Georgette Heyer (35 page)

'Oh!' said Wilmot, with rather a blank look.

  The Colonel smiled a little. 'There is worse to follow, my lord, for no sooner did Ellesdon hear your name on my lips than he started up with a most eager and joyful expression on his face, and demanded "Is it the King?" ' He glanced down at Charles. 'Being very sure of my man, sir, I told him yes, whereupon he was a good deal moved, and swore most solemnly that he would endea vour the execution of your commands to the utmost hazard of his person. After we had discoursed a little time together, he sent one of his fellows to the Custom house, to make enquiry who had entered his vessel as bound for France. By great good fortune, we learned that one Stephen Limbry, with whom Ellesdon has interest, Limbry being a tenant of his, had lately entered his barque, intending a voyage to St Malo. Ellesdon assured me that Limbry was well-disposed towards your Majesty, so without more ado we set off by road to Charmouth, which lies a few miles to the east of Lyme, and where this Limbry has his dwelling. Ellesdon sent for him to come to the inn there, which he soon did. When he was told that the end of our sending for him was to procure passages for two gentlemen who had had a finger in the pie at Worcester, he was at first startled – as apprehending more than ordinary danger in the under taking. But upon my engaging to pay him sixty pounds, which I have promised to do when he shall return from having conveyed your Majesty to France, he cheerfully undertook to do the business. It is agreed, therefore, that he is to prepare his vessel with all speed, and to hale her out of the Cob on Monday next, and about midnight to send his long-boat to a place appointed, to take you off. As soon as you and my lord board the vessel, he will immediately put out to sea, sir.'

  'If the wind serves,' said the King. 'Does he know whom he is to carry to St Malo?'

  'Nay, sire, he has not the least notion, nor would Ellesdon or I breathe a word of it to him, in case the reward that is being offered for your capture should prove too great a temptation to him. As soon as we had struck our bargain, Ellesdon and I rode back to Lyme, by the land road, so that I might, from the top of the hill between the two towns, become more perfectly acquainted with the lie of the land. Then it was that Ellesdon bethought him of the Fair which is to be held at Lyme, by ill-hap, upon Monday. He was fearful that the inn at Charmouth might, on account of this, be filled with other guests; so after some discussion we sent my man Peters into Charmouth, with an earnest of five shillings, to secure the two best rooms in the inn against your Majesty's coming. And herein,' added the Colonel, with a look half-merry, half-deprecating, 'I fear I have compromised your Majesty shockingly.'

  'Compromised him?' Wilmot said sharply. 'What's this? What do you mean?'

  The King looked up, smiling. 'You're a rogue, Frank. What have you done?'

  'Why, sir, I have informed the hostess at the inn, through Peters, that there will come to her house on Monday night a young man who has stolen a gentle woman of fortune, to marry her against the will of her guardians.'

  'Oddsfish, is that all? It seems you have bestowed a very proper character upon me, if I am to marry the damsel,' remarked the King, bending over his coin again. 'I hope your romantic fairy tale won the host ess's heart?'

  'Ay, it did, sir, for she readily engaged to keep the house and the stables free for you. If you will be pleased to take my cousin up behind you, as you did Mrs Jane Lane, I believe it may serve as a very excellent disguise, besides satisfying the hostess.'

  'So Mrs Juliana is my bride, is she?' said the King. 'It likes me well. But I fear the hostess will think Juliana has made an ill-choice, for besides being still so dark complexioned, I look a mean sort of a fellow in this serving-man's gear. Will you lend me your fine cloak, Harry?'

  'No, my dear master, I will not, for the meaner you look the less you will be suspected of being the King,' replied Wilmot affectionately. 'I had rather play the part of the bridegroom, taking you along as my servant.'

  'Fie, you are too fat, nor will I relinquish my pretty bride. My thanks, Frank: You have done excellent well.'

