A Reason to Rebel (26 page)

“Hmm, that may prove to be unnecessary. As long as we can see in daylight what we are aiming for it will have to serve.”

“How can you be sure that Cowper will not arrive in daylight?” asked Estelle, drawn into the conversation in spite of her determination to remain aloof.

“I cannot be entirely sure about anything but it is my expectation. Once he sees you and Marianne tomorrow I suspect he will return to London to collect the all-important papers, or at the very least, ensure they are still where they ought to be. He will then go direct to Hampshire to confront your father. He will not be able to travel to Ramsgate today on the mail coach because it does not run on a Sunday and so I anticipate that he will hire either a curricle or a saddle horse, probably the latter. He will not be able to cover the distances between Ramsgate, London and Hampshire whilst it is still light, even if he abandons the horse and travels by coach.”

“Yes, that is true.” Estelle was reluctantly impressed by his meticulous attention to detail.

“I expect him to arrive in Hampshire between nine and ten o’clock tomorrow evening. But we will be ready for him. He will arrive at the front drive to the house and when he does, we will know it from my man stationed there and be ready to move.”

“You will not have much time to act. Would you not be better off if you were already inside the house?”

“Yes, but it is too dangerous. We would be bound to be discovered. I agree that time will be of the essence once we know Cowper has arrived, but it ought to be possible to gain access to the house provided we have no setbacks. We will need to get into the summerhouse, locate the trapdoor, follow the passage to the cellars, get out of the cellar and into the kitchens unobserved—”

“They should be empty by that time of night. My parents dine early.”

“Good. Winthrop, we will need a map of the internal layout of the house. If your father is likely to entertain Cowper in his study, then we need to get to an adjoining room unobserved. What is the likelihood of that?”

“Our mother will retire to her sitting room on the first floor immediately after dinner and will not leave it,” said Matthew with confidence, making a gesture with his hand that implied she would be well in her cups by that point. “Father will be in his study and the morning room adjoins it. There will very likely only be the butler and one footman about. He does not keep a large staff unless he is entertaining.”

“Well, provided we can avoid them we should get to the morning room unobserved, just so long as we remember which room is where and do not mistake one for the other.”

“When you emerge through the green baize door into the vestibule you require the second door on the left, immediately opposite you,” said Estelle.

“Thank you, we shall remember that.”

“And you ought to be able to overhear what is being said easily enough.” Matthew grimaced. “My father always bellows like a bull, even when he is not in a bad mood. If Cowper is also angry I daresay their exchange will be more of a shouting match.”

“That is what I am counting on.”

“There is a door that adjoins the two rooms, covered by a thick curtain on my father’s side.” Estelle adjusted her skirts and did not look at Alex as she spoke. She suspected her face would betray the fear that beset her at the thought of her protector invading her father’s study. It would not do to reveal such weakness. “He complained of draughts reaching him through it but is too mean to order a bigger fire. You could open the door a little behind the shield of the curtain and he very likely would not notice.”

“Our plan appears more likely to succeed by the minute. And since you are determined to come along, Porter, you can do something useful.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Although I am a magistrate, Winthrop knows me and will appreciate that I have no jurisdiction in Hampshire. And so I was planning to have one of my men pose as a magistrate with the appropriate authority but you could more usefully fulfil that role, Porter. When the men admit to their misdeeds, we will reveal ourselves and threaten to take them in charge.”

“Is that what you will actually do?” Estelle had not stopped to consider the consequences for her father and his murderous co-conspirator until that point.

“It is what I ought to do but I do not think that would benefit the three of you.” He indicated Estelle and her siblings with his eyes.

“Perhaps not.” Matthew’s expression was resolute. “But if they really did arrange to have Travis murdered and are stealing, I do not think they should be allowed to profit from their crimes.”

“No more do I.” Alex’s expression turned pensive. “What matters to your father more than just about anything? Why is he so determined to have control over you all and make you do as he wishes?”

“Social standing and his position as a patron of the arts,” said Estelle promptly.

“Exactly! And that is what I intend to take away from him. When we have heard enough of their exchange, we will show ourselves. I will remind them who I am and introduce Porter as a magistrate with the authority to report all he has heard and have them both taken in charge.”

“But Winthrop could argue that we were in his house without his permission,” reasoned Porter, “and therefore have no authority.”

“He could but I doubt that he will. We shall recover the secret they were attempting to steal, by force if necessary, provided Cowper has it about his person. If he has left it where it was my man who is following him will have already uncovered it and got word to me to that effect.”

“You appear to have thought of everything.” Estelle was unable to keep a grudging note of admiration from entering her voice.

“Thank you.” He offered her a courtly bow. “And once we have uncovered their secret I shall make them aware that we know they murdered Travis. It will be clear to them by then that the only future they have to look forward to is the end of a hangman’s rope.” Estelle shivered. “Don’t worry.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, his thumb tracing patterns on it beneath the cover of his palm. “It will not come to that. Once they have had an opportunity to reflect upon their situation, I will not have to exert much pressure to make them both sign a full confession. After that I will give them two days to leave the country for ever. The Hampshire estate will then be yours, Winthrop.”

“I say!” Matthew’s face lit up with pleasure.

