Highwayman's Hazard Read online

  'What are you talking about?' Clarinda demanded.

  'Did you see Sir Gilbert's ear?'

  'His ear?' exclaimed Clarinda in puzzlement. 'What in the world has his ear to do with anything?'

  'A great deal to do with everything, if I am not mistaken. I am not positive, for there were rather a lot of people in the way and I did not obtain a clear view, but I think Sir Gilbert had lost part of his ear.'

  'Lost an ear?' Clarinda repeated blankly.

  'Sir Charles was looking for a man so deformed,' Sarah said quietly. 'That was the reason for his rather odd actions. He said the man had defrauded him, and also that he believed Forleys had been owned by the same man at some time. It must have been after the death of Sir James, but I never heard of it.'

  'I can ask – oh, I cannot,' she recalled.

  'Possibly your grandmother will know.'

  'She may, but I think it unlikely. What does it matter? He has been prevented from travelling with us, which is all I care for. He told me he had a house near Harrogate, an isolated farm where he retired for peace.'

  Deciding it would serve no useful purpose to speculate on the possibility of Sir Gilbert hiring a horse and attempting to catch up with the stagecoach, Sarah relapsed into silence. She thought it probable his pride had been damaged and he would not wish to face the laugher and innuendos of the passengers who had witnessed his discomfiture, and when there was no sign of him for the rest of the journey she thankfully concluded that she had been right, and hoped his interest in Clarinda had been transitory, and he would not come seeking her out in Harrogate.

  *

  By the time the coach rolled into Harrogate both girls, unused to travel of any sort and especially such an uncomfortable variety, wished only to fall into soft beds. Fortunately old Mrs Middlewick, faced with her granddaughter and friend, the latter dressed in boy's attire, unexpectedly standing on her doorstep with only a small bundle between them, wasted no time in fruitless exclamations and questions. Without quite knowing how it had happened the girls found themselves tended by a couple of giggling maids who brought warm, scented water for them to soak their stiff limbs, and then brought trays of broth and chicken wings and syllabub to where they were ensconced in the softest beds they had known.

  'Tell me all about it in the morning,' Mrs Middlewick said comfortingly. 'You need sleep now, and I can wait to hear what it's all about until you're both rested.'

  Smiling at the thought of how her Aunt Nell would have behaved in the same odd circumstances, Sarah drifted into sleep, but it was not Aunt Nell's face that haunted her dreams, but the strong, handsome, laughing face of the highwayman.

  It was late in the morning before they awoke, and Sarah sprang out of bed, all tiredness and stiffness vanished, and went to look out of the window. The lodging house was a large, commodious one, looking out over the common where the fashionable visitors rode and drove. In the distance she could see a small crowd of people about a small building, and she discovered afterwards it was the Tewit Well, the oldest, but not the most highly esteemed of Harrogate's medicinal springs.

  Clarinda, still sleepy, groaned but gave way to Sarah's persuasions and dragged herself out of bed. Clarinda had been wearing a light brown riding habit when she had set out from home, but her grandmother had produced a pale pink taffeta gown which suited her fairness admirably. She dressed in it while Sarah, who had been able to pack one of her own gowns, a pale green brocade, became once more a young lady.

  When they descended to the parlour Mrs Middlewick bustled about, exclaiming that they should have had chocolate and bread and butter in bed, as befitted their exhausted state, and plying them with a huge amount and variety of food. She firmly repressed Clarinda's attempt to explain their presence.

  'After you've filled yourselves with good Yorkshire food, not that rubbish you get in London,' she declared, and Clarinda laughed.

  'I don't live in London now, Grandmother. We get all our food, or most of it, directly from Papa's farms.'

  'They can't be so good as ours here in Yorkshire,' the old woman insisted, and beamed at Sarah when she took another slice of bread and heaped on it creamy butter and golden honey.

  At length, when they had repeatedly assured her they were replete, she permitted them to tell their story.

  *

  'Has my son run mad, wanting to marry you off to an old man?' she demanded, when Clarinda explained the reason for her departure from home. 'Don't worry your head about that. He didn't tell me the man was so much older than you, but he'll have a piece of my mind when next I see him!'

