Chapter Ten

 

Emmie rushed upstairs to Anna’s room. She flung open the door and Anna jumped from her sitting position near the window. Her eyes wide as she stared.

“Anna, I have found her!” Emmie ran to her maid and clasped her hands. “My mother is alive and I know where she is!”

Anna squealed and hugged her. “Oh, my lady! I was so worried...nobody knew where you were...I thought the mob your father told us about had come and taken you.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “I was at my wit’s end not knowing what had happened.”

Emmie narrowed her gaze on her friend. “Did you not hear me? I found my mother.” She shook her head. “Actually, I met my grandmother who told me my mother is still alive.”

Anna tilted her head as her gaze narrowed. “What? I don’t understand.”

“My mother is alive,” Emmie repeated slower.

“Oh, my apologies, my lady. I’m just very relieved you are all right.” She smiled. “So tell me the exciting news.”

Emmie released a laugh and hugged Anna again. “Forgive me for worrying you so. I have been eager to tell you what I discovered last night and today.” She took a deep breath and began her tale. “Mr. Lawrence took me all over the countryside and we stayed the night at this old woman’s house. The old woman happened to be my grandmother.”

Her eyes widened. “You were with Mr. Lawrence…for that long unescorted, and into the night?”

Emmie rolled her eyes. “Anna, focus, please. My mother…”

The other woman nodded. “My apologies again. This is indeed wonderful news!”

Emmie pulled the maid to the bed where they both sat on the edge. “You’re not going to believe this, but Mother thought Father and I had died. She was given the story that our ship was attacked by pirates and killed everyone on board. She doesn’t even know we are alive.”

Anna smacked her fingers over her mouth. “How dreadful. Perhaps you should ask Mr. Crampton about Captain Hawk—since they are related.”

“Actually, I talked to Gabe. He said he doesn’t know of a relative who could be Captain Hawk. So perhaps that rumor was false.”

“Uh, Emmie… You are on first name basis with Mr. Lawrence?”

Heat crept up Emmie’s face. “Yes, but that’s neither here nor there. The important thing is he is not related to Captain Hawk.”

“Then I’m sure the rumor I heard was indeed, false. So are you going to go find your mother now?”

“Grandmother said Mother is living near the border of Brighton. She is a live-in companion for a widow woman, Mrs. Estelle Winterbourne. I’m certain it will be easy to locate this lady, don’t you?”

Anna shook her head. “Oh Emmie, if Brighton is anything like London, I fear locating your mother will be more difficult than you think.”

“Why is that?”

“London is very large and filled from one end to the other with people. If Brighton is as large, it will not be easy finding her. If you can locate your mother within a week, consider yourself most fortunate.”

Emmie sighed heavily. “What am I going to do then? I will have to go to Brighton to find her, yet at the same time, pretend to be your companion.” She fell back on the bed, sighing deeply. “Oh what a mess my father got us into by giving us different roles to play.”

“Emmie?” Anna sat on the bed next to her. “I think I know what we can do. I shall ask Mr. and Mrs. Crampton if we can spend a week in Brighton, since we want to see more of this lovely country.” She sighed. “I’m certain they will take us because when Mr. Crampton discovered you were not with me, he appeared very disturbed—even upset at Rebecca.”

Emmie scrunched her forehead. “I wonder why?”

“I don’t know, my lady.”

“Well, I think that is a good plan,” Emmie exclaimed excitedly as she sat up, but then remembered about Gabe, and her hopes sank again. “On second thought, perhaps that will not work.”

“But why?”

“Gabe promised he would help me find my mother.”

Anna arched a curious eyebrow. “Mr. Lawrence again, huh? Pray tell, my lady, how close did the two of you get over the past couple of days?”

Emmie bit back a grin. She couldn’t possibly answer that question. “Anna, you’re making too much out of this. The point is, he offered to help.”

“Does he still think you are my companion?”

“Yes, and we need to keep him thinking that way.”

“Well, then he can come with us. You talk to him and have him convince his uncle he needs to go with us.”

“I suppose that might work.” Emmie sighed again deeply. “I just pray we can find my mother soon. I need to let her know I’m alive.”

“You do realize that Mr. Lawrence cannot be there or else he will discover who you really are.”

Emmie nodded. “I do, which makes everything more complicated.” She groaned and rubbed her head. “Father really shouldn’t have switched our roles.” She sighed.

