The Duke's Alliance Book Two: A Dangerous Husband (17 page)

He straightened and cantered away. She decided she would prefer to have the window left down and be covered with dust rather than travel without fresh air.

'We’ve been going a good while so I reckon it must be ten o'clock by now. There's a picnic basket under the seat – do you want me to find you something?'

'No, I'm content to wait until we stop. I'm now wide awake and intend to take more interest in the journey.' She sat up and put her feet on the floor so she could look through the window.

The carriage halted and then lurched to the left. Immediately the ride became smoother and the pace picked up. The sun was shining and the hedges and trees were glorious in their autumn finery. They had been travelling at a spanking pace for some time when the under-coachman blew his horn indicating there was another vehicle approaching.

Their carriage slowed and the horses were guided towards the far side of the road and, as often happened in these situations, the inside rear wheel of the carriage dropped into a pothole. She clutched at the strap to stop herself being tipped from the seat but was too late and her world turned upside down.

*

Grey watched in horror as the rear wheel of the carriage came away from the back axle and the vehicle lurched. For a moment it teetered and he held his breath praying it wouldn't tip into the deep ditch that ran alongside the road.

Then it pitched sideways. The horses were dragged backwards kicking and screaming in protest. The two coachmen were thrown from the box and the cries from inside the coach turned his blood to ice.

'Slater – see to the horses. Smith, with me. You drag the men from the ditch before they drown. I'll try and get into the coach.'

He vaulted from his horse and jumped into the ditch disregarding the water that came over the tops of his boots. Why was there no sound from inside the vehicle? If anything had happened to Madeline he would be devastated. She was already dear to his heart.

Chapter Seventeen

Madeline was crushed beneath her maid and the various boxes and baskets that had been stored under the squabs. 'Lottie, are you injured?'

'A bit bruised, my lady, but I reckon I'm fine. I'll try and move from on top of you.'

'No – stay still. I fear the carriage might slip further into the ditch if we rock it.'

Then she realised Grey was shouting at her. 'We are unhurt, but there's water seeping in through the roof and already our gowns are sodden.'

'Thank God! I feared the worst when you didn't answer immediately. Don't try and move. Assistance is coming from other vehicles and we'll soon have the carriage righted and be able to get you out.'

The horses were now quiet and she prayed this meant none of them had been seriously injured in the accident. The carriage rocked and more cold water gushed in through the split seams of the roof. From what she could make out there were several gentlemen outside and Grey was organising them into a rescue party.

Suddenly his face appeared at a door and he smiled encouragingly. 'It won't be long now, sweetheart, I'm tying a rope to the carriage and then we can pull it upright. You must brace yourselves as best you can but it will be uncomfortable, I fear.'

'It can't be worse than things are at the moment.' He vanished and immediately the carriage started to shift. 'Jam your feet into the window, Lottie, that should keep us steady long enough to avoid further damage.'

There was barely time to do as she suggested before the vehicle began to move more quickly. Unfortunately the substantial quantity of ditch water in which they had been lying poured over their heads, adding to their discomfort.

As the coach crashed back to its correct position both she and her maid fell into the well of the carriage. She couldn't hold back a yelp of pain as her injured hip hit the floor.

Both doors were prised open and he was beside her. 'Sweetheart, let me lift you out and then I can put my riding cape around you.'

She was about to protest, to ask him to remove Lottie first, but there was no need as he'd already arranged for her maid to be taken care of. 'Has anyone been hurt in the accident? Are the horses all right?'

He gently lifted her and placed her on her feet, then his warm coat was around her shoulders and immediately she felt warmer.

'The coachmen are wet and bruised but otherwise unhurt and the horses took no harm.'

She then became aware the road was blocked by two carriages and it was to one of these that he was striding. A plump matron was peering anxiously through the open door and greeted her with a cry of distress.

'My lady, what a dreadful business, I thank God that no one has been mortally wounded. Put her in here with me. As soon as the way is clear I shall take your wife to Chorley Manor. If you take the next turning to the right it leads directly to my home. It's no more than a mile from here. As soon as I get there I'll send sufficient men with a diligence and ropes to assist you in recovering your carriage and also a cart to collect your luggage.'

