Captive Surrender (17 page)

“
I am just
thinking about the things we have to do today, that’s all.” She
yawned and felt a wave of drowsiness sweep over her that made her
eyes droop.

He made no attempt to
break the silence that fell over them, and dropped his head back
onto the chair as he cuddled her closer.

Within seconds they were
fast asleep.

CHAPTER
NINE

The following morning,
Stephen watched Rufus Denbigh enter the study. He rose and greeted
the man with a brisk nod and waved him toward a seat.

“
Prudence? Do
you want to tell me what is going on?” Rufus demanded as he eyed
Stephen suspiciously.

Prudence sighed and
watched Eloisa deposit a tray of tea things on the small table
before the fire. Once she had handed out refreshments, she took a
seat before the fire and turned to their guest. Before she could
speak, Stephen broke the tense silence to explain who he was and
what he was doing there. He used exactly the same words he had used
when he had told Prudence, and did so with such a degree of
accuracy that she wondered if it was a pre-prepared speech he had
memorised for just such an occasion.

She glanced at him and
felt a gentle blush colour her cheeks when their eyes met across
the room. She had woken up sometime mid-morning to find herself
tucked up in bed. By the time she had risen, seen to her ablutions
and joined everyone downstairs, Stephen was seated before the fire
while he chatted with Robbie. She should have felt embarrassed, or
at least awkward, because he had undoubtedly carried her upstairs
and put her into bed. However, the tender smile he gave her when
she entered the kitchen eased her discomfort and a wonderful sense
of intimacy settled over them.

Rufus ran a hand down his
face when Stephen informed him of Mr Simpson’s death. “His wife has
reported him missing but, without a body, we hadn’t a clue where to
start to look for him. Despite a search, there was no sign of him
in his house or on his grounds. He is still down on the beach, you
say?”

Stephen nodded. In
deference to the ladies’ delicate constitutions, he didn’t mention
the state the body was in, and was only glad that Robbie had found
it when it had been pitch black outside. Humphrey had been ruthless
in his quest to carry out his orders, and had done so with a
fervency that Stephen had rarely seen in all of his years with the
Star Elite.

“
It has been
there for a couple of days, I am afraid,” was all he said, but he
accompanied his words with a direct look that was met with a brisk
nod from the magistrate.

“
It has been
a couple of days since he first went missing,” was all Rufus
said.

“
Do you think
Levant did it?” Georgiana gasped.

“
It is
inevitable, don’t you think?” Prudence replied when the men made no
attempt to answer her. “He is ruthless enough.”

“
How do you
want me to help?” Rufus asked. He wasn’t altogether comfortable
with the ladies being involved in the conversation, and felt that
there were things he needed to discuss with Stephen and,
undoubtedly, things that Stephen needed to tell him, that the
ladies didn’t need to be aware of.

“
I need you
to tell me what you have uncovered about Levant’s activities in the
area so far. I have done some investigation, so it would help if we
put our heads together and got a clearer picture of just how much
the man is involved in.” Stephen didn’t want to mention the French
spies’ involvement in front of the ladies for fear of making them
worry needlessly, but he would have to tell Rufus at some point
given what could potentially be happening on his own
doorstep.

Stephen glanced at
Prudence. He had woken up in the chair with her cuddled against him
and had struggled to find the will to move. If it hadn’t been for
the heavy thump of boots on the stairs, he could have sat there all
morning; well, until she woke up at least. As it was, Georgiana’s
appearance in the doorway had broken the intimacy of the moment and
he had been forced to carry her off to bed to catch up on some
sleep instead.

“
Can you show
me where Simpson is?”

Stephen reluctantly shook
his head. “I want my presence in the house to remain a secret right
now. I have reinforcements coming up from London but, until then,
it would help if Levant doesn’t know that I am in the
house.”

“
Unexpected
protection,” Rufus murmured and nodded his agreement. “That’s fine
by me. I won’t breathe a word of it to anyone.”