  'Papa? He is here?' Clarinda asked in dismay, looking round the room as though she expected him to emerge from under one of the tables.

  'He was, but I soon sent him off. I suspected you would come to me and I didn't want him here when you arrived, so I got rid of him as fast as possible. It's as well you were delayed, but I was beginning to be worried. What did keep you so long on the journey?'

  Clarinda glanced doubtfully at Sarah, but she had swiftly come to respect and trust the forthright old woman, and so she smiled comfortingly at Clarinda and took up the story.

  'We were held captive by a highwayman,' she said calmly. 'He forced me to help him hold up his victims until he discovered I was a female,' she said demurely, and to her delight the old woman burst out laughing.

  'A highwayman? By all that's holy! Did you take much money?'

  'Grandmother!' Clarinda exclaimed, shocked, but Sarah laughed.

  'He refused money, he wanted only ears. Half ears, to be precise.'

  She explained to the appreciative Mrs Middlewick, and told her of her last encounter with Sir Gilbert.

  'Could it have been he who sold Forleys to your son?'

  Mrs Middlewick shook her head slowly.

  'I never heard the name of the man he bought from. But there is a family from that part of the country staying here, they might know.'

  'Will they know us? Will they betray us?' Clarinda asked in alarm.

  'They are not likely to know you, or even connect your name with Forleys. I will not alert their suspicions by asking them myself. I can arrange for a friend to approach them. Do you know the Butlers, from Sleaford?' she asked Sarah.

  'I have heard of them, but they never visited The Hermitage and would not know me. They would know my name, though, so if you do not object I would prefer to be known as Sarah Smith while I remain here. I am enjoying myself too much to be hauled home in disgrace yet awhile!'

  'You can be Clarinda's cousin. Do you remain Mary Smith, child?'

  'I think it would be wiser for Clarinda to resume her name, to confuse Sir Gilbert if he should come enquiring for her. He does not know I am a girl,' Sarah said thoughtfully. 'It is so good of you to take me in, too.'

  'Where would my darling be without your help?' Mrs Middlewick said gruffly, and turned away so that they should not see her wipe away a tear.

  'I cannot be idle while I am here. May we help you? Shall we be chambermaids, Clarinda?' Sarah said gleefully.

  'You may if it pleases you, when the season begins properly,' Mrs Middlewick said with an approving nod. 'In the meantime you can rest and explore the town. It has grown even in the few years since you were last here, Clarinda.'

  They went out later and walked down to the lower part of the town, admiring the stone buildings and the fashionable people who strolled about.

  'Grandmother says there will be many more in a few weeks, but it already seems full. I wonder if Papa will come back? Do you think I ought to write to him? He must be worried,' the tender hearted Clarinda said as they returned home.

  'He is not likely to come back soon. I would leave him to worry for a while longer, and then he will be so thankful to know you are safe he will not make any more attempts to marry you off where you do not wish it,' Sarah advised.

  'Will you write to your Aunt? After all, she did not try to make you marry someone you hated.'

  'No, but she would not have listen
ed to me if I had not wished to marry Robert. I will send merely to say I am safe. Shall I say you are with me, and she can tell your father?'

  Clarinda eagerly accepted this offer, saying it made her conscience easier to know her father would not be concerned about her safety, and Mrs Middlewick, though privately considering her son deserved a bad fright, suggested she would enclose the note in a letter to a friend in London, who would send it on as though it had come from the metropolis.

  'That will throw them off the scent still more,' she said with ill-concealed satisfaction that made Sarah laugh.

  *

  The weeks went by, and Sarah thoroughly enjoyed the life of the town. She took over much of the marketing, and won praise from the particular Mrs Middlewick when she produced her bargains. Clarinda was content helping her grandmother in the house, keeping out of the way of the guests and making herself useful in the kitchen where her skill with some of the trickier dishes was much admired.

