Page 40 of Romancing A Wallflower
They found Barney unconscious, and his body pulled behind a blanket chest in the harness room. The large lantern was still hanging in the entrance, but he had already suspected the cause was one of the ones along the passage fronting the stalls. As if of one mind, both men took off their shirts, soaked them in a nearby trough and held them over their heads. Lord Avalon and Yarstone arrived as they began to fight their way through the acrid smoke and at once did the same.
Harlow recalled that Danby’s stall was closer to the feed room and away from the fire. As he and the other men ventured into the burning structure, they met a groom shooing his and Max’s horses from the back of the stable and breathed a sigh of relief. Several male servants from the house had also run in to help with the horses, and Max called a servant to run for the veterinarian.
“Have you seen Lady Lilian?” Harlow asked loudly. The groom shook his head.
“I ’asn’t seen Barney, neither. Had to get these ’orses out afore I looked, sir. There are still two more horses in ’ere. I started at the far end, see, nearest the fire.” The man pointed toward the stalls at the other end of the row, where Danby was housed.
A ginger-coloured mare ran past them, followed by sounds of a horse still in distress. The men ran towards the sound of stamping. Then they heard a woman scream. The piercing sound came from the direction of Danby’s stall. Harlow chased along the passage as though he had wings. He found Lilian on the ground, her horse alternately nudging her and tugging at her skirts, clearly trying to drag her towards the door. In her right hand she clutched a wooden cane.
Thinking her dead, Harlow picked her up and pulled her close to his heart, begging her not to leave him. The sight of her hair hanging dirty and limp around her shoulders caused his heart to sink. He ripped off the wet rag covering her nose and mouth and willed her to breathe. He could see the rise and fall of her chest, albeit slightly; it gave him hope. She tried to open her eyes but could only mouth his name. Rogue tears escaped unchecked down his face.
“Is my daughter still breathing?” her father cried out, grasping her face and begging her to open her eyes.
“My dog, my horse?” she muttered.
Harlow wanted to get down on his knees and give thanks. If he had not been holding her, he would have done so. Slowly, he turned and carried her out into the fresh air. Only then did he realize his state of undress. Feeling a surge of embarrassment, he looked away over the paddock fences, where the horses were grazing, rolling and kicking up their heels in happy freedom. Miraculously, all the animals had survived the blaze, because of the quick thinking of the groom and the strength and will of this beautiful woman in his arms.
Max brought up Lilian’s chair, also largely unscathed, and with great reluctance, Harlow lowered her into it. A few moments later, a large crash sounded as part of the roof towards the back of the stable fell. He shielded her body as sparks leaped into the air.
Viscount Yarstone had organized two bucket brigades to douse the flames from two directions and wetting the ground surrounding the stable. A fire engine finally arrived from the village and directed its efforts on the centre of the blaze, fuelled by unspent ceiling timbers. It took several more hours before the estate workers could get the blaze under control, to a point where they finally felt it could burn itself out.
The doctor, who had arrived earlier, said, “Keep her propped up with pillows to enable her lungs to function more easily. I have told her maid. The posture will assist in forcing out the poisons inhaled from the smoke. I will return in a day or two to see how she goes on.” Lifting his hat to the assembled servants, family and well-wishers, he had departed.
She could have died. A shudder of fear shook Harlow as he realized how close she had come to death, and how close he had come to losing the person he needed to share his life. A groom had reported seeing a lantern thrown into one of the back stalls, confirming their suspicions that the fire had been no accident.
Harlow hated to leave Lilian, but duty demanded it. The ride to the cave was quiet for much of the way. By the time Harlow and Max arrived, the Dragoon Captain Newman had already had him take up a position out of the sight of any townsfolk or passers-by.
“It is good to see you, m’lord. Thank you for your notice. I have my men in place,” Captain Newman stated. “They have their sights on the opening where we expect the skirmish and are ready to arrest the conspirators.”
“Be alert for two people,” Max cut in. “A man with a dark moustache who will, most likely, be garbed in black. The other one is Lady Catherine Poinz. We believe them to be the accomplice and the ringleader—or else closely in league with them.”
“The widow Poinz?” Newman paled.
“Yes. Is there something we should know, Captain?” Harlow asked in a menacing tone. DeLacey heard the exchange and moved closer. “If you have something to say, say it. Lives are at stake, not just a boat and its booty.”
“I may have seen her early this morning, riding a horse. We had hidden, so she did not see us, but had we known she was a focal point of this operation, we would have held her for questioning.”
Harlow breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid Newman would say he had spoken to her or that she had seen him. If she knew they were watching, she would cancel everything. Relief was clear on Max’s and DeLacey’s faces, too.
“Where did you say you saw her?” he persisted.
“She was riding like the wind towards the coast. I cannot be sure where she had been, but it was clear she was determined to get somewhere fast.”
Not sure what to make of that, Harlow and Max looked at each other.
“What was she wearing?” Max asked.
“A yellow gown and a black hat with a feather, although the hat was barely hanging on her head. She appeared to have it secured with a ribbon about her neck.
“Send word to your men, if you will. Tell them we need the pair for questioning, nothing more. Thank you for your information,” Max finished, dismissing the Captain.
“Cressey, we need to talk to you,” Harlow said, his face set, “in private.”
DeLacey’s cave was most elaborate. Small holes, covered loosely by brushwood, allowed light to filter from the top, although he was not sure those were not the result of the weather and the sea unleashing its vengeance on the cliff’s sides. If a person stepped on a hole from above, they could wedge their foot and break an ankle. However, the chances of that happening seemed remote. He was correct in his assertion that no one had used the cave in years. A colony of bats flew past them as they walked deeper, looking for a place of privacy. Sparse light, offered by the small holes in the top, allowed them to adjust their vision more readily.
“This looks like a good spot,” Max remarked.
“What is it you have to say? Does it have anything to do with the two of you being late?” DeLacey snapped, his tone critical. “This should all start to unfold in a few hours,”
