The Last Days of Newgate - Andrew Pepper [126]
But Pyke’s attention was distracted by one of the raiding party who had kept himself back from the fray and was watching the unfolding mayhem from a safe distance. Without pausing to determine whether this was Swift or not, he scurried across the track that led to the farm, concealing himself in the shadows of the grassy verge. Ten yards away, he paused to take aim with the pistol; his plan was to shoot the horse and take Swift alive.
He steadied himself and cocked the pistol.
But in the instant before Pyke fired, something alerted the horse to his presence and the animal reared upwards; the shot whistled harmlessly past its head.
In these circumstances, most riders would have fallen off. But Swift - if indeed that was who it was - was a skilled horseman and remained upright, even as the horse reared up. Before Pyke could further unsettle the animal, or reload the pistol, the rider had managed to calm the horse down and goad it into action. With the man clinging to its back, the animal bolted off along the track, leaving Pyke on the ground staring upwards into a cloud of dust. But just before the galloping horse turned the corner at the end of the hedge-lined track, the rider pulled up and, turning around to face him, waited for a few moments and waved.
*
‘I have come with a message from my mistress.’ Jo’s timid voice echoed around the draughty church. She removed her bonnet and approached the pew where Pyke was sitting, with obvious caution.
Sensing her unease, Pyke invited her to take a seat, but she ignored his offer and opted to remain where she was. ‘I was under the impression that Emily planned to visit herself.’ He watched as she brushed the rain from her short red hair.
Jo looked down at her feet. ‘She instructed me to tell you that Edmonton will not permit her to leave Hambledon.’
‘I see.’
For a while, neither of them seemed to know what to say.
‘Mr Pyke . . .’
‘Please,’ he said, gently, ‘Pyke will do.’ He tried to smile. ‘I’m not used to being addressed in such a formal manner.’
This drew a pained expression. ‘Miss Blackwood has been so good to me, and I don’t want to lose my job . . .’
‘Please don’t blame yourself,’ Pyke said, raising his hand. ‘It was not your fault. I shouldn’t have . . .’ He hesitated, not sure what else to say.
But this seemed enough to put her at ease. ‘She’s so unhappy. She didn’t tell me to say that to you, but I thought I should say something anyway.’
Pyke stood up and rubbed his hands together to keep them warm. ‘Is it your impression she intends to go ahead with this marriage?’
‘I know such a thought appals her.’
‘But she’s at least willing to contemplate it as a possibility?’
‘It is not a question of being willing, I think.’ This time Jo raised her eyes to meet his stare.
‘But she is on the verge of succumbing to her father’s bullying?’
‘I wouldn’t know about that, but . . .’ Jo hesitated, as though unsure about whether she should continue. She pulled her woollen shawl tighter around her shoulders.
‘Go on.’
‘I know she’s to meet this man the day after tomorrow. He’s sending a carriage for her.’
Pyke studied her expression. ‘Did Emily instruct you to inform me of this meeting?’
‘Not in so many words.’ Jo stared up at the ceiling of the church. ‘But I know how unhappy she is at the prospect of it.’
Pyke assessed her seemingly well-intentioned concern. ‘Perhaps I may ask another question?’
Jo gave him an unsettled look.
‘Have you heard of Edmonton’s threats to disinherit her? Or, indeed, to quadruple her allowance, should she agree to marry this man?’
‘I have not heard such a conversation for myself but my mistress has informed me of certain matters.’
‘And you think this is why Emily is considering the claims of this suitor?’
‘In part.’
‘Only in part?’
‘Mr . . .’ Jo hesitated. ‘Sorry . . . Pyke.’ She looked at him and smiled. ‘I overheard a conversation at Hambledon between Lord Edmonton and his lawyer. I haven’t yet told my mistress what I learned but I presume that she is aware of what they talked about.’
Pyke nodded at her to continue.