Page 71 of A Scandalous Proposition
The rest of Lord Madison’s men had caught them up and the party now numbered six, excluding Florentina. Adam was pleased to find that they all knew how to move with stealth. He was grateful now for the lack of moonlight. For the noise of the rain, the rumbling thunder and the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks. They were able to gain a position just behind Reynolds and the three men he had with him. They could see their outline clearly as they lit a beacon to guide the wherry in fromThe Albatross.
Their attention was focused on the approaching boat. A man was visible in the bows, shining a light directly in front of the tiny vessel as it bobbed and rocked on the rolling sea. He called directions to the men on the oars, his voice growing more distinct as the boat got closer to the shore. One moment the craft was plainly visible as it crested the waves, the next it shot forward and completely disappeared from view. Adam was astonished that the bowman managed to keep his lantern burning and felt a reluctant stab of admiration for his skill.
‘Get ready,’ he said when the wherry reached shallow water and Reynolds’s men scrambled knee-deep into the mud to pull it ashore. ‘Wait for my command.’
Adam counted five people wrapped in thick cloaks being lifted from the wherry and carried to dry land. They stood huddled together, watching as bundles of merchandise followed and then some casks, presumably French brandy. Adam, icily calm now the time for action had finally arrived, waited for the last of the contraband to be unloaded, lulling Reynolds and Dawson into a false sense of security by not showing his hand too early.
Reynolds was on edge. He kept glancing over his shoulder, right at the position where Adam and his men were concealed. After a time, when no one attempted to intercept them, he appeared to relax, his booming voice boasting to Dawson that they had outwitted their pursuers. ‘But if that traitorous Spanish whore does bring Fitzroy here,’ he said, ‘I’ll be glad to kill ’em both.’
‘Now!’
Adam had dispatched two men to disable those left in charge of Reynolds’s carriage back on the main road. He led the remainder of them into the fray. Madison was confident that they all knew exactly what to do, which was why Adam couldn’t understand why someone fired a shot into the air before they were in a position to secure the refugees and cut off Dawson’s means of escape by disabling the wherry.
Dawson reacted with lightning speed, turning to the refugees and speaking to them in urgent Spanish. But Adam was just as fast. He lunged forward and literally grabbed as many of the bewildered girls as he could. Florentina was at his heels, calling to them in their own language, entreating them to follow her away from danger. They were bewildered and didn’t seem to know quite whom to listen to.
Adam heard an urgent shout behind him, even above the chaotic noise. He instinctively turned—and thought his eyes were deceiving him. A woman?Philippa’s double?charged towards him, frantically waving her arms.
‘Adam, it’s a trap! Leave here now.’
‘What the?’
She grasped his arms. ‘Go, go, leave while you still can.’
‘What on earth?’
‘Mrs Grantley has lured you into a trap. She’s a traitor. I heard them say so. You must go now or you will be killed.’
Adam barely heard her. His attention was focused squarely on the fight that would soon ensue. He knew better than to allow himself to be distracted in such situations but wasn’t altogether surprised when Dawson’s men, outnumbered by a better armed and disciplined force, made a mad dash for the wherry.
He started to pursue them, calling to his men to follow him, when Philippa grabbed his arm, seemingly desperate to stop him. He diverted his attention from activities for a moment in order to shake her off. Without warning, someone lunged at him from behind. Adam threw Philippa out of harm’s way and tackled the man, both of them grappling for supremacy in wet sand that made it difficult for either of them to gain proper purchase.
Adam had almost bested his foe when a knife flashed in the hand of his adversary, missing Adam’s face by a whisker. He twisted the man’s wrist without mercy until he heard a sharp snap. The man cried out and dropped the knife into the water seeping up the sand.
Adam staggered to his feet in time to see Philippa being pushed toward the wherry by one of Dawson’s men. He didn’t hesitate to go after her. Whatever she’d done, however she’d tricked her way into his family, she was still his brother’s wife.
The man with the broken wrist, now whimpering at his feet, delivered a vicious kick to Adam’s shin, sending him reeling. He cursed his stupidity. The scar on his chest throbbed a timely reminder that wounded opponents are often the most dangerous. He wasted precious seconds righting himself and rendered the man unconscious with one massive punch. He then hastened toward the wherry, devastated to observe that he was too late. Dawson had already bundled Philippa aboard, along with one of the other girls, and ordered his men to push off.
Wondering if he was hallucinating, Adam turned back to the action in time to see Reynolds and one of his men being subdued by Madison’s men. The other two ran off, presumably hoping to reach their horses. But Adam had anticipated that possibility and had men lying in wait for them.
In spite of this minor victory, the whole episode had been a complete farce. Adam couldn’t risk firing at the wherry since the fate of the females on board was his primary concern. Even if the girls could swim?and he knew Philippa couldn’t?in this rough sea they’d never survive. The current had already put a considerable distance between the shore and the wherry.
How the hell was he going to rescue Philippa? He could contact the Admiralty and ask them to interceptThe Albatross,but Dawson’s ship was fast. He knew he’d been rumbled and wouldn’t wait around for capture. It was hopeless!
‘Where is she? What have you done with her?’
A man whose voice sounded familiar came hurtling out of the trees, madly waving his arms about. One of Madison’s men fired at him, presumably thinking he was one of the smugglers. The occupants of the wherry returned fire toward the party on shore. Two of Madison’s men instinctively responded, in spite of Adam’s clipped command not to. They hit the small boat and those on board cried out desperately as their craft began to sink almost immediately.
Adam cursed and searched the shoreline in the vain hope of finding a rowing boat?anything that would propel him towards Philippa?even though he knew the chances of reaching her were slim. The frantic cries of distress from the wherry were terrible and could still be heard even above the crashing noise of the storm.
The man who’d emerged from the trees clutched his arm where the bullet had winged him and staggered to the water’s edge.
‘Philippa!’ he cried desperately. ‘Philippa, where are you?’ His voice was carried away on the wind.
The man turned towards Adam. ‘Where is she?’ he said again. ‘Where’s Philippa?’
‘Dennett? What the devil?’
They watched impotently as the boat slowly sank beneath the raging sea. A deathly hush fell across the beach. Even the torrential rain had eased and the sound of the waves breaking against the shore seemed suddenly subdued.
