Jo Beverley - [Rogue ] (34 page)

Addison returned in a moment to apologize for the fact that while Mr. Rossiter was waiting, the new footman had gossiped about the accident on the bridge, and upset the boy's uncle. He had apparently been soothed by the news that they were all to leave town shortly for the safety of the West Country.

Safety, thought Judith. It was more like heading into the lion's den.

Chapter 16

As Bastian seemed none the worse for his ducking, they set off the next day as planned.

Leander had talked this over with Judith the night before, offering to leave the children behind, and even suggesting that they all go somewhere else and let others investigate the problems. Judith had no intention of separating from her children, and saw their only security in confronting Leander's family and spiking their guns forever.

Leander agreed. "I've informed the magistrates," he said, "in case this should be a case of a wandering madman. I've also given all that we know to the Rogues, and they will pursue inquiries. They will check particularly whether young James Knollis, or any other of my cousins is in town."

Despite the fact that they were talking frankly, his manner, like hers, stayed securely within a barrier of formality.

"Do you think we will be safe on the journey?" Judith asked.

"I'm not entirely sure we are unsafe here, but since we will be in the coach, and I do not intend to let any of you out of my sight, I don't see much danger. I'm taking George along to supplement the postillions, just to be sure. He seems a competent young man, and assures me he is a good enough shot with a pistol."

Judith shivered. "As you said yourself, it takes so little to kill someone." At that moment, she wanted him to hold her, but the walls between them were too high.

"Outright, yes. It's more difficult to make it look like an accident, and that seems to be the intent here. If Bastian had come to grief, and Rosie hadn't been watching, wouldn't we all have assumed he must have climbed up onto the parapet and fallen?"

Judith took a deep breath. "That makes me feel a little better. I'll be glad, however, when we expose your uncle and cousins, and put an end to this."

"As will I. Judith," he added, "I'm hoping that when we arrive in Somerset, you and the children will stay with a friend of mine while I go on to the Temple alone. Nicholas's place is only about thirty miles away."

Judith wanted to protest, to say that she must go with him, to somehow guard him, but her children must come first. "Of course," she said. "Another Rogue?"

"King Rogue," said Leander with the trace of a smile. "You'll like Nicholas, and I trust him to keep you all safe."

* * *

The children, sensitive to atmosphere, were rather subdued at the beginning of their journey, but they soon perked up and then became rambunctious. Judith would be heartily glad to have them in a stable place and back into a routine before they were totally ruined.

The animals were with them. Since Blucher was content to live mainly in Bastian's pocket, with occasional tours of his shoulders, Rosie demanded that Magpie be let out. The kitten, however, had killer instincts, and hissed and spat at the rat.

In the end, time out of confinement had to be rationed between the two, which satisfied Rosie, but angered Bastian.

Judith found she had a headache, and she wondered if Leander wished he'd never set eyes on the family. Now that they were not in accord, all the lighthearted fun seemed to have disappeared.

When they stopped for lunch, he would not let the children out of sight, which limited their exercise, so that they were still fidgety when they climbed back into the coach.

They started a fight about which side of the coach to sit on. Judith suggested she move so they could both sit on the same side. Then they fought about who should sit with her. Judith snapped at them to stop it, and they subsided into sullen silence.

Leander was preoccupied with fears for their safety.

He was in a hurry to get to the safety of the Delaneys' house, and they pushed on to Andover on the first day, emerging in the gloom, stiff and ill-tempered. Judith and Leander had separate rooms.

By the next day the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It was overcast with a freezing drizzle. Judith felt sorry for those traveling outside the coach.

"If we can make good speed, we could be at Redoaks today," said Leander. Judith wanted to protest such grueling haste, and yet she, too, would be glad to be at a house, and glad to have the task almost done.

When she tasted the tensions in the carriage, however, and saw the detachment Leander had wrapped about himself, when she thought of what Charles Knollis had tried to do to her children, she was well on her way to giving in to hate.

The sky cleared as the day went on, but that meant it grew colder. Even in the carriage Judith and the children huddled in blankets; she could not imagine what it was like up on the box. At each change, Leander commanded hot bricks to put on the floor against their feet, and hot toddy for all, though the children's was well diluted. Even so, it made them sleepy as the day went on, and their fretfulness decreased.

As they left the post road—the light already fading, and the moon a mere sliver—Judith suddenly asked, "Is your friend expecting us?"

"I sent a rider on ahead," Leander said. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

"I'm not sure what to expect of you Rogues. What if it is not convenient? The Delaneys will not feel able to turn us away."

"Convenience doesn't enter into it," he said flatly. "If there had been no one at home, my messenger would have returned."

She could not like it. "How long is it since you last saw this Nicholas Delaney?"

He thought about it. "Oh, we bumped into one another in Salzburg three or four years ago. We've corresponded."

Judith opened her mouth then shut it again.

Leander noticed. "I turned up on Lucien's doorstep with no warning, and I'd not seen him since eighteen-ten. I haven't been in the country much."

Judith sighed. So she and her children were to be foisted on strangers without so much as a please. It was going to be a very difficult visit.

