“Why didn’t you do it?” he asked her.
“Because you told me to give them a chance!”
“They have had their chance, and now it is time to be rid of them. This cannot go on.”
“I am surprised you agree with me. I made sure you would recommend I let them stay on, serving us all poisoned drinks.”
“No, I am not so fond of them as that. Give them their leave, by all means,” he answered.
“I shall,” she replied, but hesitantly, with a little questioning look, hoping he would suggest doing it himself. He was always interfering; why did he not do so today, when she wanted it?
“If you’re afraid, I’ll do it for you.” Every atom of her body wished to grab at the offer, but the wording of it made this impossible. “They are my servants; I’ll dismiss them,” she was forced to say. Just as she closed her lips, Bristcombe stepped into the room.
“I have been wanting to speak to you, Bristcombe,” she said, thankful that at least deVigne was to be present at the firing. There would be no impudence from the servants with him present. She was secretly glad too that it was to the husband she was to deliver her message. The wife was more daunting even than her grouchy spouse.
“I just came in to say, ma’am, as how me and the missus will be leaving you for good. We’ve had an urgent call from the wife’s mother over at Merton that we’re needed. They want us right away. Today.”
She looked her amazement, swallowed, and couldn’t think of a word to say. Her relief, she felt, must be evident on her face.
“Excellent!” deVigne said. “We rather thought you might be leaving soon. It was what Mrs. Grayshott wished to speak to you about.”
“We figured Mrs. Grayshott and the little girl could stay with Lady Jane for a couple of days, till she can get someone to replace us,” Bristcombe said, continuing his discussion with deVigne.
“A very good idea,” deVigne agreed calmly.
“That is not necessary,” Mrs. Grayshott objected.
“You will not be comfortable here with no housekeeper and no manservant about the place,” deVigne said, with a meaningful glance, whose meaning evaded her.
The last thing she wanted was to give Bristcombe the idea he was indispensable. “I have your two girls from the Hall,” she pointed out. “We shall stay on here, certainly.”
“We’ll decide that later,” deVigne said, with a look at Bristcombe, who appeared to take a keen interest in the matter. “Thank you, Bristcombe. That will be all.” The man executed a clumsy bow and left.
“As though I’ll miss them in the least,” Delsie scoffed.
Her visitor walked forward and closed the door, shaking his head at her in a negative way. She continued. “I’m happy to be rid of them so easily, and only regret I hadn’t the pleasure of firing them. And for them to leave so abruptly too-no consideration, walking out without a moment’s notice. Not that I want them to stay!”
“You mismanaged that very badly,” deVigne said curtly when she had finished.
“The mismanagement was in letting them stay so long, and that was your fault.”
“It is clear they want you out of here for a night to allow them to get the goods smuggled in last night. Best to go to Jane for a day or two till the business is finished. They may have intended carrying on with Andrew’s operation, but now that you have tumbled to them, they are eager to leave. They want only to get that load of brandy out of here, and you must go to Jane to permit them to do so.”
“I will do no such thing!” she replied promptly, rising to anger at his imperious manner.
“Use your head. You don’t want to become entangled with a conscienceless band of smugglers. Let them get their stuff off your property, and that will be an end to it. Get your things together. I’ll take you to Jane at once.”
“I am not budging an inch. I mean to stay here and discover where they have been hiding it.”
“That is nothing to us. So long as they get out and don’t come back, you may count yourself fortunate.”
“I never heard of such paltry cowardice in my life!”
“It would be foolhardy to do anything else. We have no quarrel with the smugglers. Half the villagers are in on it, and if you run afoul of them, you may imagine what unpleasant treatment you will get there.”
“I am not the one who has been breaking the law. It is not for me to turn tail and run. I am in charge of this house, and I don’t mean to be put out by the Bristcombes.”
“You can well afford to be put out for two days. What do you think to accomplish by remaining? You can’t arrest them by yourself, and to call in the revenue men, you know, is tantamount to declaring war on the whole smuggling community. Your life will be a hell. If you care nothing for that, you might at least give a thought to Roberta.”
“I am thinking of her. They have some excellent hiding place here. Who is to say they won’t revert to it later on, if we don’t discover it and get rid of it? I must know where they have been putting it. I should think you would offer to help me, instead of siding with a band of smugglers.”
“I will keep a careful watch and see where they have hidden the stuff, but let them get it off your property. That is all they want to do. Let them go their way. They do no real harm to anyone-it is not as though they were murderers. They molest no one so long as they are not interfered with. They are not considered criminals in the ordinary way. I personally have no grudge against them. Andrew was working with them-they have got caught unprepared, with no place to take the cargo but here. Best to let them go on with it. Get your things together now, and let the Bristcombes see you are leaving. They’ll spread the word, and by tomorrow or the next day the thing will be over for good.”
“That’s what you said several days ago, that it was over for good. Since that time we have all been poisoned, however! They have the gall for anything. I won’t try to stop them, but I won’t run away either. I’ll just spy and see where they have been hiding the barrels. It is nothing short of magic, deVigne, that they took a whole caravan of mules, each carrying two barrels, into the orchard, and it vanished.”
“They won’t come for it with you here.”
“If they don’t come for it, there is nothing to worry about,” she replied reasonably.
“They’ll find some way of being rid of you, and it won’t be pleasant.”
It had become a contest of wills. In her mind, she decided he was trying to bend her to do his bidding, and she was bound to stay if it killed her. “I am not leaving this house,” she told him.
“You mean to expose my niece to this unnecessary danger, do you?” he asked sharply.
“Certainly not. You may take Roberta to Lady Jane, or take her yourself.”
“I will take you both. Pack you bag. We’re leaving,” he commanded.
She inhaled a deep breath and threw back her shoulders for the challenge. “I have come to realize you are very much accustomed to having your own way. I have seen the villagers tugging their forelocks when you strut past. My own former docility in marrying your drunken, criminal brother-in-law against my will may have misled you into thinking I am equally biddable. It is not the case. I am in charge of this house. You are in no position of authority over me. Nor of my stepdaughter either, for that matter. I could keep her here if I wished, but I do not wish it. You may take Roberta. I remain.”
“I take leave to tell you, Mrs. Grayshott, you are a stubborn fool. Will you be so kind as to tell Miss Milne to prepare Roberta for a few days’ visit at the Hall? I shall require Miss Milne’s presence as well, of course, to look after the child. You shan’t have her this time if you run into a gentleman in the garden. The treatment of yourself will be different as well.”