Captain Jones's Temptation - Audrey Harrison Page 0,33

the seat in the farthest corner whilst they attempted to lift Matthew onto the bench opposite. Once he was settled, Lydia seated herself on the edge of the seat next to him, holding the material in place to stem the bleed.

Bell had lit the lanterns at the front of the carriage and attached Matthew’s horse to the rear. Now there did not appear to be an immediate threat, he could light the four oil lamps on the outside and hope that they would travel safely through the dead of the night. He had one gun tucked into his waistband. It was the only weapon he had to protect the four inhabitants of the carriage. It was going to be a long journey for the loyal coachman.

Once seated, Esther held out her arms, and Isabella crawled into them. She was too big to sit on Esther’s knee but snuggled up as close to Esther as she could. “We are certainly having adventures tonight, aren’t we?” she asked the young girl.

“Is Captain Dunn ill?” Isabella whispered.

“I am afraid so, but we are going somewhere to seek a doctor and a comfortable bed.” She exchanged a glance with Lydia before turning and looking blindly at the curtain covering the carriage window.

*

Arriving in Exeter over four long hours later, they were all exhausted. They had had to change horses once, which had not been appreciated by the ostlers whom Bell had woken roughly at the inn. He had left a hefty tip and sworn the young men to secrecy about seeing a carriage in the dead of the night. The occupants of the carriage had remained still and quiet while new, fresh horses were attached. Thankfully, Isabella had fallen asleep, so there was no chance she would utter a sound and betray who was in the body of the vehicle.

They came to a stop at the address Esther had given Bell. As soon as the coachman opened the carriage door, she set her shoulders and stepped out. Esther had made her decision by the roadside, but even though it had been made in the heat of the moment, there was no turning back. Not if Matthew were to have a chance of recovery.

She knocked loudly on the door, then stood waiting. She shivered, and it was nothing to do with the cold of the night. Cursing herself, she tried to pull herself together. She had never lived in this house. There were no bad memories within these walls. It was the town and the person she was turning to that were the link to a past she had tried so hard to put behind her.

Eventually, the bolt on the door shot back and a sleepy servant opened the door.

“I need to see your mistress. Please tell her Esther Hardy is here,” Esther said.

There was a silence as the maid turned around and looked up the stairs. She seemed to be waiting for instruction. That none came was beginning to make Esther worry, but then a figure moved into her line of sight. “Esther? Is it really you?” came a voice from halfway up the stairs. “What on earth are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

“Hello, Sophie. I am in a spot of bother.”

Esther’s words were enough for the woman hesitating on the stairs to spring into action. “Come in! Come in! What on earth has happened? Move aside, Mary, we are going to need a room setting up.”

“I am afraid we need more than one room. There are four of us, and one is badly injured.”

“Four! Right-ho. Mary, wake John and send him for Doctor Lucas. Tell him it is urgent. I shall ready the blue room as the sick room. We can take care of everyone else later. Come on, don’t just stand there, Esther!”

Esther smiled despite her inner turmoil. Sophie was always the same, quick to grasp a situation and practical. She was probably over sixty years of age but moved and acted like a far younger woman. She had been the only person Esther could turn to when her mother had died, but Esther had had to walk away and leave her behind. Esther had often wondered why Sophie had arranged Esther’s move so soon after her mother died, but a lot about that time was a blur. When the shock of everything had started to ease with time, Esther had tried to pay the woman back for her care in the only way she could, which was