troubling you today?”
“Yes, my lady. The cold got to my bones.”
Finlay had an ounce of sympathy. “Because of your late-night visit to Bisley?”
Mrs Friswell eyed Finlay with some suspicion.
“You may speak freely to Mr Cole. He is here to help Jessica, to bring an end to our nightmares.” Sophia cleared her throat. “There shall be no more secrets. Is that understood? Blent explained why you’ve been giving Jessica your tisanes, and I must bear some responsibility for leaving you here unattended for long periods. All that aside, you will answer Mr Cole’s questions if you want to keep your position.”
Mrs Friswell exhaled deeply and nodded.
“Anne said you went to Bisley to fetch supplies,” Finlay began. “Supplies needed for a battle with the devil. Please tell me she spoke metaphorically, and you’re not expecting the master of the underworld to appear.”
The housekeeper hesitated before saying, “A man who makes a lady ill for his own gain is a devil in my book. But I knew when you eventually brought Miss Draper back to the house, the beast would reappear and act quickly.”
“Why did you not come to me with your concerns?” Sophia said, airing her disappointment.
“I’m not an educated woman, my lady. The doctor knows about those new treatments they use abroad to help heal the mind.” Mrs Friswell grimaced as she moved her aching leg. “And up until a couple of months ago, he’d only been giving Miss Draper laudanum.”
Finlay stood and offered the housekeeper his seat.
The woman appeared shocked, equally relieved. She waited for Sophia’s permission before coming to sit on the sofa. Finlay stood near the stone fireplace, his leg throbbing a little, too, in deference to her plight.
“I suffered a broken kneecap whilst in Belgium.” One of Finlay’s captors had stamped on his leg so hard he heard the crack seconds before feeling the excruciating pain. He was lucky to have full use of his limb. “It aches in damp weather or during moments of overexertion.”
Mrs Friswell’s grim mouth softened. “Mine aches when it’s damp, too. And I spent hours in the woods last night.”
Ah, now they would get some semblance of the truth.
“Doing what exactly?”
“Preparing for the devil’s return. My brother-in-law brought me back from Bisley in the cart and helped lay the traps.”
“Traps?” Sophia jerked back in the seat. “Poachers’ traps?”
“Mantraps,” Mrs Friswell replied as if the prospect of injuring a man was inconsequential. “Bernard said you can’t lay a mantrap or spring-gun without giving notice. So he nailed a warning to a stake and hammered it into the ground near the stile, another on the Windlesham path.”
Finlay took a moment to let the information penetrate his brain. He turned to Sophia. “The woods are part of the Blackborne estate, I presume.” One could not set a trap on public land. The law was quite specific about such things.
“Yes, but there is little point hiring a gamekeeper to patrol the area. Though I’m not sure I like the idea of injuring a poacher.”
The traps weren’t for poachers but to catch an unwelcome gentleman snooping about the woods. And while Finlay had reservations, too, Archer deserved a lead ball to the leg.
“The spring-gun, is it loaded with just a powder charge?” The noise would scare a man but not maim him.
“No.” Mrs Friswell’s gaze dropped to her lap. “Powder and a ball, sir.”
Sir?
He had risen a notch in the housekeeper’s esteem. Finlay had a newfound respect for the woman, too. She was willing to go to great lengths to protect Jessica from these lying scoundrels.
“Then you must take me into the woods and show me where you’ve placed the traps. I’m to confront Mr Archer in the deadwood tonight and cannot risk suffering an injury.”
Heaven forbid he should lose a limb.
Worse still, he might get caught in a trap and leave Archer free to enter the house.
“I’m not sure I can walk that far, sir.” Mrs Friswell sucked in a breath as she rubbed her knee. “Mayhap I can draw a map.”
Finlay nodded. “Very well. You can explain it to Blent, and he can accompany me into Blackborne Wood. But it must be before nightfall.” There was much to do before Sloane arrived with Maud and the doctor. And with Blent playing guide, the housekeeper might be more precise with her directions.
A brief conversation ensued. Sophia explained that Goodwin was not a doctor and was being blackmailed by Mr Archer to commit these heinous crimes.
“I knew the man had a wicked streak.” Mrs Friswell’s muttered curses