The Spellbinder (Tom & Laura Series), page 22
Trelawney sighed as he now knew exactly where the conversation was going.
“Bertie, they will not let you go into the army, at least not where there is any action. You are the Heir and they couldn’t risk putting you into danger like that. If you didn’t face battle, your fellow officers would despise you and laugh at you behind your back.”
The Prince nodded.
“As well I know. That is why you must persuade Mother to allow me to face action after I receive my commission. God knows, I am not exactly an only child. Mother continues to spawn without let or hindrance. There are spares to replace me should I be killed. I do not intend to die, Sir Ernest. However, I want to be the kind of king my fellow countrymen shall admire.”
“You should not talk of the Queen that way,” Belinda said in a shocked voice.
The Prince smiled, “The Empress of Most of the World will survive any minor insults from me, I suspect. This is important to me. Mama will live for ever and I do not want to spend my life opening hospitals and town halls, or gambling in casinos for that matter, which is my current vice.” He grinned. “Well apart from my usual one.”
Trelawney looked into the Prince’s eyes and saw the frustration in them. The Queen would be angry with him for raising the matter, but he would try.
“I will explain your desires to her, Bertie. But it will do no good; her mind is made up.” Trelawney sighed. He could well understand why this young man with so much energy and intelligence would find it difficult to wait on the sidelines until his mother died.
The Prince sat back in his seat, satisfied with the promise he had obtained. His thoughts turned to other subjects.
“I hear we have a new Class A. And for the first time from the upper-class or the upper-middle anyway. When that becomes public knowledge, there will be celebrations in the streets.” The Prince fiddled with a pipe he had taken from his coat. A new affectation since Trelawney had seen him last.
“Yes, you will meet her at Hobsgate. Her name is Laura Young and she will celebrate her seventeenth birthday on Wednesday, I believe.”
“And is she pretty?” The Prince asked, raising an eyebrow archly.
Belinda answered. “Very, I would say. And wilful with it.”
“Then perhaps I will stay over at Hobsgate until Thursday. A pretty girl should always have a handsome escort on her birthday.” Bertie grinned in a way that suggested that it wasn’t escorting Laura that would be his primary gift to her.
“You are incorrigible, your highness,” Trelawney said wearily, “You and the Prime Minister are both insatiable.”
However Trelawney admitted to himself that the Prince’s presence had cheered him up. He was such a likeable young rogue.
Belinda had to suppress several smiles during the Prince’s exchanges with Trelawney. Laura already had a beau, but who wouldn’t swap him for the Prince of Wales, given the chance? Bertie oozed charm and sexuality. However, it was her duty to warn the Prince that he might be stepping on someone’s toes.
“She is, sadly, already taken. Her young man is Thomas Carter of the Berkshire Carter’s. The family is not wealthy, but they are renowned for their service to both Crown and to their parish.”
The Prince frowned on hearing this news. He surprised Belinda and Trelawney with his reply.
“As it happens, I have heard of him or more accurately I have heard of his father. Alfred Carter bested Lord Humphrey in a local affair last year. Stopped him from turning a village common over to grouse. The upper classes should remember who they owe their wealth to. Look what happened to the French aristocracy when they forgot.” Bertie paused in thought for a few seconds. “Thomas Carter might well find trouble when he joins the army. Lord Humphrey is known to be a man who carries a grudge and he has many connections.”
Trelawney felt as if someone had just put a piece of a puzzle into place.
“Would he pay someone to assassinate the boy, to punish the father for his temerity?”
“I would put nothing past that man, Sir Ernest.”
“I take it you will all be coming with us?” Cam asked. There were cautious nods from the assembled students. Though she had revealed to them what had happened to Virtue before dinner, Cam had held off explaining the escape plan until the last minute. What they didn’t know they couldn’t give away.
“We can’t all go at once,” Daisy pointed out. “There are far too many of us.”
“Daisy is right,” Tompkins said. “Even a dozen sneaking down the corridors would be seen.”
