Page 29 of Snowbound with the Scoundrel
He responded with a snore.
He must’ve done a convincing job of it because Godfrey spoke to the man who’d been sitting diagonally across from Rupert for most of the night.“I have information for you.”
He said it in a low voice, but as Rupert was sitting right next to him, he heard it all easily enough.
The man across the table responded in a working man’s accent.“Is it worth my time?”
Godfrey chuckled.“It certainly is.But before we proceed, I want a fifty percent cut.”
“Fifty?”The man sounded outraged.“I ain’t paying more than five.”
A round of haggling ensued, at the conclusion of which the two men agreed to a twenty percent cut to Godfrey of… whatever it was they were discussing.
“Go on then,” Godfrey’s companion said once negotiations had concluded.“What’ve ye got?”
“Lord Olney’s house party concludes tomorrow,” Godfrey said.“These are the carriages that will be of the most interest to you.Lady Hastings brought the Hastings emeralds with her.She and her husband will be traveling in a burgundy carriage picked out in gold.Their crest has a pair of bulls, and their servants will be dressed in dark blue livery.They’ll be on the road south toward London.They’re both late risers, so don’t expect to see them before noon…”
Godfrey proceeded to detail every guest attending Lord and Lady Olney’s house party, whether they were worth robbing or not, how to identify them, and which direction they would be headed.
Rupert knew he wasn’t what you would call a clever fellow.But unless he was very much mistaken, the man who’d been sitting across from him for the better part of the night was a highwayman, and Godfrey was conspiring to help him rob a large number of people.
The prospect made him feel far queasier than the eleven pints of ale he’d consumed.Bad enough that this fellow was looking to part innocent people from their possessions.But things had a way of going wrong during a robbery.What if someone got hurt, or even killed?
Rupert could never live with himself if he just let it happen.
After they’d discussed seventeen different guests, Rupert heard the scrape of Godfrey’s chair beside him.“Twenty percent.I expect it in cash.”
“Yes, well, let’s see if your information is any good,” the highwayman countered.“Then you’ll get your cash.”
There was no more conversation after that.Rupert’s heart was thundering like a stampede of young bucks charging toward the dance card of an heiress.Crikey!He knew he had to do something.He couldn’t just stand around and let all those people get robbed!The trick was figuring out what, exactly, he should do.
He started by pretending to sleep for another hour or so.Only when he heard the scrape of the highwayman’s chair, followed by a long stretch of silence, did he dare to yawn and pretend to awaken.
Rupert did the only thing he could think of.He sidled up to the bar and asked the barmaid for the name and direction of the local magistrate.She gave him a strange look but told him where to go.
That was how Rupert found himself banging on the door of Mr.Cyrus Johnson at three in the morning.Mr.Johnson was about as pleased to see him as you’d expect, but when Rupert explained the urgency of the situation, he ushered him into a parlor.
Rupert proceeded to list out the seventeen carriages that would be departing Lord and Lady Olney’s residence tomorrow, which ones were going to be robbed, where, and at what time.Mr.Johnson looked baldly skeptical.“You really expect me to believe that you remembered all that?With all due respect, Mr.Dupree, you smell like you’ve had quite a few pints.Are you certain this conversation you overheard wasn’t a dream?”
“Sorry,” Rupert said, because he probably did smell like a brewery.“But yes, I’m sure.Absolutely sure.”Because that was the way Rupert’s brain worked.He couldn’t read or write worth a darn.
But if you told him something, it stuck.
“Oh, please, Mr.Johnson,” Rupert continued, “I couldn’t bear it if anyone was to get hurt.The first target will be on the road north bright and early.Send a party of men out to intercept these highwaymen, and you’ll see I’m telling the truth.”
Mr.Johnson sighed, looking exceptionally put out.
But he sent word to the Olney estate about the possible danger.The next morning, the departing carriages were full not of rich jewels but the magistrate’s hand-picked men.And more men were stationed in position to surround the highwaymen.
In the end, it happened just as Rupert had said it was going to happen.Three bands of highwaymen were arrested, as was Godfrey Marsden.
And when Rupert returned to speak with Mr.Johnson the following day, the magistrate regarded him with something resembling respect.“I would like to apologize, Mr.Dupree, for my earlier insinuation that you were making this whole thing up.Your information turned out to be accurate.Remarkably accurate.”He peered at Rupert.“May I ask how you remembered all of those details?”
“I can’t explain it.”Rupert gave a self-deprecating smile as he tapped his temple.“The old noggin’s always been this way.I guess it came in handy today.”
Mr.Johnson studied Rupert for a beat.“It certainly did.”He pulled out a piece of paper and began writing something down.“When you get to London, I would like for you to speak with a colleague of mine.If you are interested, I believe he may have use for your unusual talents.”
Mr.Johnson slid the sheet across the desk.It looked about the right length for an address, although deuced if Rupert could read it.He’d been wound up in knots ever since he overheard Godfrey Marsden plotting highway robbery.
