A Highwayman Came Riding (13 page)

“A gentleman usually changes into evening clothes after the sun sets, Macheath,” the duchess said. Fascination with a gentleman never had the effect of lowering her social standards.

“I thought you would want to know about your diamonds as soon as possible, Your Grace,” he replied.

Marianne knew he had not recovered them. When he turned his glance to her, there was no sparkle in his eyes, no mischievous grin. But as the glance lengthened to a gaze, his expression did soften to something like pleasure.

“Well, where are they?” Her Grace demanded. “Hand them over.”

“I don’t have them.”

The noble spine stiffened. A haughty sneer settled on the duchess’s aged countenance. “I see. You have chosen to throw your lot in with the other thieves. Just what one might expect. Send for the constable, Marianne.”

“Yes, do—if you never want to see the necklace again,” Macheath said, unfazed.

The duchess squinted her rheumy eyes at him. “What does that mean, if anything?”

“I have instituted a plan to recover it. McGinty has a fellow he works with, his name’s La Rue. He is the brains of the pair. Mind you, La Rue is no genius, either. I am convinced he has the necklace. I’ve searched his cottage. It’s not there, nor is he. He’s run to ground. The fence from London will be here on the weekend. It saves us taking our wares to London,” he explained. “That’s when La Rue will hand over the sparklers for a quarter or less of their worth.”

“But they’re worth five thousand! You can’t expect me to pay a quarter of their value to get back my own necklace.”

“That is not what I’m suggesting.”

“If you mean to steal them when the fence comes, it will be too late,” the duchess said. “I want them for the wedding. I want them now.”

“That was my first plan. I have another one, if you aren’t willing to wait. Unfortunately, there might be a little danger in it for you.”

“I care nothing for that. Let us hear it.”

“La Rue got your diamonds. They were sitting in plain sight.” The duchess glared at Marianne. “Seeing such a treasure, he may have just grabbed them and run. The room did not appear to have been searched. We might convince him you are carrying other valuables. If we could lure him back again, I would be waiting in your room to catch him. Then we threaten to call Bow Street if he doesn’t return the diamonds. He’ll agree to it.”

The duchess didn’t hesitate a minute. “Done!” she said. “And Marianne and I will be here to help you.”

“That will not be necessary, Your Grace. I can handle La Rue. When I said you might be in danger, I meant you would be next door, possibly exposed to some minimal risk due to a flying bullet. Though actually there is no reason you must remain in that room. You could use mine.”

“I’m sure you are as brave as a pride of lions, Macheath, but even a trained soldier might be overborne by chance. You will certainly require some backup. We shall be right here, in this room, to give a hand if necessary.”

“Miguel can help me.”

“You are very anxious to be alone with La Rue and my diamonds,” she said, instantly suspicious. “I only know what you choose to tell me. For all I know, you may have recovered my necklace already and are now devising this scheme to lay the blame on La Rue. What is to prevent you from shooting him and going off scot-free with my diamonds?”

His face stiffened in fury. His nostrils flared and his eyes glittered dangerously. He took two deep breaths to rein his temper before replying. “I am flattered at your assessment of my character, ma’am. If you wish to be here and risk dying of heart attack, then by all means stay.”

“I shall,” she said. “Are you sure you can trust this Rooney fellow? He sounds like an Irishman.”

“He is. What of it?” She did not reply to this taunt. “Rooney has helped me out in a spot before. He’ll see La Rue gets the word you are traveling with other valuables. He has no fondness for La Rue.”

“La Rue might smell a trap,” the duchess objected. “You have called on me half a dozen times. He knows you and I are friends.”

“Then he knows more than I do!”

“He knows there is some association between us, was my meaning. Odd you should buck at a chance for friendship with a duchess. No doubt you would be happier if I were a light-skirt.”

Macheath’s lips twitched in amusement. “We have different ideas of friendship, Your Grace. As to La Rue suspecting I am involved, I shall make a showy departure for London before nightfall and slip back into the inn after dark to join you here. I would prefer to wait until the fence comes, but as you are so eager—”

“We’ll do it tonight. Now run along and get the plan started.”

