The Outrageous Lady Read online

“‘I knows little more about it than you do, my Lord’ I replied. ‘Her Ladyship didn’t confide in me.’

  “‘Then where has she gone, Hannah?’ he asks.

  “I could see he was worried about you, my Lady, worried out of his mind, so to speak.”

  “What did you tell him?” Lady Roysdon asked.

  “I told him the truth, my Lady, that you said you was dinin’ out and collectin’ your emeralds from where you’d left them the night before last.”

  “What did his Lordship say to that?”

  “He seemed very interested, my Lady. He asked me over and over again who I thought had your jewels.”

  “But you did not know.”

  “No, my Lady, and that’s what I says to him. ‘Nothin’ but mysteries and strange goings-on ever since we comes to Brighton,’ I says.”

  Hannah paused for breath before she continued,

  “And Mr. Hancocks was in a fine way at your Ladyship takin’ Jake, a new groom, to drive you, when he has always been required wherever your Ladyship was a-goin’.”

  Lady Roysdon could visualise so well how Hannah would have been only too willing to confide in the Earl.

  She was also sure that the Earl’s suspicions had been fed not only by Hannah but by the rest of the staff.

  “Did his Lordship go to the stables?” she asked.

  “Yes, my Lady. After his Lordship’s talked to me, he went into the yard to question Hancocks.”

  Having learnt all he could from her servants, Lady Roysdon thought, the Earl had put two and two together and sent his own men to see what they could find.

  It might have been chance that had taken them to the inn where Sir Just was staying or perhaps it already had a reputation, seeing where it was situated, as being a hiding place for highwaymen.

  However little the Earl had extracted from her household – it was impossible for them to tell him very much – it had been enough for him to go himself to see Lord Marshall.

  She had deliberately not pressed Lord Marshall to tell her who had informed the Earl that a prisoner might be left in his safe keeping.

  And now she had the feeling that the Earl had made a wild guess, while making sure that if his men did discover what he suspected there would be somewhere to lodge a prisoner in custody.

  But why had the Earl gone to Lord Marshall? And why not to the ordinary prison in Brighton, which in actual fact would have been far more secure?

  Hannah’s voice broke in on Lady Roysdon’s thoughts.

  “If you asks me, your Ladyship, you’ve been real heartless the way you’ve treated his Lordship since you came to Brighton.”

  “I have not asked you, Hannah.”

  “He were that upset last night, my heart bled for him. I could see what he was a-feelin’ in his face and Mr. Hancocks said the same. In fact they all thought his Lordship was in a nasty mood when he left the stables.”

  So nasty, Lady Roysdon thought to herself, that he had been determined to capture the highwayman – if that was who he thought she was with.

  Now she was certain that the Military had never been involved, but that the Earl had meant to conduct his own interrogation – his own cross-questioning – and she shuddered to think of the methods he might have employed.

  There had always been something sadistic about him, she thought, and she had known it long before they went to Bridewell.

  There were tales of how when he was a young man, he had been one of the roisterers who beat up the nightwatchmen at night.

  They were usually defenceless old men and drunken rakes used to knock over the wooden box where they sat at the corners of the streets to leave them bleeding or in some cases dying.

  She had known that the Earl enjoyed not only cockfighting but also bull- baiting, the cruelty of which had always disgusted her.

  Because, as Sir Just had said, in his own way he loved her and was almost fanatically jealous and he would not have hesitated to torture any man who was helpless and a prisoner in his hands.

  ‘Thank God I got Just away!’ Lady Roysdon whispered to herself.

  Then, as Hannah went on grumbling, she sat at her dressing table trying to plan what she should do.

  The first task was to discover if the Earl was alive and what official steps were being taken to trace his assailant.

  Lady Roysdon sent Hannah for her breakfast. Then she sat trying to keep her thoughts away from Sir Just and the agony of anxiety that had beset her ever since he had ridden over the hill.

  She was certain that, with the Earl incapacitated, he would have got away.

