Secret Heiress (22 page)

‘Lord above.' Moved to violent emotion, Betty blew her nose on her spotless apron. ‘She wouldn't be the first girl to go missing from these parts, for there was that tavern wench and the miller's daughter, besides others… If anything has happened to my Eliza, I swear I'd beat him with my rolling pin, sir. The wicked fellow what's took her deserves to hang.'

‘It is a hanging offence,' Daniel said. ‘Yet I fear the rogues that have taken her are but fools who work for money. I pray that she comes to no harm at their hands. You can think of no one who might wish to harm her—or anywhere she would go if in distress?'

‘Where else should she go but here, sir?' Betty said. ‘She has no one but us. My Ted told her she was to consider this her home for as long as she wished. If she could, I am sure she would come here.'

‘Then I fear we must conclude she is being held against her will,' Daniel said and frowned. ‘I shall call on my uncle, but then I must go back to Lady Sarah's home and discover if the marquis has had more luck. You will write to this address if you should hear from her?' Daniel wrote down Lady Sarah's home address. ‘I shall go here after I leave. Let me know if you remember anything or hear a rumour, however slight.'

‘Yes, sir.' Betty clutched his arm as he turned to leave. ‘You will find her, sir?'

‘Yes. If it takes me the rest of my life I will find her,' he promised.

But would she still be alive? Was Lord Manners behind Eliza's abduction, or was it someone else?

Daniel could only hope that Lady Sarah would have
received a ransom note when he returned. He had hoped Eliza would be here, but now he knew that she might be anywhere.

 

Eliza had slept some of the time since they had stopped the coach and given her a crust of bread and something to drink. The masked men had untied her hands to allow her to eat and drink, but when they retied them they had not been as thorough as the first time. She had been unable to loosen the knots then, but now she could feel a definite change. The rope was not cutting in as deeply as it had and she thought she would soon be able to work free. At the next change of horses she would try to escape.

She closed her eyes and thought of Daniel. He loved her. He would be searching for her. If she could only evade her captors, she would find him somehow. She prayed that he had not already joined the regiment he had spoken of when he talked about the future. It did not matter, she would find him wherever he was.

The hours passed so slowly and they must have been travelling for some days, at least two, she thought. Where were they heading? If her hands were free she could have pulled back the blinds and looked out, but the knots were so stubborn. Surely soon they would be loose enough to…

Eliza gave a little cry of triumph as one hand came free. The other was soon relieved of the chafing rope. She rubbed at her wrists, feeling the life come back little by little. It was dark in the carriage, but when she risked a peep out of her window she saw that there was a bright moon. The countryside was touched with silver, looking strange and eerie. However, as they passed a gallows, she shivered, but then thought that she recognised the
scenery. Surely she had come this way before? She had seen the gallows soon after leaving Norwich on her outward journey.

Eliza let the blind fall and sat up, feeling excited. If she was truly not far from Norwich, it would be easy enough to find her way to Betty and Ted's. Why had she been brought here? Somehow she did not think that Lord Manners would have gone to the trouble of delivering her to her home. No, there was quite another reason. Someone must have a special reason for bringing her here—but what could it be?

Eliza smiled grimly in the darkness. She had no intention of waiting around to find out. As soon as the coach slowed down the next time, she would make her bid for freedom.

 

‘I am glad you came to me,' the earl said when Daniel had finished telling his story. ‘I believe I know who killed your cousin—and, if you say someone took a shot at you, he may also be responsible for the attempt on your life.'

‘My agent has been making enquiries—but please tell me your ideas, sir. I know there was some talk of a farmer called Jackson, but I do not think it was he.'

‘Jackson had reason to hate my boy—the fool dishonoured his daughter—but there is another man, a gentleman of sorts. He lives in a rather run-down manor house a few miles from here, and I have reason to think Marcus may have been involved in some nefarious dealings with the rogue.'

‘Uncle?' Daniel was shocked—he had hoped to shield the earl from the unpalatable truth. ‘You think my cousin was involved in something not quite legal?'

