Chasing Eliza (22 page)

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Authors: Rebecca King

Tags: #romance, #romantic suspense, #historical romance, #regency romance, #romantic thriller, #romantic adventure

BOOK: Chasing Eliza
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A highway gang? Do they commit highway robbery still?” Edward
frowned, wondering if they could really trust the source of
information.


They were all arrested for murder, highway robbery and four
counts of theft. They had been taken to the court for sentencing.
Our man saw Jemima on her way back to the jail and recognised her
from Peter’s description.”


Are we sure it’s Jemima?” Edward shook his head, his thoughts
turning to Eliza’s reaction to the latest piece of news.


The man had seen her before apparently. She used to work at
the Trumpet and Spoon.”

Edward
cursed roundly before turning stony eyes towards a watchful
Sebastian who clearly hadn’t imparted the gravest news.


Go on.”


They have been sentenced to hang.”

Edward
drew to a stop and stared in horror at his brother. “All of them?”
His heart sank as Sebastian nodded briskly as he stared at the road
ahead.

Not only
Peter, but Eliza would be totally devastated. Edward stared in
abject horror at his brother.


When?”


Soon.”

Edward
heaved a sigh of relief before grim determination firmed his jaw.
At least they hadn’t already been put to death. They had time and
while they did, there was hope.


Then we had better hurry.” Edward muttered, nudging his horse
into a fast canter. As they raced towards Padstow, Edward cursed
himself for being several kinds of fool. He had wasted precious
time making the unnecessary trip to Leicestershire when he could
have been escorting Eliza to Padstow and getting her back to
Leicestershire where she was safe and Peter could step
in.

One
thing was certain. Whether he liked it or not, he was involved in
this up to his neck. Even if he did manage to walk away from Eliza
and cut her out of his life completely – which he now considered
was nearly impossible – then he couldn’t cut Peter out and he would
be beside himself if Jemima was hung.

 

 

Chapter
Nine

Eliza was
scared. They sat around the table in the private parlour of the
small tavern only a few miles from Padstow and quietly made their
plans for the following day. It was agreed that because most
smuggling operations were carried out overnight, by dawn most of
the men were still abed. It was best for Eliza to go to the house
she called home just before dawn when most of the smugglers were
asleep, but before the fishermen began preparing the boats ready to
leave the harbour.

Once
they had the things Eliza needed, they would check the area for any
sign of Jemima and head straight back to Leicestershire. They would
ride hard throughout the day, only stopping to change horses,
sticking to the busier towns and coaching inns and taking sanctuary
in people. They would do this for the four days it should take them
to get home. Assuming they didn’t come across anything that slowed
them down, like Scraggan or his son Rogan.

It all
seemed to Eliza so cut and dried; so simple as the men outlined
what they were going to do, she wondered if it was indeed too
simple.


Are you alright Eliza?” Dominic’s quiet voice stole into her
thoughts and she stared at him blankly for several moments before
realising he was waiting for a reply.

She
offered him a weak smile as she contemplated the days
ahead.


I want you both to promise me something.” She said after
several moments.

Outside
of the room they could hear the faint hum of the busy tap room as
it had begun to fill up with the evening’s patrons. The tense
silence within the small parlour was in stark contrast to the
joviality outside.


If Scraggan does come after me tomorrow, don’t put yourselves
in danger to protect me.” She raised a hand when the men
instinctively made to protest.


You have families.” She glanced at Dominic pointedly. “You
have a wife and unborn child waiting for you at home.”


I don’t.” Peter argued, shooting her a rueful
smile.


But you have estates and people depending on your survival to
keep them in employment and accommodation. Don’t risk it all
because of me and Jemima.”


Eliza, we aren’t going to leave you to deal with this alone.
We-” Dominic shared a measured look with Peter, “-have unfinished
business with Scraggan.”

Eliza
turned and looked at him questioningly. They were interrupted by a
soft knock at the door and the arrival of the food. Within moments
the table was laden with an array of breads, cheese, meats, pies
and fruit.


Is there enough for us?”

Eliza
jumped and stared in shock as a somewhat dusty and dishevelled
Edward stalked into the room, followed closely by Sebastian. She
watched in amazement as he barely looked at her, casually dropping
into the seat beside her before turning the full force of his
direct blue gaze upon hers. He offered her a small smile along with
an empty plate as though he had only been gone for a moment rather
than three days.


God I’m starving.” Sebastian declared, oblivious to the
interplay between Edward and Eliza.

She was
stunned by the depth of emotion she felt at seeing him again and
could have wept with the sheer joy of having his solidly reassuring
bulk beside her once again. Although she would never admit it, she
had missed him. A lot.

She
wondered what had happened to make them return and studied them
carefully as they ate. Something was wrong.


So, you couldn’t bear to be parted from us, could you?”
Dominic’s droll query was laced with amusement. He hadn’t missed
the long searching look Edward had given the woman beside him, and
wondered how long it would be before they had another wedding in
the family.

Edward
and Sebastian shared a look as Edward began to place various foods
on Eliza’s plate before loading his own.

It was a
scene of such domesticated familiarity, Peter grinned
outright.


What’s wrong?” Dominic demanded several minutes later when
most of the food had been consumed. “Have you seen
Scraggan?”

Sebastian nodded. “Yeah, there are four of them on the
outskirts of the village and a few more down the road. They are
waiting for us to leave.” He imparted the news so matter of factly
that he could have been giving a shipping forecast.

Edward
took a sip of his brandy and sat back in his seat, taking a few
moments to study Eliza’s profile. Clearly she had hardly eaten, and
hadn’t slept any better than he had. The dark smudges beneath her
eyes were several shades deeper. He hated having to impart the
latest , but couldn’t see any wisdom in keeping it a secret from
him.


