A Spy at Pemberley (14 page)

'Remain where you are, Lizzy. Mr Hall can take care of his family without our interference. My cousin and I will do what is necessary to find the young man. God willing he hasn't been murdered.'

'This has to be in connection with the other business, doesn't it? You will be careful, won't you? You are not a soldier like Colonel Fitzwilliam.'

'I can take care of myself if needs be. Don't fret, my love, I shall come to no harm.'

Then he was gone leaving her to worry about his safety. She was at a loss to understand why Mr Hall's son had been kidnapped. She shuddered. It couldn't be for ransom as the family were not especially wealthy. The poor fellow must have been taken in order to pressure his father into further treachery. His mother and sister must be beside themselves with worry.

Good heavens! The redoubtable Miss Hall would not sit back and let others investigate – she would already be involved and could be in deadly peril. Lizzy was certain neither Mrs Hall nor her daughter were aware that Mr Hall was involved in anything untoward. The girl could not possibly know that her brother had been abducted not for money, but for a more sinister purpose.

She flung back the comforter and ran to her dressing room. Finding the necessary underpinnings was simple enough, as was putting on her stockings. All she had to do now was discover a warm, practical gown that did not require the assistance of her abigail to put on.

Her many ensembles were carefully folded on the shelves in the closet but she couldn't recall which of them would slip over her head, or had buttons at the front rather than the back. The moss green cashmere caught her eye and she pulled it out for inspection.

It had all the requisite features she required. The house would be cold as the servants would not be up to light the fires so early in the day. She must find a shawl and put on her boots rather than her indoor slippers.

There was no time to do an elaborate arrangement for her hair, she quickly braided it and pinned it in a coronet around her head. Satisfied she'd done the best she could, she collected the candlestick and hurried through the silent house praying that her husband and his cousin had not already departed on their errand of mercy.

As she reached the head of the stairs the two of them appeared in the hall. They were both wearing riding capes so must be heading for the stables. 'Fitzwilliam, please wait a minute. There's something I must tell you before you leave.'

He tore up the stairs two at a time. 'I asked you to remain in your chamber. I don't want you involved in this.' Quickly she explained her theory about Miss Hall. 'I can't believe she would take matters into her own hands. However, we shall go to their house first and make sure the girl has done nothing foolish.'

With that she had to be content as he didn't stay to reassure her further. The longcase clock in the drawing room struck four. She might as well return to her apartment until the house was awake.

'Madam, would you care to go into the yellow drawing room. There will be chocolate and pastries brought to you shortly. The fire is already alight.'

Lizzy spun round in shock to find the butler, more or less correctly dressed, standing behind her. She had quite forgotten someone must have been roused from their bed in order to answer the front door.

'I shall do that. There's no need to wake the household so early. If the room is warm I shall be quite happy to wait until Cook and her staff are on duty as usual.'

The chamber was pleasantly warm – far more comfortable than her apartment – so she decided to remain there. This room faced the garden at the rear of the house and was peaceful, no noise from the street reached here.

She hadn't been there for very long when Gregson rushed in clutching a letter. He had been so disturbed by this second unusual event that he had failed to place it on the silver salver before bringing to her.

This was the letter purportedly from Pemberley telling them that some domestic crisis needed their immediate return. She took the folded square and broke the seal knowing that this letter was no longer a welcome excuse to leave Town, but a further complication.

Chapter Fourteen

A sleepy groom had his horse waiting when Darcy arrived at the stableyard. He nodded his thanks and mounted the rangy bay gelding. 'If we cut through the park it will be quicker.'

'I'll take your word for it – not the way I would choose – but as we can gallop the extra distance should be no obstacle.' His cousin was already astride his own mount and ready to depart.

Fortunately the moon was full and gave sufficient light for them to canter over the cobbles. No doubt the sound of the hooves would alarm many of the residents in this smart residential area. This was of no matter; they needed to get to the Hall household as soon as possible.

As soon as they were in the park he pushed his horse into a gallop and they thundered across the greensward sending roosting pigeons into fluttering panic. He knew the general direction, but not the exact location. He would have to rely on his cousin for directions when they emerged at the other side of the park.

He drew rein as he saw the exit gates approaching. 'Where to next?'

'Turn left, and it's the third turning on the other side of the street.' Hugo pushed his horse alongside. 'I'm damned if I know why Hall should have sent for me. I've never met the man and am barely acquainted with any member of his family.'

'Are you suggesting he knows that you're leading the investigation into his activities?'

'It's possible, but unlikely. But I can't think of any other explanation.'

They had reached the street they wanted and crossed the thoroughfare. There was no need to ask which house it was. A substantial dwelling halfway down the crescent was the only one with light streaming from the windows – all the rest were in darkness, the residents in peaceful slumber.

