Susie Darcy's Tenacious Nature Page 20

  ‘Go on,’ Marc said when Porter fell silent.

  ‘You could also suggest that I appeared to be very interested in the fellow Covington had with him,’ James said. ‘That will set the cat amongst the pigeons.’

  ‘It just might work,’ Spence said, nodding his approval. ‘In Covington’s place, if I knew my money-making swindle had been exposed, I would protect my most precious asset at all costs.’

  ‘Mannering,’ James said.

  ‘Precisely so. I’ll wager Covington will take himself off immediately to wherever Mannering is hidden and pack him off to Manchester, or Derby…some such place. A city in which to lose himself amongst the throng until the heat dies down.’

  ‘But if he is hidden somewhere isolated,’ Susie reasoned, ‘surely you will be noticed if you follow him?’

  Porter had the audacity to wink at her. ‘I did not remain one step ahead of the authorities in my fugitive days, Miss Darcy, by being easy to spot.’

  ‘Be that as it may, Porter, I shall come with you,’ James said in a tone that brooked no argument.

  Porter inclined his head. ‘By all means.’

  ‘Marc has to return to Pemberley. He has an engagement with our father,’ Spence said. ‘But I will come too.’

  ‘Best not,’ James said. ‘Too many of us will draw unnecessary attention. It would better serve if you escorted your sister home and made sure she stays there.’

  ‘Ah, point taken,’ Spence said. ‘She probably wants to be in at the kill.’

  ‘She is in the room, you know,’ Susie said indignantly.

  ᴥᴥᴥ

  Susie quietly fumed on the ride back to Pemberley. Once again she was being treated like an inconvenience who needed protecting from the realities of the situation. Her brothers would not have permitted her to join them on their visit to James had she not insisted upon it. Annoyingly, on this occasion, she could see their point and she really couldn’t go with them when Tobias faced Bairstow. It would be impossible for her to creep around the countryside in broad daylight wearing boys’ clothing. Even so, it was frustrating beyond endurance. Everything was coming to a head and she would not be there to see it happen. She so wanted to see Covington’s face when he realised he had been outsmarted. Unfortunately she would never have the satisfaction of telling him that his downfall was attributable, at least in part, to her efforts.

  He had been outwitted by a slip of a girl whom he barely knew was alive.

  Tobias was meeting Bairstow in Denton at noon, which seemed like hours away, even though it was almost eleven o’clock. She wondered what to do with the rest of her morning. Mama was making calls, which Susie had declined to accompany her on, and so she was left to her own devices. It would be impossible to concentrate upon anything, she knew. She listlessly wandered from room to room, trying not to think how distant James had been with her that morning.

  ‘Miss Stoughton, ma’am.’

  Susie, curled up on the window seat in the small salon, was jerked away from her mental comparisons between Tobias and James by Simpson’s voice. Delighted by the distraction, she bade Simpson show her unexpected visitor in.

  ‘Susie,’ Amelia said breathlessly, when the door closed behind Simpson. ‘I came to Lambton on an errand for Mrs Covington, which I used as an excuse to call upon you.’

  ‘Sit down, Amelia,’ Susie said, struggling to hide her concern at Amelia’s dishevelled look. It was so out of character that something of great importance must have occurred to occasion it. ‘You look quite discomposed. Take a moment to regain your wits and tell me what has overset you.’

  ‘I overheard a conversation between Mr Covington and Bairstow this morning.’ Amelia flashed a mirthless smile. ‘Well, not overheard precisely. Raised voices were coming from his library. I would have had to be deaf not to hear them. Mr Covington has been on edge these past few days, shouting for no reason and constantly oversetting Verity. She has been distressed by her husband’s manner and thinks she must somehow be at fault.’

  ‘She has no idea…’

  ‘Of course, I could not set her mind at rest by telling her of our suspicions. But some sort of sixth sense told me that Mr Covington’s angry tirade directed at his steward might throw some light on matters.’ She looked contrite yet defiant. ‘And so I eavesdropped.’