  The two other men who were with the Earl were doubtless only servants and would not have dared to leave him wounded, but would concern themselves with taking him to a surgeon.

  It was always important to remove a bullet from the body as soon as possible after it had been fired and it would not have been easy, Lady Roysdon knew, to convey the Earl, who was a heavy man, back to Brighton without a carriage.

  Perhaps one of them had stayed with him on the hillside while the other sought a vehicle of some sort, but Lady Roysdon hoped that they had not gone to Lord Marshall for help.

  If they had, he might think it very strange that her supposed cousin, however intent on his mission, should have assailants who would fire on those who pursued him.

  This was a minor worry, however, and the most important thing was to discover what steps the authorities intended to take in the investigation.

  Whatever they might be, Sir Just must be out of the neighbourhood and, if he was wise, on his way to Cornwall before a search began.

  Lady Roysdon bathed and, when it was approaching noon, put on one of her most attractive gowns and a high-brimmed bonnet, which had been delivered from the most fashionable milliners in Bond Street just before she left for Brighton.

  “Where will your Ladyship be a-goin’?” Hannah asked.

  “I am doing nothing more reprehensible than taking a walk on the Steine, Hannah. If His Royal Highness is with Mrs. Fitzherbert, I might have a glass of Madeira with him.”

  There was a note of amusement in Lady Roysdon’s voice as she added,

  “If the Earl calls, you may tell him where I am.”

  She had already decided that it was of the utmost importance that she should remember to show no knowledge of the Earl’s injuries and, when she was told of them, it must come as a complete surprise.

  “I shouldn’t be astonished if his Lordship did call,” Hannah said in a somewhat mollified tone. “He’s a nice upstandin’ gentleman and has your Ladyship’s interests at heart.”

  ‘And his own!’ Lady Roysdon thought and nearly said it out loud.

  Instead she smiled at her maid and walked down the stairs to tell Fulton where she was going and where she could be found if necessary.

  “You’ll be back for luncheon, my Lady?”

  “Yes, Fulton, unless Mrs. Fitzherbert invites me to stay. But tell cook I want very little, perhaps only one dish, as I shall doubtless be dining out this evening,”

  “The Earl of Sheringham expected your Ladyship to dine with him last night, my Lady.”

  “So Hannah has been telling me, but as you know I sent a note during the afternoon to his Lordship saying that I had another engagement. I am sorry that he found it necessary to come looking for me.”

  “Very worried and upset he was about your Ladyship. He couldn’t think who your Ladyship could be dining with outside Brighton.”

  “I will tell his Lordship all about it when I see him today,” Lady Roysdon answered lightly and walked out into the sunshine on the Steine.

  The band was playing a gay tune. The music on the Steine had been greatly improved since the early days when a trio of wheezy brass instruments had been played on the rotunda of the library.

  There was the usual crowd of people perambulating up and down to be seen or to see who they could see.

  The favourite attire repeated and repeated amongst the ladies and it consisted of pink, lilac o
r white mantles, a gypsy hat and brown parasols trimmed with white lace.

  Lady Roysdon thought them very un chic and knew her own appearance in what was the dernier cri caused comment, admiration and jealousy.

  As she had expected, the Prince Regent was sitting on the balcony of Mrs. Fitzherbert’s house.

  As soon as he saw her, he beckoned to her in an agitated manner that would have told her, if she had not known it already, that something was amiss.

  She was let into the elegant hall furnished with the Prince’s impeccable taste and climbed the staircase to the drawing room on the first floor.

  Maria Fitzherbert greeted her with a kiss and said,

  “I am afraid, dearest Galatea, that the Prince has bad news for you.”

  “Bad news?” Lady Roysdon repeated in surprise. “What can it be?”

  She joined the Prince on the balcony, who kissed her hand and said,

  “A terrible thing happened last night, my dear. I can see by your appearance and your smiling face that you are not aware of it.”

  “Not aware of what, Sire?” Lady Roysdon enquired.

  The Prince paused to say in a voice of almost dramatic intensity.

