The Wicked Widow Read online

  Kyla did not answer and after a moment he said,

  “I’m sorry, me dear, I tells you all this, but I thinks as you ’as to know that ’er’s a wicked woman who’ll not give up till ’er gets you.”

  “I know that,” Kyla said. “If we do not go riding tomorrow or the next day, they will get hold of us sooner or later.”

  “That’s what I thinks meself,” Bill agreed. “And Black Jack’ll never give up so long as there be enough money waitin’ for ’im.”

  “Thank you for telling me,” Kyla said. “You have been a real friend and I shall never forget that you have tried so ’ard to help us.”

  She put out her hand as she spoke and Bill then said,

  “I wish I could ’elp you more than just givin’ you bad news. You’re a real lady and I’m proud to know you!”

  Kyla rose to her feet.

  For a moment Bill did not move.

  “What are you goin’ to do, miss?” he asked.

  “I am going to tell the Earl what you told me,” Kyla said. “I cannot believe that he will allow Terry to be murdered or me to be taken away by my wicked stepmother.”

  “’E’ll not give you over to ’er thinkin’ as ’er’s your Guardian and ’e wishes to ’ave no part in it?” Bill asked slowly.

  Kyla shook her head.

  “No,” she said. “He has been a soldier and a very brave one and I know he will fight evil the same way that he fought Napoleon.”

  Bill rose to his feet.

  “Well, I’ve done all I can,” he said, “but I’m worried aboot you. Real worried, as if you was me own.”

  “I will tell you what I want you to do, Bill,” Kyla said. “Will you come with me to The Castle and wait so that the Earl can speak to you himself and know that I am not making up this story? It does sound too fantastic to be true.”

  “I understands what you’re sayin’,” Bill said, “but suppose ’is Lordship ’as I clapped in irons and taken orf by the Magistrates. Where would I be then? And where would Samson be without me?”

  “He will not do that, I know he will not. I trust him and I know that you can trust him too.”

  She put her hand on his arm.

  “Please, Bill, do this for me. I am so afraid that he will not believe me.”

  Bill thought for a moment and then he said grudgingly,

  “Ah, well. But I ’opes you knows what you’re a-doin’, puttin’ me ’ead in a noose.”

  ‘It is nothing like that, I swear it,” Kyla tried to assure him

  She walked with him, leading Samson through the woods until they were much nearer to The Castle.

  Then, going through the same side door, she went in search of the Earl.

  She finished telling her story while the Earl and Charles Sinclair sat in absolute silence.

  Then she looked at them piteously and said,

  “Perhaps I am wrong to ask your help in something as serious as this. We cannot stay hidden in The Castle for ever and. when we do come out, the highwaymen will be waiting.”

  The Earl jumped to his feet.

  There was a strange expression on his face.

  Charles had seen it during the War when he was up against what seemed an unbeatable enemy.

  “You were so right, Kyla,” he said, “to tell me. May I now call you by your real name? I only wish that you had trusted me before, when I would not have allowed your stepmother to come into The Castle or her servants to learn what she wanted to know from my servants, of course inadvertently.”

  “I can hardly believe any woman can be so wicked,” Charles exclaimed. “But, of course, I agree with Kyla. She and Terry cannot sit inside The Castle for ever, knowing that if they come out, the highwaymen have been paid, what is to them a colossal sum, to capture them.”

  “And to – kill – Terry,” Kyla murmured beneath her breath.

  “That is something that will never happen while I am here,” the Earl insisted. “And you were quite right to tell Bill that he can trust me. I am going to talk to him now and I suggest that you stay here with Charles, who will give you something to drink. What you have heard must have been a dreadful shock.”

  Kyla put out her hand and held on to his.

  “You will be – kind to Bill – will you?” she pleaded.

  She looked at him and then continued,

  “He is not really a proper highwayman, but a gardener who came back from the War to find that his wife had run away, his cottage had been given to others and nobody wanted to employ him.”

  “I understand,” the Earl said. I promise you that I will be very kind, just as he has been very kind to you.”

  His fingers tightened on hers for a moment before he walked resolutely towards the door.

  Charles stood up at once.

  “I must obey my orders, Kyla,” he said, “and give you a glass of champagne. Let me tell you, I think you are exceedingly brave. In fact the bravest woman I have ever met.”

  “I don’t feel at all – brave,” Kyla said in a low voice, “but I – felt that I could – trust the Earl. That he would – help me and would not hand us over to Stepmama because she is our Guardian – according to the Law.”

  “I can promise you that Rollo would never do a thing like that,” Charles said. “He is my greatest friend and I have trusted him ever since we were schoolboys together.”

  He paused and then continued,

  “I cannot tell you how magnificent he was when we were fighting the French or how many lives he saved, one way or another, by being intelligent including, of course, mine.”

  “Now he must – save Terry,” Kyla muttered.

  “And, of course, you,” Charles answered.

  “I do not – really – matter,” Kyla replied. “If Stepmama – drugged me as she – intended to do, I only hope I should have had – brains left to – kill myself.”

