Ben shook his head. ‘Now there you are wrong,’ he argued, seeming to relax slightly. ‘In a situation such as this we are much less likely to be overheard or even taken note of.’ He waved his hand surreptitiously around proving to Gabriel that any interest shown in the Viscount had entirely waned when it was obvious to the matchmaking mothers present that he had no intention of being accosted.
‘I wish you to return to Spain,’ the Admiral declared suddenly. His voice was low and intense while his gaze continued to peruse their surrounding guests. Gabriel glanced up in surprise as he’d returned only a month earlier.
‘You will sail on the morning tide a week hence aboard the Seahorse which will take you to Cadiz…’ The Admiral paused and at last looked down at Gabriel before he continued. ‘You must be in the city before the new year. Your orders will be waiting for you in your cabin.’ Unusually Gabriel noticed a bead of sweat dotted across his uncle’s brow. ‘Is the Captain of The Seahorse aware of my mission?’ the Viscount asked with a frown.
The Admiral looked away again, smiling and inclining his head towards an attractive widow as she passed, eying him coquettishly. He waited until she was out of earshot before answering. ‘Her Captain is Henry.’ The older man’s level tone of voice gave no indication of the lightning bolt he’d just delivered.
The last time Gabriel had seen Henry Atwood his cousin had been pointing a gun at him.
Chapter Three
The snow continued to fall, already beginning to coat the ground in a thick white blanket and making it almost impossible to see anything beyond a few feet of the carriage.
The four human occupants sat motionless, listening for the tell-tale sound of hooves.
‘I can’t hear a deuced thing,’ declared the Reverend after a few seconds. ‘I think you’ve been reading too many of Agnes’s periodicals Percy.’
Gabriel twisted in his seat and strived to see through the curtain of white outlined in the small window. As yet there didn’t appear to be any signs of any pursuit - equestrian or otherwise. ‘Is this road well used?’ he asked.
The Reverend frowned. ‘It’s not the main route to Salisbury but it has its fair share of vehicles. Farmers mostly I suppose.’
Gabriel continued to stare through the window. ‘I should tell you that Percy’s hearing is probably better than any of us.’ He glanced back at Hope’s low-voiced comment. It was obvious from her tone that she feared the worst. He made a decision. Pushing himself up from his seat next to the curate, he steadied himself by pressing his hand against the roof of the swaying coach.
‘I’m going to join the coachman on the box,’ he stated flatly. ‘If there are any other travellers in the vicinity, I want to be ready for them.’ Putting his hand inside the front of his breeches, he pulled out a pistol causing Hope to gasp and shrink away.
‘Thunder an’ turf,’ growled the Reverend, ‘what the devil are you doing with that monstrosity? It’s a wonder you haven’t shot off your ballocks. Put the blasted thing away. If anyone’s catching us up, they have as much right to the deuced road as we do.’
‘If they wish us no harm, then none will come to them in return,' Gabriel replied coldly. ‘Believe me, I have no wish to shed blood on the Lord’s birthday.’
And with that, he tucked the weapon back into his waistband and pushed open the door, grabbing hold of the railing decorating the edge of the carriage roof to lever himself up. White flakes swirled through the open door, bringing winter into the stuffy warmth of the coach. The only one who appeared to enjoy the sudden frigid influx of snow was Freddy, who lifted his muzzle to woof in excitement.
Cursing, the Reverend climbed to his feet with the intention of pulling the door shut but Percy beat him to it. In an uncharacteristically daring manoeuvre, the curate held on to the door frame with one hand and leaned out to grab the handle. Unfortunately, his intrepid deed didn’t quite go according to plan as Gabriel, now firmly established next to a bewildered coach driver, leaned over the side of the carriage at the same time to slam the door shut, causing Percy to go down like a sack of potatoes.
Hope yelped as the small man landed in her lap, following it with a most unladylike curse as she shoved him off. ‘Deuced men,’ she muttered, turning to the curate who was now squashed in a daze between her and her father.