Cam had not given it any thought until the question was raised, but she saw that they were right.
“How many of you know the back ways to the cellar?” Cam asked and only Daisy’s hand went up.
“We will travel six to a group with either Daisy or me leading. Ten minute intervals between each group and then Daisy and I will return for more.”
“That is going to take all night,” Tompkins pointed out.
Cam sighed. “Do you have a better idea?”
Tompkins shook his head.
At the stroke of midnight Cam led the first group of students down to the cellar. They had sorted the students by age order, the youngest going first.
“Shush,” Cam whispered as someone walked the corridor with a distinct series of loud clicks.
“It’s my shoes,” Emma whispered back. The nails are knocking against the wood.”
“Then take them off,” Cam spat back. She struggled to calm herself down when she saw how frightened her charges were. All six were crouched down behind a small table that would have had difficulty hiding a dog. Emma slipped her shoes from her feet and they started moving again.
A few yards further down the corridor an owl hooted and someone gave a stifled yell. Cam had known the night was going to be long, but now she knew it was going to be interminable. Five minutes later they reached the safety of the cellar and Cam felt she had already aged ten years.
“Greetings,” Tom said, standing up from behind a wall of barrels. Cam shrieked as her nerves were fried. Laura appeared alongside him.
“Really, Camilla. What an example to set the others. Fortunately, no one can hear us down here, but really.”
“Can I put my shoes back on?” Emma asked. The cellar floor was cold and she was hoping from one foot to the other.
“Certainly,” Laura told Emma. “This is where you’re going.”
Laura tore the bind and dropped the burning paper to the floor, stamping on the pieces to put them out. There was a low rumble as the stone moved back into place and the tunnel reformed.
“Off you go and don’t touch the black boat down there,” Laura instructed. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to bring the next lot?” She enquired of Camilla.
“I have to wait for Daisy,” Cam explained. “Are you two going to stay down here all night?”
Tom grinned. “Laura only needs to stay so she can remake the bind if the soldiers come down. Nan has brought straw and a blanket and she’ll sleep here while I keep watch. There’s no need for both of us to be exhausted tomorrow.”
“You had better wake me up so I can do my share, Thomas,” Laura said. She waved a scrap of paper at Tom. “Just think what I could do to you if you made me angry.”
Emma walked around the barrels and stared at Laura’s cabin boy clothes in astonishment. “I think you could get arrested for going out like that.” She paused for a moment before adding, “And I want to know exactly where you got those clothes.”
The night was not without incident. Cam nearly walked into a soldier heading towards the lavatory, but he failed to see her though she stood in plain sight. A number of ornaments fell as students strayed too close to the furniture. But finally, all the students were safe in the cove. Cam gave Tom a pat on the shoulder as he slept, and Laura a hug and a kiss before making her way down the tunnel after them.
The servants were next. They arrived loaded down with provisions, as there was nothing to eat down in the cove. Dan, the cook, and his two lads made repeated trips, finally taking wine barrels from the cellar. Nan supervised the operation, encouraging the terrified young women as they went down the tunnel to safety.
Finally, the only servants left in the cellar were Nan and Dan. “Why don’t you go too?” Laura asked as she woke up Tom.
“I am mistress of this house and I will not let a few madmen drive me from my post.” Nan sounded most disapproving of the idea.
“I can’t leave Nan alone up here on her own,” Dan said when Laura looked at him waiting for his excuse.
As there was no way to make them change their minds, Laura remade the bind blocking the tunnel and the four of them made their way up into the house. Nan and Dan went to the kitchen, still guarded by soldiers who believed it full of servants while Laura and Tom made their way up to Mick and the triplets in the secret room.
It was only an hour to go till dawn when they arrived.
Chapter 32 Morning
Laura felt hands shaking her awake. It wasn’t fair. She had only just shut her eyes. Tom’s voice boomed in her ear. He sounded unreasonably cheerful.
