Page 223

Lady Anne was sitting with her daughter-in-law and Lady Sarah in the master’s and mistress’ private sitting room.

The two matriarchs wanted to talk to Lizzy about her tiredness, as both suspected what was ailing her.

However, neither wanted to force a confidence so, to that end, the questions were tangential to the issue at hand.

“Are you well, Lizzy?” her mother asked, “I have noticed that you are looking rather wan in the mornings, mayhap you are not sleeping enough.”

“Until a few weeks ago unless there was rain, you would not forgo a day other than the Sabbath that you did not ride Mercury,” Lady Anne stated, “I have not seen you ride him since we arrived at Falconwood. Is he well?”

“You both think that you are so very coy,” Elizabeth said a little exasperatedly. “Why do you not ask me the question that you actually want to ask?” She looked at both older ladies accusingly.

“You are correct, Liz Bear,” Lady Sarah owned, “I should have known that you do not like to beat around the bush. The last thing that I wanted was to raise a pique in you.”

“If you are using that moniker from my childhood, then I am sure to what your questions pertain, Mama.” She looked at her mother who had the decency to blush. “And you Mother Anne, we have always been forthright with one another, have we not?”

Lady Anne looked away and then gathered herself. “You must know that the only reason that Sarah and I wanted to talk to you was out of concern for your wellbeing.” Then her mother-in-law added, “You know how dear you are to all of us Lizzy.”

“I appreciate your concern for me Mama and Mother Anne,” Elizabeth said with a softer tone.

“ If and when there is any news to share, you have to trust that I will do so, but not before I have spoken to William. As my husband, anything that I may or may not have to tell has to be to him before anyone else,” she emphasised.

“You have the right of it Lizzy,” Lady Sarah said somewhat chagrined, “You are under William’s protection, and I should have relied on your innate good sense to know that you would ask for help if and when you need it.

One day, when you have your own children, you will discover that a mother never stops worrying about her children even after they are married and have left the house. ”

“I am well aware of that fact,” Elizabeth said. “It never entered my head that your questions represented anything, but your concern borne out of love, but that said, it is not a subject that I am ready to talk about with anyone yet.”

The two mothers acknowledge that Elizabeth was in the right and that they had allowed their worry to override them waiting to hear from her when she was ready to talk to them.

They were forgiven in an instant and the moment brought Lizzy to tears.

The mothers gave each other knowing looks as Elizabeth dried her eyes.

Respecting Lizzy’s wish to make a disclosure when she felt ready, neither commented on Lizzy’s uncharacteristic display of emotion.

Once the mistress of the estate had collected herself and dried her eyes, she hugged both older ladies and the three of them descended to the drawing room where the rest of the party was assembled.

Though the kitchen at Falconwood was in need of refurbishment and new equipment, it had no adverse effect on the quality of the delectable offerings that were proffered from there.

After tea had been consumed, Richard noted that he expected that they should receive an express from their men very soon.

“The carriages will be ready to leave at a moment’s notice,” Andrew added. “The drivers know that they need to stay close to the carriage house and that the teams are to be in the paddock rather than grazing in the field.”

“Everything seems to be in place,” William summed up. A look of resignation on his wife’s face showed that she knew he would be departing any day.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Early in the morning on Thursday, the twentieth of day of August, the Stealthy Runner glided down the River Dee and anchored off Oakenholt.

The river became too shallow closer to the shore, so they used the long boat, the same one that Laraby had ‘inspected’ on his last day alive, to row to the little jetty near the town.

Younge took five of his remaining seven crew ashore with himself and Mrs. álvarez.

He and the lady were to take rooms at the nearest inn, which happened to be the Lucky Seadog, while Jones volunteered to ‘recruit’ some more men for their endeavour.

Now that they knew the captain wanted to kidnap a lady from a very powerful family who had such connections, Smith and Brown decided that their lives and freedom were worth more than the promised amount of money.

The two had secreted their meagre belongings among the ropes on the long boat during the night and had volunteered to watch the boat while the others went into the town.

