Free Devil May Care (A Jonathan Harker Mystery) by Tony Evans Page A

and then to eavesdrop. It was not perhaps a very gentlemanly course of action, but I had a duty to Mr and Mrs Haywood and I had as yet gained little from my visit to Carrick Manor. Fortunately the conversation continued without pause, until I was able to locate the door of the room from whence it came and station myself outside, my ear pressed to the panelled wood. The dialogue which I heard was barely audible. It was hard to identify the speakers, but the first seemed to be Sir Owen and the other Arnold Paxton.
    ‘For G—s sake lower your voice. Why could you not wait until morning?’
    ‘This matter is hardly one which could be discussed over breakfast. Any delay might be fatal. Everything must be done just as we have arranged.’
    ‘And what about the suspicion that it will cause?’
    ‘There is already suspicion enough, so we can hardly make matters worse. The transference must proceed as planned. Trust me, and make sure that all is ready in good time.’
    ‘Very well. Now return to your room, I implore you.’
    At those words I rapidly retraced my steps to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. For a moment I considered opening it a fraction to see who was about to emerge – then I realised that without my candle I could see nothing and with my candle I would inevitably be discovered. A moment later the door in the corridor opened and shut and there was the sound of faint footsteps. I then realised I had made a foolish error. I should have ascertained the location of the specific door at which I had been listening. Had I done so it would have been possible subsequently to have identified one of the speakers. However, if nothing else I now knew that a conspiracy was being planned at Carrick Manor, which in itself was a step forward. I resolved to leave Sir Owen’s house first thing the next morning, even if I had to walk back to Hayle in a downpour.
    *
    As it transpired the morning was bright and clear and the storm completely abated. The Reverend Trewellard drove me home in his carriage, his coachman and horses having been accommodated in Sir Owen’s stables overnight. For a moment I considered telling the vicar about the conversation overheard between Sir Owen and his cousin, but I soon decided against it, reasoning that Trewellard’s close friendship with the baronet could not guarantee his respecting my confidence.
    It was almost nine o’clock when I reached Rosehill and I found that Mina, Charles and Edith were anxiously awaiting my arrival.
    My wife flung her arms around me. ‘If I had known that you were to spend the night at Carrick Manor in such a vile storm...’
    ‘You would have insisted on coming with me!’ I said with a smile. ‘But here I am, safe and sound. My dear Edith and Charles – I am very pleased that you are both here this morning. I wish to tell all three of you what has happened. I have a plan of action in mind and would greatly value your opinion. Before I begin, could we ask Lucy to abandon the children to the care of cook and make us some tea? I did not take breakfast at the Manor.’
    *
    It was not long before I had recounted all that had taken place. I was pleased when my wife and our friends expressed their approval of my plan. My proposal was as follows: on Monday morning, after I had collected the final draft of the marriage settlement from the St Ives office of Penning and Makepiece, I would visit the Haywoods and suggest that they ask for an urgent meeting with Sir Owen to discuss one or two minor details. I would also attend and at that meeting I would confront Sir Owen with all that I had managed to discover, including the details of the suspicious conversation overheard last night in his house. I would put it to the baronet that if he insisted on his marriage to Flora the Haywoods would bring a civil action against him for conspiracy to entice and abduct their daughter: a charge which might well be hard to prove in a court of law, but which would involve questions