  “Poor D’Arcy Sheringham was wounded last night when he was in pursuit of some dastardly highwayman!”

  “Wounded?” Lady Roysdon cried. “How terrible! But how did it occur?”

  “I only know what his secretary told me when he called at the Pavilion an hour ago.”

  Lady Roysdon sat down beside the Prince.

  “Tell me, Sire, what you have been told. As you can imagine, I am extremely perturbed!”

  “So are we all,” the Prince answered. “It is inconceivable that this should happen to one of my closest friends, a man, moreover, who is famed for his athletic ability.”

  “It is frightening!” Lady Roysdon cried.

  “It will shock and distress you to learn that D’Arcy was shot in the back!” the Prince went on.

  “Oh, no!”

  “It is a fact,” the Prince insisted. “He was just on the verge, his secretary told me, of overtaking a criminal who was riding ahead of him, when another felon hiding in the fir trees shot him down.”

  “It is a horrible thing to have happened!”

  “Horrible indeed!” the Prince agreed, “but I assure you, my dear, I shall take steps to prevent this sort of outrage ever happening again.”

  “How will you do that?”

  “I intend to clear the whole place of such villains,” the Prince said grimly, “and I have, and I am sure you will commend me for it, already sent a groom to London to ask that a Squadron of the King’s Dragoons should be despatched to Brighton.”

  “From London? But I thought that your own Regiment was stationed here, Sire,” Lady Roysdon exclaimed.

  “So they were, but the tenth Hussars left the day before yesterday for Dover where they are engaged in manoeuvres. As their Colonel-in-Chief, I would not wish to prevent them from taking part in what is an important military exercise.”

  “No, no, of course not, Sire!” Lady Roysdon agreed. “While we are at war the training of our troops is a vital necessity.”

  “It is indeed,” the Prince said, “and that is why, although I must take steps to avenge this terrible assault on one of my close friends, the manoeuvres must not be interrupted.”

  “You are so knowledgeable, Sire, on military matters,” Lady Roysdon said, knowing that it would please him.

  “The Dragoons should be here by tomorrow,” the Prince said, “and then a systematic and very thorough search will be conducted in proper military style.”

  He laughed as he added,

  “The Dragoons will flush out these highwaymen as hounds flush out a fox! Then we will see that they are hanged on the gibbet.”

  “I am sure D’Arcy will be most appreciative of Your Highness’s actions and sympathy,” Lady Roysdon said. “Where is he, by the way?”

  “His secretary told me that the Duke of Marlborough had offered him the hospitality of his house which, as you know, is next door. He will not be allowed to receive visitors for a day or two, but when he is well enough we might visit him together, you and I.”

  “I shall be very honoured, Sire, if you will take me with you,” Lady Roysdon said with a smile. “Poor D’Arcy! Did his secretary tell Your Highness how serious the wound was?”

  “Bad enough,” the Prince answered, “and doubtless, now that the bullet has been extracted, he will run a high fever.”

  “I am afraid that is inevitable,” Lady Roysdon murmured.

  “What I feel sure he will really dislike is the fact that he will have to lie on his face,” the Prince remarked. “I have always heard that it is extremely uncomfortable to be shot in the back!”

  “I am sure it is,” Lady Roysdon agreed.

  She sat talking for a little while and, when the Prince was joined by Colonel Bloomfield, his Gentleman-in-Waiting, and Lord Thurlow, she said her farewells.

  “Will you dine with us this evening, Galatea?” Mrs. Fitzherbert asked. “I feel, dearest, you may find it very lonely without the Earl to escort you.”

  “It is so kind of you to think of me,” Lady Roysdon answered, “but may I make it tomorrow evening? I am so upset by D’Arcy’s terrible experience that I hardly feel I should be a very gay guest at your table.”

  “I was afraid it would upset you,” Maria Fitzherbert said, “but he has the Prince’s own doctor in attendance, who is a very reliable man.”

  “And he is extremely fit, so I am sure that he will heal quickly,” Lady Roysdon said.

