The Fat Badger Society (Drusilla Davanish Mysteries Book 2) Read online

  Rising to his feet, Mr. Reevers bowed and assured her, ‘Not at all, ma’am. I am always delighted to see you.’

  ‘You are most gallant, if a little untruthful, I fear. At least on this occasion.’ He placed a chair for her, which she accepted, and began to talk about Mr. Hamerton’s new house, asking Mr. Reevers if he had seen it.

  ‘I’ve not yet had that pleasure,’ he said, sitting opposite me again.

  ‘You must go. The hill it sits on offers splendid views of the Solent. Richard is so pleased he’ll be living nearby. They have become the greatest of friends.’

  ‘So I have observed,’ he said in his pleasant way.

  My aunt and uncle looked in briefly, but when they left for their walk, Mr. Reevers took his leave. Julia turned to me and asked, ‘Has he made you an offer, Drusilla?’ I smiled and shook my head. ‘Then he was about to, and I came in at the wrong moment. I am so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me to go away? I would have done in your place.’

  I laughed. ‘Yes, you would. But the truth is, I haven’t made up my mind yet.’

  She looked at me askance. ‘Drusilla, it is obvious to me that you are in love, so ---’

  ‘But it would change my life completely and----’

  ‘Well, of course it would,’ she said, gurgling with laughter. ‘Being with the man you love is wonderful. I can recommend it.’

  ‘Yes, I thought you would,’ I teased. ‘The trouble is I enjoy being independent. I like looking after my estates, and my fortune. And if I marry----’

  ‘It would all belong to your husband,’ she said thoughtfully. For, that was the law. ‘Could you not agree to decide things together? Richard and I do so.’

  ‘Possibly. But it isn’t only that. I’m not suited to a life of domesticity.’ She wrinkled her brow, knowing it to be true. ‘I detest sewing, and those matronly conversations about recipes, illness, or problems with servants, bore me to death. As far as I’m concerned Dr Redding deals with illness, I take good care to see my servants are happy, and cook is responsible for meals. What is there to talk about?’ Julia gave way to a peal of mirth. ‘It’s not funny, Julia. I have no real accomplishments to talk about either. I can’t draw or paint---’

  ‘You play the piano.’

  ‘Not very well.’

  ‘And you can sing.’

  ‘My voice is tolerable I suppose.’ And I did enjoy it. ‘But I was at my happiest helping father with his book. I loved solving the mysteries we came across, and it’s what I do best. Now I’m trying to find out who killed Septimus. And what man would allow his wife to continue with such work?’ Even she could not answer that; yet, if I accepted an offer of marriage from Mr. Reevers I had to resolve these difficulties.

  That evening my aunt and uncle retired at ten as usual, and after they had gone, I went into the workroom to go through everything that had happened since the Fat Badgers held up our carriage. The first chance I’d had to do so. The servants had gone to bed, and Mr. Hamerton, who was outside observing moths, came in well before midnight and went up the stairs.

  Thankful I would not be disturbed, I concentrated on trying to work out why the Fat Badgers were so desperate to get rid of me. ‘You’re the one I want,’ that dreadful man had said. But what did I know that was so important? And I went through every tiny detail I’d written on my charts, without finding any answer.

  I started to yawn and, glancing at the clock, saw it wanted only ten minutes to one. Deciding it was time I went to bed, I lit my bedroom candle from one in the workroom, snuffed out the rest, and had just opened the door quietly, not wanting to wake anyone, when I heard a creak on the stairs. I took no notice at first, as stairs often creak for no apparent reason, then almost at once it happened again, louder this time. Someone was creeping down to the hall. Putting my bedroom candle down well inside the workroom so that the light could not be seen, I stood in the dark doorway, and saw a man tiptoeing across to the drawing room, carrying a pair of shoes. A slightly plump gentleman of average height.

  He opened the door and went in. Hearing him unlatch a window, I stole across the hall just in time to see him climbing out. I waited a moment, then went in and realised anyone giving the window a cursory glance would think it was closed, when in fact it was open an inch. But where, I asked myself, could Mr. Hamerton be going at such a time on this warm June night?

