Highwayman's Hazard

  HIGHWAYMAN'S HAZARD

  BY

  MARINA OLIVER

  Clarinda Middlewick's friendship with Sarah Coombes, an orphan heiress, is encouraged by her father, a wealthy merchant.

  He hopes to marry Clarinda into the gentry, but she rebels when he receives an offer from Lord Tarbuck, whose daughter is several years older than Clarinda.

  Her only refuge is her grandmother, who runs a guest house in Harrogate Spa, and with Sarah's help she escapes from her home.

  Held up by a highwayman, whose actions they find extremely odd, they are forced to aid him, and the girls find adventure before they can reach Harrogate.

  Highwayman's Hazard

  By Marina Oliver

  Copyright © 2016 Marina Oliver

  Smashwords Edition

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  Cover Design by Debbie Oliver

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form, including digital and electronic or mechanical, without the prior written consent of the Publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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  Print edition first published 1983 by Robert Hale

  See details of other books by Marina Oliver at

  http:/www.marina-oliver.net.

  AUTHOR NOTE

  Most highwaymen were rogues who preyed on travellers, and their activities, despite the romantic stories woven round them, were usually far from admirable. I needed to find a motive for my hero's actions which was not so deplorable as theft.

  HIGHWAYMAN'S HAZARD

  BY MARINA OLIVER

  Chapter 1

  'Why do you have to return to The Hermitage today, Sarah?' Clarinda asked with a sigh as the two girls reached the end of the terrace and turned to retrace their steps.

  Her friend shrugged. 'Aunt Nell does not care to be alone,' she replied. 'Since Uncle Anthony died and Robert is in Vienna she depends on me all the more. But mayhap she will permit me to visit you again soon, and we can ride across for the day.'

  'That is not the same as staying in the same house. I have so much enjoyed it, for I was never encouraged to make friends in the City. Papa did not approve of anyone!' she added petulantly.

  Sarah Coombes nodded slightly, well aware of Mr Middlewick's social aspirations for his only child. An exceedingly wealthy London merchant, he now despised the trade which had brought him his fortune, and wished to promote a match for Clarinda which would lift her, if not into the ranks of the nobility, at least into those of the gentry. She was encouraged in her friendship with Clarinda because of her own birth, daughter of a baron of ancient lineage. Yet if Clarinda's father had expected her to introduce his daughter into local society now he had bought a country estate he had miscalculated. Sarah, an heiress and orphan in the care of a prim, anxious aunt, was not permitted to mix freely with any except her aunt's friends, and was in her way as lacking in friends as Clarinda.

  'I have loved being here,' she replied now, 'and we will meet again soon, I promise. Would your father permit you to come and stay with me when the masons are working on the new wing of the house? I hope they do not damage this part. I have always liked it,' she added, glancing back at the many gleaming windows which overlooked the terrace and the gentle slope towards the lake.

  'Oh, no, all the work will be on the west side, replacing some of the older parts where the kitchens and store rooms are now. Papa means to turn that into a fashionable entrance with a pillared portico and circular drive, but it will not affect this part. I will suggest that I visit you then if your aunt permits. I would look forward to it, but I wish you did not have to go and leave me with that detestable old man!'

  Sarah chuckled suddenly. 'Only for today. He continues on his way home tomorrow. You'll soon be free of him and his tedious reminiscences about my Lord Duke's glorious campaigns. To listen to him you'd imagine Marlborough had naught to do with his victories except to take the advice of Lord Tarbuck!'

  Clarinda giggled. 'He slobbers over his food, and I doubt if he changes his linen in a month! He had the same stains on his cravat when he arrived two days ago, and it was greasy then.'

  'You may be thankful his daughter Rose is not with him. Anyone less like her name I have yet to meet. Although,' she added thoughtfully, 'she possesses many thorns.'

  'I did not think you knew her. Is she not much older?'

  'Only seven years. She must be five and twenty now, and I have seen her but rarely of late. She does not like me since I refused to submit to her domination years ago. Now she concentrates on managing her father's house and estates, and although I cannot admire her I must admit she contrives better than he did.'

  'He permits her to order his estates?' Clarinda asked in some astonishment.

  'They have always been close. Her mother died giving her birth, and Rose took over the running of his house at a very early age, for she has always been of a managing disposition. When he had to retire to the country a few years back, having lost almost everything at cards, she persuaded him to let her oversee the estates, too, and she has made somewhat of a recovery, enough to enable him an occasional visit to London such as he has just made.'

  'She sounds formidable.'

  'She is, to those who allow it. I believe even Lord Tarbuck is afraid of her at times, and he would dearly love to see her wed and less concerned with him, despite his undoubted affection for her.'

  'Will she not leave him?'

  'She has no fortune to recommend her, is far from beautiful, and much too overbearing to suit most men. She set her heart on Robert a few years back and still, I suspect, nurtures hopes of him.'

  'But you are betrothed to him!' Clarinda exclaimed.

  'Not – exactly betrothed,' Sarah replied slowly. 'It was Uncle Anthony's wish, but Robert has almost no money of his own and had to make his own way. He chose to be a diplomat and has not been home for several years. He is coming later in the summer.’

