She stirred. “Hmm, you are cold. Is it late? You’ve been a long time.”

“Not so long, and it is not late. I’ve come for a warm up, and I’m sure you will oblige. You know I can’t stay too long away from your arms, my love. We’ll dispense with your gown so I can really warm myself in the fire of your skin.”

“And I in your fiery arms, dear lord. You ignite so quickly you take my breath away.”

As he covered her lips in a passionate kiss and prepared her to accept him, he thought once again of telling her he loved her. What an admission that would be.

Mutually ravenous, equally greedy, the kiss ignited a conflagration that spread flames beneath their skins that incited, razed, and burned. Heat surged in a wave of molten hunger, of fiery neediness. Their hands were everywhere over each other, flooded with passion and violent, surging desires seeking immediate gratification. As the cool caress of the night air was banished by the touch of skin to skin, sensations sharp and powerful rocked them into a new level of awareness, of utterly consuming awareness culminating in incandescence as they broke through the clouds and glory and completion found them and shattered them, filled them, and remade them to float free in blissful ecstasy.

Aeons later, or so it felt, Richard regained enough energy to lift and roll off Lucie and slump beside her. She stretched and curled against him. “My God, Lucie that was incredible, I swear.” Then, suddenly, he realised Edgar was in the next room and bent his head to whisper in her ear. “Edgar is in the next room, I think we’d better go to sleep now.”

“Oh? Well I hope he takes note. He is getting very fond of Mary, and her of him.”

He chuckled quietly. “And, my little minx, I believe you encourage them.”

* * * *

Richard went to the house early the next morning to see the stone masons and pay them off before they left. The whole of the exterior of the house had been restored and weather-proofed and the inner structure replastered and painted. At last, the place had lost its shabby and uncared for appearance and was looking splendid. The men had worked hard, and Richard was quite satisfied to grant them full payment.

Yet, as he went round the house noting the refurbishments, he wondered if he could get used to living in his old home. As each day passed, his mind went back over old memories. The more he saw of his surroundings—the village, the hills, the land comprising his estate—the more he remembered his family and the way they had lived. He scarcely recalled his mother. She had been poorly long before she died. He had looked up to Henry, his elder brother, at first, but ultimately realised he’d never bothered to help save him from the strange anger that overtook his father so often that resulted in the beatings that sent him scurrying off to his hideout in the hills. Perhaps Henry felt if he interfered, he would suffer the same ill treatment. As it was, he didn’t have an easy time of it, as he was kept busy learning how to run an estate.

James, the middle one, managed to efface himself whenever trouble loomed, and Richard had a hard time recalling much about him except for the fact he seemed a whiny individual. In fact, he realised the family that he thought he'd had were nothing but unrelated people he’d just happened to grow up with. What a legacy. Could he dispel the ghosts of those people and create a different heritage with Lucie? A family they could love and cherish. Would the house let them do this?      

The lad who turned up mid-morning resembled Aaron, and he guessed the boy was his son. Mounting Jamal, he took the boy up behind him then asked for directions and was led to a house on the outskirts of the village to meet Aaron and his men. There were only four of them, besides Aaron, waiting for him. The hunter introduced them then explained they were between jobs and the only men free at the moment to do the watching that would be required up at Clee Grot to make sure the three characters stayed in the cave.

“If any of them come out it will be to see to their mounts,” said Aaron. “I gather your plan is to seize whoever it is and bring them back to the village.”

“Yes, that is the easiest way to reduce the opposition. Take them out one by one. It will lessen the chance of an all-out fight, and hopefully, they will be arrested and taken away.”

“Good job the weather’s with us at the moment, milord,” said one of the men. “Waiting around them hills can be perishing if the wind gets up.”

“Yes, I realise that, and it is good of you to lend a hand. You’ll be compensated, of course. Unfortunately, I can’t join you immediately. I have to return to Berkshire with my lady wife. She is needed back in her old home. I plan to leave her and return here as soon as possible. It is likely that it will take days before the leader of this gang decides to come out. I should be back to deal with him then. I’ll be off early tomorrow, Aaron. Do the best you can meanwhile, but don’t put yourself in danger. Remember, you are dealing with a devilish murderer. That goes for the rest of you. I don’t want any of you hurt for my cause.”

“Yeah, well, it ain’t just your cause any longer. The way Matthew was hurt means it was against one of us, that’s why we’ve pitched in to help. Dastardly folk like that need putting down, that’s what I say. We aim to protect the rest of our neighbours.”

The murmurs from the rest of the men seemed to agree with the spokesman.

Richard grinned and said, “I couldn’t wish for better men to help. Between us, we shall put away these villains and make the village secure. Aaron’s in charge while I’m gone, but I’ll be back as soon as I can to join you. Good hunting!”

He gave a cheery wave and left the room, followed by Aaron. Tossing a coin to Aaron’s son who had looked after his horse, he mounted Jamal and with a brief “see you soon,” cantered back to the inn.