“
Are you
going to be around later tonight? Say, around eleven o’clock?”
Stephen braced his elbows on his knees and stared hard at the man.
There was so much he wanted to say. He knew from the look that
Rufus directed back at him that the magistrate felt the
same.

“
Yes, I will
be at home all evening. As soon as you can leave, drop by my
house.” He gave the address and direction on how to find the house
in the middle of the village. “I will show you what I have on
Levant.”

Stephen nodded his thanks
and sat back to drink his tea.

The group chatted amiably
for several long moments before Rufus took his leave, ostensibly to
go and make arrangements for the removal of Mr Simpson’s
corpse.

“
I can show
you where it is,” Robbie gasped enthusiastically and jumped to his
feet.

“
No, you
won’t, Robbie.” Stephen saw the boy’s objection on his face and
settled a firm, almost fatherly, look on him. “I have to check on
the house and gardens overnight and ensure that Levant and his men
stay away while everyone is asleep. Unfortunately, for the time
being, that means I have to sleep and rest during the daytime.
Rufus has to conduct his investigation and do his work as a
magistrate. With both of us busy throughout the day, we need you to
be the man of the house and keep an eye out for Levant, or his men,
lurking around or heading this way.” He shared a look with Rufus,
who nodded his head officiously.

“
You need to
hold the fort for us, Robbie,” Rufus growled as he winked at
Eloisa.

Prudence listened and
fought to hide her smile. It was ingenious and, from the look on
his face, Robbie was hooked. Stephen had not even finished speaking
before her youngest sibling puffed his chest out importantly and
stared at him and Rufus in awe.

“
It is up to
you to keep an eye out for Levant coming down the driveway. You
must make sure that everyone is inside and the doors are locked
tight before he knocks on the door.” Stephen glanced at each of the
ladies in turn. “For the time being, nobody is to go out anywhere.
If you find that you simply must go, and you cannot wait, it would
be safer if Rufus went with you.”

It wasn’t lost to Stephen
that the day after tomorrow was Sunday, and practically everyone
went to church on Sundays. The ladies would undoubtedly want to
make their weekly walk to church in Brumpton Marches but,
unfortunately, Stephen couldn’t escort them there or back. He
wasn’t a church-going man himself, but had no opinion on other
people’s beliefs and couldn’t really stop them from
going.

“
We only
really go to market on Wednesdays.”

“
What about
church?”

The ladies shared an
awkward look, as though the question made them uncomfortable. After
several moments of lengthy silence, Prudence sighed. “I think you
should both know that our mother is not well. She cannot be left
alone for any length of time and, well, Brumpton Marches is at
least an hour’s walk away. We cannot leave mother for three and a
bit hours. Even if we went to the church in Marchwell, the locals
there know her and will want to stop and have a chat.”

Rufus shared a look with
Stephen. They had already heard the woman’s screams and thumps, and
knew that the woman was deeply disturbed. At some point either one
of them, if not both of them, would have to talk to the sisters
about their mother in more detail. Right now though, they both
recognised that Levant was more of a pressing issue because of the
threat he posed to the safety of everyone.

“
While we can
manage without going to church, we really must continue to go to
market in Brumpton Marches on Wednesday. I can remain here and keep
an eye on the family homestead while Eloisa and Maggie go, if you
are happy to escort them, Rufus?” Prudence didn’t add that they
needed to go to market to be able to sell the shawls that Eloisa
and Maggie made. They didn’t earn a lot of money, but the small
amount they did raise afforded the family a few extra bits that
eased their way a little. They desperately needed those few extra
pennies, especially given the shortage of food they would face in
the coming months.

At Rufus’ nod, she heaved
a sigh of relief and remained silent while the finer details were
discussed.

