The Master Of Strathburn (40 page)

‘Don’t stand there gaping, you fool,’ she snapped. ‘Out with it.’

Baird shook his head, his lank brown hair hanging in his eyes. ‘Tha’s the problem, milady. I dinna ken exactly what happened. I woke Mr Grant an’ helped him to ready for the duel at ha’-past six as planned. His second—Mr Ramsay—was asleep, but Mr Grant didna want me to wake him. He thought he wouldna be needed on account of the fact I had seen the Scots Guard enter the Park. It was raining verra heavily so the master asked me to hire a carriage for him. I ken the inn keeps one in the mews. But when I went down to ask for it … weel, I think I was struck on the head from behind.’ He gingerly prodded the back of his skull and winced.

‘And?’ Lady Strathburn demanded, gesturing impatiently. ‘I do not want to hear about your incompetence, you dolt. What happened to your master? Where is Mr Ramsay?’

Baird grimaced. ‘Weel, the thing is, milady, I was clean knocked out and didna come to for a wee while. An’ when I came back here … Mr Grant was gone. Mr Ramsay was still here, but he didna ken anything aboot wha’ had happened. He only left aboot an hour ago himself. I think he was headed back to his lodgings in the Lawnmarket if ye wish to speak wi’ him.’

Lady Strathburn flicked her hand in a gesture of dismissal. ‘Enough, you idiot. You are supposed to look out for your master. And with a skull as thick as your obviously is, I can’t believe you were laid out by some common footpad. Unless …’ her eyes narrowed. ‘You say you didn’t see who it was who struck you?’

‘No, milady. It was verra dark in the mews, an’ pouring with rain. I’m sorry, milady—’

‘Oh, shut your mouth, Baird. I need to think on this.’

She went to the room’s only window and looked down onto the cobbled courtyard below where her sedan chair and hired chairmen waited. One or more of Robert’s lackeys had obviously knocked out Baird and had then taken Simon. But two could play at this kidnapping game. She smiled slowly. She glanced over her shoulder at the valet.

‘Did Simon leave his duelling pistols anywhere about?’

* * *

Although the morning was still dismal with rain, Jessie was light of spirit when she decided to venture forth from Robert’s rooms and seek the company of Lord Strathburn. After the interview in the library, Robert had departed for Leith Docks to farewell
The Phoenix
before it embarked on its return journey to Jamaica.

And to farewell his brother.

Robert had shared his ingenious plan of recruiting Simon as a crew member of his ship with her. She did not doubt that after a year of such employment, Simon would be a reformed man. And to her abiding relief, it meant that she wouldn’t have to see him for some time.

Traversing the hall that led to the stairs, Jessie smiled softly as she also recalled how Robert had kissed her thoroughly before he’d left Strathburn House. She touched her fingers to her still slightly swollen lips and let her mind wander to thoughts of how she and her hand-fasted husband would spend the afternoon when he returned. He’d sworn that he’d be back as soon as he was able …

The click of a door unlatching and the rustling of silk directly behind her caught her attention.

‘Don’t make a sound or I’ll pull the trigger.’ Jessie started at the sound of Lady Strathburn’s voice close to her ear. Then she felt something hard being pushed between her shoulder blades. The muzzle of a pistol.

Oh God
. Jessie froze. Her lungs seized and ice-cold terror gripped her heart. The countess was obviously launching a counter offensive because Robert had taken her son. But what, in heaven’s name, did she have planned? Revenge of some sort was clearly her agenda, but how exactly was she intending to exact it?

Dragging in a breath, Jessie attempted to turn around. ‘This willna help, milady. What could you possibly hope to—’

‘I told you to shut it, you little bitch.’ Lady Strathburn reached out and grabbed Jessie by the arm then pulled her roughly back so that she was pressed up against the countess’s body. The pistol was now pushed into her lower back. Jessie stilled instantly. She knew that a shot discharged into her kidney would be fatal.

‘Now, here’s what we are going to do,’ Lady Strathburn continued. ‘You and I are going to walk quietly downstairs and climb into my sedan chair. If you attempt to warn anyone or try to get away from me, I won’t hesitate to shoot you. Do I make myself clear?’

Jessie nodded, attempting to tamp down her fear. The woman must be mad. But she daren’t risk escape, not now with a pistol cocked ready to kill her.

