The Gallows Bride (23 page)

“
The same thing goes for you too, Eliza and Edward. If you are
seen, then don’t go to Harriett’s: you also need to make your own
way to Tintagel. Once in the village wait by the post master’s
house. Keep out of sight until you see me and don’t approach until
I signal.”

“
How will you signal?” Jemima interrupted, intrigued by the
subterfuge of it all.

Hugo
shot her a mysterious smile. “You’ll know. Until you see me signal,
don’t show yourself, just in case I am being followed.”

“
Why do we need to go to Tintagel?” Eliza asked. The Cornish
coast was littered with small villages. She was curious to know why
Tintagel was so important.

Hugo
hesitated and took a deep breath. What he was about to do next went
against every instinct he had, and everything he had been taught.
The lives of the men deep undercover depended upon secrecy. By
telling anyone, they were jeopardising men who had sworn to protect
their country. But he also knew that if the four people before him
were going to stick to his plans, he had to tell them
everything.

“
There is a large battalion of Redcoats camped at Bodmin as we
speak. They will be making their way over to Padstow as soon as it
grows dark and will be forming a tight line around Padstow ready to
sweep in at first light, when the smugglers will be looking to go
to bed after their night’s work. We know where most of them have
stashed their goods, and can use that to arrest them for their
crimes.”

Jemima
shot a look at Eliza, unable to keep the shock from her
face.

“
What is it?” Hugo’s frown was suspicious as he stared at the
two women.

“
I just don’t like the idea of the villagers being convicted.
I mean, I know they have been committing crimes, but they were
doing so to provide for their families. We have known these people
for a long time and most of them are just hard-working, simple folk
who are out to make a living. Most of them have been conscripted
into Scraggan’s gangs,” Jemima frowned at Hugo, knowing the
necessity of bringing Scraggan’s reign to an end, but hating the
idea of anyone being confined in the same way that she had been in
the condemned cell.

“
Most of them won’t be condemned, Jemima. That will be saved
for the ones we know have committed murder, and forced innocent men
to become involved by force.” He offered her a reassuring smile.
“Believe me when I say that the Star Elite have done their job
well. Only the men who are guilty of heinous crimes will face the
severest punishments. Those who have been conscripted will have to
face some sentence - they have been committing crimes, after all -
but they won’t be hanged, and they will be allowed to return to
their families afterward.”

Jemima
wasn’t mollified by his explanation. After all, she knew just how
difficult it was for a family to survive even with a man in the
house earning some money. Take that man out of the equation, and it
was damned near impossible for a woman to raise her family
alone.

Sensing
the doubt on her face, Hugo could do no more than offer her an
apologetic smile and carry on regardless.

“
The Redcoats are under orders to start to move into Padstow
at five o’clock. They will search every house, and arrest the men
we are after. We have arranged for two naval war ships to remain in
the Camel Estuary in case anyone tries to make a run for it by
sea.” He shot Jemima and Eliza a small smile of
reassurance.

“
The line of men will work their way down to Padstow harbour,
leaving no house unsearched, no cave untouched, no road unmanned.
Nobody will be able to get in, or out, of Padstow until everyone,
including Scraggan, is behind bars. When the men have been taken to
Bodmin to await sentencing, the Redcoats will locate the hidden
goods before doing a final sweep, picking up anyone who is hiding.
Then, and only then, will they set up camp on the cliffs
overlooking Padstow, where they will remain until they receive
further instruction. Nobody will remain to fill Scraggan’s boots,
believe me.”

“
The Redcoats will be a visual deterrent to anyone hiding, and
anyone considering resuming smuggling once Scraggan is arrested,”
Peter added, impressed with the planning and forethought that had
gone into the operation. He felt vastly relieved that his and
Dominic’s error would at last be corrected.

“
What about the Star Elite?” Eliza queried, enthralled by the
complexity of the plans.

Hugo
smiled at her. “They will not break cover. They too will be
arrested, but won’t go to Bodmin. They will be held back until the
perpetrators are taken away, then they will return to London for
debriefing before going on to their next job.”

“
Don’t they have time off to go home, or anything?” Eliza
gasped, wondering at the inhumanity of such a life.

Hugo
shook his head. “We are at war, I am afraid, so we cannot rest. The
men understood the requirements of the job when they signed
up.”

“
So why do we have to go to Tintagel?” Peter asked, mentally
recounting Hugo’s explanation for anything he had
missed.

“
Because there is a group of about twelve men on that side of
the line who have been told to look out for us and let us pass. We
haven’t told all of the men, as we don’t want to risk anyone
getting through the line, or news of your presence in the village
getting back to Scraggan. The fewer people who know you are here,
the better. We have to head toward Tintagel,” the look he gave each
person individually was grave, “do you understand? Don’t go
anywhere else.”

Edward
sighed and raised his brows. “Looks like Tintagel it is. I hope you
ladies know where you are going, because I haven’t a
clue.”

“
When you have passed, the line will close and that will be
it: you cannot go back. Padstow will be sealed off. If you do go
back, then you are likely to be arrested. It will be brutal, as we
fully expect Scraggan’s closest men, even Scraggan himself, to put
up a fight. If the officers are in any doubt, they are under
instructions to arrest everyone. Several prisoners’ carts are
scheduled to arrive mid-morning to begin taking the first of the
prisoners away.”

Jemima
sat in shocked silence for several moments, feeling slightly sick.
Although hearing Hugo explain the details was impressive, it hadn’t
really sunk in that this was indeed real. Scraggan was going to be
brought to justice.

“
Are you sure he is in Padstow?” She couldn’t hide the hint of
fear in her voice.

