Mistress Agnes Ch. 21

When Agnes and Dennis were enjoying their daily ride somewhere that same week, Agnes couldn't help noticing the change in him showing up. He was fearless, taking obstacles, encouraging his filly to go faster than he had ever dared to go. Agnes had always held back for him, she had bought a gentle horse for him, because she knew he could be fearful but didn't like to be confronted with his limits.

Now, he had as few of them as she had herself, and that gave her an idea.

'Do you want to ride my horse a little more often, Dennis? There will come a time when it will be more sensible for me to ride your filly, she's so much more tranquil, it will be much safer.'

And indeed he tried the next two days and loved riding Frederick's large, spirited hunter. He had done so before they bought the filly, but always within certain boundaries of speed and terrain. Now, Dennis regularly led their expeditions, trying new trails, enjoying the rush of going full speed wherever the moors were dry and flat enough to do so. Frederick's horse was not showing any sign of ageing as yet, though Agnes guessed he had to be nearing twenty. She had no idea how old a horse could get, she should ask John. The hounds were showing their age, when John had told her they should think of replacing them before they forgot their training, Agnes realized he meant buying several young dogs, let the current pack train them, then shoot the old dogs.

Agnes had no qualms killing game, but doing away with Frederick's hounds was a different matter. They loved her, they had protected her on her solitary rides before Dennis came, they had found Dennis for her.

She would not get rid of them.

'A penny for your thoughts, Agnes,' Dennis said, riding over to touch her hand and kiss her cheek, as they were walking the horses after a fast gallop.

'John said the hounds were getting too old. He wants me to get new ones and shoot these. Though I suppose he'll do it for me if I cannot. But I don't want to lose them, they were Frederick's, and they have been very good friends to me. Besides, they still do their work really well, though they cannot keep up with your breakneck speed anymore.'

'Can't you replace them when they die naturally?'

'We can, but a young dog learns best from an older dog. If we buy three puppies once these have died, it'll be a year before they are any good hunting.'

'Why not have two young ones now, not puppies but half a year old, or maybe a year, and keep all of them? We can let the old ones retire to the house once the young ones have learned all they can. I agree with you, they have been good friends to you, and they're good guards as well, better if they're in the house. Maria told me about several burglaries in the neighbourhood, that she in turn heard of from her mother, apparently several farms have been robbed.'

That was a shock!

'My tenants, robbed? Why didn't I hear of that?'

'No, they weren't yours. These were remote places, in private ownership. But the robbers were brutes, and I have been thinking, are burglars here very different from those in town? I used to be one, I can think like a burglar, maybe I can help find them. One of your tenants may be next, and I guess it's our responsibility to protect them?'

That would be very dangerous, but indeed Agnes would be expected to hire a constable to find the perpetrators, and frankly, she didn't have much faith in the current batch's competence. Dennis would do a much better job, especially if Guy helped him. But the danger...

'You wouldn't go after them, just find out who they were and find their hideout? I cannot bear the thought of seeing you injured again, Dennis.'

'I promise you, I will be perfectly safe. I thought I'd visit those farms and ask some questions. Do you suppose it would be safe for me, you know, with the desertion and all?'

'Let's ask the boys, I don't trust myself to answer that.'

She couldn't help changing the subject, the memory of Dennis dropping to the cobbles after being hit with a club upset her, she didn't want him to seek out danger.

'So do you like riding Frederick's horse?'

Dennis seemed to understand, though he would not forget, they'd talk about this again tonight.

'Very much so, and I think it's wise of you to use the filly as long as you're vulnerable.'

'Maybe we should sell her once I get too large to ride. I suppose I won't be riding for some time, and John will be busy with two extra hounds.'

'But of what use are hounds when you have no horse, Agnes? You cannot hunt without one or the other, can you?'

Too true. Except...

'Do you think it would be right to keep hunting once I'm married? Can I risk my life with a child depending on me?'

Dennis sat up so straight that the big hunter almost stopped in his tracks.

'Whatever would you say something like that for, Agnes? You like hunting, don't you? Let me rephrase that: you like eating game, don't you?'

She nodded.

'Then you'll have to hunt. The game does not hunt itself.'

'But I thought since you had changed so much, you might like to do that yourself. I thought you might want to, soon.'

But now, Dennis shook his head resolutely.

'I have changed a lot, Agnes, and I may change even more. But one thing will stay the same: I will not voluntarily take a life ever again. If you want fresh meat, you'll have to kill it, I can't.'

Somehow, that was a great relief to Agnes. Whatever was happening to Dennis, he was not turning into Frederick, he was not going to expect his wife to behave like any other lady.

They did not talk of burglars and going after them again during that ride, but after dinner, talk led to the incidents quite naturally.

'Have you heard about those brigands, mistress?' Patrick said, 'you know Thompson, who delivers the carrots and potatoes, he said they were targeting small-holders specifically, because they have little means to defend themselves. But he expects them to start on the wealthier farms soon, or even turn to highway robbery, said they would gain confidence having such easy pickings. The constables don't do anything for those humble folks, at least that's what Thompson said. That doesn't seem fair, somehow.'