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Without stopping to think, I rushed back into the workroom and unlocked the drawer where I kept a pair of small pistols. Father had taught me how to shoot, and quickly loading them, I put one in each pocket. Snuffing out the candle, I unlocked the outside workroom door. This led into the garden, and was the door I had used late at night as a young girl, when Giles Saxborough and I sneaked out to watch the smugglers.

  Slipping the key into another pocket, I ran quietly round to the front of the house, in time to see Mr. Hamerton walking on the grass verge beside the drive, intent on making no sound. Once he was out of sight, I lifted my skirts a trifle and raced after him, ignoring thoughts of what my aunt, uncle, Mudd, and even Julia would say if they knew I was following a gentleman who clearly did not want anyone to know what he was doing. A gentlemen who, if he was the French agent, Mr. Brown, was very dangerous indeed.

  Clouds moved slowly across the sky, allowing only brief glimpses of moonlight, but one of these enabled me to see Mr. Hamerton was heading towards Westfleet village. Passing the duck pond and village green, he went up the hill into the churchyard, and headed straight for the church. I waited by the lych-gate, hidden by overhanging branches of trees. He stopped outside the entrance porch and looked all around. Satisfied no-one was watching, he went into the church, the ancient oak door creaking when he opened it, and again as he shut it.

  The moon had disappeared and if I was to recognise whoever he was meeting, I had to get closer. Trees ringed the perimeter of the churchyard, and keeping to the darkest areas, I soon reached them. Then, climbing up the rising ground that led to the church itself, I headed for a tree ten yards from the door, and hid behind it. From here I would have a good view of anyone coming out of the church.

  I had only been there a few minutes when I heard a faint rustling noise nearby. I hadn’t seen anyone else in the churchyard, and had taken great care not to be seen myself. Praying the noise was the wind rustling through the trees, I carefully looked around. At first I saw nothing, yet every instinct told me I was not alone, and I took a firm grip on the pistols I’d brought with me.

  The moon emerged briefly from behind a cloud, allowing me a glimpse of a tall man standing under a tree in the lane on the other side of the church. Close by were two horses. So, whoever Mr. Hamerton had come to meet was already in the church.

  If only I could hear what they were saying. The church had a secret entrance, used by smugglers when hiding their goods, but I had no idea where it was. Nor did the local Riding Officer, who could often be seen poking around the building. I suspected Mr. Upton knew, for he was very partial to brandy and the parsonage never ran short of it. A few minutes later the church door creaked loudly and someone came out. Even in the dark I recognised him. It was that great bear of a man, Mr. Silver.

  I fingered the pistols, itching to use them but, fortunately, common sense prevailed. If I killed him, the other Fat Badgers would leave the Island and carry on elsewhere without him, and we would have no idea where they were. Nor did I have any indisputable evidence that Mr. Hamerton was Mr. Brown, as I hadn’t heard a single word they had said in the church, and therefore could not swear they had been plotting a revolution.

  Mr. Silver strode round to the waiting horses, the two men rode off, and I could not stop them. If I’d brought Orlando I could have followed them, and discovered where Mr. Silver lived. Without Orlando, I could do nothing.

  When Mr. Hamerton emerged from the church, he headed back to Westfleet, and I was about to follow when I heard a horse approaching. Had Mr. Silver come back? Had he forgotten something? Hurrying over to the la
ne I saw the rider was Mr. Sims. He dismounted and quietly led his horse round the back of the parsonage to the stables.

  What on earth was he doing out at this time of night? Not studying the stars, for there were none to be seen. I guessed he’d been visiting Mr. Young, and again I wondered why he’d really come to the Island. He showed no sign of his supposed recurring fever, but puzzled though I was, I couldn’t waste time thinking about him. I had far more important matters on my mind.

  I half expected Mr. Hamerton to act differently in the morning, but he was his usual cheerful self. Announcing, when I inquired, that he had slept very well, and was up early in order to go sailing with Richard. The thought of Richard’s friendship with this man sent ice cold shudders of fear through me.

  It was vital that I told Mr. Reevers about the meeting at the church as soon as I could, but I couldn’t go to Norton House without my uncle, and he had not yet come down to breakfast. Trying to curb my impatience, I went into the workroom, wrote down the facts concerning that meeting, and sat thinking about it for a long time, but as I used the charts for facts alone I did not add anything further.

