Page 33 of The Duke’s Bride (The Duke’s Alliance #6)

Beau’s carriage pulled up outside Elveden mid-morning. He jumped from the vehicle and strode towards the house. The door was flung open by his butler who, instead of waiting at the head of the steps to greet him, ran down and met him halfway across the turning circle.

Beau increased his pace. There was something very wrong.

‘Mr Sheldon, you must go at once to Fenchurch Manor. Lady Fenchurch sent for you yesterday. They are besieged by those who would do them harm.’

‘Bishop, with me. We will ride.’

His stallion and Bishop’s gelding were led out to him already saddled. His return had been anticipated. He swung into the saddle, rammed his boots into the irons and his magnificent horse sprung from a standstill into a gallop.

He covered the distance flat out, scarcely aware of the massive hedges and ditches they jumped. He sat back in the saddle and pulled Titus to a walk. A few seconds later his man was beside him.

‘There is no point in arriving pell-mell and alerting those who are attempting to get inside. We must be surreptitious about our approach. You are more familiar with this neighbourhood than I – is there another route we can take that will bring us close to the house without being seen?’

‘There is, sir, a path that the cattlemen use to bring the herd in at night.’

This track was muddy from the frequent passage of the cows but it served the purpose admirably. It led them to the cowshed and dairy, which was set apart from the main house and the stables. He dismounted.

‘The horses are cool; we can put them in that barn. Our coats can be used as protection from the cold.’

Bishop watered both animals at the trough before they led them inside the cowshed.

Fortunately, the beasts were outside somewhere.

Their sudden appearance startled the cowmen who were busy clearing the muck.

It was relatively warm inside, so there was no need for either Bishop or himself to give up their riding coats.

‘Take care of our horses. They need hay to keep them busy until we return.’ One of the men had approached and touched his cap.

‘Yes sir, they’ll come to no harm in here.’

‘Tell me, do you know what is going on here?’

‘I do that, sir; them legal varmints have left four armed men outside the house and have gone to fetch reinforcements so they can break in.’

‘When did they go?’

‘They did not leave until dark yesterday.’

Beau nodded his thanks and drew his man to one side. ‘There must be at least two dozen outside men working here. More than enough to overcome the armed men, but I am reluctant to risk injury to any of them if we can achieve this another way.’

‘I have my pistol; you have yours. But I doubt that would be enough.’

‘I want you to find me a curate and bring him here immediately. We cannot marry after midday so you only have an hour to complete your mission. I shall find a way to get inside without alerting the guards. It is a damned nuisance Lady Fenchurch has no supporters here as we could dearly use them.’

‘I don’t see why Sir Frederick is not here with all his men. He only lives a few miles away. They could have broken in easily. Why has this not happened?’

‘There can only be one explanation. Fenchurch is not here yet. He is on his way and until they have him they cannot enter forcibly. The armed men are to prevent Lady Fenchurch and her family from leaving. I think it unlikely the lawyers are aware of my plans.’

He turned and walked back to the man he had spoken to before. ‘How well do you know the house? Is there a way I can get in without being seen?’

The man grinned. ‘The children went in through the trap what the fuel goes in by. That big dog went in too, so I reckons as you will fit in just fine.’

With detailed instructions as to how to find this entrance Beau set off.

He kept his collar turned up and had his muffler around his face.

This was an army trick one of his brothers had told him about.

It was often a flash of skin that revealed the presence of an approaching attacker. He would not make that mistake himself.

Bishop knew he had to persuade the cleric to enter through the coal hole and he had no doubt his man would achieve his ends.

If necessary he would forcibly drop the man through.

There was no time for niceties – he had to marry Viola immediately or the ceremony could not take place until after midnight and that might well be too late.

The entrance the children and dog had used to get in yesterday was, not unexpectedly, outside the kitchens. He paused and scanned the area. There were no guards patrolling here so he would take his chance and make a run for it.

As he dived head first for the wooden door set into the ground, it occurred to him that one of the children might have had the intelligence to bolt it behind them.

