Wrede, Patricia C - Mairelon 01 (23 page)

           
Both
Mairelon and Dan Laverham were staring at St. Clair with unconcealed dislike.
Jack didn't seem to know whether to aim his pistol at the new arrival or
continue pointing it at Jonathan and Freddy, who wore identical blank
expressions. Marianne, on the other hand, clung more closely to her puzzled
escort and said in faltering tones, "Oh, Freddy,
it's
Lord St. Clair!"

           
"Good,"
said Freddy, relaxing. "For a minute, I thought it was another Cit."

           
"St.
Clair," Mairelon said in a flat voice. "I should have expected
you."

           
"Gregory
has a habit of turning up where he is not wanted," Dan said. He spoke as
if responding to Mairelon's comment, but his eyes stayed on Lord St. Clair and
his voice was cold.

           
"You
have a great many unappealing habits of your own, Daniel, but I don't regard
them." St. Clair's expression made Kim want to crawl behind one of the
wing chairs; he looked exactly like Dan in his worst and most unpredictable
moods. He glanced around the interior of the lodge, then added, "This time
you seem to have outdone yourself, however. I expected Merrill, but who are all
these other people?"

           
"Lord
St. Clair!" Marianne shrieked as his gaze reached her. "You must do
something, or we shall all be killed!"

           
"I
doubt it," St. Clair replied. "Even Daniel isn't that foolish."

           
"But
he wants to bind us!" Marianne said dramatically.

           
"Typical."
St. Clair looked at Dan. "You should have gagged her. I begin to see why
you're still standing here waving a pistol about instead of collecting the
Saltash Set."

           
"The
Sacred Dish is not for the likes of you!" Jonathan cried. St. Clair raised
his eyebrows in polite incredulity. "That is, if we still had it,"
Jonathan added in a resentful tone, glaring at Freddy, "which thanks to
him, we don't."

           
"You
ain't still harping on that, are you?" Freddy said. "Burn it,
Jonathan, I told you what happened!"

           
"You
had no right--" Jonathan began hotly.

           
"Quiet,"
Dan commanded without turning. "How did you get past Ben?" he asked
St. Clair.

           
"I
employed my talents to good effect," the Baron answered. "
Which is to say, I put him to sleep.
"

           
"I
took precautions against that sort of thing."

           
"Not very good ones; at least, not by my standards."

           
Kim could
almost hear Dan's teeth grinding. "What do you want?" he demanded.

           
"The
same thing you do, more or less," St. Clair said.
"The
Saltash Set."
He looked around again with an air of languid
disappointment, and Kim hoped she was only imagining that his eyes lingered on
her. "I had hoped you'd have found the rest of it by this time, but then I
hadn't expected you to have so much . . . assistance."

           
"However
reluctant," said Mairelon, who had been observing this exchange with
interest.
"You have some unusual associates, St.
Clair."

           
"No
more unusual than yours," the Baron responded with a significant look at
Kim.

           
"But definitely more long-standing," Mairelon shot back.
"Or am I mistaken in thinking you and Mr. Laverham here
are
well acquainted?"

           
"This
isn't getting us anywhere," Dan put in. "Jack, put them all in the
corner and then start looking. Not him," he added as Jack started warily
toward Lord St. Clair. "I'll deal with him myself."

           
"Will
you, indeed." St. Clair sounded both bored and skeptical, but Kim thought
she heard darker undercurrents in his voice. "Not the way you did before,
I hope? You owe me for that, Daniel, and I intend to collect.
In full."

           
"I
owe
you
?" For an instant, Dan let his rage show; then he had
himself under control again. "It doesn't matter. As soon as I have the
platter, we'll leave. You won't be able to stop us."

           
"The platter?"
St. Clair said sharply. "Is
that all? What about the bowl?"

           
"I'll
have no trouble finding the bowl once the platter is in my hands," Dan
said with renewed confidence.

           
"Finding
it? You mean you weren't aware that Merrill has the bowl?" St. Clair shook
his head. "And you seemed so well informed."

           
Laverham
frowned. "Is this true?" he demanded of Mairelon.

           
"Yes,"
Mairelon said. "Though it's not the sort of thing one carries around in
one's pockets, you realize."

           
"Why
didn't you tell me this before?" Laverham said, and his eyes narrowed as
he spoke.

           
Mairelon
shrugged. "You didn't ask."

           
"We'll
get it when we're finished here," Laverham said.

           
"That
would be foolish," St. Clair commented.

           
"Why?"

           
"Merrill's
got a man at his wagon."

           
"That's
the turnip-pated cove I told you about, Mr. Laverham," Jack Stower put in.
"He ain't no problem."

