Page 97 of The Moonstone Pirate
He walked across the high street to look in on Mrs. Halsey.
Was it possible the incident had nothing to do with Driscoll’s death, gunrunners, or a Crown investigation? Could he and Imogen have merely been in the way as Mrs. Halsey’s wayward brother attempted to cause mischief because he was peeved?
“Lord Woodley,” Mrs. Halsey said with obvious relief as he strode into the tea shop. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” he assured her. “It was only a grazing wound, and Dr. Hewitt treated it promptly.”
“And the young ladies?”
He nodded. “They are fine. But I came in here to see how you are doing.”
She appeared tense, but managed a smile. “We shall recover from this mess. The glass is all swept up, most of the blood has been scrubbed away, and now my beautiful window is all boarded up. Wait till I get my hands on the knave who did this. I’ll put his miserable head right through those thick boards.”
“Are you speaking of your brother?” he asked gently, knowing the truth had to be painful for her.
“My brother?” She sighed, cast him a wounded look, and then shook her head. “So you’ve heard about him, then, m’lord.”
“There are no secrets in this village, are there? Yes, I’ve heard. Mrs. Halsey, do you think it was Walter?” He kept his tone gentle, for the woman was already overset, and his tossing accusations at her would not go down very well.
She clutched the back of a chair for support and burst into tears. “He’s a horrible fellow. I wish they would hang him already. He’s never done an honest day’s work in his life. Must have stolen that horse he were riding on.”
Yes, that would get him hanged if he were caught. Not to mention the certain hanging for shooting Draco because he was an earl. He muttered some soothing words, for it could not have been easy for this respectable woman who worked hard and took pride in all she did to have such a wastrel for a brother. “Do you think he is our culprit?”
She nodded. “But he never meant to shoot anyone, my lord. It is so typical of him, though. He’s thoughtless and reckless, botches everything he touches. He hasn’t worked a day in his life. He isn’t even a very good thief. He’s been caught so often, and yet he always manages to get off easy.”
She wiped her tears away with her sleeve as she continued. “He came by last week to ask me for money. I refused him. He can’t even threaten me without making a mess of it. Replacing that window will cost me dearly, but I’ll manage. What breaks my heart is that he hurt you, and might have hurt Lady Imogen if you hadn’t protected her. What if he had shot her in the back and killed her?”
“Well, she is fine, and this is all that matters,” he said as she burst into tears again. “Have the glazier send all charges to me. I must insist on taking responsibility for payment.”
“You, my lord?” She looked up at him, startled. “But you were the one injured. How could I ever take payment from you? No. It is impossible. I could never take such advantage of you.”
“It is all right, Mrs. Halsey. Are you not as much a victim?”
She was still staring at him with her mouth agape. “But you weren’t the one responsible for doing me any harm. And you were the one he hit. I just have a shattered window.”
“Where do you think he got that horse?”
“Well, last time he came around he was talking about Lord Eldridge and the fancy stud farm he owns near Thurlestone. That’s just outside of Plymouth, where my brother was last in gaol. He was picking pockets at one of Lord Eldridge’s horseauctions a few months ago and boasting about it. Theeedjit. He mentioned seeing a fine horse and described him. Said he might take him for a ride someday. I never thought he meant it.”
Draco imagined the wastrel Walter must have knocked out a few grooms and eluded a guard or two to get his hands on that fine steed. Eldridge would have every constable in Devon and Cornwall looking for him by now. “Do you think your brother will try to sell the horse?”
She shook her head. “Him? He’d never get away with it. He could never sell a horse like that around these parts. Everyone would know he had stolen it from Lord Eldridge and turn him in for the reward money. No, Walter’s a thoughtless arse. He will abandon the beautiful beast without a care. That’s my brother for you.”
“Where do you think he might leave the horse?” Even if his Crown mission failed, at least he could assist in returning Eldridge’s prize stud to him.
She gave a mirthless laugh. “Since he has a habit of dumping his problems on me, he’s probably left it in my barn. Of course, he would never consider what the authorities might do to me when they found him there. Miserable man.”
“All right. Let’s go have a look at your barn. Can your husband and daughter mind your shop for a while?”
She nodded. “Oh, yes. They’ll do fine. My daughter’s gone across to the Kestrel Inn to make arrangements to set up shop there for the next few days. Thaddius Angel kindly offered.”
“Seems this is what you do in Moonstone Landing, help each other out whenever the need arises.”
She nodded. “You won’t find kinder people, my lord.”
He and Mrs. Halsey hopped in the old tea shop wagon that Mr. Halsey used to make his deliveries. It wasn’t long before they found the beautiful chestnut Friesian wandering about theHalsey property, munching on sweet gorse by a rivulet that flowed along their boundary.
There was no saddle on the horse, so either the contemptible Walter took it off in order to sell it, or he had never saddled him and simply rode the beast bareback.