  “That is exactly what I said to the Prince,” Mrs. Fitzherbert remarked. “So we shall look forward to seeing you tomorrow night, dearest Galatea, and if you feel depressed this afternoon come to the Pavilion at teatime. The Prince has invited an excellent violinist to entertain us whom I am sure you would enjoy hearing.”

  “It sounds fascinating,” Lady Roysdon said. “May I come if I feel in the dismals?”

  “Of course, dearest, and you know how much I sympathise and understand what you are going through at this moment.”

  Mrs. Fitzherbert kissed her and then Lady Roysdon was able to escape.

  She hurried home. As soon as her own front door was closed behind her she gave an order that her horse, Ladybird, was to be saddled and ready in the stable yard in twenty minutes’ time.

  “I wish Jake to come with me,” she said, “and I will mount in the yard. The horses are not to be brought round to the front door.”

  She knew that Fulton looked surprised, but she was not concerned at the moment with what he thought and hurried up the stairs.

  She ordered Hannah to bring her a riding habit and started to take off her bonnet and elegant gown at a speed that made the maid look at her in astonishment.

  “And what can your Ladyship be up to now? You shouldn’t go ridin’ in the hottest part of the day, my Lady. All sensible people ride early in the mornin’ or late in the afternoon.”

  “But I am not sensible,” Lady Roysdon declared. “Bring me my new silk habit, Hannah, the one that was delivered just before we left London.”

  It was an extremely attractive and unusual riding habit, Lady Roysdon thought as she looked at herself in the mirror.

  The green silk jacket was the latest Paris fashion, frogged and edged with white braid, and the little white hat she wore on her head had a long gauze veil to match the habit.

  She knew it was particularly becoming, but most attractive of all was the fact that her eyes were shining and her lips smiling with the excitement of a young girl going to her first party.

  It seemed to her that Hannah was unbearably slow in finding her riding gloves and her whip with silver bands around it, but finally she was ready.

  While the old maid was still grumbling and protesting that she should not go, she ran down the stairs.

  Jake was waiting for her in the yard with Ladybird bucking and fidgeting so that it was hard for th
e stable lads to hold her.

  Lady Roysdon was assisted into the saddle.

  She arranged her skirt over the pommel and she and Jake set off riding out of the Mews, taking immediately to the small side streets that led away from the town towards the Downs.

  Only when they were clear of the last house did Jake ask,

  “Where are we goin’, my Lady?”

  “That is for you to tell me,” Lady Roysdon replied. “I have to see Sir Just urgently, so wherever he is we have to find him.

  “Is that wise, my Lady? We might be followed.”

  “I have ascertained that there is no danger until tomorrow” Lady Roysdon answered. “The Dragoons have been sent for from London and there are no soldiers in Brighton today.”

  There was a note of satisfaction in her voice and after a moment Jake asked,

  “Is there – anyone else, my Lady, who might be interested in where your Ladyship is goin’?”

  “Not at the moment.”

  She was quite certain that the Earl would not be in a fit state to give orders for her to be spied upon and it was very unlikely that any member of his household who were, she knew, extremely frightened of him, would act on their own initiative.

  “We will take every precaution, Jake,” she said, “but I am as certain as one can be certain of anything in this world, that by finding your Master we are putting him in no danger.”

  She paused and then looking at the groom she enquired,

  “Have you any idea where he is likely to be?”

  “I thinks I can guess, my Lady.”

  “Is it a long distance to go?”

  “It’ll take us well over an hour to get there.”

  “Then let’s waste no more time.”

  Lady Roysdon touched her horse lightly as she spoke and Ladybird sprang forward only too eager for the exercise.

  They galloped over the Downs and then turned down towards the coast, keeping to the coastline until the high cliffs were left behind.

  They were now on marshy ground, with small creeks winding in from the sea, which, Lady Roysdon knew, were the delight of smugglers and the despair of Coastguards.

  They were now forced to ride more slowly. She did not talk to Jake, but allowed him to lead the way, riding a little ahead of her.