Hide in Time (28 page)

“Why do you think the highwayman
has never been caught? Not ’cos he’s clever. It’s
because he’s friends with all the other High-and-Mighties.
Right?” He slapped Jack to encourage the right answer.

Jack rubbed his cheek then leant back
against the stout tree trunk and said, “I’ve had no
dealings with the fellow.” He looked straight at Alfred Smith
then glanced at the others. “And,” he retorted, “there’s
more than one, or so I hear.”

“I’ve had enough of your
lies – let’s get down to it. My sister’s been
poisoned.”

Alexandra clasped her hand over her
mouth as she gasped. There’d been no mention of poison.

Jack, regardless of his precarious
circumstances, smirked and was duly punished by a kick in the shin.

Nigh-on-toothless grew impatient.
“Listen to ’im. Next thing ’e’ll say is ‘not
mine guv’.”

“I’ve told you,” Jack
said with a measure of desperation this time, “I’ve never
laid a hand on her. If she’s swelling up, it’s nothing to
do with me.”

“Well,” said Alfred
grasping Jack’s chin, “you’ve got a choice. Marry
her, then it’ll be yours, or pay up for her to get married.
And…” he said bellowing into Jack’s face, “pay
back all you’ve taken off me. Two thousand guineas.”

“Two thousand guineas is pure
rot! And I’ve not swollen her belly.” Jack could hold
back no longer as he bellowed into Alfred’s face, “You’re
the one who’s cheated me, you lily-livered…” He
didn’t have a chance to finish.

Two of them bent his arms back around
the trunk and Alfred thumped him in the stomach, screaming, “You’ll
pay up or you’ll not see the light of another day.”

Alexandra could see the time for
talking had come to an end – Jack hadn’t any money, or
even a promise to offer, and he didn’t seem disposed to marry
Alfred’s ‘poisoned’ sister. The time for holding
back had ended too. She ached to strike out at these dreadful
ruffians. But what could she do? Eyes reconnoitring, she decided she
could circle around and try to take them out one by one. She’d
have the element of surprise in her favour initially and perhaps Jack
would do something to help. She drew close to the ruffian standing on
guard furthest away and kicked him on the back of his knee. He
stumbled forwards; she grabbed his long, greasy hair and shoved his
face to the ground. And as surely as if she’d heard the words,
‘finish him off’, she knew she must do more. She stamped
on the back of his leg, and roared loudly with the effort. Another
approached with his fists held high. He tried to lay a punch on her,
which she parried, then dodged his second. Grabbing his arm she
turned and flung him over her shoulder. He landed on the other man
who was groaning and attempting to crawl away on his elbows. “Ya!”
‘Finish him off!’ There it was again, just as if someone
had trained her. She yanked the man’s arm behind his back in
such an awkward fashion that she heard a crack. She did not add a
yell but he did. She was managing far better than expected but now
Alfred Smith and the biggest of his cronies were cautiously
approaching. She could run, but then what would she have achieved? A
quick glance confirmed her fears that Jack wasn’t troubling
himself to struggle free. Whatever made her think he was worth
saving?

At last Jack rallied, or so it seemed
for a brief moment. An opportunity had presented itself and he wasn’t
one to miss out. Pointing directly at her he yelled, “That’s
the man who’s robbed you. That’s the highwayman. He’s
the one you want!” What chance had she? Could she repeat that
surprisingly satisfying experience of throwing a man over her
shoulder? A fleeting assessment of the situation showed her that one
against four was not good odds and now Jack might even be against
her. She turned to look for an escape but one of the men behind her
was now standing and the gang began encircling her and closing in.

“Stop right there!” A
commanding voice sliced through her thoughts. “Move and I’ll
shoot.”

Alfred Smith’s face was the
epitome of stunned and, like an actor running through his repertoire
of ‘horrified expressions’, it finally faded to
dumbfounded.

