Beneath the Major's Scars (21 page)

Chapter Seventeen

T
he darkness was
complete. Dominic and Jasper sat back to back on
the cellar floor, each in turn trying to untie the other’s wrists. Dominic ran
his tongue over his lips, tasting blood. He guessed he had cut his face when the
landlord had pushed them down the stairs, but that was a minor concern. He
thought of Nicky locked in the room upstairs and his anger grew. He would give
everything he had if he could save him, not only for his own sake, but because
of what the boy meant to Zelah.

Jasper swore softly. ‘It’s no good, Dom. That damned fishwife
has tied the ropes too well.’

‘We’ll rest for a moment, then I’ll try again,’ muttered
Dominic. He leaned against his twin. ‘How long do you think we have?’

‘Heaven knows. I wouldn’t think he would try to get rid of us
while he has any customers, and by the sound of it the inn’s pretty full
tonight.’

‘A couple of hours at most, then.’

‘Our best chance would be when they take us to the ship,’ said
Jasper. ‘We might be able to make a run for it then, perhaps get help at the
customs house from the Revenue officer.’

Dominic said nothing. They both knew it was a slim chance, but
neither was willing to admit defeat.

‘We’ll just have to conserve our energy and—’

‘Hush!’ Dominic whispered urgently. ‘Someone’s coming.’

They struggled to their feet and waited, tense and expectant.
They heard the soft rasp of bolts being drawn back from the door at the top of
the stairs. Dominic swallowed the bitter bile of frustration. If only his hands
were free he would punish that damned landlord—

‘Nicky!’

Jasper’s exclamation mirrored his own surprise. The soft glow
of candles appeared at the top of the steps and Nicky came racing down towards
them, Jem Sawley following quickly, but it was the figure behind the groom that
caused Dominic’s heart to stand still.

‘Zelah! By heaven, what are you doing here?’

She closed the door carefully behind her before descending,
holding her candle high to give as much light as possible.

‘We guessed something had gone wrong and came to find you.
Here, Nicky, hold the candle for me.’

‘Did you call at the customs house for help?’ Dominic demanded,
looking past her.

‘No,’ she said. ‘Everything was in darkness and we did not want
to waste time.’

With a furious oath Dominic turned to his groom. ‘Hell and
damnation, Jem, you should not have brought her here!’

Zelah did not wait for the hapless groom to muster his
arguments.

‘He could not very well leave me behind!’ She pulled a
long-bladed knife from the folds of her cloak. ‘I found this in the kitchen and
thought it might be useful. Turn about, if you please, and I will cut you
free.’

It was the work of moments to cut through their bonds. Dominic
stood for a moment, rubbing his sore wrists. His relief at being free was
tempered by anger. He wanted to rail at Zelah for putting herself into such
danger, but because he knew it was foolish and unjustified he kept silent.
Jasper knew no such reticence. He put his arm about Zelah and kissed her soundly
on the cheek.

‘Well done, my dear!’ He looked across at Dominic and grinned.
‘I don’t know about you, brother, but I have had enough of this inn’s
hospitality. Shall we go?’

‘Yes, immediately,’ returned Zelah. ‘We left our horses with
yours, at the old barn.’

The three men went first, cautiously opening the cellar door.
The laughter and chatter from the taproom filtered through the narrow passage,
but there was no one in sight as they crept out.

They had almost reached the doorway when the landlord appeared
from the courtyard. His eyes bulged when he found his way blocked by the men he
thought safely trussed up in his cellar, but Jasper’s fist caught him squarely
on the chin and laid him low. Hurriedly Dominic and Jem dragged the landlord’s
unconscious body into the shadow of the building and signalled to Zelah and
Nicky to come out into the wet twilight.

Once in the yard Zelah found her breathing easier: it was good
to be outside again, even though the mist was thicker than ever. She held
Nicky’s hand as they followed Jasper out of the yard, Dominic and Jem hovering
protectively behind them. Her spine tingled. She was fearful of hearing the
alarm raised, or, even worse, a shot ringing out. Even when they reached the
horses she could not relax. Jasper threw her up into the saddle while Dominic
took Nicky up before him and they left the village at a canter, not slowing up
until they were up on the plateau again, with only the mist and the rain for
company. Zelah glanced nervously over her shoulder.

‘Do you think they will follow us?’

‘It’s possible,’ said Dominic. ‘We should get as far away as we
can while there is some light.’

