Capturing Sir Dunnicliffe (The Star Elite Series) (23 page)

Despite his anger at the other man, Simon lifted both hands, palm outwards
, to stem the worry that.

“Harriett is downstairs having breakfast, none the wiser.”

Hugo scowled at him and pushed to the side of the bed.

“One of your men is here wanting to
talk to you; I think it is Archie, but in disguise. He said it is urgent.”

“Thank you. I’ll be right there.” He didn’t wait for Simo
n to vacate the room before he got up and began to dress. He didn’t bother tying his shirt as he walked down the main staircase, and didn’t notice the surprised look he received from one of the maids when she caught sight of his barely concealed chest.

Once downstairs,
Simon waved him into the parlour on the opposite side of the hallway to the breakfast room where Harriett was eating breakfast.

“Romilla left first thing this morning,” Simon reported,
frowning at him in stark warning. He hadn’t forgotten that he had ordered Hugo out of his house too, and clearly expected his now unwanted guest to adhere to his orders and leave.

“Good,” Hugo growled, nodding toward the breakfast room.
“Go and join her, I’ll be with you in a minute,” Hugo said quietly to the other man. Luckily Simon hadn’t actually mentioned Hugo’s need to leave. Hugo could only hope he was amenable to hearing Hugo’s reassurances about his intentions toward Harriett.

Sure enough
, Archie was standing before the desk, studying a sheaf of papers. He dropped them back into a pile when Hugo entered, his eyes grave as he studied his boss.

“There’s something you need
need to see,” Archie replied, glancing warily around the room. It was all Hugo needed to know, and wisely kept quiet, motioning toward the French doors on the opposite side of the room. Within moments they were striding across the lush garden toward a bank of trees that sheltered the property from the fierce sea winds.

They walked through the woods for several minutes before Archie drew to a halt at a small clearing and nodded at the body lying partially buried by the undergrowth.

Hugo didn’t need to look too closely to know that it was Romilla.The light blonde hair was the same, and the dark blue dress that she’d been wearing the previous night confirmed it.

“
Do you know how long she has been here?” He squatted down beside the body and studied the pale, drawn face of the deceased.

“
A few hours maybe,” Pie replied causing Hugo to look up at him with a grin.

“Pie
, my old man, how the devil are you?”

“I’m fine
, boss; glad to be here.” Pie ambled forward to shake hands with his boss, his happiness obvious in the broad grin that stretched his face regardless of the gravity of the situation.

“How long have you been here?” Hugo asked, wondering if anyone else had arrived.

“I got here just before dawn. Relieved Archie, because he’s knackered and bloody useless at keeping watch.” His eyes twinkled with mirth as he looked at Hugo, deliberately ignoring Archie’s disparaging snort. “She came from through there, and was walking with a man in a black cloak. They got to the clearing, where she hugged him. I couldn’t see much because of the cloak, but the next thing I saw, she was slumped on the floor with her throat cut.”

“Where did he go?”

“Back the way he came.”

“From St Issey,” Jamie replied, with a yawn. He had been standing
along the edge of the tree line, one eye on the narrow track behind them while he listened to the recounting of events.

“St Issey
– you know which house?” Hugo glanced down at the prone form at his feet. He had suspected she had had a lover, but had her lover murdered her?

He wasn’t surprised when Jamie nodded slowly.
Jamie quickly described the small, nondescript terrace house that was only accessible through a narrow alleyway.

“She went there when she left the Manor?” Hugo demanded, his gaze sharp as he studied Jamie.

“She left the Manor about two in the morning, and went straight to the house in St Issey. It was easier to follow her because it was dark and nobody else was around.”

“Did she notice you?”

“Nope,” Jamie’s grin was proud. “I watched the place for a couple of hours. Just after dawn she left with a man and they came here.”

“What do you want to do about her?” Pie asked, nodding
at the deceased.

“Notify the new magistrate, and get her moved, but keep it quiet. I don’t want word of this getting out just yet,” Hugo slowly turned and began to scour the area around the body. Although he knew the men had probably already done a
search of the area, there was something about Romilla’s death that wasn’t right. Why kill her? What did she know that would put her life in danger? Moreover, who did she know who wanted to kill her?

Romilla looked completely different to Harriett. She was broader, with blond
e hair as opposed to Harriett’s red hair. Also, Harriett wore plain, serviceable gowns, not brightly-coloured frivolous ones like Romilla had worn, so it couldn’t be a case of mistaken identity.

“Do you think it is the people
we are after?” Archie asked. Although he knew that Romilla hadn’t been very nice, it was a shame to see someone in their prime brutally murdered in such a barbaric way.

“No, I don’t.” Hugo warned, shooting Archie a dark look. “I think we hav
e another problem on our hands; a much bigger problem that we need to deal with first.”

“Like what?”

“Has anyone found out anything about the doctor?” he asked, glancing toward the newest member of the Star Elite to turn up.

“Yes. Doctor Treyanin did have a nephew
, who was called Ethan, but he died from scarlet fever over ten years ago.” Pie’s watched his boss’s face harden.

“Anyone heard from the old Doctor Treyanin?”

“Nope, the family are getting worried, because they usually receive a monthly letter from him updating them on his activities. They haven’t heard anything for about two months.”

“Since this so-
called Joshua person arrived.” Hugo added, mentally cursing. “Has there been any word of unidentified bodies turning up?”

P
ie shook his head. “I can check but, with the sea so close by, it would be easy to get rid of someone.” He nodded down at the woman at their feet. Silence settled over the men for several moments.

“You didn’t inform Simon
de Mattingley?” Hugo turned to Archie and nodded in thanks when Archie slowly shook his head.

