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At first, he had tried to get the diary from her, but lately, he had thought better of it. Mayhap, it was the only thing keeping the guv’ from killing them both. He hadn’t allowed the guard he had paid to live. Said the man would be found and questioned. Well, well, best to keep something the covey was afraid of. He sighed as he looked at Elly. She was a good woman, and he was lucky to have her.
She hadn’t answered him, instead, she looked away and said, “Jack…this can’t go on. An innocent man is being accused. We both know who killed Miss Celia and we need to put him away.”
“Lookee ‘ere, lovey—jest forget that. We’ll make certain the young lord gets the diary before we disappear. How is that? We’ll leave with m’share and go anywhere ye want, and we’ll have a clear conscience.”
“I won’t leave till I know Lord Sherborne has the diary in his hands. I just can’t. Before we leave, I must do this.”
“But Elly, we must give it to him without no one the wiser. We’ll pick our time, we will.”
“He killed Miss Celia. He must be brought to justice. If I hand in the diary…and we set sail for America like I have always wanted…there won’t be time for him to find and hurt us. He’ll be busy answering for his crimes.”
Jack Hawkins drew a long breath of air. Was she in the right of it? Could they do the decent thing and escape? “Right then, I’ll do whatever ye want.”
She jumped up and went to him, flung her arms around him and sobbed, “Oh Jack, ye won’t regret it. I know ye don’t hold with what that awful man has done. I know ye have killed a man in yer time, but never an honest one, and never have ye hurt a woman.”
“I have fought m’way through this life, I have…but ye be in the right of it again, I don’t hold with what this cull has done. But he paid me to get the diary, ye know. He’ll want his ounce of blood.”
“We’ll do, I know we will,” she said staunchly.
He hugged her tightly and took her into his lap. “Hush now. Ye’ll be blasting me with tears in a moment and I won’t ‘ave it. Don’t want m’Elly crying. We’ll have to leave soon, we will.”
“Yes, we’ll make a fresh start in the New World. ‘Tis a grand land—there where people like us can start a new life fresh and clean. We could leave for Bristol in the morning. We have enough of the ready. We don’t need more…”
“Not yet, I needs m’fair share…if we be sailing for a new land, well then, I need the blunt to do it right.”
“Jack, ye have to stop thinking like a thief…give it up.”
“Lordy, Elly, I been trying…for ye…I been trying, I swear I have. But you can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s lug—ye jest can’t.”
She sighed and touched his grizzly bearded chin. “I love ye, Jack.”
Chapter Fifteen
MANDY WAS AWAKENED the next morning by her brother who shook her roughly and shouted loudly, “Mandy, Mandy…dash it girl, wake up!”
“What?” she tried to focus on his face.
Ned was frantic. “We are done up I tell you and out of time. Come on we have to get out of here. Chauncey is saddling our horses right this very minute.”
Mandy rubbed her eyes. She had a fitful sleep during the night and as a net result had overslept. “What?” she repeated as she got to her feet and stretched.
“Don’t you understand, sis? We have to leave,” her brother told her as he threw her buckskin riding vest into her arms.
She was already wearing his shirt, and breeches. Feeling grimy, she pulled on her riding vest and reached for her hair brush.
He pulled the brush from her hands and flung it. “No time…come on.”
“What has happened?” she asked now thoroughly concerned as she piled up her hair and fitted the cap over its thick masses.
He had already started off and she hurried to catch up with him, “Neddy…what is going on?”
“Chaunce and I went to the stream to get some fish for breakfast and on the way back we saw Cook. We were at that peak of the glen, you know it…well never mind. She was coming down the road on our old cob. Chaunce hailed her and we made our way to her hoping to wheedle one of the loaves of bread she was taking to her sister’s, and of all the bad luck—we look up and find Uncle Bevis with what looked like a search party, at his back. They came at us like wild brutes, but we managed to give them the slip, but not for long before they have it all figured out.”
“Good gracious no!”
“Just so, Mandy. He was heading right for us…he on horseback…we on foot and we lost him by diving into the woods, but he’ll figure it out he will and come to the Abbey.”
They had reached the barn, where Chauncey already had their horses in tow. Ned and Mandy took up their reins and started to mount.
