Calico Road (46 page)

‘They must have left that way,’ Toby said.

‘Shut up. And you, watch him carefully.’ Beardsworth took his man’s candle and marched across to fling the door fully open and peer outside. When he looked down he saw footprints in the soft earth and lowered the candle to check them, shielding its flame carefully. But a few seconds’ study showed him that they were too small to belong to a grown woman, certainly not his wife because Harriet had long, narrow feet. He laughed and turned back to Toby. ‘She didn’t leave by this door, so she must still be inside the inn somewhere. Now, are you going to tell us where you’ve got her hidden or do I have to start killing your friends one by one to persuade you to speak?’

‘She may be in one of the rooms over there.’ Toby indicated the side wall.

Beardsworth thrust the candle back at his henchman and gave his prisoner a shove. ‘You go in first.’

So Toby opened each door in turn and stood inside with the candle held high while his captor checked that no one was hiding there.

Last of all he opened the cupboard door and stepped back out of the way, but not before he’d noticed the scrap of material caught in the bottom of the hidden door and recognised it as the colour of Meg’s skirt. He looked away immediately, holding his breath, hoping desperately that Beardsworth wouldn’t notice it.

But he did, damn him!

‘What’s this?’ After glancing round the empty cupboard, he bent down to retrieve the piece of cloth wedged in the almost invisible crack. He had to tug hard to get it out, leaving a few threads still caught. Smiling broadly, he stood up, holding the shred of material in his fingers. ‘From a woman’s dress, I should say. Not Harriet’s, a poor woman’s dress. The child or your cook, probably. But what I don’t understand is how it got caught there.’

He thumped the wall at the back of the cupboard. ‘How can a scrap of material possibly get caught in a solid wooden wall? Well, it can’t, can it?’ Bending down he followed the crack with his fingers, tracing it up, then across, then down again.

Toby watched, sick at heart to see the secret place revealed.

Andrew turned round, smiling. ‘So this isn’t a solid wall. What lies on the other side? A secret tunnel or a room?’

‘A room.’ Toby regarded him stolidly, hoping he wasn’t betraying his anxiety and knowing he couldn’t easily get out of this.

‘And how do we open it?’ He took the candlestick out of Toby’s hand and used it to inspect every inch of the door. He found the upper keyhole quite quickly but continued to examine the surface. As he felt along the bottom, he said, ‘Ah!’ in a satisfied tone and stood up. ‘Two keyholes. Very ingenious. Now, where’s the key?’

Toby stared at him, trying desperately to work out what to do.

‘The longer you keep me waiting, the angrier I’m going to become – and then who knows what I may do to your little cookmaid? Is she good in bed? I do like a little romp every now and then.’

Anger strained inside Toby, but by a superhuman effort he still held it back. ‘We usually keep the key on the lintel of the outer cupboard door.’

Beardsworth felt along the top. ‘It isn’t there.’

Toby took a step forward. ‘But it’s always there.’

‘Careful! Keep your distance.’

The other man jabbed his pistol into Toby’s back and he stilled, looking from one man to the other, bitterness filling him at the thought of what this evil creature might do to his own poor wife – or to Meg – if he found the key.

Beardsworth searched again, shuffling slowly sideways, and they all heard something scrape under his foot. ‘Ah.’ He bent down to pick up the object. ‘The key!’ Smiling triumphantly, he inserted it into the top lock.

Meg pressed her ear against the door. She could hear men speaking, Toby’s deep tones and Mr Beardsworth’s harsher voice barking out orders. She looked at Harriet and whispered, ‘It’s Toby and I think – your husband.’

Harriet came forward to squeeze in beside her and listen, then said in a low voice, ‘Yes. That’s him.’

‘He won’t be able to get to us without the key.’

‘Then let’s pray he doesn’t find it.’ Harriet’s shudder was very eloquent.

Meg looked round, put one finger to her lips and tiptoed along the narrow chamber, taking the candle and holding it high.

The girl watched them in silence, but after a minute or two, Harriet asked in a whisper, ‘What are you looking for?’

‘Something to defend us with in case they open that door and try to hurt us.’

Harriet looked at her wonderingly. ‘You’re very brave.’