Jasper nodded.

‘I agree, although it pains me to lose two good pistols to the
villains. But we may yet recover them. I do not intend to let that rascally
landlord and his wife get away with this. But first we have to return Nicky to
his parents, and before tomorrow’s hearing, if that’s possible. Let’s press on,
if you feel up to it, Miss Pentewan?’

Zelah nodded and Nicky, cocooned inside the front of Dominic’s
greatcoat, raised his head.

‘Yes, please,’ he said, his voice breaking. ‘I w-want to go
home.’

* * *

They had ridden hard until it was too dark to travel,
then broken their journey at a coaching inn, where all Jasper’s considerable
address and his full purse had been required before the landlord was persuaded
to admit them. They had set off again at dawn, but heavy rain hampered their
progress and they had to divert several times to avoid the swollen streams that
blocked their route. There was no time to go to West Barton before the hearing
started at ten o’clock so they made directly for Lesserton, where the church
clock was already striking the hour when they reached the White Hart.

‘Your brother is here,’ observed Dominic, nodding towards the
carriage pulled up across the street.

‘Good, I hope Maria is with him too, I cannot think she will be
sitting at home on such an important day,’ declared Zelah, as Jasper helped her
dismount.

He pulled her hand on to his arm. ‘Come along, then, we will
all go in together.’

* * *

Their entrance caused immediate confusion. Sir Oswald,
facing the door, saw them first. His eyes narrowed and a dull, angry colour
mottled his cheeks. Maria gave a little scream and Reginald, who was sitting
beside Mr Summerson, his lawyer, jumped up, gazing at his son and unable to
speak for some moments. Maria ran forwards to take Nicky in her arms while the
rest of the crowd muttered in surprise, knowing nothing of what had ensued.

Dominic stepped into the centre of the room and addressed the
magistrate.

‘I beg your pardon for the intrusion,’ he announced. ‘We came
to tell Mr Buckland his son is safe.’

‘Aye,’ declared Reginald, his eyes bright with anger. ‘He was
abducted, Sir Arthur, and this note was sent to me, warning me not to present my
new evidence to this hearing!’

The surprised mutterings around the room swelled as Reginald
handed the paper to the magistrate. Sir Arthur hammered on the desk again, then
looked at the little boy, now held safely in his mother’s arms.

‘You were taken, young man, against your will?’

Nicky nodded solemnly. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘And do you know who it was who did this to you?’

‘Yes, sir. He’s there.’ Nicky pointed towards Sir Oswald’s
bailiff. ‘It was Mr Miller, the man who is trying to leave.’

The villagers raised their voices in a howl of outrage and
those nearest Miller held him fast as he edged past them. The bailiff swore and
tried to shake them off, but found himself trapped.

‘It weren’t my idea to take the boy!’ he cried. ‘Sir Oswald
ordered me to do it.’

Sir Oswald jumped to his feet. ‘Be quiet, you fool!’

Mr Summerson rose and directed a stern look at the bailiff. ‘If
you know anything more you should tell us now, Mr Miller. The charge against you
is a serious one.’

‘He told me to do it!’ Miller was gabbling now, fear loosening
his tongue. ‘Just like he told me to get rid of Old Robin, to stop’n
talking.’

There was a moment of shocked silence, then fresh cries of fury
filled the room. Giles Grundy rose to his feet, his broken arm strapped up
securely across his chest.

‘We found Old Robin drowned in the Lightwater,’ he said slowly.
‘But his head was bashed open fearsome bad.’

‘Sir Oswald said I was to frighten ’im,’ said Miller, still
trying to free himself. ‘Said I was to get him to leave the area, but the old
man were stubborn. Drunk, he was, and we came to blows.’

‘So you knocked him unconscious and threw him in the
Lightwater,’ pursued Sir Arthur.

Maria gasped and Zelah saw that her sister was holding Nicky
tight to her and covering his ears.

‘He’d have fallen in anyway, like as not,’ muttered Miller
sullenly.

Sir Arthur hammered on the desk to regain order. ‘Take him away
and lock him up,’ he commanded. ‘We will deal with this later.’ He turned to Sir
Oswald. ‘I find it hard to believe, sir, that you would resort to abduction to
prevent new evidence being put to the court.’

‘Of course I would not,’ declared Sir Oswald impatiently. ‘I
knew nothing about any new evidence.’

