Exceedingly happy with her afternoon’s endeavors, Ellen watched the trio go, then turned and headed for the conservatory to catch up with her uncle.
As she and Christopher had arranged, he met her in the Bigfield House shrubbery, by the pond, at ten-thirty that evening.
The very last of the light had only just faded from the sky when she walked beneath the archway and saw him waiting. With his hands sunk in his trouser pockets, he was standing by the stone coping of the pool; he’d been staring at a clump of water lilies, but as she neared, he looked up.
His gaze roved over her. His brow quirked.
She’d elected to wear a dark-gray walking dress, one she’d kept after her year of mourning her mother. The style of the gown was more severe than any other she owned, with only a single deep ruffle around the hem, a narrow strip of black lace edging the collar and placket of the bodice, and not a ribbon to be seen.
“So I’ll blend with the shadows,” she murmured and extended her hand.
He humphed and grasped it. They turned to follow the path to the manor, and he looped her arm with his so they strolled side by side.
“I suppose,” he ventured, “there’s no point attempting to convince you that you don’t need to attend this particular event.”
She tried to hide her smile. “No.”
He sighed.
“Besides”—she raised her chin—“if I don’t go, who will keep Louisa company?”
Faintly grimacing, he tipped his head. “There is that.”
Apparently accepting the situation, he lengthened his stride, and she kept pace as they left the shrubbery and walked on between the fields.
“Aaron arrived before I left. He’s rehearsing with Hardcastle.”
“I got the impression he—Aaron—was secretly delighted with his role.”
“He is—it’s just the sort of ploy, pulling the wool over some haughty lady’s eyes, that appeals to him.”
Several paces on, she asked, “Do you think he’ll pull it off?”
“We have to hope he will. Drake’s in his element organizing everyone else. He wants us in place well before midnight.”
They reached the manor forecourt to find men milling around several wagons, with grooms holding horses nearby. A palpable sense of excitement blanketed the scene, gripping everyone and heightening the tension.
The sight of the map of the local area—which Drake had spread on the tailgate of a wagon so he could indicate to the various groups of men where he wanted them—reminded Ellen of the information Julia had innocently divulged.
Halting beside the wagon’s end, Ellen waited until Drake glanced her way, then said, “I spoke with Julia Kirkpatrick this afternoon—she told me neither Mrs. Kirkpatrick nor Tilly Fontenay ride.”
Drake’s brows rose, and he looked at the map. “That means she’ll arrive at the meeting via some sort of carriage.”
Christopher moved around the tailgate and, with his fingertip, traced the lane leading from Goffard Hall to the village. “She’ll come this way, but instead of turning in to the village lane, she’ll continue straight on, along the lane leading to Iden Green. Then”—he tapped the map—“just here, there’s a track that runs east to join the lane around the village green, a little way north of the church. Depending on how large the carriage is and how good her coachman, she might take that lane and stop about here”—he put his finger on the spot—“then make her way through the woods to where the meeting’s supposed to take place.”
Christopher looked up. “Lipman?” He spotted the manor’s coachman among the men who had crowded close to view the map. “What do you think?”
Lipman nodded. “Sounds about right. That lane’s passable for a gig or even a smallish carriage.”
“Right, then.” Drake rapidly redeployed the men he’d previously positioned in that area, then looked at Christopher and Lipman. “Is her coachman liable to hear if, when she’s at the meeting point, the lady shrieks or screams?”
Lipman pulled a face. “The spot he’ll stop at is about a hundred yards, give or take, from the meeting place, so depending on the wind and how loudly she screams, he might.”
“How well do you know the Goffard Hall coachman?” Christopher asked.
Lipman shrugged. “I’ve known old Ottis for more’n thirty years.”
“It might be best”—Christopher caught Drake’s eye—“if Lipman is with the men closest to the spot where the Hall coach is likely to stop. Then, once we have the lady secured, Lipman can go and tell Ottis—or intercept him if she screams and he comes running—and explain that the lady has been involved in something illegal and is now in the hands of the authorities.”
From her perch on the seat of the wagon alongside, Louisa said, “Lipman should tell Ottis that the lady will be returned to Goffard Hall most likely tomorrow, but in the interim, raising a hue and cry won’t help anyone. The authorities will come and speak with Mr. Kirkpatrick tomorrow and explain all. It would be best for everyone, including the family at Goffard Hall, if Ottis drives home and carries on as if nothing unusual has happened.”
Ellen nodded emphatically. “As if everything is normal.” She, too, met Drake’s eyes. “If Ottis drives back and reports the lady missing, the entire household will be in a panic.”
“And we don’t want that.” Drake looked at Lipman. “Can you remember all that?”
Lipman thought, then nodded. “Aye—I’ve got it.” He looked at Christopher. “I’m to wait until the lady’s in hand, then go and tell Ottis that she won’t be coming back with him but not to worry.”
Christopher nodded. He looked at the map, then at Drake. “That’s every eventuality covered, I believe.”
Drake faintly arched his brows. “Everything we can predict, as least.”
The front door opened, and everyone glanced around to see a heavy figure stomp across the porch and come lumbering down the steps.
“And here’s our Hardcastle.” Christopher had to grin.
Toby scrutinized Aaron, then shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve seen Hardcastle on several occasions—the lady’s eyes will need to be sharper than mine for her to spot any difference.” And Toby was known to be acutely observant.
Aaron grinned. “As long as I don’t have to speak beyond telling her ‘twenty-six’—and I’ve been practicing that with the man himself—I believe we’ll pull this off.”
Christopher clapped him on the back, and Drake raised his head and gave the order to mount up or clamber aboard the wagons.
Less than a minute later, their small army rattled and clopped out of the forecourt and headed down the lane to take up their positions in the woods. Ellen sat beside Louisa on the bench of one of the wagons, while Christopher rode ahead with Drake and Toby.
They left the horses and wagons in a clearing at the end of a minor track that ran past the east side of the inn. The clearing lay to the east of the woods from where, earlier, they’d watched the graveyard. From the clearing, the company spread out, quietly making their way through the woods to their assigned positions.