“Come on lazy. Time to put your best foot forward. Though I have no idea what that means. I’ve been talking to the girls about that boat of theirs. It’s amazing. We didn’t totally disable it. It can still get away on electric batteries, but it won’t go far because…”
“Shut up.” Laura’s angry words brought Tom up sharp.
Laura dragged her eyes open and pushed Tom’s hand away. When she got to her feet Tom handed her a cup of tea, looking a little offended.
Tom, Mick and the triplets had been eating a breakfast of cold meats and crusty bread. The bread was stale, but not one of them complained about it. Laura joined them on the bed as Mick and Tom talked about taking control of Hobbs Tower.
“Yer dressed as one o’ them and that’ll gi’ us a chance.”
Tom looked down at his uniform in some surprise. He had forgotten he was wearing it.
“We got t’ get t’ ‘em afore they get onto t’ tower,” Mick continued.
“I thought we were going to take them after the shift change?”
Mick shook his head. “Too dangerous.” He hefted the heavy revolver the Tom had taken from the soldier in the dock. “They’ll know summats up if we go knocking on t’ roof door after t’ change. Afore, they’ll be expecting someone t’ knock.”
“What about the men set to replace them?”
“We tie them up and then go up t’ roof. The’ll open t’ door t’ thee lad, wearing those clothes.”
“What do I do then?” Tom asked, dreading the obvious answer.
“Tha’ll ‘ave pistol. Tha’ points it at ‘em until I can tie ‘em up.”
“I see. It will be easy then,” Tom said, feeling a lead weight in the pit of his stomach. It did not sound easy in the slightest to him. “I’m not very good with guns.”
“I’ll show tha’ how right now.” Mick proceeded to give Tom a lesson in the art of holding and firing revolvers. It seemed complicated to Tom as he found he was required to cock the hammer before he could pull the trigger.
“How long have we got,” Laura asked them. Her mouth had gone dry as she listened to Mick. Who did he think Tom was? Tom was a Healer, not a gunslinger.
“About a quarter of an hour. Maybe before they find everyone’s gone. They eat soon and they’re going t’ notice a lack o’ servants and students when they do. Might work t’ our advantage, might not.”
Mick carried on with his instructions to Tom.
Tom held the gun as Mick suggested, using both hands and outstretched arms. The pistol felt heavy and awkward in his hand. He would have been happier using the rifle as he had used shotguns at home. He consoled himself with the thought that the last thing Mick wanted him to do was to shoot anyone. That would alert the enemy to what was going on and that path led to disaster.
“What will I do?” Laura asked. She was very aware of the passing time. They would have to go soon.
“The girls can stay here. It’s the safest place for them,” Tom said. “You come with us and carry the rope, unless you can come up with a bind that might help?”
Laura wished she could, but her mind was a blank. Everything she thought of might get the soldiers killed and she was not willing to do that. The guilt she felt at the boy soldier’s death left her paralyzed. She felt completely useless, but she could not help herself.
There was only one way the soldiers could get up to the tower and there was a perfect ambush point halfway up the spiral stair, a room with a door that opened inwards.
The three made their way to the room without incident and waited for the new watch to come to relieve the men on the roof. The house was ominously quiet. They knew that was unlikely to last much longer. When the servants were discovered to missing there would be shouting at the least.
They heard the voices of the soldiers coming up the stair. Mick hid behind the door, which he held slightly ajar. As they made their way passed he opened the door and hit one of the men on the head with his gun butt. The second man turned around as his comrade fell and found Mick pointing the gun at his head. The soldier raised his hands.
“Hands behind yer back,” Mick snapped. Tom was waiting and pulled an already looped rope tight around the soldier’s wrists. Mick took the man’s revolver out of his holster and gathered up the rifles on the floor. The other soldier was out cold, blood pouring from a head wound. Tom was about to heal him when Mick pulled him away.
“There t’ enemy and we don’t have the time.”
