Page 63 of A Stormy Season

“The people were in Lenoir’s pocket, you say. Does that mean they wanted to overthrow the government?”

“I don’t know nothing else. I told you what you wanted to know, now let me go.”

“Gag him,” Luke said, nodding at the other groom.

Stokes began to curse and struggle with his bonds, but since he was tied hand and foot, he could barely move, and his curses were soon muffled by the piece of cloth in his mouth that was being tied behind his head.

Luke walked out of the room, leaving the two grooms to guard the man who had squealed like a pig when he was threatened with having all his toes and fingers cut off.

Later Luke might deal with some guilt when he thought about what he’d done, and what he’d asked Matthews to do—although Matthews had seemed quite eager to comply and probably enjoyed hitting a man who had assaulted a lady. But for now he couldn’t feel any remorse. Instead, his mind was filled with the new thought that Anne had tried to get away from Lenoir. Had she realized she loved Luke and Jeffrey and wanted to be faithful to them? Or had she simply grown sick of Lenoir and his evil intentions?

He might never know, but somehow this new knowledge made everything seem better—and worse, since he realized that he would probably never know the full truth about his wife’s motives and actions.

But as he headed up the stairs and instructed a servant to send for the constable, he knew he had to find that list before Lenoir and his men could get their hands on it.

He went straight to Anne’s room and tore through all her drawers, all the nooks and crannies of her bedroom and adjoining dressing room, every piece of furniture. He even pulled her mattress off her bed, but he found nothing. But even as he searched, he knew she’d most likely have made the list, and hidden it, while she was in London, as she’d been there the last three or four months before her death.

He'd already decided that they all needed to return to London, since they obviously weren’t safe from Lenoir here at his country estate. He hated to wake Jane or Penelope, considering they’d had, at most, two or three hours of sleep, but he felt responsible for them all—and for Jeffrey, who almost certainly would have been kidnapped if not for Jane’s intervention.

He went and found the housekeeper.

“Tell Mrs. Gilchrist’s and Miss Gilchrist’s servants that we must all be packed and ready to depart for London as soon as possible. I won’t leave anyone behind, as I cannot ensure their safety if they stay here. Jeffrey and Sally must also come with me. I shall leave the grooms and footmen in charge of the household’s safety and have them guard the perimeter of the house.”

“Yes, sir.” The housekeeper looked quite tired, and inwardly he vowed to give all the servants a bonus in their wages.

He hurried up the stairs to get his valet started packing their things and to search his own room, and elsewhere in the house, for the list.

~ ~ ~

The next morning Jane’s throat and voice were a bit better. However, her eyes burned from getting only about an hour of sleep. But she wouldn’t complain, as they were all sacrificing sleep to travel back to London. She knew Luke must have a good reason, but the only explanation she’d heard was that it wasn’t safe for them any longer to stay in Hertfordshire, and that the master wished his guests to return to London.

As Jane, Penelope, the two young children, and their nurses all crowded into one carriage, Luke and the two guards rode alongside them on horseback.

Luke was giving last-minute instructions to the servants and guards, so Jane still had not spoken to him since their kiss. She’d wondered how awkward it would be, riding together in the carriage all the way to London, but their meeting was postponed now that he was riding on horseback.

Everyone’s eyes were either bloodshot or puffy from lack of sleep, but blessedly, the children cried very little and slept most of the way. Even Jane, who rarely did so, dozed off for perhaps half an hour with her head on her folded-up cloak, leaning against the side of the carriage. Penelope also slept a bit while the two nurses occupied the children with toys and games, when they weren’t sleeping.

When they finally reached London, it was growing dark and a light, cold rain was falling.

Luke was waiting to hand them out of the carriage. He gazed into Jane’s eyes and said, “I’ll make sure all is well and the guards are on duty, and then I’ll pay a visit to Henry.”

Jane and Penelope nodded. “Please be careful,” Jane said.

His expression softened. “I shall.” Then he mounted his horse and was gone.

~ ~ ~

Jane did not get as much work done the next day after walking to the shop with one of the guards. She found herself staring at the wall, her mind wandering. And when there was a lull in customers, Jane ended up telling Catherine about her adventures in Hertfordshire.

“That sounds terrifying! But you haven’t told me anything about your . . .” Catherine glanced over her shoulder, then whispered, “your pretend engagement with Luke Watley.”

Jane sighed. How much should she tell? Her mind immediately went to their kiss. She definitely shouldn’t tell Catherine about that. Jane still didn’t quite understand why she had done it, and sweet, proper Catherine would be shocked.

“Something happened!” Catherine said in a loud whisper. “What? What happened?”

“We quarreled a bit.” Jane chewed on her lip. “I danced with nearly every unmarried gentleman at the ball, mostly because I was angry with him.”

“Oh, Jane, you didn’t!”