Page 56 of The Count’s Charade

Appalled, Grace could only gaze at him. “You mean Loriot and his men?”

“Aye,” confirmed Wooferton. “Which one of ’em saw him, I don’t know, but that feller as speaks English told it to Sir James when he comes to find ’em last night.”

She recalled Sir James saying he had the intention to return to the Black Horse to await the return of the Frenchmen, in case Henri should have fallen foul of them. Thrown out of her stride, she uttered her first thought aloud.

“Why did they not come barging in here last night, then?”

“Ah, now, they wouldn’t dare try that again,” said Mayberry in a satisfied tone.

“What makes you say so? They thought nothing of threatening to shoot the lock the last time.”

“Truth to tell,” put in Wooferton, “they might have, if they’d been all together. Only they’d split, see, for to cover more ground. Seems as they’d agreed to meet back at the Black Horse if they got too far separate. I’d guess the one who saw the feller come in meant to get his colleagues and fetch ’em back here.”

“Aye,” agreed Mayberry. “Only Sir James were there waiting for ’em, and he forbade ’em, on pain of imprisonment, to go forcing their way into your house. Only he couldn’t stop ’em waiting outside, so he fixes to get our men here immediate, so’s they Frenchies don’t get no chance to get their man.”

A violence of feeling surged through Grace, gratitude to Sir James uppermost. Had his hand then been forced? If Henri had not been seen, would he have let the matter drop? Indecision traced a stabbing line of apprehension from her breast to her stomach. If she tried to bluff it through, and won, what price Henri’s chances with those murdering Frenchmen on his heels? But to betray him, after what had transpired between them, was too painful to be contemplated.

“Will you fetch him, Miss Grace?”

Grace made up her mind. “I cannot, Mr Wooferton.”

The excise officer sighed. “You mean you won’t.”

“I mean what I say,” uttered Grace tartly. “Yes, it is true that Mr Rousselle came back last night, unbeknownst to me. He slipped in before Jemima locked up.”

“Well, if he slipped in, he must be here, then,” uttered Mayberry, in exasperated tones.

“No, because he slipped out again almost immediately.” Both men regarded her with patent disbelief. Grace put on her best authoritarian manner. “I don’t know why you should look at me in that fashion. It happens that Mr Rousselle and I quarrelled —”

“You’re making that up,” stated Wooferton bluntly.

“Can’t expect us to swallow that one, Miss Grace,” said Mayberry apologetically, “after the way you been carrying on all through, refusing to let us take the feller away.”

Grace ploughed on, determined to put them off if she could. “It is true I supported Mr Rousselle. Only Sir James told me something about him yesterday that upset me very much. When I taxed Mr Rousselle with it, we quarrelled.” That at least was true. “He then left, declaring his intention to make his way out of the area.”

Wooferton shook his head. “And how did he get past my men?”

She was ready for that one. “I told you, he was here a short time only. He must have slipped away before your men arrived.”

“What about them Frenchies?” demanded Mayberry.

“Didn’t you suppose the one who saw him had returned to the Black Horse to fetch his colleagues?”

“Aye, that’s true enough.”

“Well, then. Clearly both parties missed him.”

For the first time, she saw doubt in each face. It was plain they were reluctant to believe her, but her story had clearly shaken them. She waited, glancing briefly to where she had last seen Jemima waiting tensely in the hall, but the maid was no longer visible.

“I dunno,” said Mayberry at last.

“Well, I do!” Wooferton drew himself up. “Lookee here, Miss Grace, if you’re telling the truth, you won’t object to showing us his chamber, will you?”

She had been afraid of that. To hesitate was fatal, and already the excise officer was beginning to look a trifle grim. Unable to think or decide, Grace played for time, moving towards the parlour door as if she would indeed take them upstairs. “Very well, if you insist,” she said in a tone of feigned resignation.

To her horror, before she could reach it, Henri appeared in the aperture.

Grace stopped short, staring at him, blank with shock and confusion. Wooferton and Mayberry, taking the direction of her glance, turned, astonishment registering in both faces.