‘Move.’

Jessie did as the countess demanded, praying that someone would appear and notice that she was being coerced into leaving. Surely Robert would be back soon. But the stairwell and vestibule were completely deserted as they made their descent. Even Gordon was nowhere to be seen.

The rather luxurious looking sedan chair and its two stoic bearers stood in the square directly outside Strathburn House. Sheets of rain teamed down upon Jessie as she emerged from the covered portico—she struggled not to slip on the wet stairs leading to the cobblestoned pavement. Within moments she was soaked. Her hair hung in her eyes and her silk skirts clung to her legs making it hard for her to climb into the cramped enclosure of the sedan. She hoped that Lady Strathburn might lose her footing, but not once did the pistol’s muzzle lose contact with her body.

Once inside, Lady Strathburn slammed the door and took a seat beside Jessie, the pistol now pushed directly into her side. Even though the countess’s sedan was much more commodious than the hired one Jessie had taken a ride in the day before, she found herself pushed uncomfortably sideways against the Moroccan leather panel and curtain covered window on one side whilst Lady Strathburn’s hip and leg were pressed hard against her on the other.

‘I’ve heard gut shots are a particularly slow and painful way to die so I wouldn’t be planning anything if I were you,’ threatened the countess. With her other hand, she then knocked on the ceiling of the sedan and despite the rain and the added weight of an additional person, the chairmen took off at a steady jog.

A small amount of light filtered into the cabin through a narrow crack in the curtains covering the door opposite them. In the dim interior, Jessie could just discern the unflinching hardness in the countess’s eyes. Her heart plummeted like a stone. It would be difficult to reason with the woman but she must try.

She took a shallow breath, her throat tight with fear. ‘Why are you doing this?’

An unnerving smile slowly spread across Lady Strathburn’s face. ‘I think you know why. But in case you haven’t worked it out, your fiancé took Simon, so now I’m taking you. Simple.’

Jessie raised her chin, sudden anger giving her strength. ‘You willna succeed.’

‘Of course I will. Why should Robert be the only one who is allowed to get away with breaking the rules? Drastic circumstances call for drastic measures. When I have my son back, Robert can have you.’

But will I be returned to Robert dead or alive?
Terror twisted Jessie’s belly into tight knots. The cold, uncompromising expression in Lady Strathburn’s eyes belied the notion that she was going to escape from this situation unscathed.

She looked away from the countess toward the window. Where were they going? With the velvet curtains drawn, it was impossible to see anything other than passing shadows. Icy spurts of fear prickled beneath her skin. She was shivering. Dare she ask what the countess intended? Perhaps if she knew more, she could think ahead and formulate a plan of some sort. Although there was little she could do at the moment, she would not give up on the idea of escape. She had too much to live for—she had found love. She would take any chance she could to make her way back to Robert.

The sedan chair suddenly slowed. Jessie glanced out of the crack in the curtains, but could see little more than the back of the chairman and a splinter of dark grey sky. The chair veered slightly as if negotiating an obstacle in the road, and then between the crowded rooftops, she caught a brief glimpse of the turrets of Holyrood Palace and its gate-house.

‘Where are we going?’ Jessie’s voice cracked with despair. Robert would never find her so far afield from Strathburn House. They could easily disappear down any one of the maze-like wynds or closes. Or worse still, venture into one of the more disreputable and desolate areas of Holyrood Park; the former royal hunting ground, complete with towering cliffs, gorse covered commons and boggy marshes covered a huge area of over six hundred acres. The area to the east around the Salisbury Crags would be largely deserted, especially on a day like today.

Lady Strathburn sighed. ‘Never you mind,’ she said with bored disdain. ‘Knowledge of your immediate destination will not help you in any way if that’s what you are thinking.’

It suddenly occurred to Jessie that they could not be going too much farther in the sedan chair. Lady Strathburn must have some other conveyance waiting close by. Jessie knew she would have to act soon to free herself if that was the case. Her mind worked furiously. There must be someone else involved in the countess’s scheme.

Somehow, Jessie found her voice again. ‘Who have you enlisted to help you? You canna think to carry out my kidnapping all on yer own.’

Lady Strathburn smirked. ‘Baird. You remember him, don’t you? He was more than willing to help, especially when I offered him free use of you during your confinement. He’s quite used to taking care of Simon’s leavings.’

