Chapter Thirty-One
Reaching the end of the driveway, they headed right instead of left. Looking skyward, Toby knew they still had a few hours before darkness fell. But if Landon and Michael were from home, then now may be the time to do some investigating.
“Let’s ride in and tether the horses. We can then walk,” Jamie said.
They did and were soon on foot, heading along a track wide enough for a horse and cart. It wound to the left through trees, but they saw no houses or cattle. Toby stopped when he saw a big outbuilding.
“An odd place for a building that size, considering there is no livestock nearby,” Jamie said. “If there are people inside, it may be better to come back after dark.”
“Stay here, and I’ll look around. If there is someone there, we will leave,” Toby said. He didn’t wait for his friends to acknowledge his words but started toward the building. Keeping in the trees for as long as he could, he stepped from their cover as he reached it.
Moving closer, he made his way around the outside looking for a way in, or signs that someone was inside.
“We decided to join you,” Anthony whispered.
“Christ,” Toby hissed, clutching his chest.
“Something felt off, as if you were walking into danger,” Jamie added.
“Who is keeping watch?” Toby snapped.
“The horses,” Anthony said.
“We need to get inside, but that door is locked,” Toby said. “I can’t see anything through that window either.”
“There may be another entrance, so keep walking,” Anthony urged.
He did, and they found another door at the rear. Trying the handle, this one opened.
“Jamie, you stay out here,” Anthony said.
Toby went first. Crouching low when he heard voices, he moved to a row of barrels with Anthony on his heels.
“I don’t like that those noblemen were in town. I saw them go into the bakery and not come out for a long time. Then one of them was talking to locals as he walked down the street,” a voice said. “That woman was there too.”
“Lady Liberty?” another voice asked, and Toby was sure it was Landon. “She will be no trouble. But Corbyn, Stafford, and Hamilton could be.”
“After that business in London with them snooping around, and us having to move premises, I don’t like it.”
“We’ll get this shipment off and lie low for a while,” Landon said. “If we need to move, then we’ll find somewhere else. I’m not giving this up, and I know he won’t either.”
“The villagers won’t turn against us. They have too much to lose. If we must kill someone else, we have to. But it’s getting messy,” the other man said. “I don’t want to spend my days in Newgate.”
“This shipment will leave the night after the fair,” Landon said. “Michael and I will discuss the issue of what to do about those bloody nobles poking their noses into our business tonight.”
“I’m going into the village to get some food. It’s good for them to see me,” the man said, and then laughed. “I like to keep them scared.”
Toby rose until he could see over the barrels and found Landon and a large hulk of a man. He didn’t see anyone else. Waving to Anthony as the men started moving to the door, they hurried back outside.
Grabbing Jamie, they then ran around the side away from the entrance. Minutes later, they heard a door closing. They gave it a further five minutes before moving back to the entrance.
“He mentioned Michael’s name, but it is not enough proof,” Anthony said. “We have to search that building.”
“There is a lock on the door now,” Toby said.
“Then we go in through the window,” Jamie said.
They found a rock and smashed the glass, clearing it away. Toby went in first, with the others following.
“There have to be fifty barrels here,” Jamie said, looking around them. “That is a lot of opium.”
They found an office and went through a cabinet, taking out several ledgers. It was Toby who found a document with Michael’s signature on it detailing that a shipment of opium was to arrive in London, and the date.
“Got him,” he said holding it out for his friends to read.
They gathered up everything that would incriminate both Landon and Michael, and left, making their way back to the horses. It was as Toby mounted he remembered something Landon said.
“Liberty said Michael has been showing an interest in her lately. He told her I was a man of questionable character.”
“Which is true,” Anthony added.
“Landon said Michael is on his way here. You don’t think he’d call at the Talbots’ first, do you?”
“Did you tell Liberty she needed to be careful of him?” Jamie demanded.
“I told her not to leave her house, or let Michael enter it. Her parents and Edward are not home, however, which means she’s alone.” Fear gripped him.
“Why would Michael suddenly be a threat to Liberty?” Jamie asked.
“He wouldn’t,” Anthony said. “Unless he thought she knew something, which she doesn’t.”
“She knows I suspect him,” Toby said. “I’m going to the Talbots’.”
“I don’t know why Michael would suddenly decide to call on Liberty here. It makes no sense, Toby,” Jamie said.
