The Reluctant Duchess (27 page)

“You’re right, she wasn’t part of the plan but I figure
we’ll get more if we have both of you.”

“You don’t need her, Richard wi
ll pay for me, I swear!” Even if he was angry with her, she was certain that he wouldn’t let these men keep her. “Please, she’s the King’s sister! You’ll have the whole British Army after you and she’s not worth that risk.”

“Oh, but for a K
ing’s ransom she is.”

The women looked at each other, each wondering how foolish
their captors were to risk the King’s wrath.

“You are either an idiot or exceptionally clever,” Lavinia called.

“Clever.” He sounded very pleased with himself.

“No plan of
Frederick’s could ever be clever,” Annabelle argued.

“Ah but you
see, Frederick isn’t calling the shots any more, I am, and I intend to get a large fortune for the pair of you.”

Lavinia and Annabelle
shared a worried look as the banging resumed.

“I’m sorry.” Annabelle felt tears trickle down her cheeks. “This is
all my fault.”

“Nonsense.
This is the work of two very disturbed men, one of whom gave the other the idea.”

“No, if it wasn’t for
Frederick, none of this would be happening.”

“My dear, bad thing
s happen every day, the trick is not to give up. That’s something that James used to tell me. We’ve been held up twice before. After the first time I didn’t want to travel any more, I wanted to stay in Hampshire, where I was safe. James insisted that a safe life, was a life half-lived.”

“This is still happening because of me.”

“Did you introduce your mother to your father?”

“How could I?”

“Did you banish your brother from the estate?”

“I wasn’t even born then.”

“Precisely. You are in this situation through an accident of biology. You didn’t choose your brother, that was just bad luck. As is this whole situation.”

The banging stopped and the sound of people climbing on the carriage could be he
ard, then the carriage began moving.

Richard was taking a walk through the orchard when he noticed a galloping horse approach. The cool autumn air stung his injured lungs but the orchard only had a gentle incline, which was why he walked here every day, trying to get his health back.

The horse skidded to a stop just feet from him and he realise that the rider was
his head groom.

“
Mr Sampson is here, you need to come quick, Sir,” he said, holding his arm out to help Richard up onto the back of the horse.

Richard didn’t think twice, grabbed the arm and swung his leg over the horse. They trampled over
the garden lawn as it was the quickest route back to the house, and Richard threw himself from the horse’s back and ran into the house. The servants pointed him to the library, having gathered at the commotion. Richard burst into the room, some of the staff following in his wake.

“They took you
r mother and Lady Wyatt,” Sampson said. “I couldn’t stop them.”

Richard’s first instinct
was anger, until he noticed the bloody bruise on Sampson’s forehead; dried blood still congealed in his hair.

“What happened?”
Richard panted, still trying to get his breath back after the short run.

“The carriage was hijacked by six men. I thought it was just the usual highwaymen, until they knocked me out.”

“What were they doing in the carriage?” Richard demanded.

“Coming here. Your mother sent a letter by messenger yesterday. He should have arrived
yesterday evening”

“No messenger came.” Richard looked to the staff, who
looked equally confused.

“That’s how they knew to wait for us! I thought it might just have been some opportunists who took a shine to the women
, but this whole thing was planned!”

Richard’s mind was reeling as he considered his options
, but he couldn’t focus on one line of thought for long enough to come up with a starting point.

“I’ve already send word to the King and Scotland Yard,” Sampson continued. “Next I have to speak to the detective who’s been keeping an eye on
Frederick Wyatt. This sort of plan isn’t organised by letter, Wyatt must have left us some clue in his behaviour. Then we speak to his staff, see what they know.”

“Where is the detective
who’s watching Frederick?” Richard asked.

“He writes every day and as of yesterday, he was in
Dorset staying at a Stalbridge Inn. If he has moved on, his letter should arrive in London tomorrow, but he should also have left a message for me with the innkeeper.”

Richard looked to the clock on the mantle to see that it was four p.m.
Frederick’s estate was near Stalbridge in Dorset and he estimated that they could make it there in two to three hours.

“Have the two fastest thoroughbreds saddled,” he ordered of the staff.

“There is something else I should have told you,” Sampson said. “I gave Lady Wyatt my revolver.”

“Do you
have any clue where we are?” Lavinia asked. “We must have travelled for five hours or more.”

Annabelle clenched her buttocks
, which were still sore from hours sitting on the carriage floor. Now they were locked in a farmhouse bedroom, with the windows boarded up and the door locked from outside, a single candle their only light. Their binds had been removed at gunpoint, with a dire warning that they would be shot if they tried to escape.

“As we were brought in, it looked a little like the Bevan farm.”

“Who are they?”

“They were farm
ing tenants of my father’s. Sometimes when I was out riding, Mrs Bevan would offer me, the steward and our horses a drink. But their house was different.”

“How so?”

“It was much better kept, never even a weed in sight, whilst this house is missing half its roof tiles. And there was a stone water trough out by the gate. Besides, it was dark when we came in so hard to tell. Anyway, Frederick isn’t stupid enough to take us to a property on his estate.”

“He may not be
but then, he isn’t in control any longer. I would say that our highwayman has decided to take the plan over as his own and if he wants to escape scot free, Frederick would make the perfect scapegoat.”

“But we know the truth.”

Lavinia gave her a sympathetic look.

