Page 58 of Suddenly a Bride
“Edmund, Harold is my cousin, and I might deal with him better than you can,” she replied, holding onto the pommel. “The two of you have an unpleasant history.”
“You do not know what he’s capable of, Gwyneth. I’m not sure I want you exposed to his anger.”
“You think he’ll be angry that I married his sister’s husband?”
He glanced at the jail. “I don’t know.”
“It is sweet of you to want to protect me, but I can handle this.”
“I am not being sweet.” He studied her for a moment, then shrugged. “Very well. But you must promise me that if I tell you to leave, you will do so immediately.”
“I promise.”
They found stables behind the jail, where they left their horses contently munching on hay. Gwyneth moved a little stiffly, but walking loosened her muscles. After they knocked on the front door, it was opened by the constable himself, a burly man wearing the red coat of his office, with a long black truncheon tucked into his belt.
“And who do ye be?” he asked in a growling voice.
“I am Sir Edmund Blackwell, lord of Castle Wintering. You sent me a missive about Harold Langston.”
The man’s grim expression lightened, and he gave a weary shake of his head. “So I did, Lord Blackwell. Do come in.”
“This is my wife, Sir Edmund,” Edmund said.
He put his hand on her lower back to guide her in, in that possessive way she so enjoyed. She looked about her at a bare room, with a scuffed wooden floor, a cupboard, several chests, benches, and a table scattered with paper. There was a faint, unpleasant smell she couldn’t quite define.
The man doffed his cap to show a head of gray curls. “I’m Constable Bayler, milady.”
“A pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Could you tell us what Langston has done?” Edmund asked.
“Causin’ trouble in the local taverns mostly. In the last week, I’ve put him behind bars to sleep off a couple drunken revels, but he’s begun damagin’ property. The tavern owners banded together, and I was forced to bring charges.”
“Has he seen the Justice of the Peace yet?”
The constable nodded. “Sentenced him to a public flogging, which he’s already had, and a few more days in jail, which end tomorrow.”
Gwyneth was suddenly elated; they would have to stay the night in Richmond!
“That cannot be all,” Edmund said, “or you would not have written to me.”
“There’s a fine to be paid for the damages.”
“What happens if I choose not to pay?”
“He stays in jail until someone does. I admit, Sir Edmund, I’m hopin’ ye’ll take him off me hands. His temper is not an easy one.”
Before her husband could say anything, Gwyneth touched his elbow. “We should pay it, Edmund. I would feel very guilty leaving my cousin in this place. It could take weeks for his parents to send money.”
He looked at her with disapproval, but all he said was, “Constable Bayler, can you take me to see him?”
When the man nodded, Edmund looked down at her, but before he could speak, she quickly said, “I should like to come too. He is my cousin, and my presence might…soften things.”
He sighed. “Are there other prisoners, Constable?”
The man shook his head.
“Very well, Gwyneth, but jail is not an easy thing to see.”
