The Mysterious Lord Marlowe

‘Be careful, Miss Blair. I may be your only chance.’

His look was angry as he went out.

Jane sat on the edge of the bed as he locked the door again. Her legs felt like jelly and she was in sudden need of something to eat. After a few minutes to catch her breath, she took a piece of bread and spread it with butter, swallowing a few mouthfuls before washing it down with wine. The wine was a dark red and tasted dry on her tongue. She would have preferred water, but there was none in the room.

At least the food took away the shaky feeling she’d had in her legs. She wondered if he had told her the truth about there being three other men in the house. He called himself George. It wasn’t his real name, of course, but it was something to fix in her mind. She’d heard him speak to someone else he hadn’t named, and their leader was Blake.

Jane cautiously tried the window. It opened easily and she wondered why it hadn’t been locked. Did they imagine that she could not escape from here? Perhaps most young women would not dare, but Jane had climbed trees from early childhood. She glanced at the tree, which was sturdy and grew to the right side of the window. She could climb out onto the wide stone window ledge and edge her way along to the tree. It would be a risk because there was still a small gap between the ledge and the nearest branch, but she thought she could probably do it if she tried.

Seeing two men riding towards the house, Jane closed the window and drew back, keeping watch from behind the curtain. The men dismounted and walked towards the main door, disappearing inside. Her head was throbbing, but she forced herself to think slowly and not panic. She could not dwell on how far up she was or how much her head hurt. Unless she took her chance now, she might die.

One of the riders was probably Blake. Had he come to tell them what to do with her? No doubt he would want her silenced for good. There was no time to lose. She must take her chance for escape now—or the ruthless Blake would almost certainly murder her and dispose of her body. The other men were wary of him. George had promised to help her, but she could not rely on his word. None of them would risk their own lives for hers.

Opening the window, Jane cautiously climbed out on to the ledge. At least it was in reasonable repair and felt solid beneath her feet. Her back pressed against the glass, she edged her way along the stone sill and then realised that she was too far from the branch to reach out and grab it. The branch itself was thick and substantial enough to take her weight, but there was a gap of perhaps two feet beyond what she could reach.

Jane’s heart was racing and her palms were damp. She knew that she would have to jump and grab at the branch. If she missed, she might fall to the ground and break her neck, but if she stayed here the infamous Blake would undoubtedly break it for her.

Taking a deep breath and looking at the branch rather than the ground, Jane jumped and grabbed. Her hands touched, but could not hold the branch she was aiming for and she felt herself slithering and falling—but she was falling into the tree. Sharp bits of twig scratched her cheek and her bare arms as she crashed downwards and then, suddenly, she stopped. Her skirt had caught on a broken branch, breaking her fall a short distance from the ground.

Jane caught hold of a stout branch and clung to it as she recovered her breath and tried to stop shaking. She had come close to death and the shock was making her feel sick and weak, but her head was telling her she couldn’t stay where she was for long. After a few seconds, she was able to think clearly again. She tugged at her gown, which held stubbornly to the branch for a few seconds before ripping and setting her free. Steadying herself with deep breaths, she clambered down and then fell the last few feet to her knees.

Jane’s hands were stinging and so were her arms and legs. She glanced down and saw blood on her leg where the silk had torn away. Her right palm was bleeding and her cheek was stinging like mad, but these were not the worst of her injuries. As she stood up the pain in her right ankle shot through her and she gasped. Had she broken it? She tried to put weight on her right foot and found she could stand, though the pain was too bad for her to do more than limp.

She had to walk or hop as far as the woods that bordered the gardens. If the men looked for her and saw her here, they would recapture her easily. There was no choice but to hide somewhere until her ankle became a little easier. Let it be a sprain and not broken!

It was all she could do not to cry out each time she put her right foot to the floor, but she gritted her teeth and did a sort of hobble skip. Every movement hurt and she was afraid that someone would look out and see her before she reached the safety of the wood.

Fortune was with her. Battered, bruised but triumphant, Jane reached the trees and disappeared into them. She tasted the salt of tears on her mouth, but they were tears of relief and she brushed them away. It was impossible to move quickly and she knew she wasn’t safe yet. The men were sure to come here as soon as they discovered she was missing.

Jane had to keep moving, but the pain in her ankle was getting worse and she wasn’t sure how much farther she could go. She had almost reached the limit of her endurance when she saw the hut just ahead of her and hobbled towards it. The door opened easily and she went inside. She could make out a pile of old sacks in the darkness and sank down onto them.

She couldn’t go any farther until she had rested her ankle. All she could do now was pray that the men would not find her.

