Authors: Dilly Court
Smitten by a further attack of guilt, Phoebe laid her hand on Ivy’s arm. ‘I’m so sorry that I dragged you into this, but Nenzo is too good a man to think ill of you. He’ll know that I’m the one who brought us to this state.’
Ivy’s plain face creased into a smile. ‘I came along willingly enough, and if it hadn’t been for you I’d never have met Lorenzo.’ She chuckled as Teddy planted a kiss on her cheek. ‘As for this young man, I love him almost as much as if he was my own dear dead baby. So I’m not complaining, Phoebe. We’ll get through this somehow. You’ll see.’
The sound of Maggie’s heavy tread and the slamming of the outside door made them both jump. Ivy scuttled from the room taking Teddy with her and
Phoebe
picked up her bonnet, assuming a casual manner that was at odds with the turmoil raging inside her. She was fastening the ribbons as Maggie stamped into the room carrying a basket of eggs.
‘So you’re off somewhere, are you? After that performance this morning I wonder you’ve got the nerve to stand there bold as brass, dressing up with no one to see you. The master might have said he’ll return soon but I wouldn’t count on it, love.’ She set the basket down on the table. ‘Now get out of me way. Some of us have got work to do. This ain’t a hotel.’
‘I’m well aware of that, Mrs Merrydew,’ Phoebe said icily. She snatched up her shawl and draped it around her shoulders. ‘I’m going out.’
‘Hoity-toity,’ Maggie called after her. ‘Stuck-up bitch.’
Phoebe set off with a purpose. This was not simply a stroll along the country lanes. Having arrived in the middle of the night she had no idea which route they had taken, but she decided that by heading east they would be going in the right direction for Dover, and she wanted to find the quickest and easiest path for them to take. She followed the narrow twisting lanes between dusty hedgerows laden with scarlet hawthorn berries and brambles bowed down with juicy blackberries, but she ignored autumn’s bounty and continued walking until she reached a crossroads where a signpost pointed its wooden finger in the direction of Dover. She retraced her steps. Now she knew which way to go if they were forced to flee, and all she could do for the rest of the day was to
wait
and try to appear as though nothing untoward had happened.
Night came and there was no sign of Rose. Having eaten the meagre supper of bread and cheese provided by a grudging Maggie, Phoebe and Ivy went upstairs. Teddy was already fast asleep in Ivy’s arms, and Phoebe dropped a kiss on his round cheek. ‘I think you’d better have him in your room tonight, Ivy. I don’t think I’m going to get much sleep as it is.’
Ivy rocked him gently in her arms. ‘I don’t mind in the least.’
‘What would I do without you?’ Phoebe leaned over to brush Ivy’s cheek with a kiss. ‘We must carry on as normal in the morning, but if Rose hasn’t returned by noon we’ll leave as quietly as possible.’
‘It can’t be soon enough for me,’ Ivy said with feeling. ‘I hope you manage to get some rest, Phoebe.’ She carried Teddy into her room and closed the door.
Phoebe was suddenly nervous as she entered her bedroom, locking the door behind her. Perhaps it was her over-active imagination but she had noticed Merrydew giving her sly looks all through the evening meal. Perhaps he had intended all along that she would be implicated in the plot to incriminate the Paxmans. She did not undress. Her bag was packed and she was ready for flight. She lay on the bed, but even when she drifted off to sleep she was plagued with bad dreams and awakened at dawn with a headache. She raised herself from the bed and went to the washstand to splash cold water on her face. She glanced out of the window half expecting to see the stable yard
crawling
with revenue men, but the only living thing she could see was the old horse sticking its head out of its stall.
Realising that she was dripping water all over the floor, she picked up the huckaback towel and patted her face dry. The coarse material was harsh against her cheek and she remembered hearing Merrydew accusing his wife of selling the best linen at market. Both of them, she thought wryly, would have a lot to explain when Rogue arrived home. She could only hope that it would be soon. Although it was still early, she decided to brave Maggie’s disapproval by going downstairs and making a pot of tea. Since Rogue left for London their position in the house had been difficult, they were neither guests nor paying lodgers, and the Merrydews had taken every opportunity to make them feel unwanted. Phoebe was about to leave the room when she heard the sound of a horse-drawn vehicle entering the stable yard. Her heart gave a great leap of delight. She could not wait to see him and pretending otherwise was simply not an option. She unlocked the door and ran downstairs.
In the kitchen she was met by a stony-faced Merrydew. ‘You got a visitor, miss.’ He stood aside, ushering the man into the room.