  ‘I would have done the same thing, Amelia. I never could mind my own business. Being in possession of a curious nature is both a blessing and a curse.’ Susie patted her friend’s hand. ‘What did you hear? Presumably something of interest to me.’

  ‘Indeed, although I couldn’t make head nor tail of it all. Bairstow saw Mr Tyrell at…I think he said a fight. What could that mean?’

  Susie nodded, conscious of her heart rate accelerating. They had not stopped to consider that whilst they had seen Covington, he or someone connected to him might also have observed them. That knowledge changed everything.

  ‘There was a prize fight last night that Mr Covington arranged,’ she said. ‘Mr Tyrell and my brothers were there. Mr Covington had the forger with him but they slipped away at the end before Mr Tyrell could track him to his lair.’

  ‘Oh.’ Amelia looked decidedly glum. ‘So Mr Covington really is involved. I had hoped there would be some other explanation.’

  ‘I am afraid he’s in the thick of it.’

  Amelia sighed. ‘Poor Verity. She will be devastated. She adores her husband and can see no wrong in him. But I have noticed too many signs of financial hardship in the household, much as they try to disguise the fact, not to have suspected his culpability.’

  ‘What else was said?’

  ‘Well, this is where it gets confusing.’ Amelia wrinkled her brow. ‘Bairstow is to meet with your Mr Porter today. Something about wagers.’

  Susie nodded impatiently. ‘Go on.’

  ‘It seems that Mr Porter disappeared from his post last night. I didn’t understand what that meant either but presumably it was something to do with the fight. Anyway, his loyalty is in doubt and Mr Covington is putting it to the test. Bairstow is supposed to let slip something about Mannering…who is Mannering?’

  ‘The forger.’

  ‘I see.’ She pursed her lips and folded her hands in her lap, looking angry and upset. Susie felt the urge to comfort her but resisted because the need to know it all was more pressing. Time, she suspected, might very well be of the essence. ‘He is supposed to let slip that Mannering is secluded in a cottage on Ayrdale Tor, but he will not be there. Mr Covington is moving him to the summerhouse on the Covington estate until he can find somewhere more suitable. Apparently Mannering is getting tired of being hidden away and worries about being caught. Mr Covington is concerned that he might, as he put it, cut his losses since they are running out of ways to keep him entertained.’

  ‘So he wants him somewhere close by so that he can keep an eye on him himself?’

  Amelia lifted one slender shoulder. ‘Seemingly so.’

  Susie gasped. ‘And a trap will be set for Tobias at Ayrdale Tor if he appears there?’

  ‘I dare say.’

  ‘This is a disaster!’ she cried. ‘I must get a warning to Tobias. Oh lud, and James will be with him.’

  ‘James?’ Amelia’s despondency gave way to obvious curiosity.

  ‘A slip of the tongue.’

  ‘If you say so.’ Amelia smiled knowingly. ‘You must tell me more when the occasion permits.’

  ‘There is nothing to tell.’

  Susie fell into momentary contemplation. The two men who meant so much to Susie were in danger and only she could save them. But how to go about it? She had no idea where Tobias and Bairstow were due to meet, other than that it was in Denton. Most likely in the Sheep and Whistle’s taproom, which was barred to her. Spence would have to do the honours.

  ‘Just a moment, Amelia, if you please. I must tell Spence about this.’

  She dashed from the room, found Spence alone in the library and breathlessly told him everything that Amelia had
just told her. He was on his feet before she ran out of words.

  ‘Stay here! I shall get word to Porter and Tyrell.’

  Sometimes men are so predictable, she thought, making her way back to the small salon with a tiny smile of satisfaction. He hadn’t even bothered to enquire what she planned to do with herself for the rest of the day so she couldn’t later be accused of interfering.

  ‘Do you mind if I come back to Covington House with you?’ she asked Amelia.

  Amelia made no objection and a short time later the two girls were squashed onto the seat of Amelia’s gig, even though it was really only wide enough for one to travel in comfort.

  ‘What do you plan to do?’ Amelia asked on a note of suspicion. ‘You are plotting something. I can tell.’