‘I won’t let folk hurt me without fighting back, whoever they are. You go and listen at the door.’

Shortly afterwards Harriet gasped and, when Meg turned round, beckoned.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘He’s found the key.’

Jethro followed Ross round the outside of the building, through the stable yard and then up the slope to the rear part. He touched Ross on the shoulder and when the other man stopped, whispered, ‘There are lights there.’

‘Aye. I’ve noticed ’em. But we’ll find out who it is afore we go rushing inside, eh? You still got that pistol?’

‘Yes. And I’ll use it if I have to. Beardsworth’s not hurting anyone while I’m around, especially Harriet.’

Ross studied him in the moonlight, his eyes searching Jethro’s face, then gave a little nod as if he had decided to trust him, before moving on again.

Andrew turned the key in the upper lock and bent to insert it into the bottom aperture but found it unlocked.

Toby let his shoulders slump as if he had lost the spirit to stand up for himself, but held himself tensed to attack the other man, pistol or not, if he tried to hurt Meg.

‘This village has been a thorn in my side for a long time now,’ Andrew said in an almost conversational tone. ‘No wonder we couldn’t find any fugitives. You had them hidden in here. Well, before we leave the inn, this door will be destroyed. I
will
be master of those I employ.’

Watching Toby and keeping the pistol aimed at him, he pushed the door open, stepping back quickly and shouting, ‘Come out, you stupid bitch!
Come – out – at once!
’

As the door swung inwards, Meg quickly blew the candle out and stepped as far back as she could, muttering, ‘I don’t see why we should make it easier for them to attack us.’

Harriet stayed where she was, frozen by terror of her husband. A candle was thrust forward to shine in her eyes, half-blinding her, and she heard a familiar, mirthless laugh. Her worst nightmare came suddenly true as the candle was moved back and she saw Andrew standing there aiming a pistol at her.

‘Well, my dear wife, it seems I’ve found you again. How could you ever think you’d get away from
me
?’ He waved Toby back. ‘Keep your distance, Fletcher.’ Then he gestured to Harriet with the pistol. ‘Come out now, but move very slowly.’ He set the candle down on the floor, all the time watching her carefully.

She stepped forward, waited for him to step further back into the main room, then followed him out of the cupboard.

‘You too, cookmaid!’ he called into the darkness of the secret room.

Meg followed Harriet but she didn’t move slowly. She took everyone by surprise, hurling a heavy book at him, then following that with a little brass ornament which hit him on the cheek, gashing his cheekbone.

He cursed and started to move towards her. ‘You’ll regret th—’

Toby used the distraction to leap forward and grab their captor by the collar, jerking him backwards between him and the other man.

Beardsworth resisted for long enough to take aim at his wife and indeed the pistol went off, but by then his hand had been pulled upwards so that the ball flew wide. Toby chopped at his hand and sent the pistol clattering across the room.

‘Get that!’ Meg shouted to Harriet, who rushed across to pick it up. She turned towards the other man in time to see an ornament hurled by Jane hit him on the temple. He dropped to his knees, half-stunned, grunting, the candle going out as he dropped it.

As Andrew fell, he rolled sideways so that Toby’s second punch only grazed his shoulder. While his back was turned towards Toby he fumbled in his belt for the other pistol.

But although he was usually very quick, something seemed to be slowing him down. In fact everything around him seemed to slow down. He heard voices chanting in the distance and hesitated a moment, wondering who was coming towards them. He knew he should fire the pistol but his fingers seemed very stiff and he couldn’t even get it out properly.

The other man had a similar dazed expression on his face.

There was a sound of distant chanting and a bell tolling faintly a long way away. For a moment or two no one moved.

Meg picked up the candle Beardsworth had set down and held it up. When she saw the butt of the pistol in his hand as he was pulling it out of his belt, she shouted, ‘He’s got another pistol, Toby!’

That brought Andrew out of his momentary paralysis but by this time Toby was near enough to kick out. He sent the millowner rolling across the floor.

His eyes mad with rage, Andrew used every last ounce of his strength to finish pulling out the other pistol to fire at Toby. But the damned chanting had started up again and there was a buzzing sound in his head. And somewhere in the distance a bell was tolling.

