The Lady Is Innocent (The Star Elite Series) (8 page)

“
Brockingham Mallow,” Hugo snapped, nudging Simon’s feet out of the way so he could move to a chair. “It was in the yard of a disused brewery on the outskirts of the village.” He glanced at Florrie for several moments. His gaze was so piercing that she struggled not to squirm under the intensity of it. “How are you, Florrie? No injuries I hope?”

“More by luck than judgement,” Pie drawled.

“I am fine thank you. I was a little shaken up, but otherwise fine.”

Hugo nodded once
and made a mental note of Pie’s apparent protectiveness of her.

While searching
Brockingham Mallow, and the old brewery, he had taken the opportunity to think about the problems they were dealing with. He knew it was folly to rely on first impressions of anyone, and had learned a long time ago that his gut feeling was never far from wrong. At that moment, his gut feeling was telling him that Florrie was innocent. He didn’t have the evidence yet to prove it for a fact, but he was certain that she had been telling them the truth when she had claimed that the debts were Tabatha’s. He quickly blanked out the thought that it might be wishful thinking because of the growing attraction between Florrie and Pie. There was something harder and more cynical about the older woman and that made her much more of a likely candidate to want to spend her evenings gambling.

His thoughts turned toward his own wife who was waiting upstairs in bed for him, and he drank his brandy a little bit
more quickly. While his own route to the altar had been fraught with danger, he was very glad that he had persevered and found a future with Harriett. His life had changed so much that he couldn’t bear to think where he would have ended up without her. He could only hope that Pie had a future with Florrie if he wanted one, and that she remained alive long enough to get to the altar.

“Someone has been using the brewery buildings as a place to stay. I have left
Stephen and Rupert on watch for now,” Hugo sighed and eyed the door longingly.

Pie showed Hugo the note.

“Sorry,” Hugo muttered, shooting Florrie an apologetic glance for the epithet that escaped before he could stop it.

“I am not going,”
Florrie declared flatly, determined more than ever that Tabatha should be the one to go.

“I am rather afraid that you are, my dear,” Hugo drawled, his gaze brushing past Pie’s to land apologetically on
Florrie. “It is imperative that you go to this meeting.”

“Why?”
Florrie felt her stomach flip and stared blankly at him.

“Because we are going to prove to the man who tried to kill you today that he didn’t succeed.”

Pie held up his hand and scowled at Hugo. “You aren’t going to use her as bait.”

“There are enough of us to keep her safe,” Hugo drawled, his tone cold and hard. He had failed today, and the knowledge didn’t sit well with him at all. It was up to him to put matters right.

Florrie was about to object. After all they had done such a good job protecting her earlier in the day that she had actually been run over by a carriage. Their level of protection she could do without, thank you very much.

“I won’t do it,” she declared, her chin tipped defiantly as she glared at each man individually.

“You are going,” Hugo snapped, dropping his glass on the table. “I suggest everyone gets some sleep. We will head out of here at 3 o’clock in the morning.” He turned and threw pointed glances at Pie and Simon. Turning to Jonathan he scowled down at the note. “It doesn’t say on here where the pouch is to be delivered to, so I assume it has to be on the church doorstep. You, Jonathan are going to be inside the church waiting.”

“Where will you be?” Pie stared at the almost sinister smile that suffused Hugo’s face. “Oh, I will be around.” With that he left the room.

Pie met Simon’s gaze for a moment. Neither of them had seen this side to Hugo before and weren’t sure what to make of it. Was Hugo more in need of a break than they had realised? Or had he got something else up his sleeve? Pie wished he knew but, glancing at Florrie’s indignant expression, was aware that now wasn’t the time to discuss it.

“You heard the man. Get some sleep. Tomorrow you will need to drop the pouch
on the church doorstep just before dawn, and then you are free to return to the house.”

“But, I don’t want to do it,”
Florrie protested. “Someone tried to kill me today, and could very well have another attempt tomorrow. How could you do this to me?”

Pie sighed. He didn’t want to do it with her but couldn’t go into detail about how the Star Elite worked right there a
nd then. There were only a few hours left before they had to leave. He could only hope that Hugo knew what he was doing because, if he failed, the consequences to Florrie would be deadly.

“I can’t do this, Pie,”
Florrie whispered.

“You are going to be perfectly safe,” Pie sighed, taking her shoulders in his. “You heard Hugo. Jonathan is going to be inside the church. I am going to be right behind you. There is nothing to worry about. Everything will be fine, you will see.” He couldn’t bear to think of any alternative ending.

Florrie studied the calm reassurance in his clear green eyes, but she could find no solace there that would ease her fears. The thought of walking through the grounds in the middle of the night by herself filled her with horror, even if she ignored the possibility that the man who might be waiting for her was a potential murderer.

“I am not going out there alone at night.” Her voice trembled with fear, and she was safely ensconced in a nice, warm study with three huge men beside her.

“You won’t be alone,” Pie countered. There was very little reassurance he could give her because he hadn’t discussed the finer details with Hugo. “Come on, it is time to get some sleep while you can.”

Thoroughly confused, and with
her fears growing by the minute, Florrie took the hand he offered her and stood up. After bidding a quiet goodnight to the others, she meekly followed Pie out of the room, aware of the careful scrutiny of the men behind her. She knew they still suspected her and couldn’t help but wonder why they had decided to help her. Did they still believe that the debts were hers rather than Tabatha’s? Or, did they think that she was the killer of the man she had found?

Her thoughts swirled in a confusing kaleidoscope of
fears and anger until she wasn’t sure what to make of any of it. Exhaustion weighed on her shoulders and she made no protest when Pie opened the door for her and followed her into the room.

“
What are you doing?” She asked. She stood back and watched while he closed the shutters and checked under the bed.