Stephen stood in the
alley at the rear of Rufus’ house in the centre of Marchwell, and
swore. His gaze was locked on the sight of Humphrey Brown, Levant’s
henchman, as he lay in wait for someone. Was Rufus the man’s
intended target? Stephen didn’t doubt it and wondered what the
magistrate could have uncovered that had Levant so
worried.

He was early for his
meeting with Rufus, but that suited Stephen just fine. He took the
opportunity to study the surrounding area and map the escape routes
he could take if the need ever arose. He spied the empty stable and
carriage barn, and wondered if Rufus had been called out to some
sort of emergency, or been waylaid somewhere. It was only half past
ten but, in a country village like Marchwell, almost everyone was
already tucked up safely in bed.

Stephen studied the heavy
bulk of the henchman. There was no sign of a gun on the man’s hip,
but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a knife secreted somewhere on his
ample girth. Given the sheer size of him, it was going to take a
lot of determined effort to take the man down if it came to an
all-out brawl, and he couldn’t help but wonder how efficient Rufus
was with his fists.

With a sigh, Stephen
leaned his back against the wall and watched Humphrey watch the
magistrate’s house. It wasn’t long before he heard the clip clop of
hooves on the cobbled streets and watched Rufus turn his curricle
down the alley at the rear of his house.

Stephen took advantage of
Humphrey’s distraction and crept closer, and was directly behind
him by the time Rufus reined his horse to a stop in the yard. Rufus
was busy talking to his horse and didn’t notice Humphrey amble into
the yard behind him. When Humphrey lunged at Rufus’ back, Stephen
struck.

The ensuing battle was
swift and brutal. Although Humphrey was heavy, Stephen had agility
and strength on his side and made the use of all of his years of
combat to bring the man down with a few swift punches, and a
well-placed kick. He grinned at Rufus and both men watched
Humphrey’s eyes roll back into his head seconds before he slumped
to the ground with a heavy thud.

“
What do you
suppose he wanted?” Rufus sighed with a frown. He was amazed at the
speed and stealth of what he had just witnessed. He hadn’t even
been aware that Humphrey was there, let alone Stephen, and he
studied his new friend with profound respect, and more than a
little gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you.”

“
Pleasure,”
Stephen replied, and shook his head with a grin. “I don’t know what
the man wanted, but I don’t think he is here to show you how pretty
his blade looked.” He nodded to the wicked knife that lay on the
cobbled floor, inches from Humphrey’s hand.

“
That’s all I
need to see,” Rufus muttered, and disappeared into the tack room
only to reappear within seconds with one long strip of leather in
his fist. “Let’s tie him up. He can wait in the cellars until
morning. Then, I think it is time for him to be brought in front of
the magistrate for attempted murder. That should keep him out of
Levant’s clutches for a while.” His voice was laced heavily with
satisfaction and he yanked the ties into place with a little too
much enthusiasm before he stepped back to look at Stephen, who was
busy closing the yard doors to protect them from prying
eyes.

Stephen echoed the man’s
sentiments. He knew that he had just gained one significant
advantage over Levant. Humphrey was a very effective and efficient
killer, but was incredibly stupid. He wouldn’t know what discretion
was, even if he could spell it, and would be a fairly easy nut to
crack. The information he could tell them would go some
considerable way to ensuring that Levant was several steps closer
to the prison sentence he deserved, not least for ordering Mr
Simpson’s death.

They carried Humphrey
down to the cellar together. He was so heavy that both men were
puffing a little by the time they lay him on his back in the corner
of the darkened room and locked the door to keep him there. The
room was no more than six feet square and had a small, narrow
window with iron bars on it that let in only a small sliver of
light. The door was thick and heavy and decorated with heavy iron
hinges and bolts that would be an impossible barrier to break
through. It was enough to assure Stephen that for now, he could
rest a little more easily.

“
Looks like
you are next on the hit list,” Stephen sighed when they were seated
in the study. He accepted the large goblet of rum off Rufus with a
smile and settled back in his chair.