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* * *
The time to say goodbye came all too soon. Adam came to the manor and took his leave of Sir Edward and Lady Cavenhurst, then Sophie walked with him to the Fox and Hounds, her hand linked into his arm. ‘You won’t change your mind again?’ she queried when they were almost there.
He looked down at her and smiled. ‘No, my love, I will not change my mind.’
‘Nor will I,’ she said. ‘The next six weeks is going to drag. I wish I could be coming with you now.’
‘Next time, and then we will never be parted again.’
The coach was already in the yard and being loaded. He stopped and turned towards her. ‘Be good, Sophie. No madcap escapades, because I will not be here to rescue you.’ He looked around him, then drew her behind a tree to kiss her. She clung to him until the sound of the coachman calling, ‘All aboard, who’s coming aboard!’ made them pull apart and make their way into the inn yard.
Alfred Farley had seen to his luggage and was already in his seat when Adam joined him. Sophie watched as the step was folded up and the door closed. Adam was looking at her through the window as they drew away. She waved and blew him a kiss. And then he was gone.
* * *
‘My lord, there is a gentleman to see you,’ the footman said. ‘He says his name is Mr Anthony Byers. He would not state his business, but said it is important.’
‘You had better send him in, then.’
Adam set aside the ledger he had been studying. Since he had arrived home three weeks before, the affairs of the mill and the estate had filled almost every waking hour. He had done little towards the wedding, although he had instructed the housekeeper to take Anne’s clothes from the closet and store them in trunks in the old wing before making the room ready for a new mistress. Looking back, his time in London and especially that journey to Hadlea seemed like a dream, but Sophie’s letters kept it alive for him. At the end of a busy day, he would sit down to read the day’s missive and compose a reply. He wished the time would pass more quickly, so that any doubts about the wisdom of what he was undertaking could be set at rest.
Would Sophie be happy here, so far from home and in a very different environment from the one she was used to? Would she understand that he had to work and she would inevitably be left to amuse herself during the day? How would he feel taking another woman into the bed he had shared with Anne? How would she feel? She had been so adamant that she would not be a second wife—was she having doubts, too?
He looked up as the footman announced his visitor. Even though he had not seen him for over month, he recognised him immediately as the man who had been following him in London and who had saluted him in the middle of the road. He was immediately on his guard.
‘Ask Mr Farley to join us,’ he instructed the footman.
‘My lord, I am glad to see you safely returned home,’ the man said.
‘Never mind that. Say what you have to say, but before you do that, you might tell me why you followed me from the capital. It was you, was it not?’
‘It was. May I be seated?’ At a nod from Adam he took the chair opposite the desk. ‘I was asked to ascertain your integrity and how far you would be prepared to go for your philosophy, my lord.’
Alfred entered the room and Adam beckoned him to take a seat. ‘We have a Mr Byers here, Mr Farley. I think we are about to learn the answer to something that has been puzzling us.’ He turned back to his visitor and repeated, ‘My philosophy in respect of what? Why? On whose orders?’
‘The Manchester Patriotic union , and more specifically Mr Henry Hunt.’
‘Mr Hunt doubts my integrity?’
‘We have had many agents provocateur infiltrating our ranks, my lord, listening in to our plans in order to have the militia standing by ready to disrupt any meeting we might arrange.’
‘And he thought I was one of those?’
‘He wanted to be sure you are not.’
‘And what conclusion have you drawn?’
‘I cannot be certain, my lord.’
Adam laughed suddenly. ‘Then, you are at a stand, Mr Byers, but tell me, why was Mr Hunt so anxious to discover that? I have not been to any of your meetings.’
‘No, but you have shown a more-than-casual interest in what the union is planning, my lord, and you do command a company of militia.’
‘So I do. Are you asking me to refrain from deploying them?’
‘Yes, my lord. Also, not to go to the meeting. Your presence might inflame the crowd and deflect it from its true purpose.’
