Читать книгу A Royal Wrong - Fred M. White - Страница 8

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Amsted reeled in the saddle, and for a moment the reins relaxed on the mare's neck. The yelling multitude, all of whom to a man had backed the horse of the popular Tom Middlemass, ceased to clamour. Victory was within sight; already Amsted had been recognised and the excitement was running high. It was only for a moment, however; the rider shook his mount together again and slipped past the post a bare head in front.

A knot of men in the stand exchanged glances. One of them snapped his glasses in the case.

"Done!" he said, between his teeth. "What will Du Cros say when he hears? Fancy the cool audacity of Amsted coming here to ride! No wonder they piled the money on; no wonder they could afford to smile when we got at young Hodgkiss. All right, is it? Goodness knows where we shall get the money to settle on Monday. Du Cros will have to find it."

A little way down the course Amsted was seated in a car. It looked as if the crowd were bent on making a rush in his direction. He was a Stanborough, was popular in that part of the country, and had won money for everybody. But his lips were tightly set and his face was white and wet.

"Hurry back to Stanford," he whispered to Tom Middlemass. "You saw what happened? Lucas bored me; done intentionally. I believe my left knee is smashed. I nearly fainted with the pain. Get me back to Stanford as soon as possible and send for a doctor. Crichton will do—he will keep his mouth shut. My wife is here; I saw her on the stand. Tell her something comforting; only don't let her know that I am much hurt. She must not come to Stanford."

The motor wheeled away and was lost in the distance. Two hours later Amsted was lying in bed, his leg in splints, and he had been ordered by the doctor to keep perfectly still. He might be able to get up in the course of a week, but it was quite uncertain. Late in the same evening Lady Amsted drove over in her father's car.

There were traces of tears in her pretty eyes and her face was anxious. She threw herself on the bed and kissed Amsted fondly.

"Oh, my dear boy!" she murmured. "My dear boy, why did you do it? You are safe for the present, but they are certain to find out before long where you are lodging. They think that the car took you as far as Liverpool. But why did you do it?"

Amsted smiled up at the pretty loving face.

"My darling," he said. "Oh, it is good to see you again. Why do you worry yourself over such a blackguard as myself? I had to come. I saved Middlemass and gave those chaps a jar they will not recover from easily. And I hit Du Cros at the same time. How did you travel here?"

"Took the car. I guessed you would come here. The others are away for a day or so. I can come to-morrow for an hour or two in the evening, but I must be home by ten o'clock. I dare not stay longer. If we could only get Letty she could hide you in one of those secret places——"

"She won't," Amsted said grimly. "Du Cros won't let her. If he knew she was coming he would have her followed instantly."

"But she won't tell him—she would never be so foolish as that. I wish I could help you, dear, but I am powerless, and my father is very bitter against you at present. In fact, they all are. I cannot make them understand that you are not to blame, but it would be madness to make our marriage public at this moment. Letty is different. She will be able to raise money somehow."

"Pawn some of Du Cros's presents," Amsted laughed. "That would be poetical justice. Of course I must leave in a day or two. Crichton says it might be managed if we could charter a proper ambulance. Those fellows will be keener on revenge than ever. They are bound to find out where I am. When they do so they are certain to set the police on me. Oh! what a fool I've been!"

Amsted lapsed into moodiness for a moment. It was hard to look into the tearful face of his wife and feel easy in his mind.

"I dare say Letty might find some way out of the difficulty," he said presently. "I never anticipated this. I knew I should be recognised—I rather wanted those fellows to see that I had got the best of them. But I never expected to be knocked out. When we come to square up matters there will be plenty of money for you, darling. But that will take a day or two. Meanwhile we must hope for the best."

The weary evening passed and a long and anxious day followed. Lady Amsted had come over in the car again; she desired to stay if possible to see Lady Letty. The latter had telegraphed that she had heard everything and was coming, but it would be past one o'clock in the morning before she arrived. Still Lady Amsted lingered.

"I must see Letty," she said. "I must keep the car till she arrives. Simpson will do anything for me; I can trust him implicitly. I had to tell him everything, and he won a lot of money on your race yesterday. It won't be difficult to concoct some story about a breakdown on the way. I must wait for Letty."

Amsted nodded drowsily. He was feeling comparatively free from pain now, and the previous night had been restless. He was sleeping heavily when Beaton crept into the bedroom and whispered in Lady Amsted's ear.

"Lady Letty has come?" she asked. "I will be with her at once."

Lady Letty stood before the fire in the dingy morning-room.

"Oh, I am glad," Lady Amsted cried. "It was good and kind of you to come, dear."

"It has been a difficult matter," Lady Letty said. "If I told you how dangerous, you would refuse to believe me. Stephen Du Cros must know nothing, especially after what I heard about that race. Nobody but Julian would have done such a thing as that. But I have come truly at my peril. Hugh Childers planned it all for me. He managed to deceive Mr. Du Cros. I am supposed to be lying down in the sleeping-car of a train for Liverpool. I must rejoin the train in less than an hour at Stoneleigh Cross, where Lady Ringwood joins it. But how this amazing thing happened I will tell you another time."

"A motor waits for you, then?" Lady Amsted asked.

"Yes, I came in one. It was waiting for me at Cranley by arrangement. I bless the day they were invented. I should never have got here at all had it not been for Hugh. He did everything for me. I have brought you some money. I suppose you need it more than anything else. It will enable you to get Julian away. I shall be able to see him before I go?"

"He was asleep just now. If he wakes, I am sure he will be delighted to see you. You don't know what a relief it is to have you here. But I must go. I only hope our servants have not begun to worry the police about my absence."

Lady Letty was alone in the great rambling house. For twenty minutes or so she was safe. In her mind she could see the express tearing across the country through the heart of the night. If she was late there would be no waiting for her. She would be left behind and the whole adventure would be discovered. The mere thought of it turned her cold. She was still trembling from the stress and danger she had so lately undergone.

She crept up to her brother's room, but he was still fast asleep. She would have to wake him. He must be conveyed to the hiding-place before she left. How strangely quiet the old house was after the roar and rattle of the train! The silence was almost painful. Then a door banged and there was a rush of cold air and the noise of angry voices. Lady Letty thought she heard the sound of blows and the fall of a heavy body. Someone cried out as if in pain, and then there was silence once more.

Vaguely alarmed, Letty crept down into the hall. By the feeble light of a pair of oil lamps, she made out a prostrate figure with a red gash on the side of his head. Fascinated by vague terror, Letty drew near. She feared it might be old Beaton, but it was a younger man. As she bent down somebody emerged from the gloom and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"This is a bad business, young woman," a harsh voice said. "Who may you be?"

"I am—I am," Lady Letty stammered. She stopped. She must not tell the stranger who she was. He would probably refuse to believe her. "But who are you?"

"Well, I'm connected with a search party. A young lady is missing, and I have come out to find her. The man lying there is my mate. I sent him on while I stopped to ask a few questions of a chauffeur down the road."

"I am very sorry," Lady Letty said. "But I can tell you nothing. Please let me pass."

The man barred the way.

"I think not," he said. "Seeing as how foul play is afoot, I take the liberty of detaining you. Until the affair is put right you are my prisoner."

Lady Letty started, her face ashy pale. She must be at Stoneleigh Cross in a few minutes. And if she failed!