  'And then you will be wed. Do you love him?'

  'I have said, we are not formally promised. I like him, yes, but he may have changed. He was barely twenty when I last saw him and he may not wish it. I know enough to be sure he will not bow to his mother's wishes unless that is what he, too, desires.'

  'He may take you to Court,' Clarinda said with a slight sigh.

  Sarah laughed and shook her head. 'He may wish it, and of course he serves the King, but Aunt Nell would never go nor permit me to. She is fierce in her condemnation of German George, deplores his conduct in keeping his wife a prisoner for her infidelity while flaunting his own. And what peculiar mistresses,' she added, laughing. 'He appears to have a taste for the ugly and strange. Perhaps Rose – oh, here is John with the coach,' she said as an old fashioned lumbering vehicle turned in through the tall gateway to their left and began to come slowly along the drive. 'I must bid farewell to your parents.'

  *

  Mr Middlewick beamed at his daughter's friend as she made her farewells. Although he had recognised that Clarinda was unlikely to meet the sort of people he had hoped for from the connection, he liked Sarah for herself, and any well bred friend for his beloved daughter was better than none.

  'Delightful child, excellent manners,' he said as they stood and waved to Sarah as she was borne awa
y from them. 'She is always polite, never high and mighty like some, nor condescending.'

  His wife sniffed. 'Why should she have cause to be? You must stop this habit of expecting people to look down on you, my dear. You have money now, and my father, even if he had no title, was a very respected alderman.'

  'A fine looking girl, too, with those big blue eyes and that unusual coloured hair,' he said, ignoring her remark.

  'Red,' his wife stated baldly. 'I'll warrant she has a fine temper under her pretty manners.'

  'Not red. It's too dark, more like leaves in autumn,' he replied mildly.

  His wife sniffed again. 'I prefer Clarinda's blonde hair. And her curls are well behaved, not unruly like that poor girl's. Sarah, to my mind, is too tall and skinny for beauty, although she has a pleasant face.'

  'She is beautiful, Mama,' Clarinda protested, 'and her height is an advantage with these hooped petticoats that are in fashion. I feel as wide as I am high sometimes!'

  'Nonsense, child,' her mother said crossly. 'You have a tiny waist that suits the fashion, and must not forget that you are exceptionally pretty. Pray do not follow your father's habit of self criticism all the time. It is not at all attractive to others, who cannot agree without appearing rude, and become weary of always reassuring you that you are not at fault. Come now, I wish you to try on the new gown Fanny is making for you. It is almost finished and you can wear it this evening.'

  *

  Clarinda went with her, while Sarah, after a last wave to her friend, sat back in the coach and let her thoughts wander to her own home and the expected return of her cousin Robert.

  They were not, as she had told Clarinda, formally betrothed, but her Aunt Nell, Robert's mother, took it for granted her son and niece would marry. When Sarah's father had died soon after her birth he had left all his considerable wealth to his only child, although his title had gone to his brother and after his death to Robert. Aunt Nell had always deplored, although not directly to Sarah's face, the separation of money and title, and Sarah knew full well she saw this marriage as the logical way to reunite them.

  For most of her life Sarah had accepted the probability that she and Robert would eventually marry, and since he had always been an amusing and considerate companion, despite his superior years, she had not until recently given much thought to any alternative. During the last year or so, however, she had been aware of Robert's freely expressed admiration for the beauties he met in Vienna, and thought she detected in his letters home a disinclination to abandon them and settle down. Had he met someone he wished to marry, she asked herself continually. Might she herself, if she were permitted to meet more men than the few who visited at The Hermitage, find marriage with Robert was no longer an acceptable future?

  After some minutes of fruitless speculation Sarah mentally shook herself, telling herself nothing could be resolved until Robert returned and they could meet one another and talk, and concentrated on devising ways of inducing Aunt Nell to go out more into society.

  'For how can I know whether I love Robert if I have met so few other men?' she demanded later that evening as she and her aunt sat at supper and Sarah had explained her misgivings.

  'It is not for you to decide, my dear Sarah. Robert has been out in the world these past five years or more and will know whether you suit him. It is for a woman a matter of following the advice of her parents or guardians, and since I have been left to carry the burden of that guardianship alone, it is for me to advise, nay, if necessary, compel you. I have no doubt of Robert's suitability as a husband for any girl fortunate enough to be chosen by him.'

  'He may not wish to choose me,' Sarah said with a sigh at the deliberate obtuseness of her aunt, and soon afterwards took herself off to bed, consoling herself with the thought that Robert might not wish to marry her and might be strong enough to defy his mother, or they might still find one another tolerable partners.

  *

  After a restless night she rose early and took her mare, Polly, out for a gallop to clear her head. She had just reined in after their first exhilarating gallop when she saw Clarinda riding towards her.

  'You are out early so far from home,' she greeted her friend.

  'I had to come,' Clarinda replied breathlessly, and promptly burst into tears.

  'My dear, what is it? Here, let's sit on that bank and you can tell me all about it.'

