Page 8 of Rogue of the Greenwood
“I don’t believe so, sir. He’s been rather inclined to allow things to fall into disrepair. He claims there is no money and has given many of us the sack. I would highly doubt he’s paid any attention to that hunting box.”
“Then we will go there,” Robert decided. “Thank you for your honesty, Balford. I’m sorry for your troubles, truly I am. I will see what I uncover about my steward’s dealings and I will keep you informed. Thank you for not revealing my presence in the meantime.”
“It won’t be easy, sir. Mrs. Coe is going to have my hide once she finds out I knew you were back and didn’t tell her.”
Robert chuckled. Yes indeed, the old housekeeper could be quite a formidable force. She’d been on staff here since even before Robert was born—she probably felt his supposed loss very deeply. It was a shame to prolong her grief, but for now Robert believed it was the best. The fewer people who knew he was alive, the better chance he’d have of uncovering just what Gisborn was up to.
“I will look forward to having my ears boxed,” Robert said. “For the meanwhile, do nothing until you hear from me. If you do need to send me a message, be sure to send someone can be trusted. Do you havesuch a person?”
“I believe so, sir. I’ve got a nephew who’s come to work in the stables. His name is Bert; he’s a good lad, you can trust him. There’s a boy in the kitchens now, too. No one will miss him if I send him off with a message.”
“Perfect. Send one of them to me tomorrow and I’ll send him back with further instructions, once we are settled in with a plan.”
Balford agreed and Robert knew beyond doubt this man was his ally. Whatever scheme Gisborne might have, Balford was not a part of it. It was a shame the old man had to be placed in such a position, but Robert would make it up to him later. He would learn what claim Gisborn thought he had on the estate and then roust him. Things at Greenwood Manor would be made right again in no time.
The only real difficulty now would be breaking the news to his friends. He’d promised them a comfortable home with plenty of food on the table. Unfortunately, that would not be the case. Not right away.
Giving a fond farewell to Balford, he turned back to his companions. They waited at the carriage, puzzled looks on their faces. How much had they overheard? Enough to know not to unload their meager belongings, at least.
Robert drew a deep breath and informed them of the situation.
“An old, abandoned hunting box?” John asked once Robert explained where they would go.
“I’m sorry, my friend. It’s the best I can offer you now—at least until I learn what my treacherous steward has been playing at.”
“The butler says he holds a mortgage on your estate,” Will stated. “Not a wise move on your part, old man.”
“I never took a mortgage on my estate,” Robert snapped. “If there is such a thing, it’s obviously fraudulent.”
“Sounds like you ought to go straight to the magistrate,” Alan suggested.
Robert grumbled in frustration. “There’s a new magistrate and I wouldn’t trust him to sort out a child’s quarrel. He’s the son of the very man who nearly ruined my family when I was a lad. No, Prinley St. John is the last person a Locksley would want to oversee legal matters.”
John shook his head and gave a low whistle. “Sounds like you’re in quite a tangle, my friend.”
“Indeed, and I’m sorry for bringing you lot into it with me,” Robert said. “Once we get back onto the road, you three can decide if you want to go on to the box with me, or if you want to continue with the coachman back to where we started.”
He expected some hesitation, or at least for his friends to consider their predicament, but they gave quick glances at each other and all nodded in agreement. John spoke for them all and no one interrupted.
“We’re not leaving you, Rob. If you’re in this, then we’re in it with you.”
“That’s right,” Will declared. “Besides, if we go back where we started, who says we won’t encounter more cutthroats set on murdering us?”
His companions laughed as they clambered back into their seats, but Robert was struck by Will’s words. He’d meant them in jest, of course, but suddenlyRobert wondered. Was it merely coincidence that those ruffians at the wharf ambushed their group? It had seemed just a random act, but now Robert wasn’t so certain.
They had been particularly violent—armed with pistols and knives. They didn’t even attempt to steal from them. No, the murderous villains simply leapt out and started their attack, almost as if they’d been lying in wait as John had suggested.
Robert ignored his suspicions, but perhaps John had been right all along. A chill ran through Robert’s blood as he thought about it. Gisborn had been notified of the date to expect Robert’s arrival, yet he clearly had not shared that information with the staff here at Greenwood Manor. Had he informed those cutthroats at the wharf, perhaps? If Gisborn wanted to make the false reports of Robert’s death into reality, hiring nameless assassins to do the job would be a fairly good idea. No one would ever search for Robert as he was already thought dead.
Well, if that had been the scheme it hadn’t worked. Robert and his friends had bested the scoundrels. Their swift—and permanent—defense assured that none of those criminals would be able to report their failure to Gisborn. For now, Robert had the upper hand.
“Come then, lads,” he said, swinging up into the carriage with his friends. “Let us go play dead.”
Chapter 3
Drat it all!
Marianne wished very much that she possessed a vocabulary with harsher language. How handy it would be just now! Sadly, her upbringing had instilled in her nothing more diabolical than a fewdratsand the occasionalgood heavens. Even the stray thought of a coarse or vulgar word could not come to her, despite her current measure of frustration. Honestly though, if she had a working fluency in less proper speech, she would have been silently raving in that language.