Phoebe froze at the sight of him. She could neither speak nor move.
‘Phoebe. At last I’ve found you.’ Caspar glided across the flagstone floor as if skating on ice. His smile was fixed and his eyes glittered with triumph. He held out his arms. ‘My dear girl. You’ve led me a merry dance.’
‘Get away from me,’ Phoebe cried, suddenly finding her voice. ‘What are you doing here?’
He laid his hand on his heart in a theatrical gesture. ‘How can you be so cruel? You know that my act is nothing without you. I’ve been searching for you night and day. I’d almost given up when I happened to run into that pretty little daughter of the drunken puppeteer.’
Merrydew cleared his throat noisily. ‘Never mind all that, mate. You want the girl, you take her away now, afore the other one comes down and starts carrying on.’
Caspar turned on him with a look that made Merrydew recoil. ‘Be silent, you peasant. Do you know who I am?’
Recovering himself, Merrydew thrust out his chin. ‘No, and I don’t care, mister. I want you and her out of here afore my missis comes in from milking the cows.’
‘I’m not going anywhere with him,’ Phoebe said, backing towards the inner door. ‘Leave me alone, Caspar. I don’t want anything to do with you.’
He took a step forward and then stopped, dropping his hands to his sides. ‘My dear, how cruel you are, considering what I did for you in Brighton.’
‘Go with him for Gawd’s sake,’ Merrydew growled. ‘I’ve had enough of you city folk coming here and disturbing us. Take her, mister.’
‘No,’ Phoebe cried in alarm. ‘You don’t understand, Merrydew. This man is a murderer. He’s on the run from the police.’
Merrydew blinked, but he shook his head. ‘It’s none of my business. I don’t want no trouble.’
With her hands behind her back, Phoebe felt for the door handle. If she could just get upstairs to Ivy’s room they could lock and barricade the door, and they would be safe for a while at least. ‘Where’s Rose?’ she demanded. ‘You said you’d seen her. What have you done to her?’
‘Nothing, my sweet. On my honour, I happened to be strolling along Saffron Hill when I saw her going into your grandparents’ hovel.’
‘You were spying on my family. That’s low even for you, Caspar.’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I still can’t believe that you lived in a place like that. It’s not the sort of house that I would pick for a young woman of your outstanding beauty and talent.’
‘If you’ve hurt my family …’ Phoebe heard her voice rise to a screech. She was trembling and her mouth was so dry that she could hardly swallow.
He raised his hands. ‘Don’t be so melodramatic, my dear. Save that for our stage act. I made discreet enquiries amongst the hokey-pokey people, and on one occasion I called at the house. I merely wanted to ascertain whether or not you were at home, but a big burly brute of a fellow came out onto the pavement, rolling up his sleeves. I retreated to the shadows, of course, but I have him marked.’
‘You’re evil,’ Phoebe whispered. ‘Rose is the only one who knew I was here. What did you do to make her tell you? Where is she now?’
‘I’ve no idea. She was unwilling to part with the information as to your whereabouts at first, but
with
a little persuasion she came round to my way of thinking. I let her go then. She was no further use to me.’
Merrydew tapped Caspar on the shoulder. ‘Look here, mate. I like your style, but what I said still goes. I got unfinished business to attend to and it don’t concern you.’
Caspar turned on him with a reptilian hiss. ‘Take your hands off me, my man. I won’t hesitate to use the dark arts on you, so leave me alone.’
‘All right, cully.’ Merrydew backed away. ‘No need to get shirty with me.’
Seizing the opportunity to escape, Phoebe wrenched the door open and tore along the passageway, heading for the stairs. She did not look back but she could hear Caspar calling her name and the pounding of his footsteps getting closer every second. She managed to get to Ivy’s room but found it locked. She hammered on the door. ‘Ivy, let me in.’ She could hear movement inside and then the door opened just as Caspar reached the top of the stairs. She pushed past Ivy, slamming the door behind her and turning the key in the lock.
‘What’s going on?’ Ivy demanded. ‘You look like the devil himself was after you.’
‘It might as well be,’ Phoebe said breathlessly. ‘It’s Caspar.’
‘No. It can’t be. How did he find us?’
Phoebe was too busy dragging a chair to the door and wedging it beneath the handle to answer straight away. Outside Caspar was shouting and banging on the wooden panels. ‘He was watching my house and
he
saw Rose go in. Heaven knows what she was doing in Saffron Hill but somehow he got hold of her and bullied her into telling him where to find us.’
