Page 94 of An Alleged Rogue

A second carriage was parked immediately in front of the first. This must have been the one transporting Toole because the lawman was taking cover behind the open door. Toole’s driver was nowhere to be seen, but when Adam heard a whinny coming from the front lawn, he spotted the outline of a man and a horse standing in the shadows.

Why Payne had abandoned his mount in favor of Mr. Hadford’s carriage was a mystery. How Toole came to be here was similarly baffling. But Adam had no time to ponder such things. He had to act whilst he could yet claim the element of surprise. Ideally, he would like Toole to be in on it. He glanced at the man half hidden behind the carriage door. The runner had yet to respond to Payne, and the prolonged silence was affecting the felon. Gravel shifted beneath Payne’s feet, and he glanced from side to side, the jerky movement conveying his agitation.

“Move.” Payne jabbed the pistol into Mr. Hadford’s temple. The gentleman stumbled two paces closer to his carriage.

“Do not try it, Payne.” Toole’s voice rang with warning. “I would rather take you in without a bullet in your shoulder.”

Avoiding the drive and its loose gravel, Adam moved noiselessly along the flowerbed. Thorns from his mother’s rosebushes snagged his breeches, but he continued moving until he was just outside the circle of light created by the carriage lanterns. Bending down, he scooped up a handful of gravel. Payne and Hadford had their backs to him, but they were now only about ten feet away. The moment he stepped into the light, however, he would be in plain sight of Toole—if the man would only shift his gaze from his target long enough to spot him.

Voices sounded from the stables. The gunshots had attracted others. Payne glanced over his shoulder, his pale eyes glowing wildly. The moment he turned back to face Toole, Adam stepped into the light. He lifted his hand with three fingers raised. Praying that Toole had seen him, he counted to three and tossed the gravel toward the carriage. The small stones hit the door with a clatter. Payne swiveled, and Adam launched himself at Mr. Hadford. The man hit the ground in unison with Toole’s gunshot.

Mr. Hadford’s muffled cry was eclipsed by Payne’s shriek of agony. The blackguard doubled over, dropping the pistol to the ground to clutch his shoulder. Toole was at his side, pocketing the weapon before Payne had taken a step. Adam scrambled to his feet and bent to offer Mr. Hadford his hand.

“I beg your pardon, sir. Toole is a crack shot, but I knew he would not shoot until you were clear.”

Ignoring Adam’s hand, Mr. Hadford picked himself off the ground. His hat was missing, there was a tear in the knee of his breeches, and he looked to have aged ten years, but he was upright and moving—albeit stiffly. He ran a hand across his mouth.

“My teeth and bones appear to be intact, but I would have you know it would have been far more considerate to knock me onto a grass lawn, Dunsbourne.”

“I daresay you are right. You have my apologies.”

Mr. Hadford placed his hand on Adam’s shoulder. “And you have my deepest gratitude, my lord. Until your timely arrival, I did not see this ending well for me.”

“Father!” Phoebe flew across the drive and into Mr. Hadford’s arms.

“My dear girl! Your mother is beside herself with worry. As soon as I learned you were missing, I came to Dunsbourne Manor in search of you.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and stepped back, seeing her state of disarray and injury for the first time. “I must get you home immediately.”

“Adam.” Emily arrived close behind Phoebe and reached for his arm. “What is happening?” Her gown and face were streaked with soot; fear and confusion shone in her eyes.

He moved her away from the Hadfords, away from Toole, who was loading a trussed-up Payne into his carriage, and away from the handful of onlookers who had come from the orchard.

“The man who swindled Father out of almost every penny he owned has finally been captured and is headed to Newgate.”

“And the fire?” Emily asked.

“Payne set the orchard alight because I crossed him. I pray it is the last evil deed the man commits.”

“It will be.” Toole stepped up from behind him. “You have my word on it.” He pointed at the orange glow above the house, his face grim. “Can you recover from this, my lord?”

“Yes.” Adam did not know how. He only knew that he would. “How did you come to be here at just the right time?”

“I tracked down Joe Lambeth soon after he dropped Payne at the Charing Cross Coaching Inn. The innkeeper remembered him because he’d paid handsomely for the fastest horse in the stable, claiming he needed to get to Berkshire by evening. It was not hard to deduce his final destination.” He shrugged. “I paid the innkeeper almost as much for his fastest coach.”

“What became of Payne’s mount? He was riding downhill at a full gallop the last I saw him.”

“I daresay that was his undoing,” Toole said. “According to my driver, the horse overreached his hind hooves. He threw a shoe at the end of your drive. Hadford came upon Payne right afterward, and I assume the scoundrel used his usual trickery to obtain the gentleman’s pistol. He likely would have taken off in Hadford’s carriage had mine not blocked his exit.” The runner glanced back at the stationary vehicles. “Regardless of my timely arrival, however, it was touch-and-go until you showed up. A cornered villain is the worst sort to be holding a gun.”

The thought of how badly the recent skirmish could have gone made Adam feel ill. He wanted Payne gone.

“Remove him from my property, Toole. I have a deadly fire to deal with.”

“Right away, my lord. I’ll have his mount tied to the back of the carriage and will leave it at the first coaching inn we come to.”

A gust of wind sent ash and sparks spiraling over the rooftop. Emily tightened her grip on Adam’s arm. “The wind is picking up and getting colder,” she said.

Toole glanced at the dark sky. “It could be that a storm’s coming in.”

They’d had no rain in over two weeks. The dry conditions had helped immeasurably with the harvest but had created tinderbox conditions in the orchard. Was it too much to hope for rain? They needed it now more than ever before. A roll of thunder rent the air, impelling everyone to action. Those who had come to investigate the shooting started back around the house. Mr. Hadford ushered Phoebe into his carriage, and Toole’s driver climbed up onto his box.