Lucie was waiting for him and had arranged a light lunch. While they ate, he went over his plans with her and was pleased she was happy that they would travel back to her home the next day. He didn’t say he was going to leave her there while he dealt with Tasker. He wanted her safely out of the way in case there was trouble and knew she would likely refuse to let him return on his own, but he would tackle that problem later. He knew Rowten would guard her with his life, and at least, she would be far away from Tasker.

“Have you some plain old clothes you can wear for our return? I don’t want to draw attention to us for obvious reasons.”

“I do have an old dress which will go nicely over my trousers. I am going to ride astride aren’t I? It is too long a way to go side saddle, and I’d like to be comfortable.”

“Yes, no problem. We will not be wasting time, and though we have to break our journey overnight, we need to travel fast. Just bring a small bag with you for necessities, and I’ll do the same. We’ll get the inn to make up some food for us in case we can’t buy any on the way, but that is all the weight I want to take with us. Thankfully, we have good animals to carry us. We just need to rest them now and again, and they will see us through. I do not want to hire fresh ones and leave ours to chance.”

The preparations were soon made, and it was barely daylight the next morning when, after eating a quick breakfast, they left Clun and headed south.

* * * *

Two days later, a pair of very tired travellers rode slowly up the long drive between the ancient oaks that had been planted when the house was first built. The morning had been frosty, and the first of the leaves had fallen, covering the pebbled roadway and softening the sound of hooves. Richard was tempted to lift his exhausted wife off her horse and hold her close to him in case she fell asleep before they arrived. Yet, as tired as she was, she brightened visibly when the house came into view.

“Oh, how lovely, Richard. We are home. I didn’t realise before how much I missed it.”

He barely murmured a “yes, it is good to be back,” but it made him think what a good trooper she had been, not only to put up with the frightening drama of Tasker, but the inevitable shortcomings of living in a small hotel. Yet she hadn’t once complained. Indeed, he was the one who had seen the difficulties and problems and, now and again, had shown his irritation with the place. Indeed, another reason to think seriously about the future.

Rowten’s joy when he opened the door and beheld his beloved mistress being helped off her horse was monumental. He watched Richard hold her while she got her balance as she slipped down from the saddle then saw him pick her up and carry her up the stairs. He held the door wide as he greeted them and, at once, said, “Is her ladyship unwell?”

“No, just purely exhausted. We’ve had a devil of a ride. It’s a bath and bed for her, if you will get Mrs Firth to arrange it. I’ll have the same after I talk with you. Tell the grooms to nursemaid the horses. They have carried us well and will need care to recover.”

Within a short time, his orders were fulfilled, and soon, he sat down in the study with a plate of food and a glass of ale to talk with the butler.

“What about her ladyship—should I take her something to eat?” asked Rowten.

“Not until she has a long sleep. I suspect she needs rest more than anything else.”

For the next hour, he talked with Rowten, telling him most of what had happened in the interim since they’d left Ashbury Mead.

“Of course, Tasker followed us after a while. You were right to let me know his place was deserted. First intimation I got was when we were fired upon at the back of my manor house. I took every precaution after that, and now, it seems we have got him and a couple of men bottled up in a nearby cave in the hills. It was providential you have the harvest festival to celebrate, Rowten. It gave me an excuse to get my wife away while I deal with that madman. I’ll stay a couple of days to get over the journey and rest my horse, then I’ll return. Lucie does not know she is not coming back with me. She won’t like it. In fact, I’m prepared for arguments, but I cannot concentrate on what has to be done if I am worrying about her. Tasker is an evil villain. He will kill without mercy if it suits him. I am under no illusions. I have a fight on my hands when I return. So be it. I will need all my wits to defeat him, and the less I have to worry about the easier it will be. It will be up to you to protect her. Even, dare I say, argue with her, but in the end, she must do as she is told.”

“I’ll willingly help to keep her safe. More than that, I’d like to protect you as well. I’m not happy to have you go back and face danger. More than anything else, we miss you here. With her Grace gone, the place is not the same, and the servants pine for Lady Lucie like you wouldn’t believe. She has always been our ray of sunshine, and her absence has been a great loss to us all. Still, she is your wife, and we have to get used to it and accept that you will want to live in your birth place.”

“Well, perhaps not. I’ve not settled in my mind where we will have our main house. The area I grew up in is picturesque, but I know how overjoyed Lucie was to come back here, and although she has made great progress with turning a ruin of a house into something beautiful, it will be even harder for her to leave her beloved home again.”

Rowten gazed thoughtfully back at his master. There was more to that last remark than it seemed. He sensed ambivalence in his voice—was he having second thoughts as to where they would live? If so, it was a radical change from his attitude when the earl had left before. Rowten felt the difference in their status keenly. He would have liked to probe more, but it wasn’t his place to be inquisitive. He could only wait for whatever the earl chose to tell him. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to create a little pressure to stay.