‘Come out, you little fool.’ Caspar’s voice accompanied loud thumps on the door. ‘I’ve got all day,’ he added in a slightly calmer tone. ‘You can’t stay in there forever.’
Teddy had begun to whimper in fright and Ivy rushed over to lift him from the bed. ‘There, there, sweetheart. Ivy’s here. It’s all right.’ She glanced anxiously at Phoebe. ‘What will we do? I don’t suppose that oaf downstairs will help us.’
‘He’s desperate to get rid of us,’ Phoebe said in a low voice. ‘I think his accomplices must be arriving soon with the remainder of the contraband, and then they’re going to tip off the revenue men.’
‘Merrydew isn’t likely to do anything while Caspar’s here,’ Ivy said thoughtfully. ‘I wonder if there’s a reward for turning him in.’
Phoebe shrugged her shoulders. ‘I don’t know if Merrydew is bright enough to think of that. Anyway, Caspar has frightened the life out of him by claiming to be able to do black magic. It seems that country folk are very superstitious.’
Ivy sighed heavily. ‘I wish that Nenzo would come and save us, or even the Paxmans. I think that Satan might look good in comparison to him out there.’ She jerked her head in the direction of the din that Caspar was making, but suddenly he was quiet.
Phoebe stiffened, putting her ear to the door and
listening
. ‘I think he’s given up. I can hear his footsteps getting fainter and fainter.’
Teddy was sobbing in earnest now and waving his small fists. Ivy unbuttoned her blouse and put him to her breast. ‘We can’t stay up here all day. This won’t keep him quiet for long, and I could do with a cup of tea.’
‘So could I, but that’s the least of our troubles. I wonder what Caspar is up to. I don’t think he’ll give up easily.’ Phoebe hurried over to the window. ‘I can hear someone moving about in the stable yard. If it’s the revenue men I’m going to call for help.’
‘Be careful. It might be the smugglers.’
Peering through the tiny diamond-shaped windowpanes, Phoebe could hardly believe her eyes when she saw Caspar and Merrydew emerge from the coach house carrying a wooden stepladder. ‘I can’t believe he’s doing this.’
‘What’s the matter?’ Ivy asked nervously. ‘What can you see?’
‘They’ve found a ladder. I think Caspar is going to try and get in through the window.’
‘What will we do?’ Ivy’s voice rose in panic. ‘We must hide.’
‘I’ll push it away,’ Phoebe said more in hope than certainty. ‘I won’t let him get to us.’
‘Be careful. He might grab hold of you. It’s a long way to fall.’
Phoebe turned her head to give Ivy a wry smile. ‘It’s him or me, and I’m not giving in without a fight.’ She opened the window and leaned out. ‘Don’t try it,
Caspar
.’ Ignoring her warning Caspar and Merrydew heaved the ladder into place. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ she added, reaching for the water jug. Lifting it from the washstand, she waited until Casper was about halfway up before tipping its contents over his head. ‘Don’t come any closer.’
Coughing and spluttering, he almost lost his footing but somehow he managed to cling on. He looked up, his customary mask of indifference giving way to white-faced fury. ‘Just wait until I get my hands on you. You’ll be sorry for what you just did, my lady.’
Phoebe threw the jug at him but it merely caught him a glancing blow on the shoulder and fell to the ground where it shattered into shards. Caspar continued his steady ascendance. Panicking, Phoebe attempted to lean out further and made a grab for the top rung, but the wooden ladder was heavy and with Caspar’s added weight it clung to the wall like a limpet. She had not enough strength to move it even an inch. In desperation she tossed the soap dish at him, but missed. She hurled the washbasin but it too plummeted to the ground. He was almost at the top when the sound of approaching horses’ hooves caused Merrydew to release his hold on the ladder. He hurried towards the gateway but was forced to leap aside as three horsemen rode into the yard.
‘Rogue.’ Phoebe uttered his name on a sob of relief. ‘He came, Ivy,’ she cried joyously. ‘He’s come to rescue us.’ Shielding her eyes against the sun, she saw all three men dismount. ‘Nenzo’s with him, and so is Ned. Come and see, Ivy.’
‘I can’t come to the window with the baby at me breast. It wouldn’t be decent. Tell me what’s happening.’
‘They’ve taken hold of the ladder.’ Phoebe leaned out further, shouting words of encouragement as Rogue, Ned and Lorenzo exerted their combined strength to pull it away from the wall. ‘Caspar is dangling from it like a trapeze artist at the circus,’ she added excitedly. ‘Just listen to him.’