           
"And
even if no one was waiting, it is generally considered . . . inadvisable to
assault a wizard on his home ground," St. Clair finished.

           
Jack's
enthusiasm waned visibly. Laverham stared at Lord St. Clair, his face
expressionless. "What would you suggest?"

           
"Send
the girl with a message," St. Clair replied. "She can tell Merrill's
man that Merrill wants the bowl brought here to help locate the platter. He'll
believe that."

           
"Not
if she's the one telling him," Dan responded with a contemptuous glance at
the quivering Marianne. "Besides, I wouldn't trust her to keep her story
straight."

           
"Not
that girl," St. Clair said. "The one you've cast the control spell
on." He gestured at Kim.

           
Kim
swallowed hard, half terrified that Dan knew her secret at last and half hoping
against hope that he would adopt Lord St. Clair's suggestion.
If she could get away and warn Hunch . . .

           
"Ah,"
said Dan on a long, slow breath, staring at Kim. "Yes, perhaps that would
be a good idea."

           
"Hunch
won't believe Kim," Mairelon said a little too quickly. "He doesn't
trust her."

           
"No?"
Dan said. "Kim, tell the truth: could you make Merrill's man believe
you?"

           
"Yes,"
Kim said, trying to sound sullen and reluctant. "He'll believe me."

           
"Good."
Dan gave her a slow smile that chilled her to the bone. "We'll discuss the
other business later. You know what I mean. Meanwhile, we'll wait here while
you go--"

           
"No!"
Marianne cried.

           
Everyone
turned to look at her. She cringed back against Freddy and said, "We can't
stay any longer; we can't! It's nearly teatime, and Lady Granleigh will look
for me and find . . ." She faltered to a stop under the circle of
astonished stares and buried her face against Freddy's coat once more, her
shoulders shaking with sobs.

           
"Find
what?" St. Clair asked. "Find you gone? Embarrassing and unfortunate,
to be sure, but it's too late to do anything about it now."

           
"Even
if we would let you," Dan added.

           
Marianne
turned a damp face to the group once more and said defiantly, "Freddy and
I are going to be married!"

           
"Oh,
Lord," said Jonathan. "Freddy, you fool! Your uncle will cut you off
with a shilling!"

           
"It
don't
matter," Freddy said. "Rather have Marianne
than a whole mountain of shillings."

           
"Congratulations,"
St. Clair said politely. "I fear you'll have to postpone your arrangements
a little, however. We can't just let you go, you know."

           
"But
you must!" Marianne cried. "I--oh, you must! You must!"

           
"Are
you trying to say that you left a note for your guardian?" Mairelon asked.

           
"Oh!"
Marianne turned back to Freddy's comforting shoulder and hid her face against
his by now damp and wrinkled coat. Safely hidden from hostile eyes, she nodded.
In the silence that followed, the noise of an approaching horse came clearly
from the drive outside.

           
No one
spoke as the hoofbeats grew louder and slowed to a walk. "Hi, you there,
wake up," someone shouted. "Who's here?"

           
"Putting
Ben to sleep may not have been one of your best ideas," Mairelon said to
Lord St. Clair. "Is he the sort that wakes up cross, do you suppose?"

           
"He
won't wake up at all until I let him," St. Clair said. "Be quiet,
Merrill."

           
"You
take a deal of liberty with my men," Dan Laverham observed.

           
"I
am only following your example," Lord St. Clair replied sweetly.
"Your handling of my former footman, James Fenton, for instance, left much
to be--"

           
"Austen!
Edward! George!" the voice outside shouted, coming nearer with every name.
"Out and about, you're needed. Jon's gone and been thrown by that
fire-breathing nag of his, and--Jonathan!"

           
The lodge
door had been flung open during the latter part of this speech, revealing the
speaker as Robert Choiniet. He stopped short when he saw Jonathan,
then
said in a more moderate tone, "I'm glad to see you
weren't hurt, but you might have sent a message home. Your mother was frantic
when your horse turned up without you."

           
"She's
always frantic," Jonathan said callously. "She should know better,
and so should you. How did she talk you into haring off after me?"

           
"Well,
what was I supposed to do?" Robert asked. "There was the horse, all
over lather and frightened out of its wits, with an empty saddle. The obvious
assumption was that you'd been thrown. For all we knew, you were lying under a
hedge somewhere with a broken leg."

           
"You
didn't tell me you'd taken a toss, Jon," Freddy put in with interest.
"That'll teach you not to call names. I've told you and told you, it's the
sort of thing that can happen to anyone."

           
"I
didn't take a toss," Jonathan snarled. "And even if I had, I'd still
say you're cow-handed, because you are."

           
"Don't
you say that about
Freddy!
" Marianne said,
raising her head and looking daggers at Jonathan.

