Captive Surrender (24 page)

When Humphrey remained
uncooperative, Rufus sighed. “Levant left today, but then you knew
that he was due to go, didn’t you? You know then that Levant won’t
come to your aid. You are all alone in this, and that is just the
way that Levant likes it. So, if you want to save your own skin, I
suggest that you tell us what we need to know.”

Nobody bothered to
explain to the man that his neck was already firmly in the
hangman’s noose. Rufus had gathered enough evidence to point the
finger of blame for at least three deaths in the county very firmly
in Humphrey’s direction. Although there were no witnesses, there
was enough circumstantial evidence to ensure that Humphrey would
swing for his crimes. It was of little consequence to Stephen,
though, whose real target was Levant.

“
Where have
they gone?” Stephen sighed. He knew already, he just wanted to know
how much Humphrey knew.

“
I don’t
know. I just ride with him. They don’t tell me what they are up
to.”

“
But you have
some idea which direction they are heading,” Stephen replied with a
patient sigh and watched a cagey expression enter Humphrey’s
face.

“
What if I
tell you?”

“
It will bode
better for you in court if you co-operate. Failure to tell us what
we need to know will ensure that you swing.”

“
London. He
has gone to London to get Simpson’s brother to sign his half of the
house over,” the big man grumbled. Now that he realised the
consequences of his actions, and that Levant wasn’t interested in
him, he had no loyalty to keep his mouth shut.

Humphrey’s announcement
was no more than Stephen had expected. He knew from his
conversation with Marcus and Harry earlier that Hugo had already
despatched men to speak to Mr Simpson’s brother in London. They
were in position, and would be around to listen in on any meeting
Levant.

“
What does
Levant want the beach for?”

“
Why does
Levant want half of the bloody area?” Humphrey shrugged
unconcernedly. “I don’t know. I don’t get paid to ask questions, I
just do the job I am told to do.” He sniffed and wiped his nose on
his sleeve. “Can I get something to eat now? I am
hungry.”

Stephen sighed and
studied the man closely. He had no doubt that Humphrey would swing
from the gallows, most probably at Bodmin. It was irrelevant
really, the man was merely a hired thug. Stephen knew from
experience that he would have been told very little about why he
was asked to do things, he was just expected to do his job, no
questions asked.

He glanced at Rufus who
looked steadily back at him before he shook his head. Marcus and
Harry shook their heads too. Stephen studied Humphrey and weighed
up his options. He could continue to ask pointless questions, but
was aware that it was unlikely Humphrey knew anything of use to
them.

Instead, it would be far
more worthwhile if he could search Dinnington, while Levant was
away. By his reckoning, it would be at least a week before Levant
would be able to return. Stephen had more than enough time to
search the house, and grounds, if only he knew who had been left
behind to secure the property.

“
How many
staff are still at the house?”

Humphrey sighed and spent
several moments wagering the odds between co-operating and getting
food, or ignoring them and sitting there for the rest of the night.
His stomach won. “He has taken his side-kick, that Taylor person,
and Will. Everyone else stayed behind, but that was before I
disappeared, so he may have taken someone else.”

Stephen knew that left
five people at the most left at the large mansion. “How long will
Levant be gone?”

“
How should I
know?” Humphrey snapped and lifted his palms. “How long does it
take to get to London, have a meeting and get back
again?”

“
He didn’t
tell you how long you would be?”

“
Wouldn’t
tell me, now would he?”

Stephen felt his patience
begin to wane. He knew that Humphrey didn’t mean to be difficult,
he was in all reality most probably telling the truth, but it irked
Stephen that he was unable to get facts from the man. He briefly
debated whether to continue to push the thug, but the knowledge
that Prudence was at home, tucked up safely in bed was enough to
keep him quiet.

“
We are done
with him for now, Mr Denbigh,” Stephen announced flatly as he
pushed away from the table. “If we want any further information
from him, then we know where to find him.”

“
Do I get to
eat now?” Humphrey whined.

Rufus rolled his eyes and
opened the door to beckon to his staff outside. “I think breakfast
is served in jail at about seven o’clock tomorrow morning. I am
sure that you can wait until then.” He would only be glad to be
able to get a good night’s sleep rather than have to spend another
night listening to idiot’s bangs and shouts.

Stephen stood beside the
doorway and watched Rufus lead the disgruntled convict out of the
door. As soon as it closed behind them, Harry and Marcus sat down
at the table and waited for Stephen to join them.

“
What do you
want to do now?” Harry mumbled around a yawn. He had been riding
all night and was tired and hungry but couldn’t crawl off to bed
without knowing what he had to do in the morning.

“
I think that
we need to search Dinnington,” Marcus suggested quietly, and
wondered where the hell this Dinnington was.

“
I think that
we have a day or so to think about what we are going to do, and
then, once we have a plan, we can set about ensuring that we bring
Levant down.” Harry sighed.

“
Where do we
lodge while we are here?”

“
I think that
you would be best located at Cragdale,” Stephen muttered as he
rubbed his hands down his face wearily. “It is close to Dinnington,
and the beach that Levant is desperately after. I could do with
another pair of hands to help protect the ladies.”

“
Ladies?”
Marcus shared a glance with Harry. When Hugo had given them the job
of going to Stephen to lend a hand to bring his investigation to a
close, they had hadn’t been given any information about women being
involved.

“
The
Freestone sisters and their young brother Robbie, live at Cragdale
Manor. It is a large manor house which has a fairly sizeable plot
of land with a large beach. Levant intends to purchase it
next.”

“
For
smuggling? Are the Freestones smuggling?” Harry demanded with a
scowl at Stephen.

