‘Madam,’ he said, bowing to her in an exaggerated manner that was almost an insult. ‘Alas, it seems that you are always leaving when I arrive.’
He could not have failed to notice that Arabella avoided his company whenever possible, but she had always preferred to avoid confrontation with him. She was relieved when Tilda spoke to her, unwittingly saving her from having to reply to his false gallantry.
‘They were much quicker mending the wheel than the landlord thought,’ Tilda observed as she touched Arabella’s arm. ‘But we should go, my dear, it will be dark before we reach Richmond.’
‘Yes, I imagine it will,’ Arabella agreed and allowed herself to be directed towards the carriage. She did not look back at the man she disliked. Had she done so, she would have seen that he was staring after her, his face stark with anger. ‘I had hoped to arrive earlier, but it cannot be helped. I am not sure we shall manage to complete our journey tonight.’ Because the day was overcast it was already darker than she had thought possible for the hour.
‘But we are well protected, Tilda. You need not fear highwaymen. My grooms are all armed and we have several of them. I believe those that make their living from waylaying unwary travellers are more likely to attack unaccompanied carriages.’
‘Yes, I am sure you are right,’ Tilda said, but cast an anxious look from the window of their carriage as if she feared that they might be attacked at any moment. ‘But I shall be glad when we reach London and your aunt’s house. Inns are never so comfortable as one’s own bed.’
Arabella smiled, for she knew that Tilda was of a nervous disposition. She believed herself more than a match for any highwayman and carried a small pistol inside her velvet muff. She did not mention this to her companion—it would only distress her more—but she was glad of it as the light began to fade and the sky grew darker.
They had been travelling for more than an hour and a half when she heard a shout from the driving box and the carriage drew to a sudden halt, shuddering as Arabella and Tilda were both thrown forward. Tilda gave a little cry of fright and looked at her in alarm.
‘Oh, what is it? Do you think a highwayman…?’
Arabella shook her head, but her fingers sought and found the pistol. She would use it if need be! She turned her head as one of the grooms came to open the door of the carriage.
‘What is the matter, Williams?’
‘There is a man lying on the ground just ahead of us, my lady,’ the groom said. ‘I think he has had an accident. It looks as if his horse stumbled and he must have fallen. The horse is nearby and seems to be lame.’
‘Is the man badly hurt?’ Arabella asked, preparing to get down from the carriage.
‘Do be careful,’ Tilda warned. ‘It might be a trap…’
‘No, I do not think so.’
Arabella had seen the figure lying on the ground now. He was not moving at all and she thought it must have been a serious accident. The cause was obvious. A rope had been tied to a tree and then pulled tight across the road so that his horse stumbled. In the fading light the rider would not have seen the sinister device until it was too late.
‘What foul deed has taken place here?’ she asked of her coachman. ‘This must have been deliberate.’
‘The intention was to rob him, my lady. We saw a ruffian make off through the woods as we approached. Had we not arrived so opportunely, it might have ended in murder.’
‘How wicked!’ Arabella shivered and looked about her. It was a lonely spot with thick woods on either side of the road. Just the kind of place that a rogue might lie in wait for the opportunity to attack a lone traveller. She moved closer to the man lying on the ground, catching her breath as she saw his face clearly for the first time. It was Charles Hunter! ‘Is he dead?’ she asked the groom, suddenly anxious.
Williams dropped to his knees, making a swift assessment. He looked up at her, shaking his head. ‘He has been knocked senseless, my lady. There is a nasty blow to the side of his head, but he still has a pulse.’
‘We must take him up with us,’ Arabella said, making her decision at once. ‘If we leave him here, he will almost certainly die, of his injury if not further attack. Be very careful as you lift him, Williams. We shall go immediately to the nearest inn and summon a doctor. He must be examined and treated as soon as possible.’
She watched anxiously as three of her servants combined to lift the unconscious man into the carriage. Climbing in herself unaided, she instructed them to lay his head on her lap so that she might support him.
‘Should you be taking up a stranger like this?’ Tilda asked, giving her a doubtful look. ‘You do not know who he may be. He could be anyone—a thief or a murderer.’
Arabella bit back the sharp retort that leapt to mind. For some reason she was reluctant to tell her cousin that she believed she knew the gentleman’s identity.
‘I do not imagine we are in any danger from him at the moment. It is surely our Christian duty to help him, Tilda. If we left him lying there, we should be heartless creatures indeed.’
‘Yes, that is very true,’ Tilda said, looking slightly ashamed. ‘You are always such a charitable person, Arabella. You put me to the blush.’
‘I know you were only thinking of me,’ Arabella replied.
‘But he is obviously a gentleman and we must help him. Instead of trying for Richmond this evening, we shall go to the nearest inn and take rooms there. A doctor must examine this poor man as quickly as possible.’
‘Yes, of course you are right,’ Tilda agreed, but still looked doubtful. She had not yet become reconciled to her cousin’s habit of taking life in her stride. To her way of thinking, Arabella seemed reckless, a very confident young woman who had no one to guide her. She was still young and, being both beautiful and wealthy, might fall prey to fortune hunters, for she had no male relative to guard or protect her—other than her cousin Ralph, whom she disliked.
‘Do not look so anxious,’ Arabella said, guessing at a part of what Tilda was thinking. Her cousin was of a timid, nervous disposition, but she had tried hard to be a comfort to Arabella during her period of mourning, and it would be unkind to find her constant anxiety a little tedious. ‘I assure you there is no need. This poor man cannot harm us. He is far too ill.’
Tilda sighed deeply. However, she knew that she could not turn Arabella once her mind was set. ‘I am perhaps being foolish, as I so often am, my dear. You will do as you think right, Arabella.’
Arabella sensed that her companion was slightly peeved. She normally made a show of listening to Tilda’s advice out of politeness, though she rarely followed it, but in this instance she found it irritating.
‘Ben always told me to throw my heart over the fences,’ she said. ‘He would have done exactly as I have.’
‘Dear Ben, such a gentle, kind man,’ Tilda said and took a kerchief from her reticule. ‘Such a pity…’ She faltered as she saw the look in Arabella’s eyes, knowing that she was treading on thin ice. ‘Forgive me. I did not mean to distress you, my dear.’
‘You have not. Ben was strong and fearless—but, yes, he was also kind and gentle at times.’ Arabella smiled a little sadly. Sometimes now she was able to think of her husband without feeling the terrible sweeping grief that had almost destroyed her immediately after the news of Ben’s death. She had wanted to die then, had stood by the edge of the deep lake on her husband’s estate, contemplating suicide. She did not know to this day what had made her turn away, for she had found no joy in living. ‘If we do not speak of him, he is lost, as if he had never been.’
Arabella felt a sharp pang of regret. How often