There was just enough moon for them to push on after dark with the aid of lamps, but after ten hours of almost uninterrupted travel, Judith had begun to feel they would roll on forever when they finally turned in open gates. Through immense old trees which must give the house its name, she glimpsed a solid, square house with bright welcoming windows. She prayed it would be all right.

She gently woke the children. Rosie rubbed her eyes miserably, but Bastian leant out to see where they were.

By the time the coach had arrived at the door, it was open, spilling golden light into the cold dark, and people were emerging. Judith had a confused impression of a pleasant man and woman, and cheerful servants, as she and the children were bustled into the warmth. The overwhelming feeling, however, was ungrudging welcome.

They were in a brightly lit room, heated by a large fire, when she had opportunity to take in her companions. The children were sitting on a sofa, being talked to by a handsome, auburn-haired woman. Leander was in conference with a blond man, presumably Nicholas Delaney. Leander looked, she noted, as if a burden had been lifted, and she realized how grueling the journey had been for him, too.

"Lady Charrington?"

Judith looked up to see that her hostess had taken a seat beside her.

"You must be exhausted," said Eleanor Delaney. "Your children must truly be tired for they are admitting it, and say they only want a little something to eat before their beds. I thought to order bread and milk for them if they like it."

"Yes," said Judith gratefully. "That would be just the thing."

"And there will be food laid out for you in the dining room in a trice, but I'm sure you would like some tea."

Eleanor went off to give orders, and Judith went to her weary children. "This seems a very pleasant house," she said. "I'm sure we'll like it here."

"Why can't we go to the Temple, Mama?" Bastian asked, almost with a whine in his voice.

"We can, and we will, but this is far enough for one day. Besides, Papa Leander is not sure his relatives will make us welcome, as they have lived there for so long. He wants to handle that before we arrive. It will only take a few days." She decided to give their thoughts a different turn. "When we arrive, it will be time to prepare for Christmas. We will have to make up our decorations, and cut vast quantities of fir, and holly, and ivy, to decorate the house. We'll need to see if we can find mistletoe, too."

"I'm good at finding mistletoe, Mama," said Bastian, brightening.

"Yes, I know, but this will be a new place to explore, so you won't know all the best trees."

She turned as Leander led their host to them. "Judith, may I present Nicholas Delaney. Nicholas, this is my wife, and my new children, Bastian and Rosie."

Bastian and Rosie struggled to their feet to make their bow and curtsy.

"Trust Lee to do things with such panache," said Nicholas Delaney with a smile for them all. "Not just a marriage, but a ready-made family. You are very welcome," he said, and made the words utterly convincing. "Did I hear some talk of mistletoe? Tomorrow we were planning a foraging expedition ourselves, and we need lots of help."

"I'm good at finding mistletoe," said Bastian proudly. "Apple trees are the best, you know."

"Are they? Well, we have an orchard, and if we had someone to climb the trees..."

Judith looked at Leander and smiled. He smiled back. It was going to be all right.

The children ate their bread and milk, and then were tucked up in warm beds in adjoining rooms. Judith took some soup, but then sought her bed herself. She found she and Leander were to share a room and bed, but the matter was overwhelmed by exhaustion, and she was asleep in minutes.

In the library of Redoaks, Leander and Nicholas shared a bowl of hot punch. "So," said Nicholas, "you think your family is behind these attacks on the boy?"

"What else can I think? Though it convinces me they are mad."

"It would be lunacy," Nicholas agreed. "And almost beyond belief. Are you saying the whole family is ready for the asylum? Even as a means of delaying you it makes no sense, and would be unspeakably callous."

Leander rubbed his hand wearily over his face. "I don't know, Nicholas. It's enough to drive me mad, or do you think it runs in the family anyway?"

"No," said Nicholas plainly, and topped up Leander's cup.

Leander sighed."Perhaps they meant no real harm to the child. After all, the poison only made the maid ill, and one would expect that the boatmen would fish Bastian out of the river. A sick child would have tied us in London for another week or so."

"It would link in with the story of diphtheria," said Nicholas, "and I have found lowly minds prone to tread the same rut.... Still, it doesn't sit right. After all, from what you said, the poison that made the maid ill could have killed a child, and the simple fall from the bridge could have stunned the boy if he'd landed badly. Then he could well have drowned before anyone could reach him. At the very best, your villains have a careless way with human life."

Leander took a deep draft of the potent punch. "A family is a mixed blessing."

"Is it?" asked Nicholas with a trace of amusement. "Yours sounds like an unmitigated curse."

"I mean Bastian and Rosie. I never counted on the weight of responsibility. If one of them is hurt because of me, I will never forgive myself."

"They'll be safe here. It's you I'm concerned about."

"I can take care of myself."

"Haven't you always? But you could be in danger. I'd go with you except that I think I should stay here on guard."

"Assuredly. I'll take my man, George. He's a handy character." Leander looked into his cup, then up. "Nicholas, if something should happen to me, you'll take care of Judith and the children, won't you?"

"I'm offended that you need to ask. I promise more. If you are killed, I'll pursue your demented family to the jaws of hell. Not one of them will benefit from the crime, I give you my word."