Anna patted her shoulder. “There, there, my lady. Your father didn’t know, I’m sure of it.”

“No, he didn’t know what would transpire when we arrived here, but I fear that when the truth finally comes out, people will get hurt whether we meant to do it or not.” Gabe’s face came to her mind…his handsome, friendly, and caring face. Out of everyone, she knew he’d be hurt the most. Perhaps the key was not to ever let him know her secret. After all, when she and Anna returned to France, she would never see Gabriel Lawrence again.

 

* * * *

 

Gabe hurried toward the stable the next morning, his long legs taking wide strides on his way. Questions swam through his head, and he couldn’t focus. It didn’t help when all he could think about was his beautiful Emiline.

Quickly, he brought his thoughts to a halt. His Emiline? That was utterly ridiculous! He could not—or ever—think of her that way. For now, she was simply a diversion for him while he was in hiding. He really needed to get back to his original plan when he discovered Bonaparte’s niece was here. Spending time with Emiline had been so pleasing, he’d forgotten that he still didn’t know very much about what Napoleon’s men were doing now that the emperor was exiled.

Inwardly, he cringed. What would his crew think of him now? They’d certainly think he was slacking in his duties and that he had a weak mind—neither of which was something Gabe wanted to be known for.

Levi, the stable boy, sauntered out of the stable, brushing straw off his trousers. The boy—perhaps not a boy any longer since a small patch of facial hair grew on his chin—had been working for Uncle Henry since Gabe could remember. If memory served, Levi’s family was also servants here.

“Boy, hold up there,” Gabe called out, stopping Levi from going any further.

Levi scratched his ear. “Yessir?”

“I need to talk to you about those men who came looking for Lady Sarah yesterday. Do you remember how many were in the group?”

Levi nodded so quickly, his hat nearly slipped off his head. “Five, Sir.”

“What were they looking for exactly?”

“Well,” the boy said, tapping his finger on his chin as his attention lifted to the tree above Gabe’s head, “when I first saw them, they were still on their horses. They rode to me, instead of going to the house first. The one who seemed to be in charge had evil eyes and hair as orange as the sun.”

Unease washed over Gabe. Evil eyes… There was one man who fit that description. Lieutenant Mercer—the very man who nearly captured The Avenger several weeks ago. Gabe’s stomach churned with worry. “What age was this man?”

Levi met his stare. “I suppose he was somewhere in his fortieth year, Sir.”

Gabe nodded. So far, the description of Lieutenant Mercer fit perfectly. “Continue.”

“Well, the man asked the whereabouts of Mr. Crampton. He said my master had something these men needed.”

“I kept telling them that Mr. Crampton wasn’t here, but they acted like they weren’t listening to me because they all started talking to each other at once.”

“Do you know what they were saying?”

Levi shook his head. “They were arguing about something, but I couldn’t tell what it was.”

“Then what happened?” Gabe folded his arms.

“I heard one of them say Lady Sarah’s name.” He shrugged. “That’s all I heard before the man with the evil eyes looked at me again and asked where Lady Sarah was. I told them she was with Mr. Crampton.”

“Was that all or did they say more?”

“No, that was all they said, but they didn’t look too happy.”

Releasing a pent-up breath, Gabe ran his fingers through his hair. None of this made sense, yet he needed to find out what was going on. More than likely Lady Sarah was in danger. After all, her uncle was Napoleon, and their driver knew it and probably blabbed it to his friends, thinking he’d killed Lady Sarah and her companion when they traveled here.

The problem was…Gabe didn’t know if Lieutenant Mercer was after Lady Sarah—or after Gabe. He didn’t know why the Lieutenant would want Lady Sarah unless to take her back to France, since that’s where the Lieutenant was from.

Things were getting more confusing by the second.

“Levi, do you remember when they said they would be back?”

“No, Sir. I didn’t hear anything of the sort.”

“I thank you for your assistance.” Gabe swung around and marched back toward the house. He needed to figure out this mystery soon before Lady Sarah was taken, or before Mercer realized Gabe was staying here as well.

The more and more he thought about staying low, the more he realized that going with Emiline to Brighton looked better and better. His aunt and uncle must not let their servants know of their journey in case Mercer decided to follow. It could be done. Gabe would see to it personally.