By now Harriet had picked up the first pistol and moved forward, aiming it at her husband. She was so close she couldn’t miss, but like the others she saw him pause, shake his head as if something was annoying him and then shout, ‘Stop it! Stop making that damned noise.’ So she held back, not understanding why he wasn’t firing at them.

Meg’s hand was shaking so much that the candle she was holding sent shadows jerking to and fro.
Toby
, she prayed,
Toby, stay safe!

Before anyone could take further action Andrew finally succeeded in jerking the pistol out of his belt but there was a loud explosion and it discharged into his face. He jerked just once and fell slowly back to the ground, to lie still, his eyes staring at the ceiling.

There was dead silence in the room, then they all heard a bell tolling in the distance, as it would to mark someone’s death. It seemed louder this time.

Harriet dropped her unfired pistol and took an involuntary step backwards, covering her face with her hands.

Jane ran to her side and now it was the girl who was supporting the woman, for Harriet was trembling uncontrollably.

The other man scrambled to his feet, staring at the body of the man who had hired him, then from Toby to Harriet. The ghostly bell tolled again and he yelled in terror and ran for the door.

Toby let him go. Taking a long, deep breath to steady himself, he went to tug a piece of washing off the line at the far end and cover Beardsworth’s shattered head with it. Then he turned to Meg, holding out his arms. ‘Are you all right, lass?’

She nodded and moved towards him, needing to touch him, to feel his warmth. For a moment only they pressed close together, then he drew away. ‘See to Harriet, love.’

Meg walked across to put her arm round the other woman.

‘He is dead . . . he really is, isn’t he?’ Harriet asked.

‘Yes. He can’t hurt you any more.’

Toby picked up the candle dropped by the fleeing man and lit it from his own.

‘Where is that bell?’ Harriet whispered. But even as she spoke it stopped tolling and time seemed to move at its normal pace again, instead of slowly.

‘There is no bell,’ Toby said, ‘but I reckon there used to be once. This place was built by some monks, the Curate says.’

He and the two women stared at one another.

‘It isn’t possible,’ Harriet whispered. ‘What happened just isn’t – possible.’

‘Well, it happened anyway,’ said Meg, ‘and good riddance to him.’ She scowled down at the dead man.

‘If we told anyone else about the bell and the way Beardsworth suddenly began behaving strangely,’ Toby said, ‘they’d think we’d run mad.’

Harriet stared round. ‘Are you saying you both believe this place is haunted?’

He nodded. ‘Oh, yes. I’m quite sure it is. I’ve never
seen
any ghosts, though I’ve heard noises many a time. Only nothing has ever hurt me and, actually, I always feel peaceful in here.’

Meg went to thread her arm through his. ‘I do too. I love sitting here. And whatever helped stop
him
, I’m grateful. I thought he was going to kill you and oh, Toby love, I couldn’t have borne that!’

He put an arm round her shoulders and for a moment gazed down at her with love blazing in his eyes.

It was so different from the expression on her husband’s face, Harriet thought, so very different. She turned to Jane and gave the girl a quick hug. ‘I’ll make sure no one hurts you any more, child.’

‘That overlooker is just as bad. Please, missus, I still don’t want to go back to the mill.’

The child’s fear helped Harriet pull herself together, though she still tried to avoid looking at her husband’s body. Suddenly she realised something. ‘I’m Andrew’s widow now and I know what was in his will because Jethro insisted on it. I own most of the mill, with smaller shares left to his daughters. Things are going to change there, Jane, I promise you. There’ll be no more beatings. And Jad Mortley won’t be staying on at the mill, even if he escapes the law.’

‘He won’t,’ Toby said grimly.

The outer door burst open and he swung quickly round, but it was his brother and Ross, not more of Beardsworth’s thugs, so he relaxed again.

‘Are you all right, Harriet?’ Jethro asked. As he moved round Toby he caught sight of the corpse. ‘What the hell’s happened here?’

Harriet’s voice wobbled as she explained. She shuddered. ‘See for yourself. No one’s touched him since it happened.’

He knelt by the side of her husband and uncovered him briefly. ‘He’s dead.’