“
I am checking to make sure the room is safe. Don’t answer the door to anyone until I come and knock for you when it is time to get up.”

She didn’t hesitate to agree to whatever he wanted. Not only was she tired, but she desperately needed a few moments to herself to gather her thoughts. She still didn’t know w
hat to make of the day’s events, and couldn’t lose sight of the fact that the day to come was only a few short hours away.

Pie closed the door and waited until she locked it before he moved to his own room further down the corridor. Luckily, Crompton wasn’t all that big and it had a relatively easy lay-out to remember. He was fairly certain that if anything untoward did happen to Florrie during the night, one loud scream would have him at her room within a matter of seconds. Keeping that thought in mind, he made no attempt to get into bed and merely lay on the covers still fully dressed. He should try to at least catch forty winks, but sleep seemed to elude him. His thoughts were firmly locked on the woman further down the corridor.

The way she seemed to sidle against him, almost without thought
, humbled him as well as amused him. Her silent appeal for protection was usually something he would have considered clingy and annoying but with Florrie, he felt slightly touched that she did feel that she could turn to him. He was fairly certain that it had nothing to do with his need to get the truth from her.

Whatever happened tomorrow,
Florrie had to be kept safe and sound. He wouldn’t countenance any other possibility. With a wide yawn, he closed his eyes. Within seconds he was sound asleep.

Florrie shivered as the cold night air swept beneath her cloak. She was shrouded from head to foot in a cloak that was twice the size as she was. She had been aghast when Hugo had wrapped it around her and told her not to secure it. Apart from the catch that held the heavy item at her throat, it was hanging on to her with nothing more than a wing and a prayer. Still, she was grateful for its warmth. She had enquired why she couldn’t wear her own cloak, but Hugo had merely given her a secretive smile.

It had been agreed that Hugo would escort her to the churchyard. Pie had already left and taken up position beside a gravestone near to the
main gate. His vantage point gave him a clear view of two thirds of the churchyard. The other third would be watched by Hugo. Simon was prowling around Crompton, and Archie had disappeared into the woods to keep a look out and follow anyone who appeared or was lurking in the undergrowth. Jonathan was already inside the church having spent the night with the corpse, much to his disgust. Rupert and Stephen were still watching the brewery.

Florrie’s
heart pounded as she stared at the huge bulk of the church growing ever closer. She glanced over at the rustling trees that were bending and swaying in the stiff breeze and shuddered. She had never really understood what the men from the Star Elite actually did for a living and the thought of what they endured filled her with horror.

Her thoughts turned to Archie who was
all alone in those woods, waiting for a murderer to appear and then on to Jonathan, who had spent the night in a cold church with a corpse only a few feet away, and shuddered in horror. Pie was sitting somewhere amongst the gravestones and the rest of them were heaven only knew where. She shuddered and felt a little sick. In a desperate attempt to keep the hysteria at bay, she mentally ran through Hugo’s orders: keep her head down and the cloak hood pulled over to cover her face; head straight toward the front door of the church; drop the coins on the floor of the porch; turn around; once the coins have been delivered, head straight back to Crompton; don’t stop; don’t look up; if anything happens, scream and hit them with the pouch of coins and then run.

Tugging the hood of her cloak down to cover her face a bit more
, she bit back the fear that threatened to buckle her knees. Only a few minutes ago she had been awoken by Pie as promised, and had sluggishly left the bed feeling more than a little grumpy. Now though, she wished she was back in her room where it was warm, light and safe. Her thoughts turned briefly to her aunt Tabatha who was inevitably tucked up in bed, and she felt a bitter surge of anger toward her selfish step-aunt.

Still, if doing this proves your innocence
Florrie, just get on with it,
she chastised herself. Closing her eyes she sent a mental prayer heavenward and cautiously approached the short driveway that led to the church. Her eyes scanned this way and that but she couldn’t see anything untoward, not even any sign of the Star Elite who had promised that they would be there.

Her heart pounded in her ears
so loudly that she knew that if anyone crept up on her, she wasn’t likely to hear them through the heavy pounding in her ears. She visibly shook with the need to turn and run back to safety, but felt a responsibility toward the men who had all left their beds that night to help her. It wasn’t fair on them for her to turn and run away from their careful planning. After all, if it wasn’t for them she wouldn’t know where she would be.

She turned cautiously into the
churchyard, her tread silent and steady. The huge doorway to the old church loomed like a gaping mouth, waiting to swallow her up. Walking through the gate, she winced as it squeaked loudly in protest, and froze for one infinitesimal moment.

Had she heard rustling in the bushes? Or, was that Archie? Her eyes were wide as they scanned the area around
her. She wished that Pie was there, or she could at least see him. Her only reassurance was the knowledge that he was in the churchyard somewhere. She could only hope that he would be able to get to her on time if anyone tried to accost her. She swallowed and clutched the bag of coins tighter in her hand. If anyone did come up behind her, Hugo had told her to hit them with the heavy object, and hard. He had made it clear that nobody was to allow the target to leave the churchyard conscious. Florrie had shuddered at the ruthlessness behind his order but had understood their need to keep this quiet. It seemed to be the way they worked and it was amazing as much as it was horrifying.

She couldn’t help it, she glanced this way and that as she walked down the pathway; anything to keep her eyes off the dark mass of the church door.
Taking a deep breath, she crept quietly closer. If the door opened now, she was certain she was going to expire there and then. Carefully keeping her gaze averted from the spot where she had discovered the body, she finally arrived at the porch and dropped the bag of coins on the step. Quickly turning around, she struggled to keep her tread sure and steady as she made her way back toward the main driveway. The walk seemed far longer than she could remember it being in daylight. Desperation to get back to safety clawed at her relentlessly. Fear made sweat pop out on her brow.