'I think I might know. Miss Hall was much taken with you and you are no doubt the only soldier of her acquaintance. You were the most obvious choice to ride to the rescue.'

Darcy ducked his head as he guided his horse under the archway that led to the rear of the building. They were expected and a stableboy and groom were waiting to receive their mounts.

They took the path from the yard which led towards the house. The side door was flung open before they reached it. As he had suspected it was Miss Hall who rushed out to greet them and not either of her parents.

'Thank you so much for coming, Colonel Fitzwilliam.' She seemed somewhat surprised to find Darcy standing outside the door. She recovered quickly. 'Also, thank you, Mr Darcy, for accompanying the colonel. Please come in – you will find the house in disarray. My mother is beside herself and my father has yet to come home.'

She led them to the drawing room which he was surprised to find unoccupied. 'Mama is too distressed to speak to you. She is in her bedchamber being attended to by her maid.'

The fact that this young lady was entertaining two gentlemen before daybreak without a chaperone was not lost on him, but his cousin seemed unbothered by this monumental breach of etiquette.

'My dear, you must tell us exactly what transpired. How do you know that your brother has been abducted and is not in some den of iniquity with his cronies?'

The girl pushed a piece of paper into his hand. Darcy had not noticed she'd been carrying this. Hugo quickly scanned the contents and handed it to him.

The note was unequivocal:

We have your son. If you want to see him alive again then you will deliver the package as instructed.

You have until eight o'clock.

'Where is your father?' Hugo asked.

'He is out of town, sir, and not expected home until tomorrow. He had business to attend to with Sir Robert.' The girl appeared more angry than upset. 'This note was delivered more than an hour ago. The person who brought it was not a pleasant man which is why I opened the letter myself even though it was addressed to my papa.'

Hugo nodded. 'You did the right thing. Have you any idea as to the whereabouts of the package that is referred to?'

She almost stamped her foot. 'Of course I don't. If I did I would have sent it round immediately and not have involved you in this family matter.'

Darcy felt obliged to point out something they both appeared to have overlooked. 'There is no direction on the note so, even if we had the item they refer to, we would have no notion where to send it.'

This was obviously related to both men's involvement with the French. They could hardly discuss this in front of the girl. 'Miss Hall, take us to the study. We shall begin a thorough search. You must look in your father's apartment – we can hardly do that ourselves.'

She pursed her lips and he thought she was going to object to his issuing her with orders. Then she nodded. 'We have only four hours to discover what they require. God willing, when we do find it the parcel will already have the address written on it.'

The study was at the rear of the house and had convenient access to the outside. It would be the ideal place for a clandestine visit. A person could come and go without being seen by anyone else in the house.

The butler handed them candles from which they ignited several others once they were safely inside the study. 'This has to be to do with what you are investigating, Hugo. For some reason Sir Robert and Hall failed to pass on whatever their paymasters were expecting to that damned count. Do you think they have made a bolt for it?'

'I'm beginning to suspect as much. Another thing, I believe that Miss Hall might well know more about this matter than we suppose. She didn't question the demand for a mysterious parcel and was happy to search for it without asking what it might contain.'

'That's something we must ask her, but first we must endeavour to find what is required and send it…'

His cousin stared at him as if he was speaking in tongues. 'Send it? Have you taken leave of your senses? If it's treasonous material, as we suspect, then it cannot be put into the hands of those that ask for it, even if it means the death of the boy.'

If Hugo had punched him in the face he could not have been more shocked by this reply. 'God's teeth! I'll not be party to a murder.'

'The matter is out of your hands. You are a civilian – this is a military matter and one of national security.'

'Then tell me why we are looking for this item so urgently if you don't intend to use it to ransom the boy?'

This was a hit direct. 'You're correct – I appear to be saying one thing and doing the contrary. Shall we search this room or stand about talking and wasting valuable time?'

They worked methodically looking in and under every piece of furniture to no avail. They pulled out all the books and the bookshelves and found nothing untoward behind them. Even the chairs and desks were upended and the underside carefully examined.

'This has been a fruitless exercise, Darcy. I'm beginning to suspect they took what we're looking for with them when they left London.'

The room was cold but Darcy had his riding coat on and the vigorous search had been sufficient to keep him warm. It wasn't looking hopeful for young Hall. If they didn't find the documents then it was academic as they wouldn't have anything to exchange for him.

Then he heard the girl approaching at a run and she burst into the room holding a brown paper parcel tied with string and liberally covered with red sealing wax. She waved it triumphantly above her head. 'I have it – Mama recalled him putting this in one of her hat boxes last week. Eventually she realised that I might be looking for this.'