Oh God, no.
Bile rose to Jessie’s throat and spots danced before her eyes. Horror like nothing she’d ever felt before threatened to overwhelm her. She dug her fingernails into her palms and willed herself not to pass out. If she did, there was no chance of escape.

She sucked in a breath and forced herself to look the countess directly in the eye. Was there any chance she could appeal to the woman’s better self? ‘How can a high-born woman such as you, behave so unscrupulously an’ condone such depravity?’ she demanded, her voice shaking with both fear and outrage. ‘Do you no’ have any sense of moral decency, Lady Strathburn? Please, I beg you to reconsider—’

The countess suddenly thrust the pistol against Jessie’s temple and leaned forward until their noses were almost touching. Her breath was sickly sweet against Jessie’s mouth. ‘Now listen here, you conniving little slut—’

At that moment, the sedan chair lurched wildly to the side and hit the road with bone-jarring force. Jessie screamed and clutched frantically at the leather hand-strap by her head to stop herself from falling off the seat. Lady Strathburn tumbled into her and Jessie felt the pistol’s cold, hard muzzle push sharply into her temple.
Oh God, please don’t let it go off.
One slip of the countess’s finger and she’d be dead.

Through the haze of her fear, Jessie became aware of the great cacophony of noise outside—a horse’s startled whickering followed by the crack of splintering wood and the sound of something crashing onto the cobbles, voices shouting and swearing.

Within seconds, the sedan’s front door was thrown wide open and one of the chairmen looked in. ‘Are ye all right, milady. Mistress? I’m verra sorry, but there’s been an accident. My partner slipped and has done himself a wee bit o’ mischief. An’ another cart has overturned.’

‘Yes, of course we’re all right. Out of my way, you stupid man.’ The countess shifted, gripping Jessie tightly around the shoulders with one hand as she hissed in her ear. ‘Climb out. Don’t say a word, or I swear I will kill you.’

Jessie nodded weakly, too paralysed by fear to speak. Why didn’t the chairman notice that the countess had a gun pressed to her head? But perhaps the muzzle was obscured by the sodden, tangled mass of her hair. She whimpered but the man had already disappeared from view. With no recourse other than to obey, Jessie somehow made her shaking limbs work and clambered out of the sedan chair. The countess continued to grip her shoulder as they both emerged; the pistol was now pushed into her back. They were at the bottom of the Mile, in the very middle of the road where the Canongate, Water Gate and the Abbey Strand intersected. The gate-house to Holyrood Park stood right in front of them. And somewhere nearby, Baird must be waiting with a carriage.
No.

Jessie blinked against the needles of heavy rain lashing against her face as she frantically glanced about, unsure of what to do or which way to turn. All around her was chaos. The chairman who had fallen was lying on the road, moaning horribly as he clutched his leg—his ankle was bent at the strangest angle; blood, a protruding bone.
Oh God
. Nausea swelled within Jessie at the gruesome sight. An overturned cart lying directly in front of her had lost its load. Apples, onions, cabbages and heaven knew what else lay scattered across the streaming cobbles. A wild-eyed horse reared and whinnied. People were everywhere, but they seemed focused on the chairman’s plight, or were diverting approaching traffic. Someone was ringing a warning bell and several men tried to control the horse.

I should break free now and run.

The pistol bit into Jessie’s back again and the vice-like grip of the countess’s hand about her shoulder increased. Lady Strathburn would not be foiled so easily. ‘Keep walking. Move.’

Jessie staggered around the cart and crossed the road, toward Holyrood’s gates. Hope flickered at the thought the constable at the gate-house might notice her plight but then the countess forced her to turn a sharp left toward the Leith Road, away from the melee. Away from any prospect of help.
Oh Lord save me. This can’t be happening
.

But it was. Jessie stumbled along the edge of the road, beneath the Water Gate, past the public well and the Back of the Canongate until the countess forced her to stop at the entrance to a filthy laneway; a row of tightly packed, dubious looking tenement houses, stables and warehouses stood on one side, and a stretch of boggy plotted ground lay on the other. ‘I don’t know which way to go.’ Jessie’s voice was thick with tears and desperation. She hadn’t realised she was crying.

‘Baird is waiting down there. Hurry up.’