“I thought I would
leave that to you, boss.”

“Don’t say a word to anyone, especially Simon,” Hugo’s voice was grave.

“Why?” Jamie asked, frowning at Hugo.

“I think Simon may be as guilty as the spy smugglers. Do we have a name for any of the spy smuggl
ers yet? Besides Joshua and Marion?”

Everyone shook their heads. “We need to
hurry this along. Where is Rupert?”

“Watching the house
Romilla went to in St Issey, with Simon,” Rupert reported, confirming that another of the Star Elite team, Simon Montague, had also arrived.

“There is something else,” Jamie added, shifting closer and dropping his voice. “Pierre Chambard and his mother, Marguerite”

Hugo froze and stared in shock at Jamie, brows raised in disbelief. His gaze dropped to the woman on the floor.

“Lovers?”

Jamie nodded slowly.

Hugo
cursed. Everyone knew that Pierre and Marguerite Chambard had been living in England for several months, and were an integral part of the spy smuggling chain. Until now though, nobody knew what they looked like. It was galling for Hugo to realise that he had been so close to them without knowing who they were. In fact, he had walked right up to their door and asked for their help – a fact that under normal circumstances would have galled him, if it hadn’t been for Harriett’s being in danger at the time.

“Pierre and his mother, Marguerite were Joshua Baintree and Marion.” Hugo’s voice was cold and hard as he revealed the identities of the first and most important link in the spy chain. “Pierre must have been the one who shot me, and headed back to
the doctor’s house in Padstow afterward. He must have seen me heading toward Harriett’s house and knew enough about her to know she would help me. It was why he sent the little Frenchman to visit Harriett; he was giving me a warning that he knew what I was and was going to keep me there until he was ready.” Hugo cursed at his own fallibility.

“He wasn’t the one who tried to break into Harriett’s cottage.” Rupert replied, emerging from the trees on the far corner of the clearing.

“Which house did they go to?”

Rupert shook his head regretfully.
“I kept pace with them until they reached the top of Padstow but they simply vanished. I checked the area carefully, but didn’t see any movement. This place is full of alleyways, and narrow streets lined with house after house. She could have gone into any one of them.”

“Anywhere near Mrs Partridge’s house?” Hugo queried, his hopes rising briefly before Rupert shook his head.

“Nope. Opposite end of the village.”

“Is everyone here?” Hugo demanded, relieved whe
n Pie reported that everyone was present but Jonathan Arbinger, who was still deep undercover. Hugo nodded in understanding. Jonathan had succeeded in infiltrating a small part of the spy chain several months ago and was working undercover, posing as a courier. The invaluable information he was gathering gave them enough of an advantage to begin to make plans on who to take out, and when, without the rest of the chain being any the wiser.

“Take turns to keep watch on the house in St Issey.
Also keep an eye on Simon de Mattingley,” he ordered.

“Do you think he
is involved?” Archie asked.

“I think it is a possibility we cannot ignore. Simon made it clear that he wanted Romilla out of the house, and he seems to be around when attempts are made on Harriett’s life.”

“Do you think what is happening to Harriett is connected to the spy smugglers in any way?” Pie asked, trying to understand what was happening. He made a mental note to ask Rupert to bring him up to date with events later.

“I think that they are separate, but we cannot discount the notion that they may be conn
ected by the doctor and this Marion woman, if only through Romilla’s spite. But I can’t see Pierre and Marguerite willing to get themselves involved with a spiteful woman’s vengeance. They have far too much on their hands as it is.” Hugo’s voice was cautious.

“We will meet back here tonight,” h
e added, turning away.

“Sir?” Archie’s voice stopped him
, and Hugo turned and watched the man approach. The remaining members of the Star Elite paused to listen. Hugo could sense the uncharacteristic hesitancy in Archie and frowned.

“What is it?”

“Simon went to St Issey last night.”

Hugo’s brows rose.

“To the house?”

Archie shook his head. “He went to the inn, and spent about half an hour huddled in the corner with someone. Unfortunately I don’t know who they were, but they were deep in conversation
, and a pouch was passed between them before they both left. They went in separate directions.”

“Then where did Simon
go?”

“He was moving really quickly and I lost him for a moment. When I did find him again he was back at the Manor, but about twenty minutes
were unaccounted for.”

“Did you find out who the man was he was meeting?” Hugo’s voice was sharp. He knew Archie couldn’t be in two places at once, but cursed at the sheer number of possibilities they had open to them.

“The farmer who lives next door to Harriett’s house.”

“Could be asking the man to keep an eye on Harriett, and paying him for his services,” Archie muttered, unable to think of any other reason for the money changing hands.

“Could be. Are you sure the person trying to break in to Harriett’s house was a woman?”

“Most definitely,” Rupert replied, his voice adamant. “Unless many men in Padstow take to wearing skirts.”

“So, does anyone have any suggestions what Simon might have been doing for the twenty minutes he went missing?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“What I don’t understand, is why kill her now?” Rupert argued, nodding toward Romilla.

“Because she was being forced out of her home by Simon. He wants Harriett to live there and Romilla has made her hatred of Harriett perfectly clear to everyone. Harriett won’t live at the Manor while Romilla is there.
So Romilla went to her lover and asked for too much,” Pie’s tone was grave as he studied the lifeless body on the floor.

“
Alright,” Hugo said with a sigh. “We know Romilla was murdered by Pierre. Harriett’s strangling may be down to the spy smugglers, but it could also have been Romilla. It doesn’t make sense for the smugglers to attempt to kill Harriett, and not succeed.” Hugo muttered, frowning in consternation at the complexity of the investigation.