“
The sisters?
Definitely not. Levant? I think so.” Stephen watched as Rufus
re-joined them and waited until the man sat down. Together, he and
Rufus spent the next several hours updating Marcus and Harry on
their investigations.

It was nearly two o’clock
in the morning by the time Stephen yawned widely and drew the
meeting to a halt. He couldn’t stand it any longer. The temptation
of the nice warm bed, occupied by one rather sensual lady, was too
much of a draw for his weary bones and he beckoned to Harry and
Marcus to follow him as he called goodnight to Rufus. “If you two
are ready, I will show you where Cragdale is. You can take a look
around in the morning. For now, I think that it is best if we all
get some sleep. I get the strangest feeling that the next few days
are going to be very busy.”

Stephen had already left
a note for Rufus to send to Hugo. He had asked his boss to contact
Bernard Freestone, and make an overly generous offer for Cragdale
Manor. He knew that Hugo would apply pressure if the man balked at
the offer, especially given that Stephen was still officially
undercover and working on a case that involved spy smuggling.
Questions wouldn’t be asked, but the outcome would be achieved, of
that there could be no doubt. Now that he had his colleagues to
help protect the house, and the family, Stephen felt more confident
that his future with Prudence and her family at Cragdale would be
secured.

As they made their way
toward Cragdale, Stephen pointed out the main gates that marked the
entrance to the Dinnington Hall estate. It would be relatively easy
for Stephen, Harry and Marcus to sneak past the rather dim-witted
and inefficient group of thugs who attempted to protect Levant’s
headquarters.

Unfortunately, once they
got inside, they still had the mammoth task of having to search it
from top to bottom for any hidden paperwork, or evidence that the
man was connected to the French in some way. If they couldn’t find
any incriminating papers, they would be left with no alternative
but to see if Hugo had managed to get information on any agreement
Levant managed to broker with Mr Simpson’s brother. If not, they
would just have to wait until Levant made his next move. Whatever
happened, Stephen felt considerably better knowing that he had the
best back-up in the business in Marcus and Harry and, together,
they would be able to handle anything Levant, or his men, threw at
them.

“
Good Lord,”
Marcus muttered when he turned into the driveway of Cragdale and
saw the huge manor house that stood high on the cliff tops, nestled
against a backdrop of trees.

“
I know,”
Stephen muttered wryly. “It is rather run down, but inside is
clean, dry and very comfortable. The ladies are rather
impoverished. There is a story there, but I will tell you another
time. Oh, and there is also a lady who is quite poorly in one of
the rooms. As long as she doesn’t get out, you will be fine.” He
was aware that Harry and Marcus studied him carefully for a moment,
but neither of them raised any questions.

Once inside, he took a
moment to stoke the fires in the sitting room, and the library,
before he showed Marcus and Harry up to the rather Spartan spare
room. The fire didn’t take long to warm the smaller room, which was
a little too small for the two rather large men, but there was
little he could do. He left Marcus and Harry to argue over who was
going to take the bed, and crept across the hallway to Prudence’s
room.

He quietly let himself in
and stood with his back to the door for several long moments while
his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the unlit room. The tension
that had plagued him since he had left the house earlier that
evening suddenly vanished and, with a sigh of relief, he dropped
into a chair to remove his boots. As he slid between the sheets he
heard her soft murmur of discontent as she rolled toward him, but
settled down anyway and lay staring at the ceiling while he waited
to see what she would do.

Prudence’s eyes popped
open. A scream hovered on her lips as she rolled toward the solid
length of another person, and felt the shock of his chilled flesh
against her warmth. The fog of sleep vanished in an instant. Even
with the room pitch-black, she knew who it was. Her immediate
confusion was replaced with a wary surprise at his presumption.
Familiar warmth stole through her and she bit back a smile of
relief at the realisation that he was back at last, safe and sound.
She hated that he had to go out in the middle of the night; and
especially that he had to go anywhere near Dinnington, but she was
in no position to object given that he was only doing his
job.

“
What are you
doing?” she demanded with no hint of censure in her
voice.

“
Going to
bed,” Stephen replied gently. He was very glad that she hadn’t
screamed, or seemed to be all that perturbed at his assumption that
he would spend the night in her bed.

“
Do you
remember that we have a spare room now?”

“
I know, but
it is now occupied.”

Prudence sat bolt upright
in bed and stared at him. “It is? By who?”

“
My friends
from the Star Elite arrived this afternoon. They are squabbling
over who gets to sleep in the room, and who gets the chaise in the
library,” Stephen growled and began to kiss her shoulder. He had
never seen her hair down before and it tumbled in waves over her
shoulders. His fingers itched to untangle the wild mass of curls
and he slowly began to ease her back onto the bed.

Prudence’s objection
hovered on her lips but she couldn’t find the will to ask him to
stop. Long fingers slid through her hair to cup the back of her
head. His head descended toward hers and he captured her sigh with
his lips. There was nothing she could, or wanted, to do to make him
stop.

The following morning she
awoke tired, and still wrapped firmly in his arms. The house had
already started to come awake and, from the sound of the pots and
pans in the kitchen, breakfast was already being prepared. She knew
that she should rise and at least warn her sisters that there were
two strange men in the house but was so warm, comfortable and
blissfully content that she simply couldn’t summon the
energy.

“
Good
morning,” Stephen growled in a voice that was low and intimate. He
knew he should get up and introduce the ladies to the latest
arrivals, but didn’t want to let her up until they had a few
matters sorted out.

“
Morning,”
Prudence mumbled against his shoulder.

“
I am afraid
that I am going to have to sleep in here while Harry and Marcus are
here,” he announced carefully. In reality he had no intention of
moving out, even when Harry and Marcus had left to move on to their
next mission.