Peril on the Royal Train (40 page)

‘You’ve both distinguished yourselves,’ said Tallis, expansively, ‘and I played my part when I delivered the message to Prince Albert that the royal train must leave on time. He was gracious enough to say that he found the way I deployed my detectives as exemplary. I told him that I operated on instinct. I
knew
it was right to send my two best men to Scotland.’

Colbeck and Leeming exchanged a knowing glance. Tallis had already rewritten that part of recent history. Arguing with him would be fruitless. They knew the truth, however. As the superintendent waxed on about the importance of their success, their minds were elsewhere. Leeming was thinking about going home to a rapturous welcome from his wife and children while Colbeck was recalling the look of wonder on the face of Jamie Farr when he discovered the size of the reward he was to be given and learnt the details of the assassination attempt. Most of the people involved in the final confrontation had been losers. The conspirators had been arrested and the sabbatarians had been frightened to death. Apart from the detectives, the decisive winner was a young shepherd with an abiding hatred of railways.

Caleb Andrews relaxed in a chair but his daughter marched up and down the drawing room and kept glancing at the clock on the mantelpiece. Madeleine was at once thrilled and impatient. Andrews was critical.

‘You should have gone to Euston to meet him.’

‘If Robert had wanted me to do that, he’d have said so in his letter.’

‘You’re Mrs Colbeck now, Maddy.’

‘I’m not likely to forget that,’ she said.

‘The two of us should have been on the platform to greet him.’

‘He’ll have to go to Scotland Yard first. The superintendent will expect a report. Until that’s out of the way, we must simply sit still and wait.’

‘But you’re
not
sitting still,’ he said with a laugh. ‘You’ve been walking up and down this past hour like a caged animal. Take the weight off your feet.’

‘I’d much rather stand up, Father.’

‘It won’t make him come any earlier.’

She looked at the clock again. ‘He should have been here by now,’ she said. ‘Perhaps the train was late.’

‘Not if it’s driven by somebody
I
taught,’ he boasted. ‘We’ve a reputation for punctuality on the LNWR. If there’s a delay, it must have been on the Caledonian.’

‘What’s
keeping
him?’

As if in answer to her question, she heard the clip-clop of a horse and the rumble of cab wheels. Madeleine rushed off into the hall and flung open the front door. When the cab came to a halt, Colbeck got out with his luggage and paid the driver. Madeleine dashed forward to embrace her husband and receive a kiss. Unable to see his face in the dark, she gasped when they entered the hall and she could look at him properly. She grabbed him by the shoulders.

‘What’s happened to you, Robert?’

‘I had a slight altercation with someone,’ he said.

‘So you have,’ said Andrews, coming out to join them and staring at the bruises. ‘Welcome back, Robert.’

‘Thank you.’

They exchanged a handshake and a few remarks. Eager to hear about events in Scotland, Andrews accepted that he would have to wait. Colbeck needed to be left alone with his wife. Andrews was in the way. He took his leave, put on his hat and went out of the house. Madeleine closed the door behind him then ran to Colbeck for a second embrace. Arm around her, he led her into the drawing room.

‘I’m sorry that it’s been so long,’ he said.

‘It all ended happily, that’s my consolation.’

‘For some it ended more happily than for others. And Victor and I had some very unhappy moments along the way. Our reward was the satisfaction of knowing that the royal train went through Scotland unimpeded.’

‘I’ll want to hear all the details, Robert – and so will father.’

‘That can wait,’ he said, pulling her close. ‘I’m back and I’m safe and we’re in each other’s arms again. What could be better than that?’

‘Nothing,’ she said, excitedly. ‘Nothing at all.’

 

 

 

 

We hope you enjoyed this book. Do you want to know about our other great reads, download free extracts and enter competitions? If so, visit our website
www.allisonandbusby.com.
Click to sign up to our monthly newsletter
for exclusive content and offers, news of our brand new releases, upcoming events with your favourite authors and much more. And why not click to follow us on
Facebook
and
Twitter
? We’d love to hear from you!