'Does it have an address on the front?' Darcy asked immediately.

'It does, but it's not somewhere I recognise. You must set out immediately and take it to them, there's not a moment to lose.'

He exchanged a glance with his cousin. If Hugo didn't explain the circumstances then he would.

Hugo had removed the package from the girl and was examining it closely. 'Miss Hall, you don't seem surprised by this eventuality. Do you know what's in here by any chance?'

'I think I might do – I believe that my father and Sir Robert are blackmailing someone important. This package must contain whatever incriminating material they had. Now it has to be returned to its owner in exchange for my brother.'

'What makes you think so?'

'A few months ago we were struggling to pay our bills and then from nowhere there was sufficient to clear our debts and for us to come to London. I thought until tonight that my father had been lucky at the gaming tables but now I know the money came from a far worse place.'

'I shall take care of this, my dear, I suggest that you return to your bed and leave things to us. I give you my word Thomas will be home by the time you rise.'

The girl ran across and threw herself into his cousin's arms. Hugo stiffened but after a few seconds he responded by embracing her. 'I thank you, sir, for coming to our rescue. I knew I could rely on you to help. I shall do as you suggest, but I'll not go to bed but sit with my mother and offer her comfort.'

She curtsied to Darcy and then they were alone again. 'You must be as relieved as I that Miss Hall is not aware of the truth, cousin. I assume that as you have given your word you will fetch her brother home safely that you don't intend to keep these papers.'

'I've a plan that I hope will suffice. We must unpick this string, remove the contents, and replace them with other material. Then rewrap the package making sure it is identical in every way to the one I hold in my hand.'

This was not an easy undertaking, but between them they made note of exactly how the string was tied and the position of each blob of sealing wax. Hugo examined the first document. Then he began to flick through the rest of the papers.

'There's no information here of national importance, just things anyone could discover from reading the journals. We can give them these papers. I can't believe my luck – sending the original parcel means things can go ahead as planned. Sinclair and Hall will not be exposed and I still have a chance of catching the perpetrator.'

'Why would whoever it is send papers that are of little value? Surely the count will not be happy.'

'Perhaps the traitor was unable to smuggle out anything of value this time. It doesn't mean he won't obtain information that is damaging to the war effort in the future.'

They carefully rewrapped and sealed the papers.

'This looks and feels the same as it was before. It will have to do as there's no time to do any more. You will have to deliver this, Darcy, I cannot take the risk that they might recognise me as an officer.'

'I sincerely hope that you will be at my back with your weapons at the ready. I can hardly go to this rendezvous with a loaded pistol in my pocket.'

'Presumably you have a stiletto secreted in the top of your boot?'

'No I don't. I've never seen the necessity to carry one as I rarely travel alone. I must pray that whoever we are giving this package to does not have the authority to open it.'

The parcel fitted snugly into an inside pocket of his riding coat and was indiscernible once he arranged the folds about his person. He considered himself a courageous man, but he lacked the ruthlessness of a soldier and he feared this might be his undoing.

Fresh horses were waiting in the yard and this time they were to head in the opposite direction towards a less salubrious part of London. His cousin led the spare mount intended for the young man they hoped to rescue. It was now full light but the streets were more or less deserted, apart from the sprinkling of servants running errands for their masters or mistresses.

He had had no notion where the dwelling they sought was situated, but Hugo had elicited information from one of the stable lads. No doubt there would be speculation in the yard as to why they should need to visit such a place.

'We're approaching the street. We've been observed for the past ten minutes.'

Darcy swallowed the lump in his throat and straightened his shoulders. He would not show these miscreants how scared he was. Not for his own safety, although that was of some concern, but because the life of young Hall rested on his shuolders.

'I'm ready. Make sure the horses are facing in the right direction. I've not vaulted astride since I was a stripling, but I think I could manage it if my life depends on doing so.'

They clattered to a halt outside a grimy building where there were a further couple of scruffy individuals lolling about on the steps. The air was thick with soot and the smell from the gutters made him gag.

He dismounted with as much of a flourish as he could manage and strode to the front door. It opened as he arrived. He remained outside and spoke to the shadowy shape lurking in the gloom behind it.

'I have the package asked for in the letter. Mr Hall is away, and it took some time for us to locate it at his house, which is why we did not arrive earlier.' He waited for a response but there was none. 'You will have the item when the young man is free.' He removed a package from his inside pocket so they could see that he did in fact have it with him.

Why hadn't the two thugs moved up behind him and pushed him through the door? He swivelled slightly so he could see Hugo from the corner of his eye. His cousin had his pistols pointed at these men and this was holding them at bay.