  Mr. Hamerton left the house a few minutes before my uncle came downstairs, and the morning was well advanced by the time we arrived at Norton House. Here Mr. Reevers informed us Mr. East had gone to call on Miss Adams, and I wondered if he’d made her an offer. Deciding when the time was right couldn’t be easy when he’d only known her a few weeks.

  My uncle soon went off to the library to return the books he’d finished with, and to borrow some more, at which point Mr. Reevers suggested that we took a stroll in the garden. Which, finally, gave me the chance to tell him about Mr. Hamerton’s meeting with Mr. Silver. His bushy black eyebrows drew together into a frown. ‘Our man watching the house hasn’t reported this.’

  ‘He probably didn’t see him,’ I said. ‘There was very little moon.’

  ‘Or he fell asleep. Well, there can be no doubt now that Hamerton is Mr. Brown, even if we can’t actually prove it yet. But I’d like to know how Hamerton and Silver arranged that meeting. Our agents say Hamerton has done nothing untoward.’

  ‘Luffe and Mudd have strict orders that any message Mr. Hamerton wants delivered must be brought to me first.’

  He nodded, as if he’d expected that. ‘Mudd will understand why, but Luffe must have thought it odd.’

  Remembering the puzzled look on Luffe’s face, I laughed. ‘Yes, but he didn’t ask questions. Jeffel ---’ I stopped and took a deep breath, for I still found it hard to talk about him, ‘Jeffel would have asked.’

  ‘You still miss him, don’t you?’ he murmured softly.

  His words made me choke up, but I managed to say, ‘The house seems so empty without him. I – I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t there. My father and I relied on him a great deal. As I still do with Mudd.’ The thought of Westfleet without Mudd made me shiver. ‘No-one could ever take Mudd’s place.’

  ‘No. He is the best of good fellows.’

  Reaching the beach at the end of the garden we saw Mr. East riding back towards the house, but he was too far away for us to gauge his mood. We stood watching the waves rippling gently onto the shore, and the boats going about their business in the Solent, and as we turned back towards the house I talked again of Mr. Hamerton’s meeting. ‘If I’d taken a horse and followed Mr. Silver, I might have learnt where he lived and-----’

  ‘And got your head blown off in the process. Men like him know instinctively when they’re being followed. It was fortunate Hamerton didn’t see you either.’

  ‘I took good care to ensure he didn’t.’ Even so, honesty forced me to admit I had acted hastily. As I told him, given time to make plans, I considered every eventuality carefully. But when something unexpected happened, forcing me to respond at once, I tended to react instinctively, without stopping to consider if it was dangerous. And I owned, somewhat contritely, ‘I know exactly what you are thinking. I should have taken Mudd with me.’

  His expression softened. ‘You know, you are a constant delight to me. Few women would admit to such a fault. But then, my dearest girl, you are quite unlike any other woman I have ever met.’

  ‘That is a compliment any woman would be grateful to receive,’ I said demurely, trying to make light of it.

  A wicked gleam came into his eyes. ‘Grateful enough for us to renew the conversation so rudely interrupted by Julia?’

  A gurgle of laughter broke in my throat, and I smiled up at him, all my resolve not to marry weakened by his nearness. In that moment the prospect of spending the rest of my life with him seemed infinitely desirable. For I could no longer deny my feelings for him. The more I saw of him, the more I wanted to be with him. A day without his presence was a dull day, no matter how much the sun shone. When we were with other people, and something amused me, I knew that if I looked across at him, his eyes would be laughing too.

  The truth was, I loved him. It was useless to pretend otherwise. I longed to feel his strong arms round me, yet to rush into marriage would be foolish. Thus, when I spoke it was of Julia’s untimely interruption. ‘I thought you were going to wring her neck,’ I teased light-heartedly.

