The Gallows Bride (13 page)

Hugo
nodded, a look of apology on his face. “We gave you ether to knock
you out. Unfortunately, with only me in the corridor, you inhaled a
bit too much, which is why you were out for so long, and so deeply.
I was trying not to inhale the stuff myself, and left the wretched
cloth out for too long. It worked on you, too well, but it also
very nearly rendered me unconscious too!” he added, not minding in
the least that everyone knew of his near disaster.

“
As I have said, there were safety precautions in place to
make sure you weren’t hanged. Another man was waiting in a side
room, and was watching for you to slump to the floor. He dragged
you into the side room, and out of sight, at the same time that Mr
Simpson led the other woman, already wearing an executioner’s hood,
out into the corridor. As instructed, the woman was handed to the
hangman by Mr Simpson, and Jamie nodded his confirmation that the
hangman could go ahead. It all went according to plan.”

“
So how did you arrange the bodies to make sure that Jemima
wasn’t quick-limed?” Edward asked, his own breakfast sitting
heavily in his stomach at the macabre nature of the conversation.
He was suddenly very glad Eliza wasn’t there to listen to
it.

“
Because we kept Jemima in the side room while the woman was
hanged. Unlike the men, when the woman was dead, she was cut down
and brought back into the gaol, ostensibly to keep her body away
from prying eyes. She was left in the side room, while Jemima was
taken outside.” He shot Edward a warning glare, cautioning him not
to betray the fact that, for a short while, Jemima had had to lie
beside the dead bodies of those who had been executed.

“
It was a bit of a surprise when Edward wanted to take the
body, but seemed a reasonable request and a quicker way of getting
her out of there. I had to come here anyway,” he added, shooting a
smile at Dominic.

“
It does explain why you were several days late,” Dominic
muttered, somewhat mollified that Hugo hadn’t been as useless as he
had thought. “You have been busy.”

“
Very,” Hugo replied, sitting back in his chair and relaxing
for a moment. From the thoughtful frowns of the assembled group,
they were still absorbing his explanation, but at least none of
them appeared angry now.

For the
time being at least, Hugo thought, shifting uncomfortably in his
seat as he studied Jemima for several moments.

“
Thank you,” Jemima murmured meeting his gaze
head-on.

“
Why are you thanking him?” Peter demanded, still battling
with the grief that refused to leave him. “We’ve been through hell
because of the subterfuge.”

“
I know,” Jemima replied softly, thinking of Peter’s
distraught display of denial as she left Mr Simpson’s office. “But,
having been in that gaol, I know there was simply no other way they
could ensure I survived. Scraggan would have watched, or at least
had someone watching,” she paused as Hugo nodded slowly. “By
letting Scraggan believe I was dead, I now have the
advantage.”

Hugo
nodded in silent agreement.

Peter
paused, reluctant to let go of his anger entirely. He wanted
someone to blame for the sheer hell he had been through. He wanted
someone to punch, someone to shout at. He felt almost cheated at
being expected to simply accept that the devastation had been
necessary, and move on. A small part of him didn’t think he would
ever accept what had happened.

Still
smarting, Peter tried to find some positives in the
situation.

“
So now Jemima is free of the threat of Scraggan, and can get
on with her life.” He didn’t require Hugo’s approval and wasn’t
asking for his agreement.

Hugo
slowly shook his head, and shot Jemima a look of regret.

“
We still need to know who her contacts are in Padstow,” and
he turned searching eyes on Jemima, watching as her chin firmed
defiantly.

With a
mental sigh, and Peter’s curse ringing in his ears, he knew that
things were going to get ugly.

CHAPTER
F
OUR

“
I’m not going to tell you that. You don’t need to know,”
Jemima replied, unwilling to relent.

“
I take it they are still gathering information for you?” He
wasn’t surprised when Jemima merely nodded.

“
Are they male or female?” he persisted, deliberately ignoring
Peter’s objection.

“
Why do you need to know?”

“
Because I think it is a woman: in fact, I have it on good
authority that one villager in particular has been a little too
watchful.” Hugo’s voice hinted that he knew more than he was
telling them.

Jemima
outwardly kept her expression blank, and sat perfectly still as she
continued to study Hugo, clearly determined not to tell him
anything.

It was
her rigid posture that told Hugo all he needed to know. She was
trying a little bit too hard not to panic.

“
She is as much at risk as you, Jemima,” Hugo added, flicking
Peter a glance. “While you now have Peter to protect you, your very
efficient and thorough informant doesn’t have anyone. Now that
Scraggan can return all his attention to his smuggling operation,
do you think he won’t notice someone watching just a little bit too
closely. He will be intensely angry when he realises Rogan failed
to capture and murder Eliza, and is now languishing in prison
awaiting trial. He will be seeking vengeance, and will look to
anyone and everything that poses a threat to him.”

Hugo’s
voice was a silken menace, and he leaned forward in his chair,
trying hard not to shake her for her sheer stubbornness. Inside he
was hugely impressed with her bravery, and was a little envious of
Peter. Clearly her strong will and determination had been a large
part of the reason why Jemima had survived the past few months. He
knew instinctively that Eliza had the same inner core of steel that
had ensured her survival when faced with ruthless adversity.
Obviously the Cavendish men were no idiots where women were
concerned.

“
For God’s sake, stop it!” Peter snapped, launching to his
feet. “You are not going to scare her into telling you what you
want. Neither Jemima or Eliza are in any danger while under our
care.”

“
No, but there is a woman who has been helping them, and us,
undoubtedly with good intentions but, in doing so, has put herself
in considerable danger. I don’t know about you, but I have no
intention on bringing Jemima’s ordeal upon anyone else.”

