Ash returned to the main thoroughfare and turned left and rode for several miles, but no one he asked had sighted the coach, so he turned back. He was forced to return to Meadows. His grandfather had staff searching the estate and questioning villagers. Ash worried about him; the strain was immense on his weak heart. As he turned his horse’s head, he gave serious thought to where Farnborough might be. Had the fiend returned to London?
Chapter Seventeen
Where were theytaking them? Exhausted and frightened, Thea sank back against the squab, a tear escaping to run down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly. Now was not the time to give in to self-pity. She glanced at Julia lying back beside her with her eyes closed. She must remain strong for the girl.
Had Ash arrived back from London? If she died, he would never know she loved him. She now deeply regretted what had happened in the gallery. The sense of belonging which she’d found so precious vanished the moment she’d said those words. She had expected Ash to be relieved, to agree with her, but he had not. Instead, he’d been cold and angry. He was sorry for his grandfather, but was there more? Had she hurt him? Might he have developed feelings for her? Thea would never know.
She didn’t believe for a moment that Bertram would return them safely to Meadows once the earl promised them payment. When their voices floated down from the box, she’d heard them speak of bolting to Ireland. She clung to the hope that Bertram had planned to kill them at the lodge and then either couldn’t carry it out or changed his mind. When he’d sat watching them on the leather chairs, she’d sensed his reluctance. Did he find murdering two girls in cold blood too repugnant? Or did he consider it best to keep his options open?
Julia stirred. “Let me see if I can undo the knot,” she whispered.
While Thea kept an eye on the panel in the ceiling, Julia worked at the twine, but the knot was stubborn.
It loosened, but before it unraveled, the coach stopped again. They looked out the window at a small farmhouse where chickens pecked about in the dirt.
The door opened. “Out you get.” Bertram put down the steps.
Thea went first. “Where are we? Who lives here?” She stumbled and, as he hauled her to her feet, Julia followed.
He gave them both a shove. “Full of questions, aren’t you? Inside, before you’re seen.”
She deliberated screaming for help, but he second-guessed her. “Cry out, and we’ll have to dispatch the two of you. Now wouldn’t that be a shame?”
Inside, the house was kept neat as a pin, and the smell of something tasty cooking filled the air. Thea’s stomach rumbled. With a heavy hand on their shoulders, Bertram forced them to sit at a small table. The door opened, and a woman came in carrying a basket of eggs.
“Bert? What are ye doing here?” The pink-cheeked country woman stared at Thea and Julia, taking in their expensive habits and boots. “Why are they tied up?”
“Sis. I need your help.” Bertram took her arm and led her outside.
Minutes later, she came back in grim-faced. “I don’t like it, Bert.”
“But you’ll do it for me.”
“You’ll get into worse trouble, you fool. But I’ll take care of them.”
“You’re a brick, Maggie.” He handed her a pistol. “We’ll be back as soon as we’ve got word to the earl.”
She took the gun with a look of distaste. “You’d better make it fast.”
After the men had left, Maggie studied them. “You be quiet now. He’s going to send you home when he has the money.”
“How is he going to manage that?” Thea asked her.
“He knows someone. They will handle it for him.”
“Do you really believe he’ll free us?” Thea asked.
Maggie bristled. “Bert isn’t a killer.”
“How can you be sure. He’s mixed up with Lord Farnborough. And he wants us dead.”
Maggie’s eyes widened.
“Where did he meet Farnborough?” Thea asked.
“In some tavern. He and Fred needed to get out of London fast after a robbery had gone wrong. But Bert’s killed no one.”
“Then why did he take the job?” Julia asked.