‘Oh, yes, you did.’

Silence fell over the room as Nicky’s young voice rang out. All
eyes turned towards him and he flushed, shrinking closer to his stepmother. Sir
Arthur turned to him.

‘And how do you know anything about this, young man?’

Nicky swallowed hard. ‘It was at the ball at Rooks Tower. I was
on the landing. Major Coale said I might stay up and watch.’ He turned his eyes
towards Dominic, who nodded. Encouraged, Nicky continued. ‘I heard Mr Lerryn
tell Sir Oswald that Papa had a new document that would win the case for the
villagers.’

‘Utter nonsense,’ blustered Sir Oswald. ‘The child is
dreaming.’

Sir Arthur put up his hand and directed his solemn stare at
Nicky. ‘I was at the ball, young man, and I know how crowded it was. How could
you have possibly heard what was said?’

‘It was supper time, and there weren’t many people in the hall.
Mr Lerryn brought Sir Oswald over to the corner of the hall, beside the stairs.
Directly below where I was sitting.’

‘And you are sure that is what was said?’ Sir Arthur asked
him.

‘Yes, sir,’ affirmed Nicky. ‘When Sir Oswald asked him how he
knew about it, Mr Lerryn said he was there when Papa received the paper and that
he wanted to...to
put a spoke in Buckland’s wheel
.
He said he knew Papa meant to keep the paper a secret until the hearing.’

The murmur amongst the crowd swelled again. Sir Oswald jumped
up, banging his fist upon the table.

‘You will never take that child’s word over mine, Andrews!’

‘It explains why you thought it necessary to abduct my son!’
roared Reginald.

Shouts and cries of ‘shame’ filled the air. Sir Arthur hammered
on his bench.

‘I will have order!’ he bellowed. He fixed a stern gaze upon
Sir Oswald. ‘I will question you about the matter of abduction later, but first
I am obliged to finish this hearing. I charge you, therefore, not to go out of
my sight.’

‘Don’t ’ee worry, sir, we’ll keep’n safe for ’ee,’ shouted
someone in the crowd, amid much cheering.

Reginald murmured something to his lawyer, who handed the
magistrate a rolled parchment.

‘My client informs me this paper was found amongst the books
Major Coale recently purchased from the Lydcombe Park estate. You will see, Sir
Arthur, that it is a contract of sale for Lydcombe Park, a transaction that took
place some thirty years ago, and it describes the boundary between the village
land and Lydcombe Park in great detail, placing it quite clearly on the
Lightwater, which flows along the western edge of Prickett Wood, and marked by a
white boundary stone.’

‘And you were not going to declare this?’ demanded Sir Arthur,
frowning heavily.

‘I think, in the circumstances, we can understand my client’s
reluctance,’ stated Mr Summerson. ‘But this contract is quite precise in the
boundary’s location.’

‘Aye, but rivers can change their course over the years,’ cried
Sir Oswald, his face still alarmingly red. ‘And I tell you there is no stone in
Prickett Wood. If there was, then surely someone would know of it.’ He glared at
the packed courtroom. ‘Well, have any of you ever seen it?’

‘It would appear not,’ mused Sir Arthur, shaking his head. ‘In
the absence of a boundary stone...’

‘But there
is
one,’ cried Nicky,
his high young voice piping clearly over the hubbub. ‘There is a white stone in
Prickett Wood. I’ve seen it!’

‘The boy’s deranged,’ Sir Oswald sneered, but when Sir Arthur
had again called for order Dominic stepped up and placed his hand on Nicky’s
shoulder.

‘Let the boy tell us what he knows.’

‘I’ve seen it,’ Nicky said again, his eyes wide. ‘Old Robin
took me following the deer and we often tracked them into Prickett Wood, and the
pricketts always use the white stone.’

‘Pricketts are the young bucks,’ Reginald explained to Mr
Summerson. ‘They like to rub their new antlers against favourite trees and
rocks.’

Dominic’s contemptuous gaze fell upon Sir Oswald. ‘So that is
why you were killing the deer.’

Sir Oswald glared at Nicky, fury etched into every line of his
face. ‘By God, you young devil, I should have told Miller to dispose of you
rather than—’ He broke off, realising what he had said.

‘The boy has certainly got the better of you, Evanshaw,’ said
Dominic with grim satisfaction.

Sir Arthur turned again to Nicky. ‘Can you show us where to
find this stone, young man?’