           
"Can't
you keep them under control?" Lord St. Clair asked Dan, while Jonathan,
Freddy, and Marianne embarked on a noisy quarrel that relieved their feelings
even if it accomplished nothing else. "None of us will ever get anything
done at this rate."

           
Dan gave
St. Clair a glare that should have melted steel. "If you think you can do
better, you're welcomed to try."

           
"Here,
you lot!" Jack shouted, waving his pistol. "Stow your gob and listen
to Mr. Laverham!"

           
This
command did not produce the desired result. Instead, Freddy and Jonathan turned
on Jack, demanding an apology for the interruption. Dan was obliged to
intervene to keep Jack from shooting Freddy out of hand, while Robert did his
best to distract the other combatants. Unfortunately, Jack's threats were all
too clear to Marianne, who immediately went into strong hysterics.

           
Lord St.
Clair stood calmly watching, as if he were observing a raree-show that did not
please him above half, though he made a point of keeping an eye on Mairelon as
well as the row in the middle of the room. Kim realized suddenly that, for the
time being, no one was watching
her.
She slid quietly behind a tall chair
and crouched down, eyeing the path to the door. Two more chairs and a card
table provided some concealment, but she would have to cross an open stretch of
floor to reach the exit itself. Kim shrugged and began moving.

           
She was
not even halfway to her goal when the door swung open yet again.
"Villain!
Unhand that girl!" cried Jasper Marston
as he strode into the room. He stopped short, looking completely nonplussed, as
he took in the scene in front of him.

           
The noise
died as the adversaries became aware of their new audience and turned to stare
at him.
"Ah, Mr. Marston!"
Mairelon said
cheerfully. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific about whom you
were addressing. There are several persons present who admirably fit the
description 'villain.' Which of them did you have in mind?"

           
"Really?"
Robert Choiniet said. "You mean
this isn't all one of Jon's queer starts?"

           
"My
queer starts? What do you
mean,
my queer starts? Are
you saying you think I
arranged
all this?"

           
"It
has all the earmarks. I mean, just look at those two--waving pistols all over
the lodge and threatening Freddy, of all people. How do you expect me to take
it seriously?"

           
"You'd
better," Dan said. He sounded a little wild, and Kim was glad to be out of
sight behind the card table. "Get over in the corner there, all of you,
and
be quiet.
You, too, Marston, or whatever your name is."

           
"Ah,
I don't want any trouble," Jasper said, eyeing Dan's pistol with
misgiving. "I'll just leave quietly. It's no problem, really."

           
"Yes,
it is," Dan said, recovering
himself
somewhat.
"Into the corner."

           
" 'Ere
, now, what's all this, then?" a deep, slow
voice said from the doorway.

           
"I
should think it was perfectly plain, even to someone of your limited
understanding, Stuggs," a female voice answered acidly. "My brother
has bungled things again."

           
"Lady
Granleigh!" gasped Marianne. She turned as white as St. Clair's cravat and
fainted into Freddy's arms. Unfortunately, Freddy was as dumbfounded as she by
the new arrivals, and he failed to catch her in time. He overbalanced, and the
two of them toppled backward into a chair and crashed to the floor in a shower
of splinters.

           
Mairelon
sank onto a nearby footstool, propped his head on his bound hands, and began to
laugh. Lady Granleigh gave him a look of displeasure and marched into the room,
followed by Stuggs. Her gaze swept imperiously around the assembly, barely
checking at the sight of the pistols Dan and Jack still held. She passed over
the struggling Freddy and the unconscious Marianne, dismissed Jonathan and
Robert as inconsequential, and fixed at last on Lord St. Clair.

           
"Good
day, St. Clair," Lady Granleigh said with a dignity that did not conceal
her annoyance.

           
"Lady
Granleigh," Lord St. Clair responded, nodding a cordial greeting.

           
Below the
table, Kim ground her teeth and made a rude gesture with her left hand. Lady
Granleigh had left the door wide open, but tempting as the sight was, Kim still
could not reach it. Lady Granleigh had stopped too close to the door, and what
little space she had left was taken up by the overly large Stuggs.

           
"I
confess I had not expected to find you here, but I thank you for your efforts
on behalf of my ward," Lady Granleigh went on, smiling insincerely at Lord
St. Clair.

           
"Efforts!"
Freddy said, outraged. He extracted
himself from the tangle at last, with some help from Jonathan, and climbed to
his feet, staring at St. Clair the whole time. "What efforts? He ain't
done anything but stand there and
annoy
people."

           
"Your
conduct hardly bears examination, Mr. Meredith," Lady Granleigh responded.
"I should be careful about casting aspersions, if I were you." She
looked pointedly down at Marianne.