“I will tell them that if they ever show their faces in England again I will pass their confessions to the appropriate authorities.”

“Thank you,” said Estelle. “They do not deserve such compassion.”

“No,” he whispered so that only she could hear him, “perhaps they do not. But you most assuredly do.”

Chapter Sixteen

Alex remained at number seventeen for the rest of the day, alternately refining his plans for the morrow with Mr. Porter and quizzing Matthew and Estelle on the particulars of Farleigh Chase. They drew sketches of the layout at his request, and from them he was able to anticipate potential hurdles which would not even have occurred to Estelle. She was still vexed with him for excluding her from the final confrontation with her father, even if she did privately concede that it was not possible for her to be in two places at once. But more than that, she resented the high-handed manner in which Alex dictated her movements.

She observed him deep in conversation with Mr. Porter and her brother. His brown curls spilled over a brow knotted in concentration, and a vein was pulsing in his temple as he listened to what was being said. Her annoyance slipped away, replaced with a torrent of gratitude for all he was doing for her family, filling her with a sense of well-being. He laughed suddenly at some remark Matthew addressed to him and his features settled into the softer expression he more habitually wore. The manner in which his brown eyes flashed with amusement caused a sharp pang of regret to lance through her. She hastily averted her gaze lest he sensed her watching him and correctly interpreted her thoughts.

Too late! He turned his head just at that precise moment, obviously aware of her scrutiny, and offered her a smile that could have melted stone. She blushed deeply but could not tear her eyes away from his and boldly held his gaze.

Alex declined Mrs. Porter’s invitation to dine and left number seventeen in the late afternoon. He was bound for the Albion, where he expected one of his men to be waiting to report to him. Estelle tamped down all thoughts of returning there with him and made do with accompanying him to the door.

“Thank you for all the trouble you are taking,” she said, shy suddenly and sounding ridiculously formal. “I want you to know that all three of us are deeply grateful. We never would have been able to manage anything like this unaided.”

“You are entirely welcome.” He tilted her chin with his forefinger until she was forced to meet his eye. “Have courage, Estelle, we will prevail.”

“I do not for a moment doubt it, sir. I have complete faith in your abilities.”

“Then what is it? What troubles you?”

What indeed? How to tell him that her thoughts were not currently occupied with the difficulties that would face them all on the morrow? Instead she was anticipating the heartache she would have to endure when she was obliged to say goodbye to him forever.

Estelle was a realist. Susanna might have made an advantageous marriage but lightning seldom struck twice. She might have lost her heart to Lord Crawley—well, there was no
might
about it. But even if she was not so far below him socially, the fact that her father was an amoral scapegrace made the silly notions which refused to budge from her head even more unrealistic. She really she ought to know better. She was the sensible member of the family who did not nurture implausible dreams.

Besides, even if all those matters could be set aside, there were still Lady Crawley’s feelings to consider. She was a stickler for maintaining standards. Had she not already told Estelle as much when speculating about the suitability of certain ladies as Alex’s consort? She was a compassionate soul who felt the hardships of others most keenly. But that did not alter the fact that she set considerable stock by her family’s social position and would not stand meekly aside and permit her son to weaken it by making an unsuitable alliance.

Enough! Estelle dredged up a timeless smile, turning her head to avoid further contact with Alex’s hand.

“Nothing concerns me, other than the fact that you are going to such a vast amount of trouble for us all that I know not how to thank you for it.”

“I daresay we shall think of a way, once this is all over.” His words were accompanied by a raffish smile that made her feel weak at the knees.

“Is everything just a jest to you, Alex?” she asked him more sharply than she had intended. “Is that why you are doing this? You are bored, did not care for the thought of Lady Jacob’s party and seized upon this as a convenient excuse to leave Crawley Hall?”

“Do you really hold me in such low esteem?” He lifted a haughty brow, took her hand and raised it to his lips, only to think the better of it. With a quick glance around the vestibule to ensure no one was observing them, he dropped a delicate kiss on her lips instead, causing her senses to reel with the intensity of the passion she could sense in the gesture.

Ashamed of her outburst, Estelle attempted to formulate an apology. “I did not mean to imply—”

“I know you are disappointed not to be more involved, but you are already fulfilling a vital role by showing yourself in public. I need you to give me your word that you will not do anything rash tomorrow, Estelle. You must promise me that you will call at Nesbit’s office and then return directly to this house, where you will remain in your brother’s care.”

“It is hardly likely that I will be able to do anything more, seeing that I am to be so closely guarded.”

“Nevertheless, I still require your promise.” He looked down at her, a severe expression in his eye. “If anything were to happen to you, I do not think I could—”

“Oh, very well, I give you my word that I will always conduct myself with your elaborately overprotective instructions in mind. There, satisfied?”

He chuckled. “Thank you, you have set my mind at rest. And when this is over—”

“There is just one thing more we need to resolve before you leave, sir.”

Mr. Porter joined them from the front parlour, causing them to jump guiltily apart. Alex transferred the whole of his attention to their interlocutor and she did not see him again that day.

–—

Estelle dressed in her russet travelling attire the following morning for the visit to the solicitor’s office. Marianne remarked how well it became her.