Peter
sighed and moved closer to the fire, resting one booted foot on the
fender as he stared down into the flames. He didn’t like where this
conversation was going, and wished Jemima was his wife so he had
the authority to draw a halt to the conversation and demand she
leave. But Jemima was still her own person and he had no authority
to demand she go anywhere, whether they were married or not.
Knowing Jemima, she would probably ignore him anyway. She had made
no attempt to leave the room herself and, while she remained, so
did he. But he still didn’t like it.

Once
again he fought the urge to simply sweep her into his arms and
carry her into the bedroom she now occupied, locking the door
behind them to keep out the threat from the outside
world.

“
How do you know it is a woman?” Edward asked Hugo, studying
Jemima closely.

“
We have our ways,” Hugo replied mysteriously, unwilling to
give details himself.

Jemima
smiled, fully accepting his reluctance for what it was. The last
time she had received word from her friend, her fear for her safety
had been clear. Although she had continued to gather information,
seemingly undetected, she had suspected that someone was watching
her, and was becoming concerned for her safety. At the time, Jemima
hadn’t been able to do anything to help.

“
I know she is under threat from Scraggan, but is she well?”
Jemima murmured, her steely gaze conveying her determination to
help her friend.

“
The last I heard, she was fine, but there are rumblings that
someone local is poking their nose in. It is only a matter of time.
She is all alone and clearly needs help, Jemima. You have to be the
one to give it to her by helping me set plans in motion to ensure
she survives Scraggan’s vengeance. Confirm her name to me and I can
put men in place to protect her.”

“
You cannot be expecting Jemima to become involved,” Peter
snarled, whirling on his heel to stare in shock at Hugo. His gaze
met and held Dominic’s briefly before he turned to Jemima, his
stomach lurching at the look she was giving Hugo.

“
Good God, Jemima, surely you cannot be considering helping
him?”

“
I don’t expect you to come to Padstow; I am on my way there
next. I just need the name of your informant,” Hugo added, picking
up the papers and waving them in the air. “These are fantastic;
just what we need. But we also need any other information she has
managed to collect since you last received word from her. Just tell
me her name, and I will ensure her safety.” The promise in Hugo’s
voice was clear, but did little to mollify Jemima, who remained
silent.

“
I need to think,” Jemima finally whispered, pushing out of
her chair. She waved the men back down into their seats as they
automatically stood.

She
paused when Peter moved to follow her and held up a hand,
cautioning him to stop. “I need time alone,” she murmured softly, a
frown on her face. “I’ll just be next door.” She didn’t know which
room it was, but needed to get away from Hugo’s scrutiny and
Peter’s protectiveness for a moment, and decide what she was going
to do.

She left
the room quickly, and closed the door behind her in case Peter took
it into his head to follow her. Once in the large hallway, she did
as she had promised and moved to the room next door, in the
opposite direction to the breakfast room she had been in earlier.
Thankfully, it was empty, affording Jemima the time alone she
needed to get her thoughts in order.

The room
was just as lavishly furnished as the breakfast room and study.
Large chairs were decoratively scattered around the huge room,
which was lined from floor to ceiling with bookshelves. In fact,
the more Jemima studied the room, the more she realised books were
everywhere. There were piles of them haphazardly stacked on the
desk nearest the large French doors, numerous piles stacked on the
floor beneath the chairs, and even on the tables next to the
hearth! Jemima wondered if the family were avid readers. If they
were, they would certainly never run out of material to
read.

Shaking
her head she reluctantly turned her thoughts to Hugo’s revelations,
and the decision she had to make.

Although
the way in which Hugo and his men had saved her was still raw, she
could understand why they had needed to carry out the subterfuge.
Almost. But, setting that aside, she was no nearer to ridding
herself from Scraggan’s menace. She wondered if she ever would be
free of the man, who always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone
else.

Despite
Hugo’s clear belief in the capabilities of his men, the Star Elite,
Jemima had first-hand knowledge of just how devious and
manipulative Scraggan could be. Just how he managed to get so many
people to help him was beyond her; surely they all couldn’t be
oblivious to the man’s evil character, could they? But if men
didn’t join Scraggan voluntarily, they were conscripted.

Her
thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Eliza, who poked her
head around the door, spotted Jemima sitting in one of the
wing-backed chairs and came in, shutting the door behind
her.

Jemima
fought the urge to sigh. Although she loved her sister, and it was
lovely to see her again, the timing of her arrival couldn’t be
worse. It appeared that being alone in this house was practically
impossible. Still, she couldn’t find the heart to ask Eliza to
leave her alone for a few minutes.

“
What are you doing in here?” Eliza fussed, studying the dark
shadows beneath her sister’s eyes and the slight droop to her
shoulders that hinted at her inner exhaustion. “You should be
tucked up in bed,” she muttered, waving her sister to the door.
“Come on, I’ll help you up.”

“
Eliza,” Jemima said, raising her voice louder than she needed
to, “I am not tired, and I don’t need to go to bed.” She said the
words through gritted teeth to keep herself from screaming. She
wasn’t a toddler, and didn’t need to take to her bed to recover
from a fit of the vapours like some simpering miss.

Jemima
wondered if Eliza realised just how much she had changed over the
last few months, and somehow doubted it.

“
Sit down for a minute, I need to ask you something.” She
motioned Eliza to a seat, her face softening slightly at the hurt
on Eliza’s face. “I know you are only trying to help, but I am
fine. Really. I need your advice.”

Eliza
picked up on the sense of urgency in Jemima’s voice and lapsed into
silence, clearly knowing her sister well enough to know when it was
wise just to keep quiet and listen. She didn’t have to wait long
before Jemima quickly sketched in Hugo’s involvement in her release
from gaol, and the risks to their informant back in Padstow now
that Scraggan was no longer interested in Eliza and
herself.