Barbara Metzger (25 page)

Lesley had not mentioned marriage again. Carissa told herself he must have changed his mind, after reflection, choosing the much wiser course. Then she told herself he was merely waiting for the barristers to decide if she was a wife, a widow, or an unwed mother. She didn't want to hurry the verdict, wishing this idyll could go on forever.

It couldn't.

Sue was ill one day, feverish and fussing, and she would not eat. Carissa thought she was simply teething, but Lesley insisted the doctor be sent for. Until he arrived, they were taking turns walking with her, sponging her hot face, singing lullabies, both of them out of tune. Pippa was missing her ride with the viscount, her lesson with her mother, her walk with Maisie, so Aunt Mattie offered to take her along to play with the vicarage children. Jem would drive them in the carriage, naturally, and Pippa knew never to wander off by herself, so Carissa agreed.

The vicar and his wife had five children, one a little girl a year older than Pippa, the first young friend she had ever had. The rest were boys who had a wonderful collection of injured rabbits, broken-winged birds, frogs, and garden snakes in their old barn. They even had a pet hedgehog that would take seeds out of one's hand. After the animals were all picked up and petted, the children started a game of hide-and-go-seek around the barn. Only they never did find Pippa.

Every soul within miles was enlisted in the search, everyone who could ride and carry a weapon, that is, for Kane had to be desperate to steal his own daughter, and desperate men were the most dangerous. Riders were sent to outlying farms, abandoned cottages, and woodsman's shacks.

Kane could not have gone so far, Lesley swore to Carissa, that they would not find him. Inspector Nesbitt assured her that Kane wasn't going to harm the child, that he undoubtedly only wanted to hold her for ransom. A note would arrive soon, he believed, and had his men hide in bushes near the house. Guilt-ridden that he'd taken the carriage horses to the blacksmith while Lady Mathilda had her visit, Jem was one of them, vowing to see the vermin hanged. Byrd sharpened his knife.

The note came a few hours later, before Carissa had time for full-blown hysterics, but via no messenger who could be questioned. A rock had been tossed through the schoolhouse window. One of the boys had lathered his pony riding to Hart's Rest to deliver the message tied to it.

Come alone,
it said,
or the brat dies. Bring 2,000 pounds to the turnpike crossroads tomorrow at 9 A.M.

"Good,” Leslie said, “that means he is still in the neighborhood. We have all afternoon and night to find him."

"You cannot,” Carissa protested. “He'll hurt Pippa!"

Lesley grasped her shoulders. “You'll have to trust me, Carissa. I would never do anything to jeopardize your daughter. You must know that by now."

She looked into his blue eyes and nodded. Besides, she did not need him or Nesbitt to warn her that Pippa's safety was not assured even if they did everything Kane wanted. The man was insane and had no sense of honor. “Very well, we'll try to find him. But where? You've sent riders in every direction, and none report anyone seeing him anywhere."

"I have an idea. Do not get your hopes up, but remember that I grew up in this neighborhood. Kane did not."

He left to give instructions for a squadron of armed men to spend the night at the crossroads, hiding behind bushes, up in trees if need be, to lay an ambush for Kane in the morning, in case they missed him this afternoon.

He returned with pistols in his pocket, sword buckled at his waist, and a fight on his hands. “No, you are not going. Nor you, Byrd. I need you here to coordinate all the other searchers and to get the best marksmen well hidden.” Byrd merely told him to watch his back. Lesley assigned some of the others to stay to guard the house and the womenfolk.

"I would not put it past that bastard to double back, intent on thievery while he thinks we are scouring the countryside. Come, Glad."

"'Come, Glad'? You'd take the dog and not me?” Carissa was outraged. “The note was addressed to me. Pippa is my daughter."

It was his money, but Lesley didn't say so. He said it was too dangerous, instead. But he was telling it to her back, for Mrs. Kane was already outside, mounted.

Lesley hauled the dog onto his own saddle and mounted behind, calming the horse's fidgets at the unaccustomed weight. Glad sat like a maharaja on an elephant, long ears waving.

They rode back to the vicar's barn and dismounted. The viscount showed Glad one of Pippa's stockings that he'd had Carissa bring and told the dog to go find her.

"That's your plan?” Carissa wanted to know as they watched the dog circle the barn, nose to the ground, which wasn't all that far, considering his short legs. “To follow the hell-hound after hares? Gladiator could not find his tail if it weren't affixed to his rear end."

