Adriana, whose position afforded her a clear view of the clock on the mantelpiece, rose. The three men started to stand, but she waved them back. “It’s not quite time, but I need to change into my riding habit.” She glanced again at the clock. “I’ll meet you in the hall at nine-thirty on the dot.”
With that, she turned and strode purposely from the room.
Nicholas watched her go.
At nine-thirty, they gathered in the hall, then leaving Viola to hold the fort, with her good wishes for success in their ears, they headed out to the stable to claim their mounts and ride out to the meeting place along The Drove.
They parted from Phillip at the stable. He would wait until just short of ten o’clock, then lead The Barbarian to the appointed spot. The huge stallion was openly curious about what was going on.
Nicholas, Adriana, and Dickie, together with Young Gillies, Rory, Jed, Mike, and Harold and Oscar—Viola’s stablemen—mounted and headed out from the Place via the rear drive to circle around and get into their designated positions from which to watch where their mystery man took The Barbarian.
CHAPTER13
Night was creeping across the landscape, cloaking lanes, hedges, and fields in steadily deepening shadow.
Nicholas hunkered behind the thick hedge that bordered the narrow lane known as The Drove. Thankfully, the hedge was so high that, even perched on a horse, no one in the lane would be able to see him or Adriana, who was crouching beside him.
Dickie was on the other side of the lane, similarly concealed. The rest of their party were scattered, with Harold and Oscar stationed along The Drove to the west, just in case the man went that way. The others were hidden around the intersection where The Drove met the Holdingham road running north out of Sleaford.
Everyone expected the man—be he the blackmailer or his agent—to head for Holdingham to seek shelter for the night. All of them had their horses hidden in copses well back from the lane, yet close enough to reach so they could follow their quarry.
Nicholas tugged out his fob watch and angled it to catch what starlight there was. It was the dark of the moon, and near-blackness engulfed them, but he managed to make out the hands. Tucking the watch back, he leaned close to Adriana and whispered, “A minute to go. Phillip should be arriving soon.”
She nodded. Tense and expectant, she reminded him of a tightly wound spring about to explosively release.
Several silent seconds later, hoofbeats slowly approached from the west. The man—their quarry—was arriving.
In the shadows, Nicholas and Adriana shared an expectant glance.
As the man obligingly halted his horse almost level with where they crouched, the doubleclopfrom Phillip’s horse and The Barbarian reached them.
They held still and silent as Phillip reined in. After a second, he said, “As you can see, I have the horse.” They heard a jingle; presumably, Phillip had gestured with The Barbarian’s reins. Phillip asked, “Do you have the letters? All of them?”
“As promised.” The man’s voice was deep, solid-sounding, the voice of a heavily built man.
Nicholas heard a creak as the man shifted in his saddle.
“Here. It seems they’re yours again.”
Several creaks and the rustle of paper were followed by Phillip’s terse “You’ll understand if I count them, just to be sure.”
“Be my guest.” A hint of amusement colored the man’s tone.
Nicholas and Adriana waited, not exactly patiently, as, presumably, Phillip counted the letters.
He grunted. “Sixteen. With the one you gave me earlier, that makes seventeen.”
“Which,” the man said, entirely unperturbed, “was all there was.”
Phillip must have nodded. They heard him shift, no doubt tucking the letters safely away, then came the jingle of a bridle. “Here. He’s all yours. May he bring you the joy you deserve.”
“Aye, well. We’ll see about that.” After a second, the man said, “He’s certainly a good-looking horse.”
Nicholas caught Adriana’s gaze as, alert, she looked wide-eyed at him. He nodded. The man’s tone made it crystal clear that he hadn’t known much about The Barbarian until that moment.
Given that, it seemed unlikely he was the one interested in acquiring the stallion.
The man, or rather the agent—Nicholas felt confident in labeling him that—must have been studying the horse. Then he said to Phillip, “You can leave now.”