When the men were firmly bound and gagged, Mick strode over to a shaking Tom and gave him a revolver. “It’s all up t’ you now, lad.”
Tom looked at the tied soldiers and then at Laura. She stood as far away as she could get from the soldiers and he saw her face was so pale it looked almost white. Fresh blood was splattered across the floor. Tom found it hard to avoid vomiting.
“Come on, lad. We’ll be right behind yer.”
Tom climbed up the steps reluctantly. The heavy revolver was awkward in his hand and he kept knocking it against the wall. He wished that he’d thought to take a holster, but it was too late for that now.
When he reached the roof he knocked at the locked door.
“About time” said a muffled voice and he heard the key in the lock. That was followed by the door opening. The soldier outside immediately returned to keeping watch, ignoring Tom as soon as a glance assured him that Tom was wearing a uniform.
Tom came through the door, straightened up and looked around. The soldiers were on the other side of the roof, away from the door. Moving around to join them, he raised his gun and cocked it. At that distinctive sound the soldiers turned, reaching for their revolvers.
“Stop,” Tom’s voice raised an octave halfway through the word.
When they saw his gun pointing at them they froze. Tom’s used both hands to hold the gun and even he could see how much the gun was shaking. The soldiers moved their hands away from their holsters and glanced at each other. Tom was sure some message passed between them, but he had no idea what it was.
“Now steady up, son. There’s no need for you to shoot no one,” one of the soldiers said calmly. He raised his hands slowly up in the air as the others soldier’s hand slid down towards his gun.
“Look, we’re no threat,” the first soldier said, waving his hands to keep Tom’s attention. The other soldier pulled his gun and cocked the hammer.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I wer’ you,” Mick said in a soft voice. He had crept onto the roof and had a rifle pointing straight at the soldier holding the gun. The soldier nodded his understanding of the new situation and lowered the hammer slowly before putting the gun on the ground.
Tom realized how close he had come to being shot and shook with reaction.
“You couldn’t take that gun off the kid before one of us gets shot by accident,” the first soldier suggested. Tom knew he had a point and lowered the gun. The two soldiers visibly relaxed.
Laura emerged from the door carrying rope.
Mick made the soldiers take off their gun belts and walk away from them before he had them lay face down to be tied up by Tom. Only when they were bound and gagged did he take his hand from the trigger and put his rifle down.
Laura had been staring out over the battlements that faced the front of the house. There was a large grey tent on the front lawn. She was sure it must hide the strange gun that had killed the Spellbinders. There could be no other reason for putting up a tent except to hide it.
But she couldn’t see the gun from this position. She had never seen it and things she had never seen, she couldn’t bind. It was so frustrating. She was more than willing to turn the infernal device to jelly at the first chance she got.
Mick came to stand by her side and seemed to understand her dilemma.
“Never mind, love. There’s more than one way t’ skin a cat. Can you bind t’ coaches as they come over t’ brow o’ the hill?” He pointed to the windy road that wound its way out of the woodland.
“Yes, once I see them, I can bind them.”
“Could you change wood t’ steel, so t’ enemy bullets would bounce off?
Laura thought about it. She could see no reason why not, but there was one immediate problem with the idea.
“The coaches would become so heavy the horses wouldn’t be able to pull them,”
“Ah, I got an idea about that,” Mick outlined the rest of his plan to Laura as they settled down to wait for the Prime Minister’s party to arrive. Mick locked the door to the tower to make certain nobody was going to be able to get to them.
The Captain and Snood had spent the night in the Headmaster’s office. There was a hesitant knock at the door and the Captain came instantly awake. It took Snood longer and by the time he had worked out where he was the Captain and a soldier had gone off.
Snood decided to make his way to the kitchens. He could do with something to drink. When he got there he found Nan and the Cook on the floor. Blood poured from head wounds and at first, he thought they were dead. A closer inspection showed they were unconscious. He wondered if he should try and revive them.