“You don’t mean…” tears stung Annabelle’s eyes. Not so much at the thought of her death but more because she wouldn’t get to right her wrongs before her death. “No. No, I don’t accept that! I can’t die here, not now, not yet! I even told you to leave me out of your letter; he won’t even know that I was coming to beg his forgiveness!” She began to cry.

“Hush, child,” Lavinia said taking her in her arms. “Richard is not a foolish man, he will realise that we were taken together whilst travelling to see him. Besides…” her hand left Annabelle’s back and travelled to her thigh, until she felt the revolver that she knew to be housed in Annabelle’s suspender. “…We are not out of options yet.”

Annabelle gasped. She had become so used to the feel of the gun that she had forgotten all about it for a moment.
She was about to reply when they heard footsteps outside the door.

“You’re right,” Annabelle said, wiping her eyes. “Of course Richard and your father will pay any ransom. He won’t hurt us, he needs us alive.”

“Quite right, my dear.”

When the footsteps receded again, they began to search the room but all it housed was an unmade bed with a straw mattress. They were also looking for weaknesses and possible escape routes. Unfortunately the walls all looked sound, as did the wooden planks
, which had been nailed across the windows.

Annabelle was just tugging at the wood when she heard the door lock scrape. She quickly sat on the floor under the window
with her back to the wall, a fraction of a second before the door opened and the leader walked in with another highwayman. The underling went to Lavinia and held his bayonet to her head.

“Now be a good girl and let me tie you up, or your future mother-in-law pays the price.”

“Why?” Annabelle demanded.

“Because your brother is paying us a visit and you know too much.”

Annabelle looked to Lavinia, then turned around and held her hands behind her. He bound her hands, ankles and gagged her, then carried her to the bed where she lay helpless. The procedure was repeated, with Annabelle having the gun aimed at her whilst Lavinia was tied up. When they were both helpless on the bed, both men left again. Annabelle turned onto her side to that they could look each other. It was perhaps another thirty minutes until they heard hoof beats heading to the house. Moments later the door to their room opened and Frederick stepped in.

“Why did you bring them
here? It will be connected to me!” Frederick yelled.

“I
t would always have been traced to you,” the leader answered. “Isn’t that why you’re leaving the country as soon as you have the money?”

Frederick
didn’t answer as he considered the point.

Annabelle tried to speak through her gag but her words were horribly muffled, so she focused on just one word.

“I’m sorry, my dear?” Frederick taunted. “What did you say?”

The ringleader subtly raised his gun a fraction as Annabelle repeated her question.

“Why?” Frederick asked, finally understanding her.

Annabelle nodded, ‘yes
and the gun lowered’.

“That’s simple, because I am in debt and your beau has piles of cash lying ar
ound. I was going to use it to pay off my gambling debts but that would leave nothing for me, so I decided to go for a larger amount and start again in a different country.”

H
e made his way around the bed intending to humiliate Annabelle some more, until he finally saw the face of the person lying next to Annabelle, whose back had been to him.

“Good Lord!”
Frederick turned to the leader. “You kidnapped
her
!”

“Like you said, she will bring in a larger ransom.”

“But-“

“But nothing. Have some balls for a change. We only get to do this once, so we might as well give it our
best shot. Besides, after you’ve paid me what you owe me, you wouldn’t have that much left to live on.”

Frederick
considered the idea and as Annabelle might have predicted, his greed won out over his common sense.

“All right, fine! We’ll do it your way.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. Now Frederickdie, let’s go downstairs and talk terms.”

“I want to play with them for a while.”

“No yet. You can play all you want once we have the ransom but for now, they remain unharmed.”

Frederick
settled for giving Lavinia a lascivious grin as he rubbed his groin. “Not so condescending now, are you, Your Royal Highness?” he laughed at his own wit. “But don’t worry, Annabelle, you’ll get your turn too.”

“
Frederick!” the leader called.

“All right, all right, I’m coming.” Reluctantly he left the room and after perhaps an
other half an hour, they heard horses riding off.

Two men came back into the room, one of whom held a gun on them as the leader cut off their binding.

“I’ll have some food brought up to you, just bread and cheese but it’ll keep you going.”

“Why are you being nice to us?” Lavinia asked, rubbing her wrists to restore the circulation. If they were going to be killed, she didn’t see w
hy they were bothering to feed her and Annabelle. What did it matter when they we going to die anyway?

“Because if something should go wrong a
nd we are caught, I don’t want anyone being able to say we weren’t good to you.”

“You don’t honestly believe that you will be caught though, or you wouldn’t be doing this in the first place.”

“Only a fool doesn’t plan for being caught, and I’m no fool.”

“But you’re still going to kill us,
aren’t you? Once you have your ransom?”

He paused after he had cut Annabelle’s ankle binds and looked over at Lavinia.

“I’ll make it quick,” he assured her.

“Why do it at all?” Annabelle asked. “You are intelligent and you sound educated, why turn to crime?”

“Why not?” he answered. “Truth is, crime pays and it pays well. This job will set me and my men up for years, and for just a few days’ work.”

“So, how long do we have?”
Annabelle asked.

The ringleader stood up and considered them for a moment before deciding to answer.

“The King will have got the ransom note by now, fifty thousand. Frederickdie’s gone to London and all being well, he should collect the ransom tomorrow at noon and be back here by six or so.”