A man dressed from head to toe in black
emerged from behind some scrubby bushes. A whip crackled through the
air. Had she now to confront yet another villain? Whoever he was, he
was better prepared to take on this bunch of brutes for, as well as
the whip, and the pistol in his right hand, there was a sheathed
sword at his side. He used the pistol to indicate they were all to
line up opposite Jack. All except Alexandra. He threw the thin, long
rope that had been hanging from his belt, and motioned for her to tie
the gang around the trunk of an oak. Alexandra had as much interest
in making sure these men were unable to escape as did Jack and this
outlaw, so she looped the rope around each man's neck then tightly
wrapped the rope around the tree. She escorted the one whose arm
she’d broken to the tree, apologized profusely for causing his
pain, then tied him up too with the dangling rope ends.

The highwayman indicated she should go.
She certainly would not! He might have a gun, a whip and a sword, but
there was only one villain to deal with now. And that villain had her
ring caught up in the black cravat around his neck. He cracked his
whip and the tip wrapped around her ankle. Lightning reflexes kicked
in as she stamped on the whip with her other foot. The villain pulled
the whip with such force that she fell on her backside and the whip
cracked again, this time close to her hand. She knew better than to
attempt to grab it. Except for his first command, he had said not a
word.

Alexandra stood and reluctantly backed
away; he’d come better equipped. She needn’t go far; in
this mist she could hide easily. As helpful as the mist was for
hiding her amongst the nearby coppiced trees, it also obscured her
view. As it rolled across the scene and cleared momentarily, she
could see Jack being marched at sword point towards the road.
Alexandra began to worry a little about Holly though the bigger worry
was what might be happening to Jack. This man was, she was sure, the
same one who held up the coach she had travelled in. Even without the
ring around his neck, she would recognize him anywhere by his style.
That powerful silence, that exactitude, those eyes. The very same.
The muscles in her stomach tightened and she felt a tingling reach to
the tips of her fingers.

She consciously blinked – she’d
been transfixed. She must not forget her mission. She followed the
two men to Alfred Smith’s coach. The outlaw was throwing a
sheathed sword to Jack. As he did so, he spoke and she heard the
voice of the highwayman.

Hide in Time ~ Anna Faversham

From the way Jack caught the scabbard,
released the sword (which Alexandra now identified as a rapier), and
brandished it, she knew it was his own.

“You will marry Miss Charlotte
Carpenter as soon as can be arranged respectably.”

Alexandra recognized the voice
instantly.

“And why would I want to do
that?” retorted Jack.

“Because I shall present you to
your released creditors if you do not and then you'll have to marry
Smith's sister. The choice is yours."

Jack scoffed and pointed the tip of his
rapier at the highwayman. “I should have known you couldn’t
keep your nose out of my business.”

Alexandra was in no doubt at all now.
Jack had the tip levelled at his brother. Her stomach lurched. She
must help. Against swords?

Adam threw down his whip and drew his
rapier. “You will marry her.”

“Never! She’s good, I’ll
grant you that; I wouldn’t mind a bit of that on cold nights
but I don’t need to wed her.”

Adam slashed the rapier across Jack’s,
removing the tip from its menacing position near his throat. It was
clear the two brothers were about to fight.

“You do, and you will. Now do you
agree or shall I force you?”

Alexandra froze behind a tree as Jack
looked over his shoulder. He didn’t look keen to fight but
neither would he give in to Adam’s demand. “You can’t
fight me, Adam – I’m your own blood.”

“And, like a vampire, you have
sucked the blood of your family.”

Alexandra wondered if it was possible
to move in closer. She could hear them clearly but the mist was
becoming thicker, rolling in and settling, concealing the brothers as
a cloud hides the sun. The sound of swishing rapiers, sizzling like
hot branding irons, confirmed her worst fears. She drew closer but to
no avail. The fight had shifted behind the carriage. She could dash
to its cover, but suppose she distracted Adam? She moved in as close
as she dared and crouched to watch beneath the coach. Too dark to
discern whose feet were whose, she crept to the door of the carriage
and picked up the whip Adam had flung down. If nothing else she could
prevent it being used by Jack. She checked the feet again.
Unfortunately, they were heading around the back of the coach –
where Jack’s tethered horse was becoming skittish. She could
release him and lead him away. That would be a precaution worth the
risk.

Before she could do so, Jack was
defeated by his opponent. She knew it was Jack from the squawking and
pleading. “I’ll marry her. I’ll marry the harridan.
There’s one condition though.”

