‘Silence, I am lord here!’ Albert thundered, his hair plastered to his forehead by the rain. ‘I will punish whoever I deem worthy of my wrath!’ He pushed Hermione, who stumbled and fell in the mud. I ran to her, pulling her away from the fight.
This was going from bad to worse.
William stared at Albert, his fists clenched. I could see that he so desperately wanted to beat Albert Trevarron into a pulp, and I did not blame him one bit. Instead, he grabbed Albert in another bear hug.
I knew that William was a decent man, and as much as he might have enjoyed beating Albert to death, our main aim was to get Hermione and Violet to safety.
William looked at me, and then at Violet, whose eyes were wide with fear. I saw the realisation on his face; he understood that Violet had been traumatised enough. If he was to beat Albert up now, as much as Albert deserved it, it would hurt Violet. And we were not in the business of hurting little girls.
‘Get everyone in the carriage, would you, Tegan?’ William asked, and I nodded. ‘I’ll be with you in a moment.’
Albert struggled in his grasp, swearing, but William picked him up so that his feet were off the ground and walked him over to the carriage he had driven in.
I led Nancy, Violet and Aunt Bill towards our carriage and helped them into it. As I did so, I watched William take off the leather belt that he wore with one hand, still holding Albert with the other, and bound Albert’s wrists together with it behind his back. Then, I watched as he forced Albert to sit down next to the front right carriage wheel, behind the horse, where William bound him with rope that he pulled down from the cab.
Albert swore and bucked, trying to break free, but his noise and movement made the horse skittish. I watched as the horse kicked Albert in the face, and Albert slumped forward.
‘I ’ope ’ee knows what ’ee’s doin’, maid,’ Aunt Bill muttered as I helped her up, inside the carriage beside Lady Hermione.
‘I think he does,’ I whispered back as William approached our carriage and climbed up onto the cab.
‘All in?’ he asked; I nodded. He shot me a grin and clicked his tongue. The horse began to trot. William had saved us, yet again.
THIRTY-TWO
William was an accomplished carriage driver. I knew that because I had ridden in carriages with him a few times, and he always preferred to drive the horses rather than sit in the carriage itself.
We rode along Pellar’s Lane, the dirt lane that led to Yew Tree Cottage, and then out onto the road that led through St Nantes. As we jogged along, I tried to calm Hermione, who was shaking with fear and stress. Violet stared out of the window of the carriage, completely immobile and lifeless like a doll.
If anything, I was more concerned for her than her mother. Hermione was, at least, an adult, and she was processing her emotions by actually crying and shaking and making noise. Violet had totally shut down. Anyone would understand why; this level of upset, on top of what she had already experienced.
Albert Trevarron was not a man that would let that go. He wanted blood.
The carriage turned towards the road that led to Tintagel.
The horses whinnied, but I heard William shoutyah! yah!and click the reins.
The carriage sped up.
‘It’s all right.’ I leaned forward and pressed her hand. ‘It’s all right. William has the carriage now.’
We sped along, and as soon as William came to a dirt track, he steered the horses up it and away from the main road. Soon, we were passing between trees and fields.
After we had got safely away from view, William stopped the carriage. A moment later, he jumped down and opened the door.
‘Are you all right, ladies?’ He pushed his hair out of his eyes. His face was bruised and there was blood on his knuckles, but he flashed a sudden grin at us. ‘I apologise for the disturbance, before, but we are now free.’
Aunt Bill hopped down from the carriage and walked around, her hands on her waist as she took in deep breaths. ‘Bloody ’ell, that was dramatic. Like a Victorian car chase. Shortened my life by a few years, I’d say.’
‘He will come after us,’ Hermione said, worriedly.
‘He may,’ William said. ‘But we have an advantage, now. He will have to wait for someone to find him.’ A victorious smile played around his mouth.
‘I need some air,’ Nancy said, getting out of the carriage. ‘We need to plan what to do next. I didn’t expect to be caught by milord. Not ’appy about that, I might say,’ she said, giving William a sharp look. ‘You might be very pleased wi’ yourself for fightin’, an’ I’m not sayin’ that milord didn’t deserve everythin’ ’ee got, but now you’ve put us in a difficult position.’
‘You’re right. I’m sorry.’ William helped us all out of the carriage. It had stopped raining; the storm had moved on already, and the night air was fresh.
‘Nancy’s right. When people find out what’s happened, there will be consequences,’ I said in a low voice.