‘I believe this Kettleton fellow may have been
responsible for the disappearance of several girls in the neighbourhood,' the earl said with a heavy sigh. ‘Recently, a girl who once worked here as a maid returned to her home in the village. She told a tale of having been tricked and then forced to live and work in a house of ill repute. She had tricked her captors and escaped, being sensible enough to return home and tell her story.'

‘Good grief! I have been warned about this man, Kettleton, and concluded that he was involved in some foul business.' Daniel frowned as he saw his uncle's expression. ‘I had suspected it, but had no proof. Tell me what you know, please.'

‘The girl's father came to me with some tale of Marcus having promised the girl marriage, but when the girl went with him, believing he would keep his word, she was handed over to another man. She says his name is Sir Henry Kettleton, and that he took her to the house where she was forced to do unspeakable things. I asked the father for some proof, but there is only the girl's word, which, of course Kettleton would deny.'

‘Naturally, the word of a baronet would be believed above hers,' Daniel said. He took a turn around the room, as some things began to be clearer in his mind. ‘I employed an agent, who has been asking questions about my cousin's death. I believe Kettleton was indeed behind the attempt on my life…' Daniel was suddenly struck by a terrifying thought. ‘He could well be behind Eliza's abduction. Damnation! If he has her…' He could not put the awful thought into words.

‘He may use her as bait to trap you,' the earl apologised. ‘I am sorry you were caught up in this miserable affair, Daniel.'

‘I chose to become involved,' Daniel said. ‘Besides, this man is evil and must be stopped.' His brow darkened.
‘He has gone too far. If anything has happened to Eliza I shall certainly see him hang.' The thought of the woman he adored at the mercy of a man like that was unbearable. ‘I must find her.'

‘I cannot say where he would have taken her. Kitty Robinson says the whorehouse is in London, but Kettleton's own place is not far from here—a matter of ten miles or so to the east of Standish Village.'

‘Then I shall go there and have it out with him.' Daniel looked grim. ‘I intend to get to the bottom of this somehow.'

‘Take care, Daniel. If he killed Marcus he will not hesitate to kill you.'

‘I shall be on my guard, but I must allow him to live for long enough to tell me where he has hidden Eliza.'

‘We cannot be sure he has her.'

‘It is the only explanation. I was puzzled to the reason for her abduction. There were other factors but it all fits: the attempt on my life and then Eliza's disappearance. I am sure it is all in order to prevent my learning the truth about Marcus's death and exposing Kettleton.'

‘Yes, I dare say.' The earl looked thoughtful. ‘You must take some of my men with you. Ted Wright has an interest in Eliza's welfare—and my gamekeeper Jenkins is a good man with a gun. A couple of the grooms might be handy in a fight.'

‘Yes, they may come in useful,' Daniel said. ‘I shall go tonight, sir. If I can get into the house under cover of darkness, I might have a chance of taking Kettleton off guard. The most important thing is to discover where he has taken Eliza.'

If anything had happened to her…but it was a thought too far. He could not bear to think of anything happening to the girl he adored. To have her snatched from him
after one perfect night together was too cruel. He would never rest until he found her.

Clouds had obscured the moon and it was dark when Eliza felt the carriage slowing to a halt. She tensed, ready to make her escape the moment it stopped. Glancing out of the window, she could just make out the shape of a house at the end of a long, curving drive. The horses were going very slowly now and she decided to take a chance. Wrenching the door open before the carriage actually stopped, she jumped out, falling to the ground in a heap and rolling to the side of the drive. In another moment she was on her feet, running swiftly towards the trees to the right of the drive. She heard the shout from somewhere behind her, realising that her escape had been noticed.

Eliza's heart pounded as she heard the sounds of pursuit, but it was very dark and she believed that, if she could only reach the trees, she might avoid her captors.