“There’s no conditions,
Jack. Not of your making anyway. You will move to her house now that
Charlotte has to fulfil the role vacated by Lady Carpenter. If
Charlotte is with child, Sir Charles will not object – I shall
attend to that.”

“Certainly it’s a great
house, but it won’t be mine until her father dies. I’ll
marry her on the condition that the house is passed to me within…”

“It won’t ever be yours. I
shall see to that too.”

Alexandra eased her way to a vantage
point where she could see the back of Adam standing over the prostate
Jack, sword-tip to his throat.

“One is dealt a hand, then it’s
a question of how the game is played. One can have all the Aces and
still lose. And Jack, having thrown away your own hand, you began
cheating Catherine and myself of ours. Therefore,” said Adam,
“you will lose your inheritance rights to “Foxhills”.
You need repay none of your debts to the estate or to Father but you
may never set foot on our land again.”

“And how are you going to enforce
your…” Jack hesitated before he spat out, “conditions?
Kill me?”

“I stand over you now to ensure
you understand. I am not foolish enough to think you will not need
some encouragement to fulfil these conditions.”

“And this encouragement?”
Contempt was not disguised.

“It takes the form of my promise.
I promise that if you leave Charlotte, I will track you down, even if
it be across the seas, and I will return you, dead or alive, to your
wife.”

There was silence. Dead or alive! Did
Jack know he was beaten? Or was this another time when he would say
one thing and do the opposite?

“A son of yours will inherit on
his majority. You will need to be a good father, Jack, or he might
turn you out.”

“You know what she’s like,
don’t you? You know. You are condemning me to a life sentence.”

“Your alternative is to marry
Smith’s sister.” There was silence. Clearly Jack had no
inclination to take that course. “Your life will begin to
flourish if you turn your hand to the matters of the Carpenter
estate. It is nearly twice the size of “Foxhills” and
it’s time you settled to the business of raising a family. Then
there’s riding, shooting a few pheasants, keeping livestock –
often as chancy as gambling.”

Alexandra thought she detected a note
of irony; surely nothing could be as chancy as his gambling. Jack
conceded with a sigh, “Hmm, possibilities.”

“You are being dealt a new hand
and within it is the Queen; play your hand well, Jack, or you’ll
lose the game.”

There was a short silence. Jack was
more reflective than dismissive as he said, “The knave and the
Queen of Hearts.”

Adam pressed ahead. “Your
jealousy has hurt yourself more than your intended target, Jack. Yes,
it has hurt me in a way that is impossible to repair but I now have a
chance of happiness and I will not let you wreck my life, nor
another’s, again.”

“Rather fancy a bit of shooting,”
Jack said with some deliberation. “As for fishing, well, the
Carpenters have their own lake. I could build a folly – a folly
for fishing, what do you say to that?” There was mockery in his
voice; he'd find it hard to reform.

Nevertheless, Adam sheathed his sword
and extended his arm to help Jack stand.

It was time to leave – with
haste. Stealthily skirting around the detained, muttering gang,
Alexandra retraced her steps to Holly. The misty dawn was breaking,
the woodland birds were singing, and Alexandra headed for “Foxhills”
feeling equipped to build heaven on earth.

Hide in Time ~ Anna Faversham

Laura sat back in her office chair,
took off her shoe and looked at her toes. The little one on the right
was still missing. Well, not missing exactly, just invisible. She
could feel it; yes, it was definitely there and doing its job; but
not visible. No amount of staring or prodding would return it to
normal.

She had stayed too long last time.
Seeing Adam, making sure Alexandra would be given the antibiotics,
these things had been uppermost in her mind. Furthermore, she had had
a horrible feeling she was in trouble with the police and the thought
of facing them hadn’t appealed. Then, of course, upon her
return she’d had to visit the doctor again because she wasn’t
feeling one hundred per cent, and he’d wanted to know what
she’d done with the prescribed tablets. ‘Fraught’
was the word that came to mind – fraught with difficulties;
perils even.

She looked down at her foot, checked
her invisible toe, and put her shoe back on. At least it was only a
toe. She’d hoped that, after a while, the much-loved little toe
might return. But it was now June and it hadn’t. Perhaps she’d
made her last visit. She never felt she was going back in time –
just returning to see friends, and Adam.