Unseemly Ambition (40 page)

Why hadn’t she thought of him
before?

What a simpleton she’d been. He hadn’t
been at the Isley’s dinner party during the Inner Circle meeting in
the library, so she had eliminated him from consideration. Isley
had obviously acted in his stead, working to recruit Sir Anthony.
Then Flynn and her mother had arrived at the Isleys’ house
later.

Her mother.
Concordia felt a chill at the back of her neck.
How would her mother handle the news that the man she had begun to
feel affection for was a ruthless criminal?

She couldn’t think about that now. She
had to know more of their plans. Careful of her footing, she leaned
closer toward the balcony.

“
It will be only the one
device, correct?” Isley asked.

Device?
Concordia felt cold all over.

“
Johnny has made two more,
in case one fails,” Flynn answered.

“
We’re setting
three
devices? That’s
reckless. You said no one would be seriously hurt,” Isley
protested, anxiety in his voice.

“
Oh, for heaven’s sake,
Barton,” someone interrupted impatiently, “we are trying to get you
elected. Don’t turn miss-ish on us now.”

“
Now, now,” Flynn said. “I
applaud Barton’s caution. ‘Be first in a wood and last in a bog,’
as we say. Don’t worry; Johnny’s very adept at his work. He’ll
place them at the debate where they will produce the most dramatic
destruction of property, but they won’t be lethal. Perhaps some
will suffer cuts and bruises, but that cannot be
helped.”

“
I want to see where these
devices are being placed,” Isley insisted.

“
Hardly practical,” Flynn
said. “You must be as far from the scene as possible.”

“
But Sanders is expecting
me there,” Isley said.

“
You will be indisposed and
send your regrets,” Flynn said firmly. “I would advise the rest of
you to be elsewhere tomorrow, going about your usual morning
routines.”

“
What if Johnny’s caught
planting the bombs?” Isley asked. “Three are more difficult than
one.”

“
Johnny will be working
with someone who’s very adept at slipping in and out without being
noticed,” another voice chimed in.

“
Who?” Barton
asked.

“
Oh, someone local, let’s
just leave it at that,” Flynn said smoothly. “Why don’t you pour us
some of Maynard’s excellent brandy? I think we all need a
break.”

Concordia’s hands were cramping in
their grip on the sill. As she shifted position, one of the metal
suspender buttons scraped against the stone. She froze.

“
Did you hear something?”
someone asked. Concordia pressed herself into the shadows of the
deep gable. She held her breath.

In the small gap between the
balustrade and wall, Concordia saw Flynn step out onto the balcony.
He gazed out into the darkness and lit a cigar. Another man whom
Concordia recognized from the ball joined him, and the two were
puffing away, contemplating the shadows of the orchard trees in the
moonlight.

Flynn leaned in toward the man and
dropped his voice, although the night air carried it to Concordia’s
ear. “I want you to get a message to Johnny. But keep it quiet.
He’s needed for another job.”

The man rubbed the back of his neck
and glanced back toward the room. “You mean—?”

Flynn nodded. “A pity it is
– she’s a fair
cailin
, without too many nicks in her horn. Nevertheless, Miss Wells
must be silenced. Permanently.”

As soon as the men went back inside,
Concordia climbed quietly down the ladder, legs shaking. They had
to get out of here.

Charlotte helped guide a trembling
Concordia through the bedroom window. “That was close,” she
breathed.

Concordia groped her way to a chair.
Her legs were shaking so badly she didn’t know if they would hold
her weight. “Luckily, his eyes weren’t adjusted to the dark, and
the balustrade blocked most of that side. Including the
ladder.”

“
What did you learn?”
Charlotte asked.

“
Plenty, and none of it
good,” Concordia said. She fiddled with a suspender. Really, she
could get used to such attire.

Charlotte listened with rapt attention
as Concordia told her about Robert Flynn and the Circle’s plans to
set bombs at the candidates’ rally tomorrow.

“
Today, actually.”
Concordia drew a shuddering breath.

“
But why?” Charlotte asked.
“I hadn’t heard of any threats against either candidate, as
volatile as the interactions between the two have sometimes been.
What benefit could be gained from such a despicable
act?”

Concordia wondered that
herself. Was it power? Money?
We’re trying
to get you elected,
one of them had said to
Isley.

“
I didn’t hear any
discussion of why,” Concordia said. “I expect that ground has
already been covered. It’s clear that Flynn is running
things.”

Charlotte paced the room in her
agitation. “What do we do?”

“
We stop them,” Concordia
said flatly. And then to break the news to her mother, she added to
herself.

Charlotte had gone pale. “Oh, no,” she
whispered.

“
What is it?”

“
A group of girls from the
school plan to attend the debate, accompanied by Miss
Pomeroy.”

“
We’ll just have to get
there first,” Concordia said, with a confidence she didn’t
necessarily feel. “And the sooner we’re gone from here, the
better.” She suppressed a shudder, remembering the message Flynn
was sending to Hitchcock about another “job.”

She stood, feeling more steady now.
“Let’s go.”

As Concordia still wore Dean Maynard’s
clothes, she climbed down the ladder quickly. She held it steady
for Charlotte, whose skirts hampered her progress.

“
We need a conveyance,”
Concordia whispered, as they hurried toward the road.

“
Well, we’re not getting
any of
those
carriages.” Charlotte whispered back, pointing to the three
vehicles in front of the house. Their drivers were standing idly
beside them, smoking and laughing. “We’ll have to ride
Chestnut.”

Concordia had hoped it wouldn’t come
to that. “Can he manage both of us?”

Charlotte nodded. “He’s a big one, but
it will be slower going.” She pointed to the far pasture. “This
way.”