Madeline was bundled into the warm interior and Lottie joined her. She had no idea who this kind person was and Grey had not thought to introduce them.

'I'll follow as soon as I can, sweetheart. We need to clear the road so the traffic can continue.'

He slammed the door and she barely had time to settle before the vehicle moved off. Her sodden garments were going to soak through the thick cloth of Grey's coat and would damage the smart squabs.

'Madam, I fear my maid and I are going to cause irreparable damage to your carriage…'

'I care not for that, your well-being and comfort is paramount. I should have given you my name – I am Mrs Belinda Chorley. My husband is Squire Chorley.' She said this as if Madeline should recognise the name so she nodded and smiled.

'I'm so glad you were there to offer your assistance, Mrs Chorley. I apologise for any inconvenience we might cause to your household by our unexpected arrival.'

'I'm delighted to help, Lady Madeline, I find myself with little to do now my children have left home. Having you and his lordship to stay, even if it is only for a night or two, will brighten my days.'

A few minutes later the carriage turned down a leafy lane and Mrs Chorley was happy to tell her they were now travelling on her husband's land and would soon be at the manor.

'My lady, I can find you and your maid something to wear until your luggage arrives. My youngest daughter only recently got married and has left some of her wardrobe behind. You are a similar size, so one of her gowns should be ideal.'

'Thank you, ma'am, I much appreciate your kindness. I can't understand how a wheel can have come off our carriage. It was purchased only a year or two ago and it's of the highest quality.'

'No doubt your husband will be able to ascertain the reason for the accident once he has the carriage in our coach house. We employ our own smith and cartwright so the repairs can be undertaken immediately.'

'We are on our way to visit Lord Carshalton's relatives and they will be expecting us tomorrow morning. I expect my husband has already sent one of the grooms to Blakely Hall with a message.'

The carriage rocked to a halt outside an imposing manor house; a footman emerged from the front door immediately to let down the steps and assist them from the vehicle.

'Come along, my dear, the sooner we have you in clean, dry clothes the better.'

Madeline was conducted by the housekeeper, a Mrs Reynolds, a woman of middle years and pleasant countenance, to a suite of rooms at the rear of the building. 'My lady, someone will be along immediately to light the fires. A bath will be drawn for you and a maid will come to assist in your ablutions until your own abigail can join you.'

'Lord Carshalton will also require a bath, but as he will have his valet and luggage with him that should present less of a problem.'

The housekeeper curtsied. 'My lady, nothing you and his lordship require is any trouble at all. There's a large staff here and they are underemployed. Having house guests is a rarity and I can tell you that Cook is beside herself with excitement.'

'Good heavens! Why is that?'

The housekeeper beamed. 'The master and mistress prefer to eat plain food and she has little opportunity to prepare anything that demonstrates her culinary talents. You will have nothing to complain about when you sit down to dinner, I assure you. There will be three courses and several removes as fine as anything one could eat at the grandest tables in the land.'

This garrulous lady was nodding so vigourously several pins flew from her hair.

'In which case I'll forego any refreshments at the moment, Reynolds, and save my appetite for later.'

'Not at all, my lady, a tray will be along directly. Dinner isn't served until five o'clock, so there'll be plenty of time before you are required to eat again.'

As they'd been conversing the sound of buckets clattering and various other noises had been coming from the far door which presumably led from the sitting room into the bedchamber. Madeline glanced down and was horrified to see a spreading pool of muddy water had seeped from her saturated garments onto the pristine carpet.

'I need to change out of my wet clothes, I'm ruining the carpet.'

'I apologise, I shouldn't have kept you talking. My tongue runs away with me. If you would care to come with me I'm sure everything's ready next door.'

*

As soon as the carriage had departed with Madeline the two other vehicles that had been delayed were able to continue on their journey leaving him alone in the road with his men and the damaged coach.

He joined Smith who was helping the coachmen unharness the team. As the horses were released Grey inspected each one in turn for any injury and was pleased they were unharmed by their unpleasant experience. Two more carriages trundled past and the occupants of each stopped to offer assistance. He was able to thank them and send them on their way.