We have news.” He murmured quietly, taking Eliza’s hand in
his and holding it tightly.

Eliza
felt her stomach drop as she noted the gravity on Edward’s
face.


Jemima?” She whispered weakly, and listened in horror as
Edward carefully recounted what they had discovered on their trip
to Leicestershire.


Oh God.” Tears pooled in her eyes as she thought of the
horrors Jemima was facing and faced. “She couldn’t have done it.
That isn’t Jemima. She worked for my father and hated Scraggan and
everything he stood for. She wouldn’t rob anyone!” She turned
beseeching eyes towards a stunned Peter, who had moved towards the
hearth to stare down at the flames silently, as deeply shocked as
she was.

She
glanced at each man at the table. Sebastian was staring awkwardly
down at his plate, Dominic’s face was filled with bitter regret.
Edward’s was laced with abject sympathy as he patted her hand in an
almost fatherly manner.


She didn’t do it.” Eliza gasped, snatching her hand away from
Edward’s and pushing away from the table.

Edward
followed her, grabbing hold of her shoulders and turning her firmly
towards him as they stood beside the window.


We aren’t saying she did. We are just giving you the facts.
We don’t know the exact details and won’t until we get to Derby and
find out for ourselves. This is second hand information from one of
Peter’s informants. We didn’t take the time to find out if it is
accurate, but it is the closest thing we have to a lead right
now.”

Edward
shook her once for emphasis, and to snap her out of her horrified
daze. He ducked his head until her tear-filled gaze met his and
softened his voice as he stared at the depths of horrified grief
shadowing her beautiful eyes.

His
heart flipped at the distress he saw there and he wondered how he
could ever have considered closing her out of his life. Ignoring
the presence of the other men in the room, he tugged her
unceremoniously into his arms, resting his chin on her head as she
wept into his shoulder.


I’ve got to go back to Derbyshire to see what I can do to get
her out.” Peter declared flatly, staring at the fire as he tried to
quell his racing thoughts. Part of him was overjoyed that she was
alive, but he was horrified by the latest turn of events and felt
the frantic pull of desperation. He could fight Scraggan and Rogan,
but he couldn’t fight the justice system, and if his informant was
right and Jemima had already been condemned to death then there was
no way out.


Look Eliza, you don’t need to know if Jemima has been to
Padstow if she is in Derby Gaol. There is no need to go there
tomorrow. I think we should all return to Leicestershire now. We
can send a message for the men we worked with before to meet us
there, and begin to make plans on what to do about Jemima sooner
rather than later. Given her dire circumstance we need to take
action – and quickly.” Dominic practically bristled with suppressed
fury, his tone hard and uncompromising.


If she is in Derby Gaol.” Peter shook his head, unsure how to
fight that particular dragon. He would move heaven and hell to find
her, but he wouldn’t perform miracles and they certainly needed one
if Jemima wasn’t going to end her days swinging from a
rope.


There is something else.” Eliza whispered, easing backwards
out of Edward’s arms.

Wiping
the tears from her cheeks she moved back towards the table, aware
of the men watching her as she tugged the shirt out of her
breeches, and undid the front placket.


Do you –.” Sebastian made to push away from the table, unsure
where Eliza was heading but knowing his wife would kill him if she
knew he had been with another woman who was partly clothed, even
with Edward, Dominic and Peter present.

They
watched as Eliza eased a folded piece of parchment out of the
waistband of her breeches, and placed it carefully in the middle of
the table.

Edward
picked it up and giving her measured look, slowly unfolded it. He
swore as he read the contents before raising his eyes to meet hers.
He wasn’t certain if he should be annoyed she had kept it from him,
or pleased she had managed to keep it out of Scraggan’s reach for
so long. Scraggan’s determination to take her alive suddenly made
much more sense.


Is this what Scraggan could be after?” His voice was harsh as
he dropped the parchment onto the table for the others to see. “Why
didn’t you tell me you had this before?”


Because I couldn’t be certain you weren’t working for
Scraggan.” Eliza hiccupped.


I fought Scraggan’s men, Eliza!”


You don’t know Scraggan and the lengths he would go to. This
information would lead him to the gallows for treason.”


It’s a list of ships, dates and times.” Dominic murmured,
passing the list to Peter to read.


What are the codes on the end?” Edward muttered, deliberately
putting his anger to one side for now.


PP2SS, means Pierre Pascal, 2 men from Salty Sally. Jemima
thought the codes up and has a complete list of them. I don’t know
who gave my father the list, but he took something to the War
Office and left us with these and two other sheets. I had two and
Jemima has two.”

They
watched as Eliza withdrew another sheet of folded parchment from
the opposite side of her waistband and tossed it onto the table
before re-doing her breeches and tucking her shirt back
in.


A list of contacts. Sweet Jesus.” Peter whispered, staring at
the list of names, dates and meeting places. “Who did your father
have working for him?” He raised shocked eyes to Eliza. Whoever
they were they had been very thorough and knew exactly the kind of
information that would cement Scraggan’s downfall. With information
like this, there would be more than enough people prepared to
bargain for mercy.


I don’t know.” Eliza replied. “Father never told us. He said
that not knowing would keep us safe but I got the feeling it was
someone in the village who knew us. Father didn’t want us to know
because he didn’t want us acting strangely around them.”


Makes sense.” Edward replied, wondering how their father
could have allowed them to remain living so close to such a
villain. Any daughter of his would have been immediately removed
from the dangers and not allowed to return until safe to do
so.

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