  His eyes rested on me in a most disturbing way, as if he had read all my thoughts, but he merely said, ‘Not Julia. I happen to like her. Now, if it had been your aunt-------’

  I laughed and he stopped, leaning against the far side of a large oak, where we couldn’t be seen from the house. Taking my hands in his, he murmured softly, ‘Now before we are interrupted again---’

  ‘Too late, I’m afraid,’ I said, having caught a glimpse of a tall, handsome figure heading in our direction. ‘Mr. East is coming this way.’

  He turned round and when his friend reached us Mr. Reevers urged. ‘Do go away, Toby.’

  Taking in the situation at a glance, Mr. East grinned. ‘Sorry, Radleigh. This can’t wait. A letter has just come from Pitt and he wants an immediate reply.’

  With a sigh Mr. Reevers demanded, ‘What does he want exactly?’

  ‘He asks if we have enough evidence yet to arrest Hamerton.’

  ‘Well,’ he drawled, ‘Lady Drusilla saw him with Mr. Silver last night.’

  ‘What?’ Mr. East gasped, his eyes alight with hope. ‘Are you quite sure, ma’am?’

  Mr. Reevers arched a mocking eyebrow at him and turned to me. ‘I beg you to forgive him for doubting you. An hour in the company of Miss Adams has addled what few brains he possesses.’

  Grinning, Mr. East begged my pardon and when, at his request, I explained what had happened, he agreed it would be foolish to arrest Mr. Hamerton now. ‘The others would go ahead on their own, and we need Hamerton to lead us to them.’

  ‘You deal with Pitt then, Toby.’

  ‘That’s not all he wants, Radleigh.’

  Mr. Reevers gave a grimace. ‘And there’s Mr. Frère coming out now.’ He turned to me. ‘I wish I didn’t have to go, but I must.’

  I smiled. ‘Of course you must.’

  Returning my smile, his eyes told me everything I could ever want to know. ‘Tomorrow then,’ he said. ‘At Westfleet.’ And my heart hammered in happy anticipation.

  Riding home with my uncle I glowed with happiness, for nothing would stop Mr. Reevers calling on me tomorrow to make me an offer of marriage. I saw now that he was the only one who would truly understand the concerns I’d had about accepting that offer, and with understanding, those concerns could be resolved. Indeed, must be resolved, for I knew in my heart I would never be truly happy again without him. And for the first time I understood exactly how Julia felt about Richard.

  There were two letters awaiting me when I arrived home. The handwriting on one I’d seen before, but couldn’t think where; the other was from Marguerite Saxborough, my godmother. That brought a smile to my face, for her letters were always a joy. Saving that for later, to enjoy in the quiet of my bedchamber, I slipped out the side door, sat on a garden seat and on opening the other one saw
, to my astonishment, that it was from Mrs Jenkins.

  It was ten days since she’d left the Island so hurriedly, hours before we were to meet, and I’d given up all hope of learning anything about the Fat Badgers from her. I thought of the courage it must have taken to write to me when the fiends who had murdered her husband George were still threatening her life and those of her children. But it wasn’t until I’d finished reading her letter that I realised how incredibly brave she really was.

  CHAPTER TWENTYONE

  Mrs. Jenkins did not include her direction on her letter, but I soon saw why.

  My dear Lady Drusilla,

  I must beg your pardon for leaving the Island so hurriedly after I had promised to meet you. You must think it very rude of me, even though that was not my intention. My friends and the servants believe I am attending my sick brother, but the truth is very different.

  On that particular morning a burly fearsome looking individual stopped me as I walked down the lane to the village and said that, if I wanted to keep my children alive I must not speak to anyone about the society George had belonged to, and I was to leave immediately for my brother’s house at Wickham and stay there all summer. He said if I doubted they would carry out such a threat, then I should know they had thrown George into the river, and when he managed to scramble to the bank despite not being able to swim, they held him under the water until he drowned.

  I cannot bear to think of it, Lady Drusilla. George was a kindly man who would always help anyone in trouble. Yet I could not ignore such a threat to our four dear children.

  How that man knew of our meeting I do not know, for I did not mention it to anyone. I left the house that very morning and went straight to my brother, but I was too frightened to stay there. Those murderers knew where we were, and I was terrified they might still harm my children. So the next morning, an hour before dawn, I left for the place where I am now. No-one knows my direction, not even my brother.