“It seems to have escalated then?” Christopher asked, already knowing the answer. Until this point the disturbances had been modest in comparison; a few stolen chickens or pigs, vandalized and broken farm equipment, but nothing more dangerous. Each time the culprit or culprits had eluded getting caught.
After riding some time in silence, Graham postulated, “It is possible the fire is an accident, but I am doubtful, given the course of the last week and a half.”
Needing no further explanation, the two men continued on horseback until they could see a thin thread of smoke behind a copse of trees. As they approached, they could smell the acrid smoke and a faint smell of pitch. Passing under a large oak tree and onto a well-worn trail, used for carts and small foot traffic, both men could see the barn just ahead. Neither Graham nor Christopher could see the flames, just billowing smoke. A few people could be seen throwing buckets of water on what they assumed was the last of the flames or burning embers.
Christopher and Graham brought their horses to a halt right in front of the barn, quickly tethering them to a nearby fence that seemed untouched by the fire.
One of the men, who had been putting out the fire, came out of the barn’s large bay doors and mopped his brow with a soiled handkerchief, catching sight of the approaching gentlemen. The man was short in stature and wore what looked to be well-tended clothes, including a white shirt loose around the neck, and brown trousers held up by suspenders. The man looked a bit beleaguered and sooty from the fire, but his face lit up when he approached Graham and Christopher.
“Ho there, your grace! We appreciate the help, but I think we have the fire well in hand,” came the man’s quick greeting and explanation, all with a happy tone, considering the circumstances.
“Tobias, that is good to hear. I am thankful that the fire was caught early,” Graham proclaimed, as he clasped the man’s hand in friendship. “May I present my friend, the Marquess of Rochester.”
“An honor, sir,” Tobias acknowledged Christopher, and each man bowed his head in respect and greeting.
Graham took a moment to survey the scene, allowing Tobias to lead him through the barn to get a full picture of the damage. Nothing was as extensive as Graham had expected, given the report from Mr. Locke. He had thought to find the barn in tatters, but from what he could see, minimal damage had been done to the boards on the outer wall, with no structural damage. The animals had been evacuated easily into the attached run-out, and the equipment was thankfully stored on the far side of the barn.
“From what my steward said, the barn was burning to the ground.” Graham addressed Tobias, who was also looking over the damage, mentally taking note of the repairs that would be required.
“No, we caught the fire early and were able to take advantage of the nearby water pump to put out the flames quickly. To be honest, I am not completely sure how you heard of it so quickly. I was so distracted by the fire that I had forgotten to send a messenger until just now.” Tobias scrunched his brow.
Graham was about to inquire further when one of the men who had been helping Tobias ran around one of the stalls. “Father! You have to come and see this,” exclaimed the young man.
As they all came around the stall door, it became clear what had caused the fire. In the middle of a pile of hay lay a glob of black, easily discerned as tar, and certainly the source of the fire. The edges of the sizable blob were still smoking but the hay surrounding was soaked, due to the recent firefighting activities.
“Well, at least we can confirm it was no accident,” Christopher stated plainly, having remained mute until that moment.
The young man who had made the discovery looked obliquely at the two well-dressed gentlemen. “I already knew that, sirs. I saw two figures run from the barn and smelled the smoke shortly thereafter. I had been wheeling a cart of grain and was too far away to see them well, but it appeared to be a man and a woman. I quickly sent my little brother for help and set about putting the fire out myself.”
Graham and Christopher exchanged glances. “Could you describe the two you saw?” Graham asked.
“I was pretty far down the trail when they ran out, and once I smelled the smoke they were long gone on their horses. I would have run after them, your grace, had I known.”
“No way to have known what they were up to, um, sorry, I do not think I caught your name?” Graham responded.
“Henry, your grace. I am Tobias’s son, and my little brother is Jacob. He ran quickly for help, so really I think we have him to thank.”
“It sounds like there are many people to thank. I appreciate your efforts,” Graham smiled warmly in thanks to both men.
“That, and a bit of luck,” stated Tobias, almost half to himself. Everyone in the group seemed to take a moment to consider what could have been the outcome had Henry not been close by to tend the fire quickly after it started. The only salvation was that there was still work to do to see the barn safely into the night, so there could be little time to dwell.
Tobias and Henry once again joined the group of people working to clear out and replace the charred hay, mumbling their goodbyes to the duke and marquess. Christopher and Graham then made their way out of the barn and approached their horses, stopping to thank other tenants who had dropped their day’s tasks to help put out the fire.
“It is unfortunate that we have no better description than a man and a woman on horseback,” Christopher lamented.
“Well, we at least know something. I always thought it unlikely that it was a collection of unrelated events that caused my tenants to panic, but now I can be sure there is something more nefarious afoot. And this mystery couple is to blame for all of it.”
“Let us just hope the barn burning is all they get up to today,” Christopher murmured almost to himself, as he followed his friend back to the manse.
Across the estate, nearer to the orchards, Alaina gingerly picked her way across a trail that looked almost abandoned, with overgrown vegetation and rocks littering the rut between two lines of trees. It was obvious that at some point this had been a main thoroughfare for surveying the grounds and moving goods, but it had since fallen into disrepair through lack of use. It was unfortunate they had not chosen whatever path had obviously replaced this one, for it was causing her to be quite slow in her progress.
The tour of the grounds had started out normally enough, but even before they were out of sight of the main house, Georgiana’s horse had slipped a shoe. She returned to the house, vowing to return as quickly as she could with a new horse, directing Alaina and Evelina toward the path they were currently traversing. Evelina had been itching for a full gallop across the fields she had seen through her windows the past few days, so she quickly bounded ahead of Alaina on the trail, cresting the small hill just ahead, taunting Alaina to “keep up!”
Alaina now found herself alone in the woods, which was peaceful aside from the treacherous nature of the trail ahead of her, coupled with her normal trepidations on horseback. As she was guiding her horse around yet another large stone on the path and looking ahead to a thorny bit of overgrowth, Alaina heard a crackle of branches. She stopped her horse and looked through the trees, straining to see what or who was there. Alaina half-expected some woodland creature to skitter across her path, but she could not shake the nagging feeling that she was not alone. Hoping it was her sister, she called out.
“Evelina? Is that you? You know how I dislike being frightened, especially on a horse,” Alaina attempted to sound calm.
There was no answer and no further sounds from the woods, but the eerie quiet was almost more unsettling. As Alaina looked around, hoping to see something, she felt a prickling on her neck, and her heart began to beat faster.