  'I do trust it may be found so,' the Colonel said, a worried look in his eyes. 'Any scheme must be fraught with danger, but I have tried to mitigate this by arranging with William Ellesdon to conduct you first to a country-house belonging to his father, which lies in a very private place, inland about a mile and half from Lyme and Charmouth both. There Ellesdon will meet us, and there your Majesty may remain until nightfall.'

  Wilmot's harassed frown lifted, a little. 'Ah, that was well thought of ! Yes, yes, that should serve! My dear master, the end of this weary pilgrimage is at last in sight! In less than a week now you will stand upon French soil, and know yourself safe.'

  'If the wind is favourable,' agreed the King.

  'And Limbry prove himself faithful,' muttered Wyndham.

The following day, which was Saturday, September 20th, passed uneventfully, the King whiling away the time by boring holes in some more of Giles Strangways's gold pieces, and enjoying some airy dalliance with Juliana Coningsby, who, to her good aunt's satisfaction, showed herself to be more in love with the adventure she was to take part in than with the King. On Sunday morning, the household was a little disturbed by a visit from a tailor, who lived in the village and owed the greater portion of his livelihood to the Colonel's patronage. He presented himself at an early hour, and seemed to be so anxious that none should spy upon his coming to the manor that Wyndham was put instantly upon his guard. He had the man brought into his private parlour; and after assuring himself that no one was listening at the keyhole, the tailor informed him in conspiratorial accents that he had come to bring him warning.

  The Colonel laughed at his, and said: 'Warning? Warning of what, my man?'

  The tailor jerked his thumb over his shoulder. 'Last night the zealots were discoursing together, saying as how your honour was hiding persons of quality in your house, and they would come to search the place, and seize them, they having seen the stout gentleman, which is staying privily with your honour, and suspi cioning that he be of the King's party. Which is the reason of my taking the liberty of waiting upon your honour, me not being wishful that any harm should befall you.'

  'Why, that was kindly done!' said the Colonel, thrusting a hand into his pocket, and drawing out a gold piece. 'But the gentleman you speak of is not private, but public in the house, being a kinsman of mine. The sectaries may make themselves easy, for I believe my kinsman will show himself in Church at the time of prayers, he being a very godly man. But I thank you for your care of me.'

  The coin changed hands, and the tailor, a little abashed, bowed himself out. No sooner had he departed, than the Colonel made haste upstairs to the King's apartment, to tell him what had chanced, and to beg him to use his influence with my lord to induce him to go to Church.

  'You will never prevail upon him to do so,' remarked the King. 'See, I mean to bestow this coin upon your mother for a keepsake! I am becoming very deft at boring my holes, I can tell you. Do you think she will like it?'

  The Colonel could not help laughing. 'I think she will scold you for spending the money so wantonly, sir! But touching this matter of my Lord Wilmot, I know full well I may not prevail with him, so depend upon your Majesty's commanding where I can only implore. I am very sure his presence and mine in Church today will lull all suspicion to rest, for I have informed my tailor that my lord is my kinsman, and a very godly man. He need not fear to be known, for besides that none of the villagers have reason to recognize him: when I go to Church (which is not often) I sit in an aisle distinct from the body of the congregation. My hope is that the villagers will believe my supposed kinsman to have made a convert of me. For your own safety, sir, I beg of you, lay your command upon my lord!'

  'He will think it very odd of me,' said the most easy going King in Christendom.

  But when my Lord Wilmot, informed of the engage ment that had been made for him, roundly declared that nothing would induce him to expose himself in Church that day, the King, in obedience to a compel ling look from Wyndham, sighed, and said: 'But you shall go, Harry. It is my will.'

  Wilmot blinked at him. 'Your will, sir?'

  The King held out his hand. 'Nay, go for my sake, my dear Harry!'

  Wilmot kissed his hand. 'For your sake, anything!' he declared heroically.