Chestnut whinnied softly as they
approached. Charlotte rubbed his nose. “He was always my favorite
at the school.”

“
Uh-huh,” Concordia said
doubtfully. The horse was looking at her with an equally skeptical
eye. Perhaps he disapproved of ladies in male attire.

Charlotte swung easily into the saddle
and grasped the reins. “Here, I left the stirrup open for you. I’ll
pull you up. Don’t worry: he’s gentle, really.”

With a sigh, Concordia put her foot in
a stirrup. At least it wasn’t a side saddle, although how Charlotte
managed to ride astride in her skirts was a question she didn’t
have time to ask.

Charlotte looked over her shoulder to
make sure Concordia was in position. “Okay, just hold on. You’ll be
fine.”

Concordia stifled a gasp and grabbed
Charlotte’s waist as they lurched forward. Charlotte kept the horse
at a canter. Concordia glanced back toward the house, just visible
through the trees.

Oh no.

Every light was blazing on the west
side. Even worse, a dark shape was moving at speed down the drive
toward them.

“
I can’t believe I’m saying
this, but we need to go faster,” Concordia said.

Charlotte took a quick look back. She
touched her heels to the horse’s flanks, and he broke into a
gallop. Concordia clung to Charlotte for dear life, her hair coming
out of its pins and whipping around her face.

The carriage wheels were audible now,
and soon the vehicle itself was clearly visible. Concordia
recognized Flynn’s two-horse carriage. They were obviously
outmatched. Chestnut was starting to tire from the extra weight. To
make matters worse, they couldn’t cut across the fields and leave
the road-dependent carriage behind them. Low stone walls edged the
road. The horse wouldn’t be able to jump it with both of them on
his back.

“
I have an idea,” she said
in Charlotte’s ear. The young lady nodded reluctantly, as Concordia
described what they would need to do.

Charlotte slowed the horse as the
vehicle caught up with them.

“
Ah, Mr. Flynn, what brings
you here?” Concordia called out as the carriage pulled up beside
them. He couldn’t see in the dark that she was carefully
disentangling herself from Charlotte and making sure none of her
clothes would catch on the saddle.

Flynn hopped out, face red with fury.
“Dunna play games wi’ me. Get down, now!”

The horse skittered nervously at the
raised voice, and Charlotte Crandall patted his neck to quiet him
down.

The driver climbed down to reach for
Chestnut’s bridle. He paused, eyes widening at the sight of
Concordia in men’s clothing. In one fluid movement, Concordia slid
off the horse. “Now!” she cried to Charlotte.

Charlotte gave Chestnut a swift kick.
The animal responded, and sped away at a gallop. Concordia ran in
the opposite direction. She glanced back long enough to see
Charlotte and Chestnut clear the stone wall beautifully and dash
across the fields. Concordia kept sprinting for all she was worth.
As long as Charlotte got away and reached Capshaw in time, that was
all that mattered.

Flynn, stunned and slow to respond,
gave a shout and chased Concordia as the driver stood in the middle
of the road, mouth open.

Maynard stared at the empty stall for
a good long minute, as if willing the horse to reappear.

He gritted his teeth in vexation.
Mischievous students again. Perhaps they were responsible for the
note after all. But how were the two connected?

He had just awoken the stable hand and
sent him off in search of the horse when he saw the Willow Cottage
matron huffing down the path, bed-cap still clapped to her head, a
shawl wrapped around her nightgown.

“
Mrs. Hitchcock, what on
earth are you doing out at this hour?” Maynard asked.

“
Have you seen ’em?” she
asked breathlessly.

“
Seen whom?” Maynard
asked.

“
Miss Crandall and Miss
Wells. They’re not in their rooms. A critter yowling outside woke
me. I checked all the girls’ bedrooms since I was up. That’s when I
seen they were gone.”

“
Gone? For how long?” Why
did he inevitably hear the name
Miss
Wells
whenever there was
trouble?

Ruby sucked in her lip as she thought.
“They was goin’ together to a dance or such-like. Left here just at
lights out. I went to bed. Miss Crandall’s ball gown is on her bed
now, so she must ’a been back, but there’s no sign that Miss Wells
came back at all.”

Maynard clenched his
jaw.
A dance.
That
was too much of a coincidence for his liking. And he didn’t like
what he was thinking now. “Chestnut’s gone.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “He’s always been
a favorite o’ Miss Crandall’s. Ya think she took ’im?”

Maynard was sure of it, but there
wasn’t time to explain. “I think I know where they are, but I need
your help. Wake up President Langdon, and tell him what’s
happened—”

“
Ooh, Mr. Maynard, they’ll
get in trouble, for sure!” Ruby protested.

“
They’re already in
trouble,” Maynard growled. Blast the woman. He’d never met a female
yet who simply followed instructions without arguing over them
first. “Tell President Langdon to telephone the police.” Thank
goodness the school had put in a telephone line last year. It would
save time. “Have them meet me at my house in Cottage Grove. He
knows the address.”

“
But he’ll ask me why!”
Ruby said. “What shall I tell him?”

“
Tell him there’s trouble.
I haven’t figured it out yet, but he’ll trust my judgment,” Maynard
said. Without another word, he ran back into the stable to harness
Ransom.

‘
tis a monster
Begot upon itself, born on itself.

Othello
, III.iv

As freeing as running in gentleman’s
clothing can be, Concordia’s breath soon came in heaving gasps and
her body trembled with over-exertion. She felt as if she were
running through mud, her legs leaden weights. She heard Flynn close
in behind her, his own breathing labored.

If he were going to catch her, she
would at least make it painful. She stopped and turned abruptly
just as he was about to tackle her, planting her feet apart and
curling her fist, which she buried in his abdomen.