This meant he needed to let his uncle know why it was so important for Gabe to stay hidden and away from Mercer. But before he did that, he must discover where Uncle Henry’s belief really lies…and which side of the ocean he supported in these perilous times.

Quickly, Gabe stopped and turned back toward the stables. Levi was still out, thankfully. “Levi, will you get my uncle’s horse ready—and one for me as well? We shall go riding very soon.”

“As you wish.” Levi rushed into the stables.

Gabe smiled. Levi had always been so obedient. That was a good quality to have in a servant.

Gabe hurried into the house and straight to his uncle’s study. The door was cracked open slightly and his aunt was inside discussing something with his uncle. Gabe really didn’t want to disturb them, but his much needed conversation with his uncle couldn’t be put off any longer.

“But what if her father finds out?” Running his fingers through his hair, Henry snapped at his wife. “He will certainly blame me for not putting a stop to it.”

“You are over-reacting again, Henry,” Martha snapped. “She is still young and doesn’t understand the consequences of her actions. I’m quite certain her father will sympathize.”

“Truly, this is utter nonsense. I need to stop this charade—” Henry stopped in mid-sentence and swung his head toward the door.

Embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping, Gabe straightened his shoulders, took a deep breath, and entered. Both his uncle and aunt wore wide-eyed, surprised expressions.

“Forgive me intruding,” Gabe began, “but I needed to speak with you, Uncle.”

His aunt grinned and came to Gabe, only stopping to pat his cheeks. “You are not intruding, my dear. Mr. Crampton and I have finished our conversation, anyway.” She threw a finalizing glare toward her husband before quitting the room.

Henry stretched his arms above his head, and faked a yawn. “What a lovely morning it is.”

“Yes, it is, Uncle, which is why I would like you to take a ride around the estate with me.”

“Splendid idea, my boy.”

After the men had retrieved their riding jackets, they met back at the stables. As promised, Levi had both animals ready for riding. Gabe and his uncle mounted then took off. Collecting his thoughts, Gabe didn’t know how to start the conversation. Earnestly, he prayed his uncle was not siding with France at this time. Henry slowed the horse down to a trot and Gabe did the same.

“I must say, Gabriel,” his uncle began, “you picked a wonderful time to go riding.”

A slight breeze flitted through the trees around them, and the sun peeked through the limbs and leaves. “Yes, the weather has agreed with our outing, I believe. I enjoy riding when the land is so peaceful, but then it makes me wish the whole country could be as content.”

Henry eyed him warily. “Yes. These are certainly troublesome times.”

“Indeed they are. I have witnessed quite a lot during my travels.” Gabe took his attention off his uncle and focused on the trail ahead. “So many people are angry, and…forgive me if I speak out of turn, but I can see why they act out in such a way. Sometimes I feel as if the prince is punishing us with Napoleon’s campaigns against Britain.” He snuck a peek at his uncle’s reaction. Henry still watched Gabe through hooded eyes. Quickly, he continued, shaking his head. “I can see now why Lady Sarah’s father sent her here to hide out.”

Henry nodded. “Indeed, however, now that Napoleon has been exiled, I believe the prince will stop these high taxations against us.” His forehead burrowed. “And I pray they keep Napoleon in Elba until he dies.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” So far everything was in Gabe’s favor, yet, what his uncle said really didn’t tell Gabe what he wanted to know. “Uncle, I heard a rumor not too long ago that has me greatly confused.”

“What is it?”

“I heard that you are related to that fearsome pirate, Captain Hawk, who sails on the Avenger, and attacks passenger ships.”

“What is this?” Henry’s eyes widened. “Out of all the rumors circling round about that pirate, I’m surprised my name was mixed up in it.”

“I’m assuming the rumor is false then?”

“Indeed it is! I don’t know who started that rumor, but obviously it is someone who wants to ruin my reputation.”

“The pirate is known for finding Napoleon’s spies and disposing of them.”

“Exactly. It’s the disposing part I don’t agree with.”

“Forgive me for saying this, but at times I would gladly kill one of Napoleon’s spies in order to keep them out of Britain. Over the past few years, I have seen things that have made me harden my heart against those people.”

Uncle Henry pulled his horse to a stop, and Gabe followed his example. Worried eyes stared at Gabe as he held his breath, still praying he hadn’t said the wrong thing.