  No mishap attended his visit to the Church, nor did the fanatics fulfil their threat of coming to search the manor. The Colonel discovered, through Henry Peters, that the sight of my lord in the manor pew had indeed lulled suspicion to rest, whereupon the King, who had strenuously resisted all endeavours to make him go into the secret hiding-place, said: 'Then I can go to bed in comfort.'

  On the following morning, he took a tender leave of Lady Wyndham, tying his pierced coin round her neck with a length of ribbon, and embracing her upon both cheeks; a more punctilious leave of Anne, and he was ready at an early hour to set forward upon the journey to Lyme.

  It had been agreed that the party should separate, to escape attracting too much attention; and, accordingly, Wilmot, escorted by Henry Peters, set out some little time later than the King, and followed a slightly different route. Juliana Coningsby rode pillion behind the King, with Colonel Wyndham going beside them.

  The road chosen by the Colonel was not much frequented, nor did they encounter anyone on the way who accorded their small party more than a casual glance of curiosity. The journey was, in fact, so uneventful that Juliana complained that she might as well be riding behind a real servant.

  The Colonel called her sharply to book for making such a speech, but the King said over his shoulder: 'If I were not sworn to good behaviour, you rogue, I would make you unsay those words!'

  'Oh, but indeed, sir, I meant not
that
!' explained Juliana. 'Only where is the adventure I was promised? When you had Mrs Jane Lane behind you, you rode through a troop of horse, but all
I
see is a parcel of country-people who stare at us like cows. How, how can I be a heroine if not one shred of danger offers?'

  'You are thoughtless and silly, Juliana!' the Colonel said.

  She was both, but she suited the King's humour. He began to tease her, and she responded in kind, being excited by the part she was playing. His body felt light and urgent, but not for love; his secret mind was far away from Juliana, wandering in a future that now seemed sure. He was gay, and charming, but subtly withdrawn, in a way which she found tantalizing.

  They arrived at their destination late in the after noon, Colonel Wyndham experiencing no difficulty in finding Ellesdon's house in the hills behind Lyme. No one was at present staying in the house, but Captain Ellesdon had taken care to convey refreshment there earlier in the day; and himself met the party about a quarter of a mile from the gate. He was a sober-looking man, just now a little harassed by the charge that had been laid upon his shoulders, and rather overwhelmed at finding himself face to face with his sovereign. The King immediately made himself known to him, but disconcerted him by interrupting his formal speech of welcome with a request to be treated like a private gentleman. When Ellesdon began to tell him that all was in train for his embarkation that night, he said: 'Why, that is excellent hearing! You shall presently tell me the whole, but my present need is a drink, for I am parched.'

  Since Colonel Wyndham had not thought it neces sary to inform Ellesdon what manner of man his King was, Ellesdon was a good deal surprised by his careless good-humour, and his apparent unconcern with any possibility of danger. He saw that he need not have wasted any time on the preparation of set speeches, and abandoned them, inwardly congratulating himself on having had the forethought to bring some bottles of wine to the deserted house. When the King dismounted, he perceived that he was taller even than he had supposed, and whispered to Colonel Wyndham that such a height made him remarkable.

  Wyndham nodded, but said: 'He is very well disguised, however, and there are, after all, other tall, dark men in England.'

  'Oh, I do not think anyone could forget him that had once laid his eyes on him!' Ellesdon replied, looking worried. 'I have a great fear that he may be known, and wish that this house were by the sea, that he might not be obliged to go into a common inn. Surely, too, he is very careless?'

  'Yes, very careless,' agreed the Colonel, smiling. 'I should have warned you, perhaps, that he is not at all like what his father was.'

  'Well, I must own he has taken me by surprise. Such a very odd countenance! I had said ill-favoured, but his eyes have a strange brilliance that makes one forget the extreme ugliness – but I say too much!'

  He made haste after the King, who had passed into the house by this time; and ushered him into a small parlour which had been prepared for his reception. Wine, biscuits, and fruit stood upon the table, the sight of which made the King clap his host on the back, telling him that he was a man after his own heart.