  ‘Is Mr Covington at home this morning?’

  ‘No, he and Verity have an engagement in Derby which will take up the entire day.’

  ‘Will Mr Covington have had time to move Mannering to the summerhouse before leaving for that engagement?’

  ‘I would imagine so. The distance isn’t that far and the conversation I overheard took place very early. They probably thought they were safe to conduct it because they assumed that no one else would be out of bed, but I often get up with the dawn and enjoy having a little time to myself.’

  ‘I don’t recall where your summerhouse is. Presumably it’s far enough from the house for Mannering’s occupation of it not to be obvious to anyone looking in that direction.’

  ‘It is a good quarter of a mile from the house, hidden from it by a stand of trees, and very secluded.’

  Susie thought matters through. ‘Mr Porter will have met with Bairstow by now and be well on the road to the Tor. Spence will have to ride fast to catch up to them, if he is not too late.’ Susie laced her fingers together, attempting to quell her nerves at the prospect of James and Tobias being caught in an ambush. ‘They will have to come back to Denton on tired horses. That will take several hours.’

  ‘Don’t fret, my dear. They will still get here before Mr Covington returns.’

  Susie was aware that was true and wondered why she still felt so uneasy. They had let Mannering slip through their fingers once but it wouldn’t happen a second time. He couldn’t go anywhere without a horse. Even so, Susie’s anxiety persisted to such a degree that she couldn’t sit blithely at home attending to her embroidery whilst others took all the risks. What help she could be was less certain, but there had to be something she could do.

  She would ensure that Mannering was where he was supposed to be and keep a weather eye on him until the gentlemen arrived, she decided. It would set her mind at rest, make her feel useful and there could be no harm in it.

  She turned to Amelia and told her what she intended to do.

  ‘Are you absolutely sure, Susie? If Mannering sees you, it could be dangerous.’

  ‘He is a very small man. I’m told he is probably no taller than I am and that a strong gust of wind would likely blow him clean off his feet.’ She grinned, displaying a confidence she didn’t altogether feel. ‘Besides,’ she added, pulling her trusty hat pin from the folds of her pelisse and brandishing it in the air. ‘I am not without a weapon.’

  Amelia shook her head. ‘I can see that you have quite made up your mind.’

  ‘Please don’t ask me to explain. Perhaps I am being reckless, but in truth I am tired of over-protective men deciding what’s best for me. I want to see Mannering for myself and, when he is finally arrested, I also want to hear his explanation for behaving so dishonourably. If he is an artist with a modicum of talent, I cannot persuade myself that he would be happy passing off his work as someone else’s. His artistic temperament would balk at the idea, so he must be very desperate indeed. There again, perhaps like Mr Porter he’s been manipulated into working against his will. I would really like to know the truth.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I don’t suppose my brothers would give me a full account, especially if the language becomes colourful or if they think it might upset my delicate constitution.’

  Amelia sighed. ‘Well, I suppose the delay until they arrive will not amount to more than an hour, so even you can’t get into too much trouble in that time.’ Amelia clutched Susie’s hand as she brought the gig to a halt at a gate leading to the back entrance to the estate. ‘Keep to the path on the left,’ she said. ‘It’s shrouded by trees and if Mannering is looking out the window, he won’t see you approaching.’

  ‘Thank you, Amelia.’

  They embraced awkwardly on the narrow seat, then Susie jumped down and opened the gate latch. Amelia watched her go and then drove off herself.

  Susie had never had reason to venture into that part of the Covingtons’ park before now. Everything seemed excessively still. No breeze, no birdsong, nothing to distract her from the sound of her loudly beating heart. She was already having second thoughts about a decision that wasn’t really necessary, but instinct drove her on.