As soon as their captain and the woman walked into the inn, two more of his original crew left their posts and walked to the nearest coaching inn on the other side of the town to catch the first available stage to Liverpool.

They would attempt to hire onto a ship there and hopefully never to hear the name Clay Younge again.

The three Dennington men walked to the same coaching inn where they handed an express to the first rider they found, telling him that the faster he delivered the missive the more he would receive on the other end.

The three were amused as they saw Smith and Brown trying to be inconspicuous as they boarded the stage for Liverpool.

They pretended not to see the two who had turned away to remain undiscovered when they caught sight of the first mate and his buddies, leaving without incident and grateful to get away without being “caught” after so close a call.

At the Red Fox coaching inn, Jones, Forester, and Tibbson met with a group of ‘outlaws’, all of whom happened to be ex-army men that had served with the then Major Richard Fitzwilliam.

Per the now earl’s instructions, they had all ignored their personal grooming habits, giving them a decidedly scruffy look.

There were only two of the original crewmen left, so Jones would convince Younge to meet with the men that he had ‘found’, and lead him to decide that they were better than the two still on board so they would be left behind and these new men would be brought along.

While the other two returned to keep an eye on the longboat, Jones made his way to the Lucky Seadog to break the news of the defections to Younge.

He found his quarry sitting with Mrs. álvarez enjoying bowls of lamb stew.

When Jones indicated that he had news for his captain, the man pointed at a chair as he slurped a spoonful, and Jones had to agree it would be a perfect choice for a meal if the smell was any indication.

“Two men dun an’ scarpered, Capt’n,” Jones cut to the chase, affecting like he was bothered by the news.

“Who were it?” Younge frowned, his annoyance easily discernible.

“Smith an’ Brown, sir,” Jones informed him.

“Are you sure they be gone?” Younge asked as he pushed the rest of his stew away in anger.

“Aye, I is,” Jones agreed with feigned solemnity, “Me mates an’ me seed ‘em leave on a stage. We ‘ad no time to stop ‘em as we spied ‘em on it as it were leaving.”

“Those two ain’t worth the food I feds ‘em,” Younge spat out. The two were, in fact, better than the rest of his sailors, but Jones held his piece. “Where they ‘eaded?”

“Liverpool, I believes sir,” Jones reported, not supplying any more information than Younge requested.

“How come so many of your men are deserting, Mr. Younge?” Mrs. álvarez asked acerbically.

“It be summin’ that ‘appens,” Younge answered with no small amount of annoyance.

“It seems to me that it happens to your crew a lot,” Johanna prodded.

“If you don’ thinks that we good enuf’, you be free to leave!” Younge challenged.

Johanna knew that the only way that she could get the money that she felt she deserved and to start over in the New World was to stay with this man and his crew of misfits, so she decided some placation was in order.

“You have my apology, Mr. Younge. I am new to what happens on a ship, so please excuse me if I overstepped and did not understand the way things work,” she offered with false diffidence.

Younge’s ego was placated, so he accepted her apology and even stood when she did to return to her room. Younge then turned to his first mate. “Wif so few men, ‘ow we gonna execute my plan?” he demanded.

Jones then explained that by ‘chance’ he had come across some demobbed soldiers looking for work who did not have any scruples so long as the pay was good.

He went on to use Younge’s greed and his belief that all men were as motivated by it as he was, informing him that if he offered the men five hundred each, they would do pretty much anything he asked.

Younge liked what he heard, so he asked Jones to bring the best six of the lot to him on the morrow, and he also agreed to leave the two men remaining from his original crew on the Stealthy Runner to keep watch.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

It was a little after ten the following morning when Falconwood’s butler knocked on his Grace’s study door to offer him the express that was on his salver. With a grin, William handed it to Richard as it was, in fact, addressed to ‘ Uncle Richard ’.

“What does it say, Richard,” William asked as Richard scanned the note. When he was ready, Richard cleared his throat and read the missive out loud.

20 August 1812

At the spot mentioned in England

My Lord, we be landed. I ’ave runoff four of the crew an found the men you sent ‘ere. We will leave day after the morrow and arrive at P the day after that.

We look forward to seeing our mates again,

J