'No … they wore ragged jackets that stank of fish.' She pursed her mouth in a little moue of distaste. 'One-the man Monsieur Wakeford captured-he was short and he carried a knife, which made it all the more brave of Monsieur to fight with him, I think. The other-' she lifted her shoulders '-he was tall. That is all I remember, except I did knock off his 'at.' She put a hand up to her curls. 'Cheveux en brosse-his 'air, it was very … small.'
'Short,' Beth suggested. 'Like a brush,'
'Oui. I am sorry I cannot 'elp you more.'
'You have been very helpful,' Beth assured her. 'And would you be willing to sign a sworn deposition of all you have told us? It is very important, you see, because my brother is accused of the attack.'
'Mais oui. I would like to help Monsieur Wakeford.' She looked at her brother-in-law. 'As long as I do not have to leave the house … '
'My attorney lives in the village-no more than ten minutes away. I will send for him now and we will get this settled all right and tight.'
The earl bowed. 'Thank you.'
'Good.' Mrs Graveney smiled upon them all. 'While we wait for him, we shall have some refreshment.'
She rang the bell and almost immediately the butler brought in a tray with ale for the gentlemen and sweet ratafia for the ladies.
'Thank you again for your assistance, Madame,' said Beth as soon as the servant had departed, 'I know this has been a distressing time for you.'
Madame de Beaune shrugged. 'Per'aps if we had waited to talk to you in London then Belle-Mère would not be dead.'
'If only you had asked me to send a carriage for you!' put in Mr Graveney sadly.
She paused to wipe away a tear. 'Belle-Mère was a very proud woman. She did not want to be a burden to anyone. We fled to England with very little,' she explained. 'We brought with us letters from our bank in Paris and Belle-Mère insisted we should take them to the banks in London, but they all told us the same thing, that they were worthless. We sold a few jewels to pay for our lodging, but Belle-Mère would not allow me to hire a private coach and outriders to bring us here. She said we would attract less attention on the public coach … '
'And why should you want to travel secretly?' asked the earl, frowning. 'Why did you leave London so suddenly?'
'I thought we were being watched. There was a man in the street outside our rooms. I saw him again when we called upon Sir Henry Shott, and also when we went to the bank. Belle-Mère would not believe it, she said it was nerves, but then we left town, and stopped at the inn … '
She broke off, tears suspending her voice and her sister gathered her into her arms.
Mr Graveney looked at them, then turned to the earl, saying solemnly, 'I do not know if there is any truth in all this. I have no idea why anyone should try to harm my sister-in-law, but you see now why I have taken the precaution of setting the dogs loose of a night.' He pursed his lips. 'I would appreciate your discretion in this matter, my lord. My servants are all long-standing members of my household and are sworn to secrecy-we have set it about that we have a Madame Rendoit residing with us. I am even now deciding how best to arrange for the burial of the poor murdered woman. It must be done anonymously, through a third party.'
'I think that is very wise,' agreed the earl. 'Of course we will respect your wishes. However, in the long term-'
'That need not worry you,' broke in his host. 'We are leaving for America shortly. We have had enough of this god-forsaken land. I have no doubt that it will not be long before the discontent in France spreads to these shores-' He broke off, glancing up as a gig trotted past the window. 'Ah, here is our man, now. We shall soon have this matter neatly tied up.'
An hour later Beth and the earl were driving away from Bourne Park, Madame de Beaune's deposition tucked securely into Beth's reticule.
'I cannot believe we have it at last,' she murmured, unable to suppress a smile. 'I cannot wait to get back to Simon to tell him.' She glanced at the earl, saying shyly, 'Are you willing to escort me back to Yorkshire, sir? I would be very grateful … '
'Of course. My travelling chariot is at your disposal.'
'How soon can we be away?' she asked him. 'Could we leave tomorrow morning?'
He looked down at her, his brows raised. 'If we go directly to town now, then that is possible. But you will wish to see Spalding first, and leave Madame's deposition with him … '
'No!' She clutched her reticule to her breast. 'You will recall he told us he was going out of town and I am loath to leave Madame's letter with a clerk, or to wait around for Mr Spalding to return. I will leave a note for him, but I shall take the letter to Simon. We will then go together to our own J.P., Sir John Marton, in Thirsk.'
He shrugged. 'Very well, if that is what you wish.'
'It is, and I wish to get back to Malpass as soon as possible.'
He was silent for a few moments, calculating the journey times. 'It is gone noon now, so we shall not be in town before dark. It will be very tiring. Are you sure you want to do this?'
'I am, sir.'
'Then we need not stop at the White Bear. We will go directly to Bramshott and pick up Holt. Once I have my own team in harness we will be able to make much better time.'
The curricle swept on, mile after mile. The earl had nursed his horses, but even so by the time they reached Bramshott they were heavily lathered with sweat and blowing noisily. They stopped only long enough for the team to be changed before setting off again with Holt in the rumble seat. Beth sat beside Guy, rigidly upright, her eyes fixed on the road. The piece of paper in her reticule seemed to call to her and she clutched her bag tightly in her lap. She was carrying Simon's freedom. The autumn day drew to a close and Beth was thankful for the rug across her knees, which helped to fend off the chill evening air. They travelled mainly in silence; even if she had not been lost in her own thoughts Beth would have been reluctant to distract the earl, whose gaze remained steadily on the road ahead as he guided his team. They dined on the road, a hasty meal that Beth would happily have for-gone, but Guy insisted.
'You need to keep up your strength, ma'am, especially if you mean to travel again tomorrow.'
They had finished dining and were facing each other across the small table, the evening sun streaming in through a window and making candles unnecessary. Beth looked closely at him, observing the lines of strain about his eyes.
'I am being very selfish, sir. After all, I need to do nothing but sit beside you-would you like to rest a little longer?'
'No, I am as anxious as you to get back. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.'
Guy was watching her as he spoke, and the look she saw in his eyes combined with his words to conjure an image of them lying naked together, a tangle of pale limbs in the moonlight. Beth sat back, pressing her hands to her hot cheeks.
She said distractedly, 'I have not yet thought how I am going to explain all this to Miles.'
'Ah, yes. Radworth. I had forgotten about him.' Guy poured the remains of the wine into their two glasses.
She wrapped her arms about herself, shivering a little. 'I am still not sure why I could not tell Miles about coming to London.'
'You do not trust him.'
Beth sat forwards and reached for her wine glass, staring into its blood-red depths.
'I thought I did. He has done nothing to make me think ill of him.' She pressed her fist against her heart. 'But there is something in here that urges caution.'
'What a pity it did not urge you to be more cautious when he asked you to marry him. Why did you accept?'
'I think,' she said slowly, 'I think I was lonely. I was a widow, Simon was drowned … Grandmama and Sophie were dependent upon me.' A wry smile tugged at one side of her mouth. 'At six and twenty I thought myself past the age of falling in love. I could see a time when I would be alone.' She looked up and met his eyes. 'A bleak prospect.'
For a long moment they did not speak. She could not read his expression, but was thankful she could detect no pity in his look. That would have been unbearable.
'Bleak indeed,' he murmured, draining his glass. 'Shall we go?'
Chapter Sixteen
The long twilight had set in as they sped on through the towns and villages towards London. Beth watched the world shrink as darkness closed in around them. She moved a little closer to Guy, allowing her head to rest against his conveniently placed shoulder and for the last few miles of the journey she sank into a deep, exhausted slumber.
She woke up only when the curricle drew to a halt outside Darrington House and she heard the earl calling her name. She opened her eyes to find him smiling down at her.