Page 12 of A Stormy Season

Servants appeared in the doorway and Henry rapidly gave orders, sending one servant to fetch the constable, one for the surgeon, and one to fetch rope. Soon they were tying the intruders’ hands behind them, then rolling them over onto their backs.

Jane brought the lantern close to their faces but neither one of them was Lenoir.

“Smith,” Henry said, looking up at one of the footmen. “Go out onto the street and look for a man with a small black beard standing about. And take someone with you.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jane was glad to see that Smith was armed with a fire poker.

Penelope was now standing in the doorway. “Is everyone all right?” she asked.

“All is well, darling,” Henry said. “You may go back to bed. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

The sound of a baby crying came from the nearby room.

“Shall I check on Lilith?” Jane asked, but Penelope was already turning to go.

“I shall see to her,” Penelope said. “Thank you, Jane. But you may come with me, if you like.”

Jane decided to leave the bloody, moaning captives to her brother and the servants and went with her sister-in-law.

Lilith was being held and soothed by the nurse when the two of them entered the room.

“I heard a loud noise,” the young nurse said. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, all is well,” Penelope said with a smile, as if there weren’t two frightening men down the hall who were bent on some errand of evil. She took the baby from the nurse’s arms and kissed her cheek. “There, there,” Penelope soothed. “Did you hear strange noises while you were trying to sleep? Poor dear.”

Penelope had such faith in Henry that she didn’t worry, even when their house had been intruded upon. Finally, as Lilith quieted, she whispered, “Are you all right, Jane?”

“Oh, yes, I am well. Henry caught the men as they crawled through the window.” Thinking of the sight of them flopping in, never suspecting that Henry was waiting for them, almost made her laugh. But when she remembered how Henry had hit the one man so ruthlessly, and shot the other when he must have been reaching for Henry’s gun, her stomach sank and a shiver went across her shoulders.

Of course, she was grateful for how Henry had apprehended the men. The viciousness was necessary to defend them all from the intruders who, after all, were carrying guns and obviously intent on evil. Yet it was unnerving to see it happen in front of her.

She thought of the candlestick beside her bed. What if she had not been awake and had not looked out the window when she did? What if she’d been asleep in her bed when the men had come in through her window?

She only hoped she would have awakened in time to grab her candlestick and bash them in the head. But one of them obviously had a gun. Would they have kidnapped her, taking her for ransom? It was all quite terrifying, even if she didn’t feel very frightened.

She imagined herself successfully doing battle with the two men. It helped her peace of mind to imagine it.

Could this have happened because of that man, Lenoir, seeing her interacting with Luke Watley and his son in the park? Or did it have more to do with Henry and his work with the committee that kept track of secret societies that were aligned against the government and the monarchy?

Either way, she would not let anyone intimidate her. It was not in her nature to shrink from a fight.

However, it was not in her mother’s nature to fight. So Jane would write to her mother, warning her not to come to London just yet, not until they were able to capture Lenoir and thwart his plans.

Chapter Five

Luke slept very little these days, so it was no wonder he was awake when an urgent message arrived from Henry Gilchrist saying that two men had broken into his house, coming through his sister Jane’s window armed with pistols. She had seen Lenoir outside just before it happened.

Heat crawled up the back of his neck as he read the message. Finally he saw the words, “Jane and everyone else in the house are well and unharmed.” The note ended with, “One intruder was knocked unconscious and the other was shot, but both are expected to recover.”

Perhaps they would get some answers from the men about what Lenoir wanted and what his plans were.

Poor Jane Gilchrist. He hated to think that her kindness to little Jeffrey had put her in danger. It seemed likely the men were intent on kidnapping her. What else could it be? They couldn’t think there was something important hidden in her room, as she had nothing to do with Anne or the group that wanted to overthrow the government. And Lenoir was no petty thief. But now that they had captured Lenoir’s two henchmen, Henry could possibly find out from his henchmen what Lenoir was looking for when he ransacked Luke’s home.

As soon as he was able to get dressed and ready, Luke went to Henry’s house.

He was led into the drawing room where Henry was meeting with several men—another Member of Parliament as well as a few rough-looking men.