Chapter Fifteen #2
“Here.” She held it out to Mrs. Bean. “Give this to the family. Tell them it is my dearest possession in all the world, because that is my mama and papa inside. When we bring back their wagon and mule, I will pay them fifty pounds for the return of my locket.”
Compassion filled Mrs. Bean’s face as she opened the heart-shaped locket and stared down at the images.
With a slow nod, she carefully tucked it into the pocket of her apron.
“I will convince them to give us the wagon, gal. I swear it.” Hobbling over to the end of the house, she shouted around the corner, “Edmund! I be off to the Hogans’ for a bit.
Our guest is minding the porridge. You watch everything close in case old Mort comes to call. Understand?”
Apparently, the silent Edmund nodded, then resumed chopping the wood. Mrs. Bean returned to Felicity and pointed at the door. “Once it finishes, you and Edmund eat. There be bread on the table too. I can wait to eat after I return.”
“Be careful, Mrs. Bean.” Felicity set the mending basket aside and rose to her feet. “What will you say if you meet Mort?”
“That I was gone to borrow some herbs ’cause you be unwell.” The sly old matron winked. “If’n he shows up, you take to that pallet and act sickly in case he comes across me afore he comes here. Understand?”
“I understand.” Felicity couldn’t resist giving the woman a hug. “Be careful. Surely, Mort won’t return so soon.”
“You never know, gal. He be as unpredictable as a wounded beast.”
That was what Felicity feared most. She couldn’t bear to think what he might do to poor Mrs. Bean if he suspected the true meaning of her visit to her neighbor. As the old woman hobbled away, she prayed for her safety as she went inside to stir the porridge.
*
Drake tried in vain to roll the weariness from his tensed shoulders, determined not to stop until they reached Felicity.
They were nearing Grange in Borrowdale and would stop there in search of someone who knew where the Beans lived.
All the while they rode, he, the Duke of Broadmere, the magistrate, and two of the magistrate’s men kept watch for the black coach and the demons who had stolen her away.
But they never came across them. Either the blackguards had hidden themselves locally, or they had taken an alternate route back to Binnocksbourne.
They needed to find Felicity before the devils discovered their employers were no longer in any position to pay them.
Dawn bathed the land with its gentle, golden glow as they thundered into the sleepy village.
The first soul they came upon was a yawning lad filling one of the watering troughs in front of the livery stable.
“Boy!” Drake called as all of them dismounted to give their mounts a brief rest and a moment to drink.
The boy squinted at him, pausing with his buckets at his sides. “Aye?”
“Do you know the Bean family who lives near here?” Drake reached into his pocket, drew out a coin, and held it up for the lad to see.
“Bean?”
“Yes. They live between here and Derwentwater.”
After dragging his sleeve across his runny nose, the boy shook his head. “Don’t know no Bean family, but the vicar might. He knows everyone.”
“Where is the vicarage?” Broadmere asked.
The boy pointed across the village square. “Over there. That place with the white fence that goes to the back of the kirk.”
Drake tossed the coin to the boy and noticed that Broadmere gave the child another.
“We shall stay here with the horses,” Mr. Osbourne said with a nod to his men. “Hopefully, the vicar may be of some help.”
Without waiting for the duke, Drake took off across the village square with a long, hurried stride.
Urgency pounded through him, along with fear.
Time was of the essence. He banged on the door, willing someone to answer with haste.
Not a sound came from inside the tidy dwelling, so he banged again. Surely a vicar wouldn’t still be abed.
“Here, there,” a man called out from the garden area between the vicarage and the small church. “May I be of service?”
“The Bean family,” Drake said. “Do you know where they live?”
“Martha Bean and her son, Edmund?” An older man with his sleeves rolled above his elbows leaned against his spade.
He nodded to the north. “Their cottage is a good stretch of the legs in that direction.” Then he frowned and jutted his chin higher.
“Mrs. Bean and Edmund are good people. What do you want with them?”
They couldn’t be all that good if they were in business with Rum and Catherty’s ruffians, but Drake didn’t say that aloud. “My intended, Lady Felicity of the Broadmeres, has been kidnapped, and they were named as the people holding her until the ransom was paid.”
The man frowned and exited his garden through the small gate next to the church. “The Beans? Caught up in such terrible wickedness?” He shook his head. “I cannot believe that.”
“People will do anything when they need money.” Broadmere fixed Drake with a pointed glare. “Will they not, Lord Wakefield?”
The words stung, but he could hardly deny their truth. “Indeed, they will, Your Grace.”
The man with the spade drew a handkerchief out of his back pocket and mopped his brow.
“They have endured a rough few years since Mr. Bean died.” Again, he pointed to the north.
“On foot, it would take you several hours to reach their place. On horseback, you should be there in no time. It’s hard to find, though.
Built into a hillside and set back off the road a ways beside a creek.
This time of year, the grasses are so tall, it is nearly hidden from view. ”
“Sounds like the perfect place to hide her,” Drake said, and Broadmere nodded.
“Thank you, good sir.” Drake tipped his hat and headed back to the horses.
He wished he had enough money to donate to the church, but it couldn’t be helped.
“The Bean residence is not far from here,” he told Mr. Osbourne as he reached the horses. “Think they can go a bit longer?”
Osbourne shook his head. “Better to let them rest a while, my lord, or they’ll have no strength to spare once we reach our destination.”
“Time is of the essence,” Drake argued. “We have no idea of her state.”
“We also have no idea how many men might guard her,” the magistrate said, “and if they see us descending upon them, they could do her harm. You know we saw none of them on the ride here. They must still be in this area waiting for further instructions from Rum and Catherty.”
As much as he hated to admit it, Drake realized Mr. Osbourne was right, and he had already endangered Felicity enough. “What do you suggest we do?”
“Wait a few hours. Give the horses a brief respite, and ourselves as well.” The magistrate gave him a hard up-and-down look.
“From what I have gathered about you, and also observed, you need time to compose yourself, my lord, so innocent people are not harmed.” He offered a knowing smile.
“I also extended this same advice to His Grace.”
“While I agree it is wise advice, it is difficult to follow when my mind reels with the horrors Lady Felicity could be experiencing at this very moment.”
Mr. Osbourne’s face fell. “I understand, my lord, but we mustn’t endanger her or any other innocent any further.”
“The vicar swears the Beans are good people,” Broadmere said as he joined them. “We can only hope he knows them well.”
“But how much protection can a woman and her son provide against the men that Merry described?” That was Drake’s greatest fear, that the cruel demons had visited unspeakable acts upon her.
If they had, he would never forgive himself.
“Two hours,” he told the magistrate. “The horses have two hours to rest. I cannot bear to wait a moment longer than that to resume our search.”
“Understood.”
It was obvious Mr. Osbourne disagreed, but Drake didn’t care.
He had to get to Felicity. He would not rest until he saw her safely returned to her family.
No hope remained within him that she would return to him.
He knew that was not a possibility. Not after the pain, terror, and who knew what else he had caused her.
No, she would never be his wife, and he didn’t blame her.
At present, he couldn’t even stand himself.