           
Robert,
who had knelt beside the unconscious girl and begun chafing her wrists, glanced
up and said to no one in particular, "Could one of you get a glass of
wine?"

           
"No,
but there's brandy," Jonathan answered. He started toward a small cabinet
near the fireplace, but came face-to-face with Jack Stower before he had taken
two steps. Jack's pistols and threatening glare were eloquent. Jonathan
shrugged and went back to his original position.

           
"Aspersions!
Well, I like that!" Freddy said to
Lady Granleigh, undaunted by her arrogance. "I didn't barge in through a
locked door without
so
much as a by-your-leave. I
didn't wave any pistols about or make any threats. I didn't frighten any ladies
into a fit of the vapors, and I didn't scare her straight into a faint!"

           
"You
lured Miss Thornley here," Jasper charged.

           
Robert
looked up, visibly impressed. "Did you really, Freddy? I hadn't thought
you had it in you."

           
"I
didn't lure anybody," Freddy protested.

           
"You
made Miss Thornley extravagant promises you had no intention of
fulfilling!" Jasper said.

           
"I
dunno," Stuggs put in.
" 'E
don't look like
the type, if you take my meaning."

           
Jasper gave
his henchman a withering look. "Why else did you bring Miss Thornley here,
to this lonely place?" he demanded, turning back to Freddy.

           
"Hardly
lonely," Mairelon said in a low but clearly audible tone.

           
"Had
to meet her somewhere," Freddy said reasonably. "It would have looked
dashed odd for me to pick the girl up off the side of the road."

           
"No
doubt," Jasper sneered with an ironic glance at Jack Stower's gun.
"You and your ruffians would have looked odd anywhere."

           
Freddy
frowned. "Here, now! What are you insinuating?"

           
"I
think it is perfectly plain," Lady Granleigh said. "
If
Lord St.
Clair and his friends had not arrived in
time to stop you and your
kidnappers, who knows
what
might have happened?"

           
"Marianne
and I would have gotten married, that's what would have happened!" Freddy
retorted, too angry to continue trying to be polite. "What's more, we're
going to tie the knot as soon as we get out of here, no matter what you
say."

           
"Freddy,
you're crazed!" Jonathan said.

           
"No,
I ain't, and I ain't as foolish as you think, either.
Got the
special license right here in my pocket."

           
"What!"
Jasper's eyes widened; then he whirled to face his sister. "Now see what
you've done, Amelia! If you hadn't set the girl on to this buffoon, we wouldn't
be in this pickle!"

           
"Be
quiet, Jasper!" Lady Granleigh commanded. "There is no need for you
to worry. Lord St. Clair, be so good as to have your men assist Miss Thornley
into our coach. After we have gone, you may deal with these felons as you see
fit."

           
Before
St. Clair could reply, there was a loud crash. Everyone jumped and turned. Dan
Laverham was standing beside one of the long windows, which he had just broken,
his pistols leveled at the assembly.

           
"I
am afraid you have mistaken the situation, Lady Granleigh," he said. He
stepped forward, and shards of glass crunched under his feet. His face was a
cold, expressionless mask. "I am not in St. Clair's employ, nor have I the
slightest interest in you, your ward, or any of your companions. I am here for
one thing, and only one thing. Once I've got it, you may sort yourselves out in
any manner that suits you. Until then, I have heard too much of your brainless
chatter. I shall shoot the next person who speaks out of turn."

           
St. Clair
nodded.
"Crude, but generally effective."

           
"That
includes you, St. Clair," Laverham said, glaring.

           
Lady
Granleigh drew in her breath at this breach of manners, which seemed to disturb
her more than Dan's pistols. St. Clair smiled, but said nothing.

           
"Much
better," Laverham went on.
"Now, you, the
highwayman.
Is there somewhere in this pile to lock up this lot of
lunatics while we search the rest of it?"

           
"Highwayman?"
Freddy said with interest. "I
say, Jon, you never told us anything about--" He broke off as one of Dan's
pistols swung in his direction.

           
"There
are private rooms upstairs," said Jonathan sullenly. "I think one of
them has a lock."

           
"The
one on the end," Freddy put in. "But it's broken. The lock, I
mean."

           
"This
is an outrage!" Lady Granleigh said, finding her voice. "Who is this
person? Lord St. Clair--"

           
"I
told you to be quiet," Dan said. "Get over there with the
others."

           
"Better
do as 'e says, mum," Stuggs warned.
" 'E
looks the sort as 'ud do you without blinkin'."

           
Kim held
her breath as Lady Granleigh, stiff with disapproval, moved away from the door
at last. Now, if they would all stay busy at the other end of the room for a
few minutes longer . . .