Lesley led his horse after the dog. “You have merely mistaken laziness for stupidity. Glad has an amazing nose. He can find a lamb chop two miles away; he'll find Pippa. Watch."

Soon enough, Glad had left the vicarage property and was heading up a deer path through a wooded region.

"Rabbits,” Carissa scoffed, but followed.

Every few yards Glad would stop and sniff at the ground, then lick his lips. Lesley watched more carefully, then called back: “I was right! He's on their trail. Look, Carissa. Gingerbread crumbs. Pippa knew we'd be coming! What a brilliant child!"

Carissa could only think how frightened the little girl must be. She also vowed to have Cook keep a steady supply of steaks for the dog. As for the viscount, she could not imagine how she could make this up to him. He hadn't hesitated an instant to face down her demons, and pay for the privilege. She did not think she could ever love anyone more.

Lesley was pleased, for he thought he knew where the dog was heading. As he told Carissa, there was a decrepit shack hidden in the woods, where an old poacher, Mortimer, had settled. Lesley's father had permitted the encroachment because Mortimer had kept other trespassers away. He and the viscount had had a gentleman's agreement that Mortimer wouldn't use traps, interfere with Hartleigh's fox-hunting, or sell what he shot. In return, the viscount had pretended he did not know of Mortimer's existence. Both old men had been gone for years, and Lesley wondered if the place had stood empty since then or if some other hungry felon had discovered it. Perhaps a drifter had directed Kane to the rude shelter. It would be torn down before the week was out.

When they got nearer the area where he recalled the shack to be located, Lesley indicated they should tether the horses and proceed on foot, silently. Of course, Glad barged ahead, baying. Lesley shrugged and took Carissa's hand for comfort as they reached a small clearing. The remains of a rough stone cottage were in a heap, but the windowless wooden shed where old Mortimer must have kept a cow or a goat was still standing. And standing outside it was Phillip Kane, holding Pippa in front of him, with a pistol pressed against her temple. Lesley squeezed Carissa's hand, then slowly raised both of his above his head, away from the pistols or the sword.

"I knew you'd come,” Kane said, ignoring Carissa. “Just the kind of mock heroics I'd expect from a prime goer like you, Hartleigh. Get in.” He gestured them to go past him, into the thatched shed. Glad darted between them, trying to get to Pippa's pockets.

"Call him off, Hartleigh, or I'll shoot him."

Lesley whistled for Glad to come to him, but said, “Oh, I doubt that. Then your pistol would be useless, wouldn't it? You might have to fight me like a man."

Kane wasn't taking the gun away from Pippa's head. “Did you bring it, my two thousand pounds?"

Lesley nodded and slowly lowered one hand to his waistcoat and withdrew a purse. “It's not the entire amount, just what I had in the house. But I've done better. I put in a letter for my yacht's crew. They'll take you anywhere you want to go.” So long as it was down. “And we finally got the deed to Parkhurst's house. That's here, too."

"But the house is bur—” Carissa began.

"Being painted,” Lesley quickly said. He tossed the purse wide, hoping to make Kane release Pippa to retrieve it, but the man stooped and told her to pick it up.

"You have what you wanted, Kane. Now let the girl go."

Kane was making his way to the doorway, his eyes on the viscount, his pistol on Pippa. “I let her go and I'm a dead man, Hartleigh. I'm not that big a fool. The chit is my safe passage."

"No!” Carissa screamed.

"Touching,
cara mia,
but the brat goes with me. Besides, she is my own flesh and blood. My darling daughter, isn't that right, Pippy?"

Pippa turned to look up at him. “My lord promised he'd be my papa,” she said. “Not you."

"Well, then, to show there's no hard feelings, I'll make you a wedding present, Carrie. I'll leave the chit at the crossroads for you, like I said. The brat would only slow me down, anyway."

"It will be dark! You cannot leave her there."

He ignored her pleas. “And I'll even put some of my papers on a body somewhere when I get a chance, so the authorities can say I died. Clever, huh? You and your lover can thank me. For now you'll stay put here. Someone might come find you when the chit tells them. Then again, she might not remember the way or have any more bread crumbs.” He shrugged. “That'll be too bad."