“I am on my way.” He cast a resigned glance at Marianne and bowed to the ladies.

“The captain should eat first. He must be hungry, Your Grace,” Marianne said.

“Aye, and dirty as well. A gentleman never calls on a lady in such a disgusting state. Wash up before you eat, mind. And don’t keep us up too late, Captain. We are leaving early in the morning. You will accompany us to London, of course, to prevent any further disasters.”

Macheath stared at her in disbelief. “I have other plans for tomorrow.”

“How are we to make sure the diamonds are safe, if we don’t have an escort?”

“You should have thought of that before you left Bath.”

“Well, upon my word! There is gratitude for you. When I perjured myself to Officer Bruce, Captain, it was understood you would see me safely to Grosvenor Square.”

“It was not understood by me.”

“It is up to you. It is not too late to report the matter now. Your posing as my nephew will not deter me. I had not seen Fitz-Matthew for aeons. I did not recognize at first that you were an impostor. Run down and ask Rooney to send the constable around, Marianne.”

Marianne peered up at Macheath. The look they exchanged was not far from conspiratorial. They both knew the duchess was bluffing. His angry brow softened. “Perhaps if you ask me very nicely, I shall accompany you to London, Your Grace,” he said, but it was at Marianne that he gazed.

The duchess reached out and jiggled his arm until he looked at her. “I won’t have you flirting with Marianne. She is a simple country gel who would only go imagining she is in love with you. And besides, she hasn’t a penny of dowry. You shan’t sit in our carriage. You must ride your mount along beside it. When the other thieves see we are accompanied by you, they will leave us alone. But keep your pistol charged, just in case.”

“What time are we leaving?” he asked.

“Early. I want to be off at first light. We shall meet belowstairs at eight-thirty. Hire us a private parlor. Now when we get to London, Macheath, I want you to call on Lord Philmont, at Whitehall. He is my nephew. I shall give you a letter of introduction and a character reference. He will put you onto some honest work. If you can keep your fingers out of other people’s pockets, I daresay you will get on. You have a decent jacket, and some address. Presentable bachelors are always at a premium in London. With luck, you might even nab some undemanding cit’s daughter with a few thousand dowry. I shall have a look about for one while I am there.”

“You are too kind, ma’am,” he said, in a voice that suggested she was an interfering old fool.

“That is quite all right,” she said, unoffended. It was beyond her comprehension that anyone could make fun of her. She was the Duchess of Bixley.

“I won’t have you carrying on with low company until after you are married. Serving wenches won’t do your career any good. Do you have any politics at all? No, I thought not,” she said, before he could reply. “You are a Tory. The Tories have all the perquisites these days, since Prinny has changed his coat.”

“I am a Whig,” he said. He bowed, winked at Marianne, and left.

“Come right back and tell us what La Rue says!” Her Grace hollered after him. When he was gone, she turned to Marianne. “I like a spunky fellow. He will do fine with Philmont. I shouldn’t be surprised to see him made a minister of something-or-other before he is through, if they don’t hang him first. Of course we will have to find him a seat in Parliament. Eugenie’s husband has a couple in his giving. Get my brush, Marianne. My hair is all tumbling about my ears. You might want to do something to your own toilette as well. And wipe that smirk off your face. You look like a simpleton.”

Marianne removed the duchess’s cap and arranged her coiffure before going to her own room. She closed the door behind her, to allow privacy. She had been with the duchess all day and felt the need of solitude. Her mirror told her she was “in looks.” The glow in her eyes and the flush on her cheeks were becoming to her. She didn’t think Macheath thought she looked like a simpleton.

How wonderful it would be if the duchess really could reclaim him and find him a position in London. London! Would she be living there one day? After he was established, would Macheath come and claim her? “You have stolen my heart.” That was what he was going to say, but pride prevented him. And he had stolen hers.

She tidied her hair and picked up her manicure scissors to cut a fingernail that had cracked during her scramble out of the carriage yesterday and had been catching on her clothes. The one shorter nail ruined the symmetry of her hands. She took up a nail file to smooth the rough edges.

She was interrupted by a light tap at the door and slid the file into her pocket. She opened the door to find Macheath in the corridor. “Are you alone?” he asked in a low voice.