‘Percy,’ yelled the Reverend in a panic, ‘can you hear me?’
‘I should think the whole of Somerset can hear you father,’ commented Hope waspishly. ‘I think it might be better if we give him some space.’
‘Splendid idea,’ responded the Reverend without moving. After waiting a few seconds, Hope sighed and got to her feet, intending to shuffle into the seat opposite. Just as she was about to subside next to a delighted Freddy, she finally spied through the small rear window what looked like moving shadows behind them. Her heart thundered in her chest. Not for one second did she believe the shapes to be harmless travellers. As the figures gradually materialised through the veil of snow, she could see there were approximately four people, and all were riding low over their mounts with the clear intention of catching up with the carriage.
Unhappily, Percy chose precisely that moment to cast up his account.
One year earlier
Despite his concerns over his cousin’s previously murderous intentions, Gabriel presented himself at Portsmouth Harbour on the appointed day and time. The weather was cold, grey and blustery causing him no little concern at the prospect of seasickness once they were out at sea. There was no sign of Henry as he was quickly hurried aboard the skiff ready and waiting to receive him, and as he huddled inside the small cockpit, he couldn’t help but reflect on his uncle’s less than detailed instructions.
Under normal circumstances, Gabriel would be briefed extensively before being sent off to risk his life, but on this occasion, he recognised the Admiral was being deliberately obtuse. Whether that had anything to do with his son, or the sensitivity of the mission, Gabriel had no idea. He’d been informed that his orders would be waiting for him. Was Henry aware of what they contained? He shook his head, frustrated at the lack of answers and stared towards the looming thirty-eight-gun frigate rolling lazily at anchor outside the harbour. As he understood it, HMS Seahorse was his cousin’s first command.
Their dual not long after Gabriel had inherited had been hushed up, especially the part where Henry had turned to shoot before the required number of paces had been taken. The only saving grace was that the debacle had taken place far away from the gossip mongers in town. The whole farce certainly hadn’t been on Gabriel’s instigation. Indeed, he’d done his very best to talk Henry out of it - as had the man’s seconds. Notwithstanding the fact that duelling was against the law, the female Henry was fighting over was a local chit who certainly had no reputation worth salvaging. Indeed, she’d washed her hands of the whole affair. Gabriel had had no idea that Henry had set his sights on his cousin’s light-skirt. If the idiot had simply enlightened him, the whole unsavoury business would never have taken place.
Fortunately, Henry Atwood was a terrible shot - a fact that may have contributed towards his enrolment in the Royal Navy rather than the Army. Despite his cheating, he missed Gabriel by a mile. Naturally afterwards he had argued that his failure to hit his intended target had been intentional, but as Henry had been swiftly bundled away by his father and the whole sordid escapade quickly buried, Gabriel had not had the opportunity to actually speak with the numbskull. Instead, since then he’d done his damnedest to avoid his cousin entirely on the off chance that Henry decided to have another go.
And now, here he was at the mercy of the man he last saw looking at him down the barrel of a pistol.
Clearly the Admiral had wanted to believe his son’s version of events. Indeed, up until the Albany Ball, they had not spoken of the contretemps at all. Gabriel was aware that his uncle had coerced Henry into joining the Navy, ensuring his son remained at sea until the whole possibility of the scandal getting out had been entirely put to bed. While Henry appeared to stay out of trouble, Gabriel had heard nothing about his promotion to Captain. However, perhaps that was unsurprising given that the Viscount rarely ventured far from his estate unless it was to undertake another mission.
Gabriel’s musings were cut short as they arrived at the Port side of HMS Seahorse and his attention focused on climbing the swinging ladder without either bashing his brains out on the hull or falling ignominiously into the crashing waves beneath him. He couldn’t help but reflect as he finally found himself on the heaving deck, that his sea legs were not returning quite as quickly since he’d resigned his commission four years earlier.