Hugo
nodded slowly, hating to frighten her. “He’s there. I had word from
Jamie when we arrived here. He was down at the pub this evening,
making plans with his cronies for the night’s smuggling.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t realise that the captain of the frigate
that is due to drop anchor just after midnight, is a Navy officer,
there to witness who removes the cargo. The French spy due to land
has already been offloaded.”

“
Good heavens,” Eliza gasped, “you are certainly very
thorough.” She shot her sister a look, not failing to miss her pale
cheeks and the fear lurking in her eyes.

“
Don’t worry, Jemima, please believe me when I say that
Scraggan is definitely going to meet justice.” The promise in
Hugo’s voice rang out loud and clear.

If only
I could be so confident, Jemima thought dolefully. She was glad
that Peter was sitting beside her, and reached out for his
hand.

Despite
their distance, he didn’t hesitate to offer her reassurance,
clasping her cold fingers warmly in his large hand. The physical
contact immediately made her feel more secure, but could do little
to chase away the nerves that loomed.

“
I will be so glad when this is over,” she whispered
quietly.

“
It will be soon darling, not long to go now,” Peter murmured,
sliding an arm around her.

“
All you two need to do, is keep the ladies together and get
them into Padstow as quickly as possible,” Hugo’s matter-of-fact
declaration made the task seem so simple. In reality, it was going
to be anything but. “I’ll meet you at Harriett’s”

“
What do we do if Harriett won’t come?” Eliza asked, shooting
Edward a searching glance.

Edward
snorted. “Don’t worry. Believe me, she is most definitely coming
with us.”

Peter
fought a laugh, knowing that Edward would probably bundle the woman
up, despite her screams, and throw her over his
shoulder.

Jemima
glanced at Eliza, not convinced.

“
There is something you need to know about Harriett,” Eliza
shifted uncomfortably.

Silence
settled over the men as they waited. Jemima shared a long look with
Eliza and gently shrugged her shoulders.

“
She has someone else with her. Someone who is going to put up
a fight.” Jemima chose her words carefully. She knew what she was
about to say sounded ridiculous, but the threat was very
real.

Tension
rose within the room. Jemima tried not to squirm under the men’s
stares. She struggled to find the right words so the men wouldn’t
dismiss her concerns, and was still searching for inspiration when
Eliza said,

“
She has a cat; a wild thing with a fierce temper. He is akin
to a guard dog, although slightly more aggressive. Well, a lot more
aggressive.”

“
It’s a cat!” Edward scoffed, shaking his head at
them.

Jemima
snorted. “Ignore us at your peril,” she warned, thinking of the
huge fur ball with its penchant for ankles.

“
Harrold is more than just a cat,” Eliza warned, ignoring the
smirks of masculine arrogance the men shared. “You’ll
learn.”

“
Where will you be?” Jemima asked Hugo as she shared a
cautionary look with her sister. They both knew that one of them
needed to keep an eye out for the feral beast.

“
I’ve got to meet with the officers running the operation, and
then will join you at Harriett’s and help escort you through the
line. Once you are on your way to Tintagel, I’ve got to go back and
make contact with the Star Elite. I am going to be there when
Scraggan is arrested, and escort the man personally to the
prisoners’ cart. Then I’ll catch up with you and escort you out of
Cornwall,” Hugo explained. He’d gone over the plans so many times,
he was positive they had covered all possibilities.

There
were so many things to do, so many places he needed to be, that
even he wasn’t sure it was possible to do it all in one morning. He
had to rely on Peter and Edward escorting the ladies to Tintagel as
instructed, and Harriett going along without a fight.

It
should all go according to plan. As long as Scraggan understood he
was outmanned, outmanoeuvred, and outclassed and gave up
easily.

Hugo
fought a growing sense of unease. He would have preferred not to be
involved in escorting Harriett out of Padstow, but had agreed that
he would when he had asked Jemima to become involved back in
Leicestershire. Given everything they had done to get this far, he
could hardly fail to keep his side of the bargain now. He tried not
to let his concerns show and rose stiffly to his feet.

“
You all need to get whatever rest you can because it is going
to be a long night, and an even longer day tomorrow. Once out of
Padstow, the journey will be tiring and, to be safe, you cannot
really stop until we get to Willowbrook in Oxfordshire,” Hugo
added, casting Jemima a worried frown.

Although
she looked considerably healthier than she had when she began the
journey, she was still pale, and had not had time to rest since the
day of the executions. He wondered if she was up to the task ahead
of her, but it was too late to turn back now. They were committed
to going, and whatever lay in store for them, they had to stick to
their ultimate goal.

Jemima
slept fitfully that night. She knew Peter didn’t sleep all that
well either; his tossing and turning kept interrupting her fitful
slumber until she eventually gave up and stared at the ceiling.
Neither of them had undressed or climbed between the sheets. With
only a couple of hours before they had to leave, it didn’t seem
worth the effort. But as the time to go drew close, Jemima felt the
gritty pull of tiredness begin to weigh down her
eyelids.

When
Peter finally rolled over to look at her, she was wide awake and
fighting the growing knot of nerves in her stomach.

“
We will get through this,” Peter whispered, trailing a
fingertip down her nose.

It was
the first sign of affection he had shown her in two long days and
Jemima revelled in the moment.

“
I have to admit that I’m scared,” she replied, eagerly
sliding closer when he drew her into his arms.

“
That’s good,” Peter replied, staring absently at the wall as
he played Hugo’s plans out in his mind.

Over and
over, he considered the day ahead, planning for every eventuality.
Although Hugo hadn’t admitted it, when it came to getting Harriett
Ponsonby out of her house, it was clearly up to them.

Or
rather, Jemima and Eliza were responsible for getting Harriett out
of her house, and that bothered him. What if their friend had
changed, and they didn’t know her as well as they thought they did?
What if she absolutely refused to go with them? He knew that Eliza
and Jemima wouldn’t want to leave without her. What
then?