Jane couldn’t be sure how much time had passed when she heard the sounds of shouting. Her stomach clenched; the voices were very near and she knew the men must be searching the wood for her. For a moment panic swept through her. She ought to have kept on walking, got as far away as possible. Perhaps she might have found help, but her ankle was still throbbing.

When the door of the shed started to open, Jane’s heart jerked with fright. If Blake had found her, he might kill her.

Her breath caught as she saw George enter. He pushed the door almost closed behind him, putting a finger to his lips.

‘Keep quiet. There’s nothing I can do for the moment, but I’ll come back later and help you. Wait for me.’

Jane opened her mouth to protest, but at a warning frown from him said nothing. Her chest felt tight and she could scarcely breathe as he went out again.

‘Anything in there?’

The voice was so close. Harsh and angry, she was sure it must be Blake and her heart hammered in her breast. If he came in and found her … but she could hear George answering him.

‘Just some old sacks. I told you she would be long gone by now. Why would she hang around here?’

‘The lot of you are damned fools. Why didn’t you tie her up or at least make sure she was in a room she couldn’t get out of?’

‘She must have climbed into the tree,’ a third voice said on a whining note. ‘You’ve got to admire a girl like that, Captain. It took a lot of pluck. Besides, what harm can she do? She doesn’t know who we are or what is going on.’

‘She hadn’t better or I shall know who to blame,’ the harsh voice muttered. ‘I suppose she’s gone now and there’s not much we can do about it. She saw my eyes, but if she doesn’t know my name it is a chance in a million that she can identify me.’

‘How could she know who you are?’ George said. ‘We should go back to the house. I have things to do. I only agreed to help with this because I thought the Fanshawe girl willing, Blake. Though it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I’ve fulfilled my part of the deal. I want what you owe me and an end to this whole rotten business.’

‘You’ll get what I promised when I’m good and ready—which will be when I get what I want.’

‘That isn’t what we agreed …’

Jane heard the angry note in George’s voice as the men moved away. He had told her his motive was not money, so what did Blake have that was so important to George that he would help abduct an innocent young woman to get his hands on it?

He had told her to trust him, but what kind of a man was he?

Shivering, Jane hugged herself and wondered if she should try to get away on her own once the men had gone. She wasn’t sure she would be wise to trust George—yet he had discovered her hiding place and kept it secret.

Jane walked to the door of the shed and stopped. If anything, her ankle felt worse than just after she had sprained it. It seemed as if she didn’t really have a choice. She would just have to wait and hope that George kept his word.

Night had fallen and Jane was beginning to turn cold when she heard something outside the hut. Then the door opened and a dark shadow entered. Her heart caught as she held her breath and waited for him to speak.

‘Are you there, Jane Blair?’

‘George?’ Her breath expelled in relief as she hobbled towards him. ‘I was beginning to think you had forgotten me.’

‘It took a while to get rid of the others and circle back,’ George said. ‘I didn’t want to arouse their suspicions. Blake is a nasty devil when his temper is up. I shouldn’t be surprised if what they say of him is true.’

‘What do they say?’

‘That he … well, he is supposed to have been thrown out of the army for causing the death of ten French prisoners during the campaign on the Spanish Peninsula in a particularly nasty manner. He is a bully and a cheat, I know that much, but I’ve never been certain of the rest.’

‘What does he owe you? What hold has he over you?’

Jane looked up at him. They had moved outside the hut and the moon had just sailed out from behind the clouds. For a moment she glimpsed an odd expression in his eyes, but in another moment it had gone.

‘It isn’t my secret. I can’t tell you,’ he said. ‘I know it must be hard for you to trust me after what has happened, but, believe me, this is the first thing I’ve ever done that I feel truly ashamed of—and I had a compelling reason. I just cannot tell you what it is.’

Jane gazed at him for a little longer, then inclined her head. ‘Perhaps I am foolish, but I do trust you, George. I trust you—and I am grateful for your help. I hurt my ankle when I fell through the tree and I can hardly walk.’

‘I knew it must be something of the sort when I found you here.’ A smile flickered at the corners of his mouth. ‘You must have jumped from the ledge to the tree. It takes courage to do something like that.’

‘My brother would say it was reckless and foolish—but I thought my life might be in danger.’

‘It might have been, had Blake found you himself. He was furious that we let you escape. For a few minutes I thought he would shoot us all, but it seems he may still have a use for us.’

‘Would you go to the law if you were not in such an awkward position?’

‘I could be hung for my part in the affair,’ George said. ‘Yet if I could be sure … What happened has left a sour taste in my mouth. I wish with all my heart I could go back to the start, but it is too late for regret. I am in this up to my neck. The only thing I can do is to help you get away.’