If that was the case he had a problem. He was correct.

It was fastened tight. He had no option but to climb, using what footholds he could find, and make his entrance through an upstairs window.

He was within arm’s reach of his goal when he heard voices approaching. He flattened himself against the wall and prayed they would not look up and that he would not lose his grip before they went away.

His hold was precarious. The toes of his boots were resting on barely discernible promontories and his fingertips were clinging to something equally small.

Climbing at speed when there was so little to hold on to was achievable.

Remaining still was likely to prove fatal.

He was more than five yards from the ground.

He held his breath and sent up a fervent prayer to the Almighty to keep him steady for the next few minutes.

His fingers were becoming numb. He could not cling on much longer. The guards walked around the corner. He could move. He completed the last yard like a man possessed; his grip on the windowsill when he reached it was enough to allow him to scramble up so he was sitting with his back to the glass.

A flurry of mortar and stone had descended in his final climb but, thank the good Lord, there had been nobody there to hear it. Like most gentlemen who spent a lot of their time on horseback he carried a stiletto in a specially made sheath inside his left boot.

He reached in and removed it and the narrow blade was perfect to slip between the windows and flick back the catch. The window moved up smoothly and he tumbled in and lay panting on his back on the floor whilst he recovered his equilibrium.

That had been too damn close. But he was in and undetected by those outside. He turned and quietly pushed the window down, then fastened it again just in case someone thought to look upwards.

The room he had entered must be one rarely used as the furniture was draped with holland covers and there was no fire laid ready to light in the grate. As he had never ventured anywhere upstairs apart from the nursery floor he was not sure exactly where he was.

He moved quietly to the door. As he reached to open it, it flew inwards and he was flattened by a huge, hairy body.

‘Remove yourself at once, Brutus. Yes, old fellow, I am delighted to see you too. How in God’s name did you know I was in here?’

The dog continued to pin him to the floor and lick his face with enthusiasm, Beau snapped his fingers and pointed. The dog responded obediently and allowed him to scramble to his feet.

‘Make yourself useful; take me to Thomas and Elizabeth.’

There was no need for his request as when he emerged he heard the patter of childish feet approaching at a run.

From around the corner came the children and to his amusement Viola was close behind.

He opened his arms and the three of them threw themselves in.

He stood for a moment holding them tight, breathing in their scent, relishing the moment.

‘Sweetheart, we must talk. Children, can you sit with your grandmama for a few minutes? I promise we shall not be long.’

Reluctantly they stepped out of his embrace. ‘It’s horrible here, Uncle Edward. We had to come in through the coal hole so those men would not take us away.’

‘I know you did, Elizabeth, and you did the right thing. I tried to get in that way myself…’

Thomas was tearful. ‘If you had fallen it would have been my fault as I was the one who locked the hatch behind us.’

‘No, son, you did exactly what you should have done to protect your family. Actually, there is something important you can both do for me rather than go to Mrs Alston. I need you to go down to the fuel store and listen for the arrival of my man. Then you will have to quickly unbolt the hatch and allow him to come in.’

Immediately the little boy rallied. ‘We can do that. We will take Brutus with us as he will know if anyone is approaching long before we do.’

‘I am so proud of both of you, and this will all be over soon.’ As he spoke Beau prayed he was not telling them a falsehood.

They ran off with the dog loping beside them. ‘Is there somewhere more convivial we can converse, darling?’ He still had his arm around her waist and she seemed in no hurry to remove it.

‘It is too late to be so fussy, my love. Tell me at once what you have planned.’

‘I have the licence in my pocket and Bishop has gone to fetch the curate. As long as he is here before midday we can be married and then there will be nothing Fenchurch and his men can do.’

He quickly explained what he thought was happening outside and she nodded. ‘Only the lawyers were here yesterday – there was no sign of Mr Fenchurch. I think he must have agreed to support Sir Frederick in his wicked plans or they would not have come yesterday.’

‘He must be imminently expected for them to have made their move without him. Perhaps they thought you would acquiesce without a fuss. They must have been most put out by your quick thinking.’