He was right, of course, but something told him to check on her.
“I can see you will not rest until you have,” Jamie said. “I will come with you.”
“No need. You two go back to Evie and Florence, and I will be there soon. I know you are right, but until I am sure she is safe, I cannot stop worrying.”
“Love,” Jamie sighed.
“We have no problem accompanying you,” Anthony said.
“No. Tell Florence I shall return shortly.”
His friends took the evidence, and they parted ways. The ride to the Talbots’ was ten minutes, and Toby had to refrain from galloping. He was being foolish, but once he’d checked on her, he’d feel better.
Liberty was now important to him. Did that mean he would worry about her constantly? Was this to be his future? Irrational fear when she wasn’t in his line of sight didn’t appeal to him at all, even as Toby knew he could no longer live without her.
He knew the Talbot property well, and took the left fork as the driveway split to the stables, where he found the same old crotchety stable master. The man glared at him as he took the reins Toby handed him. Not a word was exchanged. Shaking his head, he walked outside.
The sky was darkening, and while he’d not noticed it before, there was definitely the feel of rain in the air. He let the memories come as he walked. The days he and Liberty had run all over this place. The laughter and promises they’d made to each other.
The house was enormous and built of dark-gray stone, one side completely covered in ivy. Old, like his, and befitting the status of the family who lived within its walls.
He saw the carriage then. It was to one side, so unless someone was looking out the window, it would not be seen. The door didn’t hold a crest, so Toby wasn’t sure who it belonged to.
“Good day to you,” Toby said to the driver. The man nodded down at him. “Who are you driving for?”
“Lord Michael, sir.”
“And how long have you been here?”
“We have just arrived, sir,” the driver said.
“Thank you.”
Heart now pounding hard inside his chest, he walked up to the front door. Had Liberty’s family already returned? Why had she let Michael inside when Toby had told her not to?
He didn’t knock on the door, but opened it, and let himself inside. There was no sign of the staff, which didn’t mean a great deal in a house this size, as they were possibly below the stairs.
Where was Liberty?
“Lord Corbyn?”
The butler, Bernard, who had been here when Toby used to visit, appeared through a door that he knew led to the rear of the house. Toby pressed a finger to his lips and moved to where the man was.
“Is Lord Michael here?”
“No, my lord. Lady Liberty said she was not at home to anyone this evening, so I sent him away.”
“His carriage is still outside.” The shock on the butler’s face was real. “Where is Lady Liberty?”
“She is in the morning parlor upstairs, my lord. I will take you to her.”
“I know where it is, Bernard. What I need you to do is find two footmen and arm them. I will then have you and them come to the third floor.”
Pulling out his pistol, Toby ran to the stairs as the butler went to carry out his orders. The carpets muted his footsteps as he climbed. Heart pounding, he reached the third floor and stopped.
“How did you get inside our house?” Liberty demanded. “I said I was not home to visitors. I insist you leave at once, Lord Michael.” She sounded calm for all she must be terrified knowing what he’d told her about Michael.
“But we are friends, my lady, and I hoped would be more. I called to speak with your father after I have asked for your hand.”
“I don’t want to marry you.”
“You have had several seasons now with no marriage prospects, Lady Liberty. Surely you must find my proposal acceptable?”
Toby’s rage grew as he listened to Michael insulting the woman he loved.
“I want you to leave at once, Lord Michael. I will not discuss this with you now, when my family is away from home. It is wrong of you to be here with me.”
“Why would you send me away, my lady, when we have always gotten along well,” Michael said.
“I have no wish to marry, and after our conversation in London, I know you do. Therefore, I do not want to offend you further by offering hope. You need to leave at once.” He could hear the panic rising in Liberty’s voice now.
Toby crept forward until he was outside the room. Leaning closer, he looked in and hoped Michael wasn’t facing his way. He wasn’t. It was Liberty. He eased back, unsure if she had seen him.
“You appear unsettled, Lady Liberty, and after what I learned upon my arrival, I wonder if in fact it is because you know more about me than you should?”
“I do not know what it is you speak of, my lord. Now please leave,” Liberty demanded.
“I had no wish for it to come to this, but now it seems I must dispose of you and Lord Corbyn, my lady. Of course, I blame Corbyn. Everything was running smoothly until he found a backbone and some morals,” Michael said.
“Now I must take charge of the situation before he destroys what I have built.”