“My boy, this conversation must be kept between you, me and none other.”

Gabe nodded. “It shall.”

“As I’m certain you are aware, there are still spies amongst us. Anymore, I don’t know who to trust.”

“I feel the same, Uncle. But rest assured, you can trust me, and I hope I can rely on your secrecy as well.” Deep in Gabe’s heart, he knew confessing his secrets to his uncle would be a good thing to do right now. Taking a deep breath, he prepared his next words. “Uncle, I feel I must tell you something.” Henry’s gaze remained on Gabe, the older man’s expression unreadable. Gabe continued, “For several years now, I haven’t been the man my family believes me to be. In fact, before I came to stay with you for a spell, I was on the high seas…trying my best to dispose of Napoleon’s spies.”

“What are you saying, my boy?” Henry arched a thick eyebrow.

“I’m saying that I have been doing things these past few years that has been secret. Only Prince Regent knows about it.”

Henry gasped so loud, it startled the horse. He stroked the animal’s mane as he controlled his horse. “The prince?”

“Yes. I’ve been capturing enemy ships and obtaining secrets that will help Britain fight off Napoleon’s attacks.”

Slowly, Henry’s wide-eyed expression relaxed and a hint of a smile touched his face. “How very interesting.”

“I pray this doesn’t ruin our relationship.”

“On the contrary, my boy.” He chuckled. “I think more highly of you now than I did before. I had imagined you to be a carefree man who skipped on responsibility. Now I can see I was mistaken.”

“Indeed, you were, Uncle.”

“No wonder you argued with me about accepting your position as newly appointed Count and moving to France.”

Gabe groaned. He’d forgotten about that. “That is the very reason I hesitate on the matter.”

“Oh, but you must see the positive side of that. Being in France will give you ample opportunity to gather information that would help Britain if Napoleon were to escape.”

“Yes, but it would also bring me closer to the enemy, and getting caught and hanged for treason is not what I want to happen at this point in my life.”

Henry shook his head. “You are an intelligent man. I highly doubt anyone could catch you.”

Gabe brushed a hand through his hair. “Regardless, I still have much to ponder on that subject, which I would rather not do at this time. However, I think we need to discuss Lady Sarah and why those men came looking for her.”

Nodding, Henry’s forehead creased in puzzlement. “I still cannot fathom why they came. Do you suppose her father sent them?”

“No, Uncle. If her father had sent them, they would have mentioned it first, and they would have waited for Lady Sarah to return.”

“Very true.”

“So here is what I propose we do to keep her safe.” He urged the animal closer to his uncle. Gabe explained how he asked Levi questions about the men who came, and what he realized. “We need to take Lady Sarah—and Miss Emmie this time—to another town, just for a visit. You cannot let the servants know where we are traveling. Lie if you must, but they cannot know. I don’t want Lieutenant Mercer to find us.”

Henry’s head bobbed. “I understand. Where shall we take them?”

“Brighton.”

Henry’s eyes widened. “Why there?”

“It’s just enough out of the way from your home, yet close enough that I can have some of my crew meet us there in case Mercer and his men know where we are.”

“I do believe that is a wise decision.”

“But remember, don’t let any of your servants know of this plan.”

“You can count on me.”

“And Uncle, I shall inform Lady Sarah and Miss Emmie about our journey. I plan on taking them for a picnic this afternoon.”

His uncle studied Gabe closely as he rubbed his chin. “Tell me, Gabriel, why are you so willing to protect the enemy’s niece? If this cause is what you feel strongly about, you probably loathe the governor as well as the emperor.”

“Indeed, I do, Uncle. But as much as I cannot stand—nor trust—these men, I want to protect Emmie—uh, I mean Lady Sarah and her companion. Unfortunately, I have another motive in mind while keeping them protected.”

“Let me guess.” Henry grinned. “You want to woo Lady Sarah?”

Gabe rolled his eyes. “Actually, I want to ask her questions about her uncle. The more I know about that man and what he has planned, the more I can assist my country.”

“Now that sounds more like the nephew I know.”

Chuckling, Gabe turned his horse and continued their ride. He didn’t wish to further the conversation by going into more detail, especially when it came to Lady Sarah and Emiline. For certain, his uncle would be able to see how smitten Gabe had become with Emiline already. And until he could figure out this infatuation himself, he didn’t want to discuss it with anyone.