“Well I can at least take the worry of Bourne House off of your mind. I brought my own staff to add to my aunt’s men here,” replied the viscount. “Now what about Darcy?”
“I cannot find that he has been involved in any way,” answered Richard. “The only connection to Darcy in all of this is that Wickham is involved. It was Wickham who spooked Father’s horse, and if he could have come close enough to the manor after, his plan was to burn you all in your beds.”
“That damned devil,” growled Ashley. “Remind me again why haven’t you killed him yet?”
“I assure you, brother, the very next time I see him, no matter what the circumstance is, I intend to do it directly. I do not even care if I swing for it by this point.”
“I am certain you can be more stealthy than that, brother, but let us not shock the ladies,” Ashley drawled. “My you have grown up, little cousin. This might be the first adult discussion I have seen you admitted to.” he tweaked Georgiana’s nose affectionately.
“I will not be excluded when my brother is missing!” said Georgiana firmly.
“Nor should you be,” smiled Ashley. “Richard, what else?”
“It is possible that it is smuggling, but if it is, it must be something big, for I have never encountered so much intrigue around a smuggling operation,” said Richard. “That makes the most sense considering the debts of the men who are involved. When you are socialising, you must not doubt for a moment that Lord Amesbury is involved. Even the local colonel. In the absence of support from London, I was not even able to seek the aid of the local regiment, for Colonel Allen has been seen meeting with an agent that I suspect has French connections, and he has no less than ten of his officers following the occupants of this house. I heard with my own ears, the colonel wishing to the agent that he would have preferred it if ourfather had been removed from office before whatever this is takes place. In addition, just before Darcy went missing, Anne somehow inadvertently said something that made Swinton believe that the ladies here know what they are up to. Then they began watching every occupant in this house, not just Darcy and Aunt Catherine.”
“What about thiscomtefellow?” asked Ashley. “I do not think his appearance here can be a coincidence.”
“He is impossible to follow, he disappears like mist.” Richard shook his head. “I know where he resides, and when he leaves his home openly, it is to do nothing other than innocuous visits about the village. Therehavebeen a few times when he left this house, or when he has gone out for an early morning walk, that I have not been able to keep a tail on him, but I have yet to see him in any unsavoury activity.”
“I see what you mean about something big,” said Ashley. “I brought Croucher, as you requested.”
Croucher was a man who worked for Lord Matlock. None in the family knew his origins, or how Lord Matlock had come to find the man, but he could blend into any situation or society, with the right garments. Richard carried himself with too much nobility, and too much military precision to be trusted in the pubs where those who knew about the local smuggling rings congregated. Croucher not only had the ability to fit into any situation, he had the skill of making himself trusted immediately by even the most careful men. He would be sent out the following day to question the local men who would not admit to knowing anything to the authorities.
“I do wonder one thing, though,” Georgiana said in a small voice, then faltered self-consciously.
“What is that, dear?” asked Ashley. “Do not be shy, cousin. If you have thought of something, it could be important.”
“Richard just reminded me of something,” Georgiana said. “Do you recall precisely what it was that Anne said that made Lord Lennox drop his cup?”
Richard narrowed his eyes, and said, “Why do we need so much protection? Are you expecting an invasion of the French?”
Ashley matched his brother's expression. “An invasion?”
Richard shook his head. “Completely improbable, brother. The French are spread so thin, causing trouble with us in America, and it is without doubt that they will shortly invade Russia. They would not attack our soil unless they had a mighty army, and their army is everywhere else.”
“What if that is what the French want us to think?” asked Georgiana. “I was treated to a tour of the Martello Tower with Lizzy, Lydia, and Aunt Catherine by the East Sussex Volunteer Corps. There is hardly a militia present, only a small regiment, but the tower is barely manned by the officers. They live in their camp. The tower is mostly used by the Volunteer Corps. There is a man who heads them, Mr Buckle. He says they use it as a headquarters for investigating smuggling.”
“Youhave been inside the tower?” Richard asked, feeling all of the irony of obtaining the information he needed about his own army’s tower in this manner. “What is it like?”
“Mostly empty,” said Georgiana. “There are some offices, and storage, and an area they use for meetings. I am certain there were areas they did not show us. But there were not many people, the corps being a volunteer endeavour. I saw only a few soldiers during my visit, but I do not know how typical of a day it was.”
“Do you know if the beacon is still laid at the top?” Richard asked, eagerly.
“It is!” Georgiana answered excitedly. “That was the most interesting part of the tour! Did you know that when the beaconsare lit, they can be seen by another tower miles down the coast in both directions? If an invasion were to occur, and the beacon was lit, they would light all of the beacons for miles and miles, informing the entire southern coast in minutes! The view out over the sea was spectacular!”
“Do you think that an invasion is likely, with so many officers of the regiment involved, Brother?” asked Ashley.
“It is entirely probable that the officers in question have no idea why they are following the occupants of this house,” admitted Richard. “Senior officers do not have a habit of explaining themselves to their men. Men are given orders, and orders are followed without question. And there are a great many officers who would turn a blind eye to smuggling, particularly if their colonel seemed inclined to. Officers are usually younger brothers, often out of pocket, more in tune with the common man, and many would feel sympathy with Englishmen feeding their families by such measures, particularly those who hail from these southern coastal towns.”
“What shall you do?” demanded his aunt.
“I sent word to my own general days ago,” said Richard. “He was instructed by headquarters to relieve me of duty so that I might leave my regiment and take on this task. But the agreed upon channels of communication have proven to be inconsistent. General Vane will hopefully send a unit of dragoons to take up camp somewhere close by if I need them, and to help with following the agents, I am certain of it.
“I will also send word to a naval friend I have, who is docked in Brighton with his vessel, along with at least several others, whom I also know well. I am going to send a rider to him, asking him to have his friends come and hide in the nearby waters. For a short while at least, until we know more. French frigates are smaller, and carry perhaps half as many men as Wentworth’s third rate. If there were enemies in the waters, a few of ourvessels who know our own coast well should rout them easily if they came too close.”
Eastbourne,
Sussex