'You'll need to let Blakely Hall know what's transpired here. Tell Mr Carshalton we'll be with them as soon as we can. God knows how long it will take to repair the carriage and we can't travel until it's done.'

His man touched his cap. 'I'll get off directly, sir. I reckon Jenkins should be back anytime soon. I'll call in at the hostelry and tell them not to expect us for a day or two.'

'Do that, thank you.' The sound of a cart approaching interrupted their conversation. 'Excellent, I believe the first of the rescue vehicles has arrived.'

He supervised the transfer of the baggage. He told the driver to get the trunks taken to whatever apartment they'd been allocated immediately he returned to Chorley Manor. By the time these were on their way a lumbering diligence arrived pulled by two massive farm horses. He was pleased to see there were half a dozen men travelling on the cart. This should be more than enough to manoeuvre his carriage aboard.

After a deal of swearing, shoving and pulling his objective was achieved. The carriage was safely roped to the diligence. The vehicle would have to travel another half a mile before it could turn safely.

The six outdoor men cheerfully trotted off alongside the cart in order to ensure it didn't topple from its precarious position.

As soon as they were out of earshot his coachman indicated he wished to speak. 'My lord, it weren't no accident. Someone tampered with the wheel and that's why it came off.'

'How in hell's name did the bastards get to the carriage without being seen? More to the point – how did they know where we were?'

Slater, his valet, looked grave. 'They must have followed the duke, my lord, there's no other explanation.' He looked around as if expecting they would be ambushed at any moment.

'We need to get away from here. The coachmen can ride one horse and lead another. I think it highly unlikely they are still in the locality – they'll just wait to hear if their interference managed to kill me.'

His hands clenched and a white-hot rage took hold of him. His beloved could have perished in the accident so the perpetrators would die. No one could attack his wife and live. He would get Madeline settled at Blakely Hall under the protection of his estranged family and then hunt down those behind the attacks and dispose of them.

The distance was no more than a mile which was fortunate as the weather worsened and it began to rain heavily as he turned into the drive. He kicked his mount into a canter and lead his troop around to the rear of the house straight to the stables.

The cart which had transported the luggage had arrived ahead of them and he was pleased to see all but one of the trunks had gone upstairs already.

He dismounted and tossed the reins to a waiting stableboy. There was no need to give further instructions to his men; they knew what they were about. He followed the brick pathway to the side door and it opened as he approached.

The male servant conducted him to the chambers he was to share with Madeline until his coach was repaired – God knew how long that would be. Replacing the wheel was a simple matter, but it would be more difficult to repair the coachwork and the squabs which had suffered from being immersed in the ditch.

His wife was curled up in front of a substantial fire. She sprung to her feet and rushed across to greet him.

'Dearest Grey, you're soaked through. There's a bath waiting for you next door and your valet is there putting out fresh garments.'

He held out his hand and she took it without hesitation. He drew her closer and then held her hard against his chest for a moment. 'I'll join you here shortly. How is your hip? Did it suffer further damage from your experience?'

'It's no stiffer or more painful than it was before. Go – get out of your wet clothes. We can talk when you're comfortable.'

*

Madeline picked up her discarded book and resumed her place by the fire. Her maid and his valet were going to have to come to an arrangement as she and Grey were sharing one room. Her lips curved at the thought of Lottie's reaction if she blundered in whilst he was taking his bath. She thought that her husband would not be amused either.

A sudden gust of wind hurled rain against the window making her jump, the panes rattle and the curtains move. Would someone come in and close the shutters or should she do it? The draught was unpleasant so she might as well do the job herself.

Although it was early afternoon she could scarcely see across the park. Heavy, black clouds had blotted out the sun and she was relieved they had not been caught out in the storm. The wooden shutters unhooked easily and she pulled the first one across without any difficulty. She was moving the second when she was certain she saw a shadowy figure lurking in the woodland that bordered the grass.

She blinked, screwed up her eyes and took another look but this time there was nothing untoward to see. Her imagination was playing tricks with her – there’d been too many accidents and ambushes and she was seeing danger where none existed. Hastily she fastened the shutters, pulled the curtains and moved onto the second window.