  Only one thing marred Sarah's enjoyment of the bustling life about her, and that was the thought of whether she would ever again see her highwayman. She was consumed with curiosity, she admitted to herself, about his connection with Sir Gilbert Woodford. It was an added irritation that she did not even know his full name. It would have been easier to forget him, she thought, if she had known this, but as it was the mystery plagued her whenever she had an idle minute, and she longed to discover whether Sir Gilbert had ever owned Forleys, and how he had cheated Sir Charles.

  Mrs Middlewick, while delighting in the company of her granddaughter, confessed to Sarah that she wished her pretty Clarinda could attend the balls and assemblies that were given in the larger hotels.

  'For she'd outshine everyone there,' she declared proudly.

  'She really does not wish to go,' Sarah reassured the old lady. 'Pray do not think she is missing anything, for she would not be comfortable there. She may, in a year or so, enjoy such, but at the moment she is too timid.'

  She did not say how greatly she herself would have relished the company, the dancing and the witty conversation of the guests at these balls. Mrs Middlewick's many friends, however, as soon as they realised she had two pretty granddaughters living with her, came forward with invitations to dine or attend small parties, and they soon became acquainted with several hopeful young men.

  It was two of these, brothers Joseph and Jacob Burnside, who persuaded the girls to sample the water of the old Sulphur Well in the low lying part of the town. They all went early one morning to join the group of visitors crowding about the well, with its stone cover, and an ancient bent old woman who was handing out ladlesful of the water.

  'Oh, it smells dreadful!' Clarinda exclaimed, when they were still yards away from the well basin.

  'Far too obnoxious to drink,' Sarah agreed, and they moved back slightly, pausing to watch the more intrepid souls who held their noses and ventured near enough to taste the foul smelling waters.

  'You have no need of it, either of you,' Joseph Burnside said gallantly. 'It is said to cure all manner of skin complaints, but neither of you are in need of any such cure.'

  'Then why did you suggest we visit such a horrid place?' Clarinda demanded, a trifle petulantly.

  'Every visitor to Harrogate should at least see the old well,' Jacob said soothingly. 'It is quite popular to bathe in it. Many of the lodging houses round about have tubs to which the water is carried for the bathers, and then they are wrapped tightly in blankets to sweat away the disorders.'

  'Ugh,' was all the response he obtained from Clarinda, but Sarah was demanding to know whether all the wells effected the same cures.

  'No, the Tewit well and the Sweet Spa are supposed to cure almost everything else,' Jacob replied. 'The water is much pleasanter to drink, and is good especially for stomach disorders. We have several visitors to our hotel who come every year. They swear it is the best cure in all England.'

  'It does not seem a lasting one if they return each year,' Sarah laughed.

  'Because when they go away they eat and drink too much and have too little exercise,' Joseph said, grinning. 'Here they are encouraged to ride or walk every day.'

  Sarah nodded, turning to look back at the riders already on the common. She would dearly have loved to join them, but she had been forced to use some of her money on new clothes, and could not afford to hire a horse. She had refused the money Mrs Middlewick had tried to press on her, saying she did not do enough work to merit a wage above her keep. It was uncertain how long it would be before Mr Middlewick traced his daughter, and she must make her money last until then.

  They were walking back towards High Harrogate when one of the riders coming slowly towards them halted and exclaimed in surprise.

  'Miss Mary Smith, I do declare. What a delightful meeting, one I scarcely dared to hope for.'

  *

  He dismounted and stood before them. The Burnside brothers looked puzzled and glanced at their companions. They found Clarinda blushing vividly and Sarah pursing her lips in sudden anger.

  'You mistake, sir,' she said curtly, and tried to move on, but the newcomer turned to smile at her, then looked puzzled, peered closer, and slowly, after a quick glance at her companions, smiled in understanding.

  'I may have mistaken the name,' he said smoothly. 'Sir Gilbert Woodford, we had the good fortune to meet at Newark.'

  Sarah would have continued to deny the acquaintance and had begun to move forward, but Jacob, impressed perhaps by the title, smiled ingratiatingly.

  'This is Miss Smith, Sir Gilbert, and this Miss Middlewick. Allow me to introduce my brother and myself, and to welcome you to Harrogate.'