  She swiftly dismounted and helped Clarinda, who was weeping with an abandonment of despair, to clamber from the saddle. When Sarah had tethered both horses she went to Clarinda, who had thrown herself down on the grassy bank and was sobbing loudly, her face buried in her arms.

  'Tell me what has happened. You were happy when I left you yesterday,' she coaxed, and gradually Clarinda grew calm.

  'That horrible man!' she gasped. 'He – he – oh Sarah, I can't!'

  'Who?' Sarah demanded, her arms round her friend as she tried to comfort her.

  'Lord – Lord Tarbuck! Ugh, he smells!'

  'But what has he done?'

  'He – he kissed me! He slobbered all over my face, and it was vile, beastly!'

  'But darling Clarinda,' Sarah expostulated, trying to suppress a laugh, 'what a commotion to make over a mere kiss! I'm sure it was horrid, but if you take care never to be alone with him he will be gone home soon.'

  'That – that's not all!' Clarinda gulped, and her sobs threatened to make her incoherent once more. After a while she lifted a tragic face to Sarah. 'They say I'm to marry him!'

  Sarah's mild amusement abruptly deserted her.

  'Who says? Your parents?'

  Clarinda nodded. 'He and Papa arranged it last night and they left us alone. Lord Tarbuck told me he had their permission, and wished for a summer wedding. Mama said I must do as Papa wished, and Papa said that it was a great honour, and I would be Lady Tarbuck and if I had a son he would be the heir. He's delighted and says I shall soon become accustomed to the plan, and he thinks I am being silly. He – he said I must expect to feel shy. He didn't understand at all! Oh, Sarah, what shall I do? I cannot, I will not marry such a hateful old man! I crept out as soon as it was light and came to you. What shall I do?'

  'You most certainly must not marry him. Apart from being old and unpleasant, there is Rose. She would never submit to having a step-mother younger than herself and would make life even more unbearable for you. Does your father know this?'

  'I tried to tell him, but he would not listen, and said I had been listening to gossip, and once I was married Rose would defer to me.'

  'He has clearly never met her.'

  'They can force me, and Papa is so determined to find someone with a title for me that he will compel me. I – I thought he loved me!' Clarinda said, and dissolved once more into tears.

  'Your father clearly will not listen to you, and he would not accept my word for what Rose is like. Is there anyone else who would take your part, try to influence your father?'

  Clarinda shook her head. 'I've no one. Mother's family think he is aiming too high, and have very little to do with us, and Papa's mother is so far away, in Harrogate. She would support me, but how can I reach her?'

  'Would she come here if you wrote and explained what is happening?'

  Dolefully, Clarinda shook her head. 'She has always refused to visit us, since I was a child, but she writes to me regularly. She and Papa do not agree. When he began to make his fortune he wished her to live with us and give up her lodging house. She runs one of the new ones at the Spa, you see, but Papa thinks it is – well, undignified, now he is so important in the City. Oh, I do so wish I could go to her!'

  Sarah had been thinking rapidly.

  'Why do you not?' she demanded coolly. 'I can lend you some money and you could get the stage from Grantham. You could be away before they even realise you are not still in bed!'

  Clarinda shuddered. 'The stage? By myself? Oh, no, I could not. It would not be right. I should not know how to go on, and I would be afraid.'

  'Then you must
go home and resign yourself to marriage with Lord Tarbuck.'

  Clarinda began once more to weep. 'I will not! Please Sarah, I beg of you, hide me. The Hermitage is large and rambling. I could hide in one of the rooms and you could bring me food. When Papa knows how much I am determined to refuse the match he will relent, I feel sure.'

  Sarah shook her head. 'It would not be possible. He would guess you had come to me, for we are the only people you know well. Aunt Nell could easily organise a thorough search, and she knows the house better than I do, even the priest holes. But I was not suggesting you went alone.' Her eyes gleamed as she smiled down into Clarinda's suddenly hopeful eyes. 'I will come too. And what is more, so that we do not appear to be two helpless females travelling alone, I will disguise myself in some of Robert's clothes.'

  *

  Clarinda stared at her in amazement. 'You dare not,' she breathed, but with hope in her eyes.

  'Of course I dare. It will be an adventure, and I have been longing to escape from home for a while. Let us ride back towards The Hermitage while we make our plans.'

  Sarah's home, a long, low, rambling stone building with a veritable maze of outbuildings, barns, mews, cattle sheds and stables, was surrounded by a thick belt of trees. In their shelter the girls dismounted once more and Sarah carefully loosened one of the shoes of Clarinda's pony. Then they walked the final half mile leading the horses, and entered the stable yard when all but one of the grooms had disappeared to the large kitchen for breakfast.

  'Josh, take Miss Middlewick's pony into the spare loose box and put Barney into the gig. When the pony's shoe has been fixed someone can ride it over to Forleys and drive back the gig.'

  Unquestioningly Josh obeyed, and within a few minutes Clarinda was in the gig, taking the reins and leaning down for a few last words with Sarah.

  'Wait where I showed you, and I will join you as soon as I can change and pack what we need,' Sarah said quietly, and then, stepping back and smiling encouragingly at Clarinda, she said loudly, 'I will see you again the day after tomorrow. Goodbye.'