He backed out of the opening, holding Pippa like a shield, then slammed the door shut, barring it from the outside. Carissa rushed to the door and began pounding on it, crying, until Lesley pulled her away. “You've got to be brave, sweetheart."

"Oh, no, I don't, you clunch! I can be as frightened as I want! I simply have to do what is necessary to get my daughter back, but I do not have to be brave and you must not ask it of me! I refuse to try!"

"I believe you have just defined courage, my love. You'll do. Now let's figure a way out of here."

[Back to Table of Contents]

Lesley had his flint, and the old thatched roof would burn easily, but there was no guaranteeing that they wouldn't die before they could get out. He used his sword to poke at the lowest corner of the shed, where some of the thatch had fallen in. Two mice tumbled to the floor, and Carissa screamed and clutched his arm in a death grip. “Set the roof on fire! It's better than this!"

But Glad had chased the mice across the dirt floor to a hole that tunneled to the outside. He was digging furiously, trying to catch the escaping morsels. “That's the ticket, Glad,” Lesley encouraged him. “Dig. We'll get that dastard yet.” He used his sword to loosen the dirt and his hands to pull it away. He wasn't as fast as the dog, but he was more efficient

"We'll be too late,” Carissa mourned, trying to stand back from the flying dirt. “He has too much of a head start on us. At least we will get to Pippa before she can be stolen by Gypsies or eaten by wolves or—"

Lesley kept digging. “He has a lead, but I know the shortcuts.” Soon the hole was big enough for the dog to squeeze through. Glad sat on the other side, barking his frustration that the mice were long gone. Lesley did a bit more digging, until the hole was larger still. “I'll go first, you follow."

"Me? There are worms there."

"What?” he shouted. “First mice and now worms? Dash it, woman, your daughter is on the other side of that tunnel!"

"Then let her come open the wretched door! Better yet, Mr. Know-It-All, you can crawl out and unbar the door. It does not take two of us to wriggle through worms. Besides, you forgot Glad."

Lesley was taking off his coat. “Dash it, Carissa, he can't open the door either!"

"No, you forgot that I'm afraid of dogs, too,” she admitted. “I really am a coward, you know."

He kissed her quickly, dirt and all, before lowering himself to his stomach next to the tunnel. “As long as you're not afraid of me, you are perfect."

Once out of the shed, they raced for the horses. Lesley tossed her into the saddle, telling the dog he would have to stay behind until one of the men could come fetch him. They'd be riding too fast for his additional weight on the horse, too wildly for his balance. Carissa tossed Glad the loaf of bread she'd stuffed in her saddlebag, in case Pippa was hungry. Then she tossed him the cheese too.

Lesley did not know if his men would be at the crossroads when they got there, or if the ambush would be possible, he explained as they rode through the woods. He hoped to nab Cantwell as soon as he released the child. If not, he'd follow him to the antipodes.

As it turned out, Byrd and the others were at the intersection, picking likely hiding spots before it got too dark to see. Lesley had them disperse in a circle, out of sight, to cover all angles. Then he and Carissa stood by the side of the road Kane would be using, holding hands, waiting. They could hear a horse's labored breathing long before they could see Kane, hunched over the saddle, Pippa clutched in front of him. Lesley, Carissa, and Byrd stepped out into plain sight, drawing his attention.

"I'll kill the girl, Carrie. You know I will, so call them off.” He had the pistol in his hand, ready.

"If you kill her, you are a dead man, Cantwell, and if you ride past us, you'll have a knife in your back before you've gone five meters. Put the girl down, now."

"And you'll let me go?"

Lesley aimed his own pistol at the ground. “Put her down."

Cantwell was wavering, casting nervous, hasty glances behind him. Lesley could not take a chance on him spotting the others and panicking, so he looked past Phillip and called out, “No, Glad, stay back. He has a gun."

Just as Phillip turned to look, Pippa stuck her thumb in his face. He had to release either the girl or the gun, to put his hand to his eye. He chose the girl. The second Pippa was on the ground, shots fired out, knives flew through the air. It was over. The deserter had met his firing squad a bit sooner, was all.

Carissa was hugging Pippa, dampening her with tears, begging her never to suck that particular thumb again, swearing the awful man would not bother them anymore. Then Lesley was there, holding both of them, vowing to keep both of them safe at every crossroad life put in front of them. Lord Heartless knew right where his heart was found.