  Sarah, annoyed, had to stop. She thought that a flash of interest crossed Sir Gilbert's face when Clarinda was introduced, but assumed it was due to her change of name. She soon, however, forgot it, for her own change of sex was much more embarrassing. It was obvious Sir Gilbert was well aware of this, too, for although he said nothing to directly involve her, he showed by sly references that he recognised her.

  After making casual conversation for a while Sir Gilbert turned his horse.

  'I must not delay you. Permit me to accompany you while I take the opportunity of renewing our acquaintance.'

  Expertly insinuating himself and his horse between Clarinda and the young men, he devoted his attention to her, and for a while Sarah was helpless. She contrived, however, to whisper to Jacob she did not wish the newcomer to discover their address.

  'He is far too importunate, and Clarinda does not like him,' she explained, and Jacob, flattered to be taken into her confidence, and fully aware Sir Gilbert was a formidable rival to his own plans regarding Clarinda, who was known to be the daughter of Mrs Middlewick's wealthy son, acceded readily to her plan.

  They approached Clarinda, accompanied by Sir Gilbert talking animatedly, and on her other side a doggedly determined Joseph who attempted to insert a remark whenever Sir Gilbert drew breath.

  'Sir Gilbert, it has been such a surprise meeting you here,' Sarah said firmly, interrupting him in mid sentence, 'but we have to meet our grandmother at the Queen's Head almost immediately. We must bid you farewell.'

  Slightly nonplussed he permitted her to nod briskly, take Clarinda's arm firmly in hers, and turn away, followed with great relief by the Burnside boys. They walked in the direction of the Queen's Head until they were certain he had mounted and ridden off, and then cautiously found their way home, explaining only to the puzzled brothers that Sir Gilbert was inclined to make a nuisance of himself by his persistent attentions.

  'What shall we do?' Clarinda demanded as soon as they were safely in the room they shared.

  'We must show him he is not wanted,' Sarah declared roundly.

  'But – if we anger him he might betray me to my father,' Clarinda said worriedly.

  'Betray you? How could he?' Sarah asked blankly.

  'Isn't he the man Sir Charles was looking for, the man with part of an ear missing?'

  'Yes, I
believe so, but how does that cause him to know who you are?'

  'I thought you said this man, the one Sir Charles wished to find, might once have owned Forleys?'

  'Of course! I had forgotten!' Sarah exclaimed.

  'And may have sold it to my father,' Clarinda pointed out, 'so he will connect my name with it.'

  Sarah was thinking quickly.

  'Not necessarily. Middlewick is not very unusual, and there is little to connect us with Forleys.'

  'We were not far from there at Newark,' Clarinda said, rather despondently.

  'No, but we were at the crossing of the north road and the Fosse. We could have come from quite another direction.'

  'We were with Sir Charles, and he might have known he came from the Grantham direction.'

  A thought struck Sarah.

  'Do you think he knows who held him up that night? Could he have recognised us that day in Newark? I wonder if he knows Sir Charles was searching for him?'

  'He certainly knew you again, despite the wig you wore, and Robert's clothes.'

  'But it is not certain he will connect us with the highwayman. Oh, how I wish I knew more of why Sir Charles wanted to meet with him! But we do know he is some sort of adventurer, and it would be wise not to let him know anything about us if possible. It will be best if he believes us to be dependent on your grandmother.'

  'It would be best if he did not see us again,' Clarinda said worriedly. 'I am afraid he will tell Papa where I am.'

  *

  Chapter 5

  Mrs Middlewick had been out when they arrived home after the meeting with Sir Gilbert, and when she did return home some hours later she was almost immediately called upon to speak with a guest, and then, before Clarinda could catch her attention, a visitor was announced.

  'We shall never find her alone,' Clarinda fumed.

  'Do not be concerned. She will be free soon and we can warn her of Sir Gilbert's arrival,' Sarah consoled. 'I am going to finish sewing the lace onto my new yellow gown.'

  She had barely taken the lace out of the linen in which it was wrapped when Tilly, the youngest of the maids, came to bid them join Mrs Middlewick in the parlour.