  “You are not to talk like that,” Charles insisted. “Now Rollo is in command, I promise you everything will be all right and your stepmother will be unable to hurt you in the future.”

  Kyla did not argue.

  She could not help feeling, however, that even if the Earl saved her from this horrible plot, her stepmother would think up another.

  She and Charles, who she thought was a very charming young man, sat talking.

  Occasionally they lapsed into an anxious silence until the Earl returned.

  When he came into the study, they both jumped to their feet.

  Kyla spoke first.

  “What has – happened? Has Bill – told you any – more than he – told me? Have you been – kind to him?”

  “I will answer all your questions,” the Earl said, taking her hand in his. “Now, come and sit down and don’t be frightened, although I admit that you have every reason to be.”

  He pulled her towards the sofa and they sat down side by side.

  The Earl did not relinquish her hand and Kyla thought that the strength and warmth of his grasp was very comforting.

  “Bill has told me everything that you told me,” he said in a quiet voice, “and added some information about Black Jack, which I found horrifying.”

  “You – mean,” Kyla said in a very small voice, “that he has – killed people before?”

  “One or two,” the Earl admitted. “But I promise you he is not going to kill Terry or you or, for that matter, me!”

  Kyla gave a little cry.

  “I never thought of that. Oh, please be careful, my Lord. If anything happened to you, I would never – forgive myself for – embroiling you in this – wicked plot.”

  “Quite frankly,” the Earl said, “if it was not that it frightened you, I should find it very interesting.”

  He looked at Charles as he went on,

  “You know, Charles, we have often said how dull things are since the War has ended. Well, this is something when we have to use our brains to the full to protect ourselves from a very unpleasant enemy.”

  Charles, as if to relieve the
tension, brought his hand up to his forehead in a salute.

  “I am awaiting my orders. General,” he burst out.

  “It is serious, Charles,” the Earl said somewhat reproachfully. “Equally I really do need you. We are now going to have a ‘Council of War’.”

  He looked at Kyla and then said,

  “But you, Kyla, are to go to bed. I want you to promise me that you will try to sleep and not worry about anything until we go off riding at nine o’clock after we have had a very good breakfast.”

  “How can you – expect me – not to worry?” Kyla asked him.

  “I thought you trusted me,” the Earl retorted.

  “I do! You know I do,” Kyla answered. “It is too much to – ask you, but I am so very – afraid for – Terry.”

  “Then we have a task,” the Earl said, “which is to save you both, that is exactly what Charles and I intend to do. And, without boasting, what we will do.”

  “You are so – kind,” Kyla murmured, “and I have – been so – very very frightened.”

  She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

  The Earl had an urgent impulse to put his arms round her and hold her close.

  He wanted to tell her that he would protect her and make very sure that she never had to worry so much again.

  But to do so he knew that it might upset her more than she was already.

  Instead he drew her to her feet and he then raised her hand which he was still holding to his lips.

  “Go to bed, Kyla,” he ordered, “and when you say your prayers, which I am very sure you always do, ask your Guardian Angel to look after us all.”

  “I pray every – night and I feel now – because you are here – my prayers have all been – answered.”

  ‘That is what I wanted you to say,” the Earl replied. “Now go upstairs and I think that it would be very sensible if you did not talk to Nanny or anyone else about what has happened tonight. Let it be a secret between us three.”

  “I will do – that,” Kyla said. “Thank you, thank you – with all my heart.”

  Her voice broke on the words as he opened the door for her to leave the room.

  She turned her head away so that he would not see her tears.

  He thought, as he watched her hurry down the corridor, that she was far braver than any woman he had ever known.

  Then he went back into the study and to Charles’s surprise rang the bell.

  Chapter Seven

  Kyla found it impossible to sleep.

  Having drawn back the curtains, she lay watching the stars gradually fading from sight.

  She was feeling extremely apprehensive of what tomorrow would bring.

  At the same time she felt confident that the Earl would manage to cope with whatever horrors her stepmother had planned for them.

  ‘He is so strong and – so kind,’ she told herself.

  She remembered how, when he had kissed her hand, she had felt a strange feeling within her breasts.

  It was something that she had never known before in her life.

  Even to think of it brought the feeling back to her again and again.

  She wondered why he seemed so different from any other men she had ever met.

  It then struck her, and it was a surprise, that perhaps she was falling in love.

  It was such a strange idea that she almost at once repudiated it, thinking it ridiculous.

  Then she thought of the Earl and how handsome he was.

  And how at the same time he had an authority about him that made everybody obey him.

  She knew that he meant something to her that she could not put into any form of words.

  When she had learnt what her stepmother had planned, she had gone to him instinctively.

  It was not just because there was no one else, rather because she believed that, if anyone could save Terry and herself, it would be he.

  ‘And that is what he will do,’ she mused.

  Again she felt that strange sensation flooding over her like a tidal wave.

  She knew that, if she could do as she wished, she would run to the Earl.

  Even to be near him would make her feel safe and not so terrified.

  ‘Is it – love that I – am feeling?’ she asked the stars above.