  She was, she knew but couldn’t bring herself to admit to Amelia, trying to prove something to herself. She had failed rather spectacularly the night before. She did not care to contemplate the likely outcome had Tobias not rescued her from the man-mountain. Of course, she reasoned as she continued to make cautious progress, the summerhouse now visible directly ahead of her, ladies were not required to be brave, adventurous or any of the other things she instinctively was. Be that as it may, anything that distracted her from James’s impending departure with the desirable, helplessly fragile and oh-so-compelling Miss Fleming was welcome. And if, purely by chance, she happened to gain James’s respect in the process, it would go a long way to salving her wounded pride.

  She paused as she reached the clearing in which the summerhouse stood, wondering how best to approach it, or whether she even should take that risk. She had promised Amelia that she would simply prevent Mannering from making a bid for freedom. His only possible escape route was via the path she occupied, so she had already achieved that ambition. Amelia wouldn’t have agreed to leave her here alone if she even suspected that Susie planned to talk to the man.

  Was that what she intended to do?

  She hadn’t consciously made that decision but also knew there wasn’t the remotest possibility of her leaving things as they were. After all, she had come this far…She crouched down as she reached the veranda. Feeling slightly euphoric to have done so without being detected, she peered through the window and gasped aloud. Paint was splattered over the floor beside an upturned pallet, a ripped canvas had been hurled across the room. A small man sat on the floor in the midst of the chaos he had created, leaning his back against a daybed that had also been torn to shreds. The man’s knees were drawn up to his chest. One fist dug into his eyes as tears poured down his cheeks. In his other hand he gripped a pistol which was aimed directly at his temple.

  Susie gulped, terrified…but not for herself. The man who could only be Mannering was a picture of abject misery and, she sensed, a danger to no one other than himself. Her distaste for his activities was replaced with sympathy. Only a tortured soul plagued by a guilty conscience could wreak so much destruction. Clearly, he had not been a willing participant in Covington’s scheme and Susie felt an urgent need to dissuade him from killing himself.

  Without stopping to consider the consequences, she stood to her full height and opened the door. Presumably startled by the sound, Mannering looked up at her.

  ‘Who the devil are you?’ he demanded.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘Don’t you think that was a little too easy?’ James asked Porter as they rode away from Denton in the direction of Ayrdale Tor, Dawlish alongside them. ‘From what you tell me of your conversation with Bairstow, he seemed remarkably forthcoming.’

  ‘He seemed edgy as well,’ Porter replied. ‘He never stopped scanning the taproom, all the time we were in conversation, as though he was nervous. Makes you wonder, ’cause I’ve never known Bairstow to be anything other than annoyingly controlled and self-assured
.’

  ‘Does he usually discuss his master’s business quite so openly?’

  ‘He never has in the past. Likes to hold his cards close to his chest and play both sides against the middle, does Bairstow.’

  ‘Mannering is Covington’s meal ticket,’ Dawlish pushed his hat back and scratched vigorously at his hairline as he voiced his opinion. ‘And it’s vital to his interests, to say nothing of his liberty, that he keeps Mannering’s presence here a secret. Why would his supposedly loyal steward suddenly yap about something so sensitive?’

  James narrowed his eyes at Porter. ‘Unless you are involved with this business, just as you are with the prize fights, and are buying your master time by trying to distract us.’

  Porter’s menacing expression chilled James to the core. He met it with an icy glower of his own and after several tension-fuelled seconds Porter was the first to look away. The face of the obliging steward had been replaced with that of the desperate fugitive and conniving criminal. Was he hoodwinking Darcy? It was impossible for James to know and he would reserve judgement on the matter until they got to the bottom of Covington’s scheme. If Porter was a part of it, someone would give him up, if only to save his own hide.

  ‘I give you my word that I know nothing about it.’ Porter fixed James with an impenetrable look. ‘Not that I expect you to accept it.’

  Yet oddly enough, James did.

  ‘Then it must be a trap,’ he said.

  ‘What do you suggest we do?’ Dawlish asked, addressing the comment to them both.

  ‘It could be a double bluff,’ Porter said. ‘My suggestion is that we ride towards the Tor. We can stop before we reach it and there’s no danger of our being seen from the spot I have in mind. I know a path that will cut across country and get us close enough after just ten minutes walking to see if anyone is in occupation of that cottage.’