“You really are not being very helpful, Mr.Masterson.”Julia frowned her increasing frustration with the man.“You said Wolfingham was not inside the carriage with you when you left, so where was he?”
“The carriage rolled over several times on its way down the embankment, and when I had managed to slide down the hill, I set about searching for the driver and groom.”He grimaced.“Unfortunately, when I did find them, they were both dead.The driver of a broken neck and the groom having been crushed beneath the wheel?—”
“Yes, yes, we will take your word that they are both deceased,” the marquis cut in briskly.“They were, after all, part of the same group of men who had previously kidnapped your sister, killed her maid, and now intended to kidnap an earl.Wolfingham…” he reminded pointedly.
“Yes.Of course.I am sorry I was distracted.”The lawyer twisted his hands together.“I only discovered the earl’s presence in the baggage box at the back of the vehicle when he spoke to me from there.I had unharnessed the horses, who immediately ran away into the night.I heard the earl’s voice when I knelt to check on the groom’s condition.”He shuddered.“It was a terrible shock to hear the Earl of Wolfingham’s disembodied voice after so recently checking the bodies of the driver and groom.”
Julia wholly appreciated how awful it must have been for Mr.Masterson, especially when he was already under such strain due to the abduction of his sister.
She understood that, but if this man did not soon give up all that had occurred since he left Roxburgh Manor earlier today, rather than giving it to them piecemeal, then she felt she might be forced to shake it out of him!
“Wolfingham spoke to you from the luggage box on the back of the carriageafterthe accident?”she verbally nudged.
“I had heard a muffled knocking sound several minutes before the crash and assumed that perhaps one of the wheels had loosened and was in danger of coming off completely.”He shook his head.“When the accident happened, I thought that assumption to have been correct.But when I checked the carriage after the accident, all the wheels were firmly fixed in place.As I said, the groom was crushed to death beneath one?—”
“I believe we had agreed not to go into precise details with the ladies present,” Julia’s father reminded sternly.
“Of course, my lord.I apologize, ladies.”Masterson bowed slightly to the four women in the room.“As for the luggage box, Lady Julia, I can only assume they must have made some alterations so that there was extra space beneath the seat at the back of the carriage.It could not have accommodated such a tall and large gentleman otherwise.”
“Or Wolfingham was just squashed inside until he did fit,” Julia snapped.
It still seemed incredulous to her that such a dreadful thing could have happened to Wolfingham.Yes, she was perpetually angry with him.And no, she did not wish to become his countess.But neither did she wish him kidnapped or harmed.
She blinked.“Was Wolfingham injured?”
“He assured me he was only bruised, but that he has a severe bump on the side of his head, which he acquired before he was placed inside the baggage box.”Masterson looked suitably upset.“I truly had no idea the men who took my sister intended to kidnap the Earl of Wolfingham while I was here.”
“Why did you not release him from the confines of this box and bring him back here with you?”Julia’s father asked, his eyes narrowed.
The younger man sighed heavily.“I did try.We both did.Me from outside, him from the inside.But the box had a padlock on it, and I had no key or other means of opening it.I tried hitting it with a rock I found on the ground, but only succeeded in shattering the rock while the box remained locked.Wolfingham directed me to a piece of wood on one end that was slightly askew.Apparently, from his having kicked at it until it loosened.”He frowned.“Which probably accounts for the knocking I heard.But no matter how much effort I put into trying to pull it free, or Wolfingham kicked it again from the other side, it would not budge even a fraction of an inch further, let alone allow such a large man to escape.”
“You are saying he is still trapped in there?”The marquis frowned.
“I have just explained, I had no way of releasing him,” the lawyer defended.
“But you definitely spoke to Wolfingham?”Julia had absolutely no idea why she should continue to be so concerned about Wolfingham, when hours ago, she had wished him far, far away from her.
But she had not wished him dead.
Nor did she wish it now.
“I did, yes,” Masterson seemed relieved to be able to answer in the positive.“When we failed to affect his release, it was he who told me to come back here as quickly as I possibly could.He instructed me not to stop anywhere nor tell anyone else of the carriage accident or his own present dilemma.Because I am not familiar with the area, and we were easily five miles away from here when the accident happened, it has taken me several hours to walk back to Roxburgh Manor.”
“This is all very strange behavior,” the marchioness stated with disapproval.“I cannot conceive of why someone should wish to do such a thing to Wolfingham.”
“Perhaps it was a cuckolded husband who decided to teach him a lesson,” Julia scorned.
“Juliet!”her father snapped, his expression severe.
“But you must admit there are many of them to choose from,” she dismissed.
“I admit no such thing.”Her father puffed out his chest.“Nor will I have you maligning the reputation of a gentleman I am proud to call my friend.”
She lowered her gaze.“Sorry, Papa.”
“I suggest that in future, you do not speak of things that you know nothing about,” he reproved.
“No, Papa.”