  Then, because she had never known love and no man had ever meant anything to her, she was uncertain.

  And yet the feeling persisted.

  As the hours passed, she just closed her eyes and lay on the bed thinking all the time of the Earl.

  She told herself how incredibly lucky it was that she and Terry had found him.

  She must have dozed for a little while, for she awoke with a start as the door opened.

  She saw that it was Nanny who was coming into the room.

  The sun was now shining brightly, but it seemed strange to her that Nanny should come to her when she had not yet been called.

  She sat up, asking,

  “What has – happened, Nanny? Why are you – here?”

  “It’s all right, dearie,” Nanny replied. “I’ve somethin’ to tell you, so I came before Betty comes up to the nursery or anyone calls you.”

  Nanny smoothed the counterpane with her hand and then sat down on the bed.

  “Now, listen to me, Miss Kyla,” Nanny began. “Mr. Sinclair came up last night and gave me what you might call your orders for this mornin’.”

  “What did he say?” Kyla asked.

  “His Lordship says you are to behave as if nothin’ unusual was happenin’.”

  “What is happening?” Kyla demanded.

  “You’re goin’ ridin’ with his Lordship after breakfast.”

  Kyla gave a little cry.

  “To meet the highwaymen?”

  Nanny nodded.

  “Mr. Sinclair says as you’re not to be afraid, but what is important is that no one in The Castle should have any idea that everything’s not happenin’ as normally as it always does. His Lordship’s afraid as her Ladyship might have someone spyin’ for her.”

  Kyla drew in her breath.

  “I never thought of that,” she said. “But it is just the sort of thing that Stepmama would do.”

  “I know that,” Nanny responded, “and that’s why you’re to do exactly what his Lordship wants and be ever so careful what you says in case anyone’s listenin’.”

  “I will be careful – I will,” Kyla assured her, “and we must tell Terry.”

  “He’s still asleep,” Nanny replied. “But I’ve told Mr. Sinclair how well you both shoot, so you are to take your pistols with you, though no one’s to be aware of it.”

  Kyla put out her hand and took hold of Nanny’s.

  “I am so frightened, Nanny,” she sighed.

  “Of course you are,” Nanny agreed. “But you’ll be very brave, just as your mother would have been. And if you do as his Lordship says, I’m sure everything’ll come right in the end.”

  “I do hope so,” Kyla said beneath her breath.

  Nanny left her and she started to dress.

  As she did so, Betty came to call her, bringing her a cup of tea and a thin slice of bread and butter.

  “Oh, you’re up, miss,” she exclaimed. “Well, I can’t say as I blame you. It’s a lovely day and it’ll be real hot later on.”

  “That is what I thought,” Kyla replied.

  She took a few sips from the cup of tea.

  She felt that, if she tried to eat anything, it would stick in her throat.

  Then she remembered that, if she refused to eat any breakfast, it might cause comment.

  ‘I must be so careful – very very careful,’ she told herself as she finished putting on her riding habit.

  Nanny had said that they were to take their pistols with them.

  She thought that it would be a mistake, however, to take them to the nursery where they were to have breakfast.

  She therefore left them where they were hidden in a drawer and she would pick them up before she
and Terry went down to ride with the Earl.

  When she reached the nursery, there was no sign of Jane.

  She did not ask the question aloud, but Nanny must have read her thoughts, because she said,

  “Jane’s still sleepin’ and I’m afraid she’ll be disappointed she can’t ride with you. But I’ll tell her there’ll be a surprise waitin’ for her durin’ the afternoon.”

  “What will that be?” Kyla asked.

  “I’ll think of somethin’,” Nanny answered.

  Terry ate a very hearty breakfast, whilst Kyla merely played with the eggs and bacon on her plate.

  When it was a quarter to nine, she knew that it was time to go downstairs.

  She kissed Nanny goodbye.

  She did not say anything in case Betty was in the other room and might hear her.

  Then she took Terry to her own bedroom.

  “We are to take our pistols with us,” she told him in a whisper, “but no one is to know that we are carrying them.”

  Terry tucked his in his trouser pocket, where it was hidden by his jacket.

  While Kyla concealed hers under her riding coat.

  Then they went downstairs and out through the front door and heading for the stables.

  There was nobody about except for the two footmen on duty.

  They walked in silence round the side of The Castle and under the archway that led into the stable yard.

  They saw as they did so that the Earl was already there and the horses were just being brought from the stalls.

  “Good morning, Miss Taylor,” the Earl said politely. “Good morning, Gerald.”

  He, of course, addressed them in this way in front of the grooms.

  “Good morning, my Lord,” they both replied and Kyla dropped him a small curtsey.

  “I thought it would interest you today,” the Earl said, “to ride two of the horses I brought back from France. They are getting old now and they are not as fast as they used to be. But I am very fond of both of them and I think you will find them easy to handle.”

  Kyla looked at the horses he indicated.

  She knew that, if they had been trained for warfare, they would be well used to gunfire and they would not bolt at the first explosion of a gun.

  She thought that it was very clever of the Earl to remember that.