‘Ye missed yer vocation, clearly,’ commented Malcolm with raised eyebrows at the speediness of their entrance.
‘I always imagined being a knight of the road,’ quipped the Duke as he stepped inside.
‘Too soft for such a profession since ye became a land lubber,’ scoffed the valet behind him. ‘Ye’d not last a pair of hours standing and delivering.’
Both men chuckled softly as they made their way between overgrown bushes that may or may not once have been orange trees. On reaching the door into the main house, they paused. Faintly they could hear Adam’s nasal tones talking down to someone. ‘Let’s hope it’s Atwood,’ murmured Nicholas as he eased open the door.
Chapter Twenty Five
‘I’m not entirely convinced old Admiral Atwood didn’t feed us a complete bag of moonshine,’ grumbled the Reverend as their carriage bowled along the road towards Northwood Court.
‘Mayhap you’re right,’ admitted Grace, ‘but could we take that chance? I was of a mind to quiz him while we travelled, but it’s a dreadful crush in here as it is with three adults and a dog. And while we sincerely hope his intentions are honourable, his past actions give no assurance of that, and goodness knows what a desperate rogue such as he will do if he’s determined to gain his freedom.’
‘I’d like to see him get away from Freddy,’ huffed her father.
‘He’s hardly likely to escape from a trunk,’ interrupted Percy disapprovingly. ‘Indeed, I’d be surprised if he’s able to walk when we set about freeing him.’
Grace sighed. ‘You are right of course Percy. Your censure is well deserved but in truth I did not know what else to do with him.’
‘It’s no more than the blackguard deserves,’ defended Augustus Shackleford, ‘and anyway, he’s got plenty of padding on top of my unmentionables. Indeed, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s dozed off already. I can’t imagine he’s had much sleep over the last few years, married to that deuced baggage. If it was me, I’d be concerned she intended to murder me in my bed.’
‘If it was you father, she undoubtedly would have,’ countered Grace drily.
‘So, what’s our plan?’ demanded Reverend Shackleford, deeming it an appropriate time to change the subject.
‘I have no idea,’ admitted Grace, shaking her head. ‘I suppose it depends on what we find when we get there. It could be that Nicholas and the others have already put an end to the whole smoky business and we discover Hope waiting for us. On the other hand…’
‘On the other hand, we might arrive to an empty house aside from two corpses,’ declared the Reverend sorrowfully.
‘Father, please,’ protested Grace. ‘Must you be so Friday faced? I have every faith in my husband. Nicholas will even now have taken charge of things. He will not allow any harm to come to Hope or Gabriel, surely you believe that?’
Augustus Shackleford sighed. ‘I want to Gracie, I really do,’ he muttered, ‘but the Almighty has already given me far more than I rightly deserve, and I fear payment may be due any moment now.’ His pessimism was so out of character that both Grace and Percy stared at him in concern.
‘Sir, I do not believe the Almighty keeps a weights and measures account of our blessings,' responded Percy earnestly. ‘It is enough to simply believe that he will aid us in this undertaking as he has on all the other occasions.
‘By the time we arrive we can hope that his grace has everything in hand. But should our assistance be required, we will do our part, confident in our Lord’s approval.’
The Reverend nodded slowly, his demeanour brightening. ‘You are right Percy. I really should listen to you more often.’ He leaned forward to pat the curate affectionately on the shoulder. ‘I sometimes forget that now and again you’re more than just a chuckleheaded windbag.’
∞∞∞
Nicholas stole towards the voices with Malcolm on his heels. The corridor they were in was wide, giving a good indication that it was in regular use. There were several doors leading off, but the two men paid them no heed, except to watch for the possibility of someone exiting one of them unexpectedly. Their intent was simply to get as close as they could to where they believed Henry Atwood to be without being spotted. Once there, they would assess the situation.
They finally came to the end of the corridor which they could see from their vantage point opened out into a large entrance hall. Nicholas risked a quick glance around the corner of their hiding place and noted that Atwood had two men flanking him. He nodded, satisfied at the odds if indeed there were no other ruffians in Henry’s pay lurking about the house.
Pulling back, he whispered his discovery to Malcolm. ‘I dinna think they’ll be his only support,’ the valet murmured. ‘There’s no sign of Hope or Gabriel so It’s safe to assume he’s got another of his cronies guarding the pair.’ The Duke nodded. ‘But if so, it’s unlikely the man will be in a position to join any fight, at least not immediately which gives us valuable time to disarm these three idiots.’
‘Aye, that’s true, but we canna risk the prisoners’ lives if the bastard decides to eliminate that threat first.’
Nicholas nodded again, thoughtfully. ‘I believe it’s a risk we’ll have to take,’ he decided at length. ‘The longer Adam keeps up the charade, the more likely that Atwood will smell a rat.’ He shook his head. ‘That said, if possible, we must refrain from using pistols. Any sound of gunfire will alert our third man which could spell disaster for Gabriel and Hope.’
Malcolm reluctantly bobbed his head in agreement and waited as the Duke risked another glimpse.
‘If you would be kind enough to step in here my lord,’ Henry was saying, I will have a fire built up immediately.’ Nicholas watched as Adam and Roan were ushered towards a room which he could tell even from his distant vantage point had not been used in months.
‘Get ready,’ he murmured over his shoulder to the Scotsman.
‘I’m not sure this is suita…’ The rest of Adam’s comment was lost as Henry Atwood shoved the Earl hard, taking him by surprise. By the time Adam recovered his balance and swung round, the door had been slammed in his face.