“Yes. Come in.”

He entered and began pacing the small room. “I am a little concerned about the duchess’s heart,” he said. “Do you think it is up to the excitement of the plan I suggested? She is old, frail. I never intended for her to be in the same room with La Rue.”

“I am concerned,” she said at once. “I’ll try to talk her into staying in this room.”

“With the door bolted.”

“No, she won’t stand for that. She doesn’t really suspect you of those horrid things she said, you know. She just likes annoying people and knowing what is going on. She will be poking her head in to see what is happening every minute. Unless ...” She looked at him, reluctant to say what she had in mind. It seemed a betrayal of her mistress’s trust to suggest it.

“Right. I’ll order her a bottle of brandy. Make sure she doesn’t make herself sick with it again. With luck, she’ll doze off before La Rue comes.”

“That was what I had in mind,” she admitted, rather sheepishly.

“How do you put up with the harridan? I had thought Spain was bad. It was a holiday compared to being with her.”

“Why do
you
stay with her? You have had a dozen chances to leave.”

He gave her a gently chiding look that sent the blood pounding through her veins. “Why do you think I stay, Marianne?” he asked softly and took her two hands in his.

“You—you had better go, John.”

“I’m on my way, love.” He placed a fleeting kiss on her lips and walked quickly out the door.

Marianne stood motionless a moment, enjoying the tingle on her lips and the joyful glow that engulfed her.

Chapter Fifteen

At eleven o’clock, Macheath returned to the duchess’s room. Marianne had joined her some time before and was reading the journal aloud to her mistress.

“What kept you so long?” the impatient duchess demanded.

“You forget I had to bathe, change, eat dinner, let it be known in the taproom I was leaving for London, leave, and return circuitously on foot to slip up the backstairs. All things considered, I think I made excellent time. La Rue is playing cards belowstairs. He won’t come before two or three in the morning.”

“I have been thinking it’s a pity I had the lock repaired. Will he be able to get in, do you think?”

Macheath looked at it, drew a small metal tool from his pocket, stuck it in the lock, and turned it with no difficulty. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Your Grace.”

“What is your Miguel up to? Keeping an eye on La Rue, is he?”

“He’s playing cards with him.”

“Odd name for an Englishman, Miguel.”

“He is not English. He’s Irish. A Spanish woman gave him the name.”

“A light-skirt, I wager. He was wise not to marry a foreigner. I have no opinion of foreigners.”

“Unusual, Your Grace,” he said blandly. “You usually have an opinion on everything.”

As the duchess did not offer him a seat, he found himself a chair and sat down. Behind the duchess’s back, Marianne held up the unopened bottle of brandy Macheath had sent up. Her Grace hadn’t touched a drop of it. She wanted to be wide awake for whatever transpired later.

“Why don’t we play a few hands of cards to pass the time?” Marianne suggested. She knew her mistress liked to have a glass by her when she played cards. She would not allow herself to become inebriated, but it would get the bottle open at least, and when the game was over, she would likely keep sipping.

“A pity we hadn’t a fourth and we could play whist,” the dame said. Whist was her game of choice, but she was no stranger to vingt-et-un or even, when she was reduced to playing with her servants, Pope Joan or All-Fours. They settled for vingt-et-un, to be played at the desk with the duchess in the one comfortable chair and the others with their legs twisted at an awkward angle at the sides of the desk.

“Would anyone like something to drink before we begin?” Marianne asked.

“That brandy looks tempting,” Macheath replied promptly.

“No brandy, Captain,” the duchess said. “We must keep our wits about us.”

“I have a hard head, ma’am. We drank a little more than usual in the Peninsula, you must know. I can handle it.”

“An army man, eh? I thought as much. Dragoons or infantry?”

“Cavalry, Sixth Division.”

Her interest in this was to determine whether he could afford a horse when he entered the army. The better class of man was in the cavalry.

“A sergeant?” she ventured.

“A colonel, actually.”

“Promoted on the field of battle, eh? It is an excellent way for a penniless fellow to get ahead in the world. That won’t do you any harm when you are looking for a post in London.”