Fortune was with her as she entered the dense wood. Eliza's mind was working furiously. If she blundered through the wood in a blind panic she might trip over unseen hazards and injure herself. It would be better to go more slowly, feeling her way and making as little noise as possible. She could hear the men shouting to one another. They were as much hampered by the dark as she was, and from somewhere quite close, she heard one of them say he was going to fetch a lantern.

‘If we don't find her, he'll have our hides,' the other man said. ‘You must have left the rope too loose when you tied her.'

‘It was as much your responsibility as mine. Kettleton is a devil. He'll shoot the pair of us if the girl escapes.'

Eliza held her breath. They had obviously not seen her. She tried to remain absolutely still as one of them returned to the carriage to fetch the lantern and the other one walked past her. He was within feet of where she stood, her back to a tree. She waited until he had gone past, listening to the sounds of rustling.

Then she saw a light moving through the trees. For a moment the bearer paused and then turned away from her, moving deeper into the trees. Eliza hesitated, considering what to do. The men obviously thought that she would have run deeper into the woods in a panic. By holding her nerve, she had gained the initiative. When she could no longer see the light or hear any sound, she walked towards the drive that led to the house. She would follow the road and see where it led her. Perhaps she could find help—a passing carriage—or another house where she could ask for assistance.

Now that she felt less afraid of being recaptured, Eliza had begun to feel the soreness on her hip and thigh where she had landed hard when she jumped from the carriage. Her wrists were sore, too, because the ropes had been tight at the start and she had chafed her skin trying to loosen them. There was a little more light now, because the clouds had rolled away from the moon. She did not know exactly where she was, but had recognised some landmarks before the coach turned off the high road into country lanes, and she believed she was not too far from Norwich and her home. Her captors had thrown her reticule into the carriage with her, though she had no idea what had happened to the remainder of her belongings. Perhaps they were still with the coach. No matter, she had a few coins in her purse and would be able to pay for assistance to reach Betty's home.

 

She had been walking for no more than twenty minutes at most when she saw the carriage approaching. Stepping out into the road, she waved at the driver and he brought his horses to a halt.

‘Please, you must help me,' she said. ‘I have been abducted, but I managed to escape from my captors. I am trying to reach my home…'

The coachman did not reply, but a tall gentleman was getting down from the coach. He came towards her, looking at her oddly.

‘Are you in some trouble?'

‘My name is Eliza Bancroft and I was abducted from near Lady Sarah Manners's home in Wiltshire. I was held captive for two days, but this evening I managed to escape. I need to get to the village of Standish Hope—could you help me, please?'

‘What a terrible experience for you, Miss Bancroft,' the gentleman said. ‘I am sorry that you have been treated so ill. Have you any idea who abducted you or why?'

‘I do not know why,' Eliza replied, feeling relieved that she had been found by such a respectable gentleman. ‘However, I believe it was on the orders of someone called…Mr Kettleton, I think.'

‘Wicked,' the gentleman replied. He offered her his hand. ‘Please step inside my carriage, Miss Bancroft. My home is not far and my wife will look after you until we can arrange for you to be taken home.'

‘How kind you are.' Eliza took his hand, accepting his help into the carriage. She smiled as he took the seat opposite. ‘I do not believe you gave your name?'

‘Did I not, Miss Bancroft?' The gentleman smiled as the carriage moved on. ‘How remiss of me? My name is
Sir Henry Kettleton, and I regret to tell you that I have no wife.'

‘You tricked me…' Eliza gasped, feeling stunned. She flung herself at the door, but he grabbed her arm and threw her back against the seat. He took a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at her.

‘Are you going to kill me?' A feeling of despair came over her as she realised that she had escaped his henchmen only to be recaptured by the man himself. ‘Why—why are you doing this?'

‘Because I have a score to settle with a certain gentleman,' Kettleton said. ‘Seaton has been poking his nose into my affairs, and I mean to teach him a lesson. Unfortunately for you, you have seen too much—which means I shall have to make certain arrangements for you, though perhaps I may allow you to live.'

Eliza swallowed hard. ‘If you meant to kill me, why did you not have your men do it when they captured me?'