She gave up any thought of sleep, and was just about to light a candle and attempt to read instead, when she heard a noise. Already out of bed, she hurried to the door and opened it a crack. She was not completely surprised to see Alexander shutting Lord Wesleigh’s door, before the two crept through the hall and down the stairs.
As quickly as she could, she changed into an old gown and pelisse and quietly followed. She was sure they had exited by the kitchen door, at the back of the house, and she headed in that direction. Once outside the house, she heard them harnessing their horses, and waited until she saw them begin riding away, before she harnessed her own horse.
She took careful note of which direction they took, and was not surprised to see them take the Rye Road. That would be the obvious destination for a highwayman. But she had been extremely surprised to see Lord Wesleigh riding with Alexander. What was he doing assisting a highwayman in his criminal activity? Surely the heir to a dukedom would have no need to steal, and she thought Lord Wesleigh too scrupulous to do such a thing for a lark. Then again, young, idle gentlemen were known to engage in many unscrupulous activities purely to pass the time.
After waiting a few minutes to allow for some distance between them, Emily started out after the men. She was thankful that the moon was almost full that night, so she could clearly see the road. For some time she saw nothing but the road curving ahead of her and the trees crouching over her on each side. Finally, when she was starting to wonder had she lost Alexander and Marcus completely, she came to a straight stretch of road and saw them plainly ahead of her. They had slowed down, so she slowed down as well, careful to keep a bit of distance between them and her. If Alexander or Marcus saw her, she would miss out on her chance to observe them unnoticed. Her plan, hastily conceived, was to follow them at a safe distance, and, when they reached the Rye Road, wait unnoticed in the trees until something occurred.
There was also the possibility that she was mistaken, and they were on their way to a tavern. However, they were headed in the wrong direction if that was their plan. They could not mean to ride all the way to Rye, at such a late hour, when the tavern at Hawkhurst was so much closer. No, she could only think of one reason they had followed this route. Perhaps, when Alexander discovered she knew what he was doing, she could persuade him to give up such a life before anyone else caught him.
Her cogitation had kept her from dwelling on the fact that she was riding alone, past midnight, in an area frequented by highwaymen. Now, with her plan fixed firmly in mind and nothing more to do than follow the road, she began to think that perhaps she had not acted very wisely.
She began to see things in the shadows and hear noises in the wood, and had to exercise the greatest self-control so as not to urge her horse on to greater speed and catch up with the gentlemen ahead of her, or, alternatively, to turn her horse around and head back home. Somehow, while in the midst of assuring herself she had gone too far to turn back, she stumbled on to the Rye Road before she expected to, with Alexander and Wesleigh nowhere in sight. She reined in, jumped down off her horse, and led her off into the woods by the road. She tried to proceed quietly, but a horse tromping through underbrush is bound to make noise, and she winced each time the mare took a step. She hoped against hope that Alexander and Wesleigh had not seen or heard her, and cursed her stupidity in not paying closer attention to her surroundings.
She had been waiting for a few minutes in the darkness, and had just convinced herself that no one had noticed her after all, when a man grabbed her around the chest and put his hand to her mouth.
Never in her life had Emily felt such fear. She had not heard or seen anyone coming, and in the shock of finding herself clasped against a man’s chest, she instinctively yelled out, although with her mouth covered, it came out as no more than a whimper.
“Hush,” said a harsh voice at her ear. She barely heard him, as by this time she began to fear she would suffocate, and had begun thrashing around, attempting to break his grip. “If I let you go, will you promise not to scream?” These words Emily did hear, and she nodded. The man released her mouth, but, with his hand now free, tied something about her wrists.
“What are you doing?” she asked him.
“I cannot risk you flying away on me, can I, my pretty ladybird?” he said, his breath hot on her neck.
Once she was capable of thinking, her first thought was that perhaps Alexander had crept up on her, and it was he who had her in his grip. However, that hope was now dispelled. Even though she could not see the man, she knew this was not Alexander or Marcus. However, they were in the woods somewhere nearby, and if she screamed loudly enough, perhaps they would come to her rescue. So, contrary to her promise, she opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could.
“Why you little—” she heard her assailant say, before everything went black.
Chapter Eleven
Alexander and Marcus heard Emily scream, but Marcus restrained Alexander from going to her rescue.
“Wait,” Marcus said, grabbing Alexander by the arm as he pushed past him. “If we go thrashing through the woods, he’ll be sure to hear us. If he does not know we are here, he will come out onto the road, and we can follow him.”
“But that sounded like Emily.”
“Perhaps it is Emily. She may have followed us from Smithfield House. However, we are liable to do more harm than good if we go off half-cocked.”
Alexander, although he saw the wisdom of this, found it very frustrating to sit and do nothing while Emily was in the hands of some brute. Although it seemed a lifetime to Alexander, it was only a few moments later when a figure appeared on the road, leading a horse with a bulky object thrown over the saddle. As the highwayman could only proceed at a walk, Alexander and Marcus left their horses tethered to a tree and followed on foot.
The man led them on back roads to an abandoned building, which had been used at one time for textile manufacturing. He tied his horse in the back and, hefting Emily over his shoulder, entered the building.
Alexander and Marcus followed the highwayman through the door and into the building. The interior was in darkness, and they stopped just inside the door, listening for sounds of movement. After a few moments, they heard some slight sounds, followed by the highwayman asking was his little ladybird finally awake, before lighting a rushlight.
Alexander and Marcus walked stealthily toward the light, but, not as familiar with the place as the highwayman, Alexander bumped into an old loom, which fell over with a clatter and alerted the highwayman to their approach.
The highwayman quickly extinguished the light, but Alexander and Marcus rushed in that direction, oblivious to any bumps and bruises they sustained in the process. They felt around in the darkness, finally finding the flint and tinder, but, after striking it, they were amazed to find the highwayman and Emily were nowhere to be found.
“What happened to them?” Alexander asked in bewilderment.
Marcus said nothing, looking around them. “It looks like he’s been sleeping here,” he told Alexander, pointing to a makeshift cot. “However, it looks like nothing more than a pied-à-terre. He’s definitely hiding the booty somewhere else.” He raised the rushlight, but they saw nothing more than a pile of blankets and some empty bottles.
Alexander, who could not understand how a man and woman could so completely disappear, ran back outside the building to verify that the highwayman’s horse was still tied. Finding the horse docilely eating some grass, he went back inside just in time to see Marcus lifting something off the floor. As Alexander got closer, he realized it was a door. When he finally joined Marcus, he saw he had uncovered some kind of underground tunnel.