All of a sudden, the carriage stopped, the door opened and out sprang a dog, quickly disappearing into the undergrowthat the side of the road. The animal was followed immediately afterwards by a young woman. After staggering down from the carriage, she leaned against it and began taking deep shuddering breaths, clearly in distress. Concerned, Jago made his way towards the stationary vehicle, just as an older man began climbing down the steps.
‘Might I be of assistance?’ he enquired in a loud voice. Startled, the woman turned towards him, and in the paltry light of the carriage lamp, he could see that she was young but very little else. ‘Don’t come any closer,’ she shouted in a frantic voice.
‘You have no cause for concern, my lady,’ Jago responded, stopping as she requested. ‘I was merely returning to my lodgings and saw you descend from your carriage. Your demeanour indicated some discomfort, and I was …’ He stopped as the ghastliest smell suddenly reached his nose. Instinctively, he held the back of his hand up against his face. What the devil? Did they have a dead body inside the carriage?
‘The deuced dog ate some carrion we think,’ clarified the man who he could now see was a man of the cloth. ‘I’m not sure we’ll ever get the stink out. Nicholas is not going to be happy.’
Jago turned his head to where he’d seen the dog vanish. There was no sign of the hound.
‘We’ll have to look for him, Father,’ the female declared. ‘I just hope he manages to purge whatever he’s eaten out of his system.’
‘It’s my experience that animals are a lot more proficient in ridding themselves of poison than humans,’ offered Jago solicitously. The woman turned towards him, her face registering surprise that he was still here.
Unaccountably irked that she had so quickly forgotten his presence, he added, ‘Would you like my assistance to look for him?’
They both spoke at the same time.
‘That will not be…’
‘That would be very…’
Halting, the father and daughter stared at each other. ‘Well I’m too old to be crawling around in deuced bushes,’ the man muttered.
‘We don’t know who he is,’ insisted the woman in a loud whisper he could hear perfectly well. ‘He could be intending to murder us … or worse...’
Shaking his head, Jago fought the urge to simply walk away. He was tired, and narrowly escaping death had left him not a little tetchy.
‘Madam,’ he snapped, ‘if I’d had nefarious designs on your person, I would not be wasting time in polite conversation.’
‘D’ye reckon we can get a bloody move on, I’m freezing me ballocks off up ‘ere.’
Jago looked up incredulously at the coachman, unsure he’d actually heard him correctly. But before he had the chance to reprimand the man’s use of such foul language in front of gentle ears, the woman looked up andapologised. ‘Forgive me, John, I forgot you’ve done the whole of the journey outside. I will endeavour to find Freddy as quickly as possible.’
‘At least he didn’t have to risk death by pestilential vapours,’ muttered the clergyman behind her.
Ignoring her father, the lady turned towards Jago. ‘If you still find yourself able to assist in looking for Freddy, your help will be most welcome.’ She gave an uncertain pause. ‘My name is Charity Shackleford, and this is my father, the Reverend Augustus Shackleford. We are most grateful to you, sir.’
Jago raised his eyebrows.Shackleford. He’d heard that name somewhere before. He shrugged and dismissed the notion. ‘Jago… Cardell at your service my lady.’ He gave a slight bow hoping they hadn’t noticed his infinitesimal pause before giving his family name. He could not risk being unmasked after so long. He looked up at the coachman. ‘If you would allow me the use of one of the lamps, I believe we will have much more success in finding the hound.’
The coachman sighed, and unhooked the lamp nearest to them, then leaning down, placed it in Jago’s reaching hand.
‘Father, I suggest you get out of the cold and retire to the carriage. Hopefully, the smell will be a little sweeter by now.’
The Reverend hesitated, clearly uncertain as to whether he was placing his daughter in the hands of a knave.
‘For goodness’ sake, Father,’ she snapped, observing his indecision, ‘now is not the time to suddenly turn strait-laced. We are in a hobble. And the longer we stand around arguing, the longer it’s going to take us to find Freddy.’
The Reverend huffed, muttering, ‘You’ve changed your tune girl. Well don’t you be taken in by his deuced pretty face.’ Nevertheless, he turned and began climbing back into the carriage.
‘Shall we, madam?’ Jago murmured, ignoring the pinkness of her cheeks highlighted in the lamplight. Her father’s words nodoubt. She said nothing, simply pursed her lips, picked up her skirts and marched towards the shadowy copse into which the hound had disappeared.
‘Freddy,’ she called softly. ‘Come here, boy.’ Walking behind her, Jason held the lamp high, casting as much light around them as possible. He did not shout, fearing a strange voice might cause the dog to run. After about five minutes, when there was still no sign of the hound, her voice took an anxious turn.
‘Might I make a suggestion, Miss Shackleford,’ he said at length. Clearly startled at the sudden sound of his voice, she turned quickly and abruptly lost her balance. With a gasp, she fell towards him, her arms pinwheeling in an effort to remain upright. Hampered by concern for the oil lamp in his hand, Jago reached out awkwardly with his free arm to slow her fall. Unfortunately, the only part of her person his hand connected with was her bosom. He just had time to register the enticing feel of her curves, when she drew back her hand and gave him a resounding slap on the face. With an oath, he pulled his hand back and with a small shriek she continued her fall, twisting at the last minute and succeeding in head butting his nose. With a pained grunt, Jago fell backwards, landing on his arse with Charity Shackleford seated in his lap. Seconds later, the lamp went out.
There was a frozen silence. Absurdly, Jago felt parts of him that hadn’t seen light in months begin to stir at the feeling of her backside against his crotch, until the sting of his cheek and the pain in his nose brought him crashing back down to earth. It was pitch black, and he felt his burden begin to tremble. Swearing internally, he opened his mouth to ask if she was hurt when he abruptly realised she waslaughing.But before he had time to process such an unexpected development, a sudden crashingin the undergrowth signalled the arrival of something large. Seconds later, they were set upon by a large furry beast. It was Freddy. Clearly none the worse from his culinary adventures.
∞∞∞