'Will you summon the constables here, Mrs Beauchamp? I suppose they'll talk to you, but they'd expect compensation.' Guy obviously had as much faith in them as Agnes had.

Before Agnes could reply, Dennis said, 'We're thinking of doing a little investigating ourselves, Guy. You know I was one of the breed, once, I may be able to find their hideout. I was planning to start at the farms that were hit, would you care to come with me, Guy? Your brains and my brawn, I suppose they'd be hard put to fool us.'

Agnes managed to look at Patrick before she felt the shock of Dennis taking over again without even noticing. Much to her surprise he did not show any worry for his partner, or jealousy at not being asked himself. He seemed to just contemplate the plan rationally, as if his master had proposed it. And to Patrick, Dennis was his master, he just refrained from calling him that because Dennis objected to it.

But Guy had more trouble finding the right attitude. He looked straight at Agnes to see her reaction and observed, 'You're just talking about investigating, right? Not going after them ourselves? What do you think, Mrs Beauchamp?'

She managed to keep her voice dry as she replied, 'I agree with the sense of such a plan, I've not the slightest faith in our constables. But I'm so terribly afraid Dennis will get hurt again.'

Dennis' reply just melted her heart.

'I won't do it if you think it's too dangerous, my love. But I was planning to take you as well, you write books, you see scenes happen before your mind's eye, I think that's an incredible asset while trying to solve a crime. And of course you can guard our backs with a concealed weapon.

I'm not planning to go after anyone, I want to avoid any fighting. I'm not sure I should even show myself too publicly, they may have printed a description of me in the papers when I ran away from the camp. Someone may remember. I merely thought we'd accompany Mrs Beauchamp visiting some stricken neighbours, show compassion, ask what happened and what we might do to protect our tenants, then try to form an idea of how they operate, what they go after, what area they target. My gang switched neigbourhoods every few days, and we'd go for middle-class areas, waiting for a house to be left empty for half an hour then striking the bedroom for jewellery and the living area for other valuables. In and out without conflict. These robbers seem to relish violence.'

'I'd say you need a lot fewer men and a lot less force to cow a family living on a remote farm than all of you seem to think. There may be as few as two or three men in this band of robbers.'

What Patrick said made sense, which would make going after them much less dangerous. Somehow it sounded right, it totally explained why the robbers went for those poor farmsteads when there were richer farms nearby, and wreaked such havoc: they were inexperienced at burglary and they were fearful.

'I guess you are right, Patrick. Count me in,' Agnes said.

Both Guy and Dennis looked at her in astonishment. They had not expected her to agree at all, but she had to protect her tenants, for no-one else would.

'You make a plan, Dennis, and we can start visiting as quickly as possible, before more people get hurt.'

And they were able to make a start while doing something that needed to be done anyway: John got hold of an address where two promising young hounds for the pack might be found, and it was pretty close to the farms that had been hit. Dennis, Guy and Agnes would accompany him on a two-hour ride by carriage to check out the youngsters and hopefully bring them back. Agnes planned to bring a sizeable amount of cash with her, hounds that age would be partially trained already and did not come cheaply.

There was one other person who should come with them, since he had shown a remarkable knack for handling dogs, and Dennis had no trouble convincing Agnes to take him along.

'I can't believe I didn't think of Dick myself, I've observed him training that little pup of his time and time again, amazed at his endless patience with her. I suppose it's because hounds are so much bigger and have such a different training. But I really want him to come, I'm convinced he has some sixth sense for dogs, I'm sure he'll notice straight away if something is wrong with one of those youngsters we're hoping to buy.'

Since they would be driving through an area where burglars were at large, they took two rifles as well as Agnes' pistol, though all weapons were hidden not to make the wrong impression.

'Do you mind if I sit on the box with John?' Dennis asked Agnes, 'I'd like to keep an eye on the surroundings, John has to watch the road and the horses, he can't be expected to watch out for robbers as well.'

'You really think they'll go for a carriage?'

'Frankly, no, but I'm a bit like a horse, I feel safer when I can see all about me. Do you mind sharing the carriage with Dick?'

'Since John is driving I am planning to let Dick handle one of the young dogs, which means he has to be inside on the return journey. I'm not so snobbish as to force him to sit on the box on the way out and inside on the way back. I'd rather have you with me, but I suppose I do feel safer with you on the lookout. Does John know which farms were hit?'

'He does, he's taking us to several. I asked him to make a map of all the places that were hit so far, there are five, and they are pretty close to one another. Those robbers cannot be very smart, Agnes, I operated in a much more populated area and still we never hit the same neighbourhood twice. It was a certain way to get caught, or to have to fight for the wares. We had no doctor, we couldn't afford getting wounded, I guess the same goes for these robbers. Suppose Patrick is right and there are only three of them? I could deal with those all by myself.'

She looked at him and he said quickly, 'Which I won't, I will not risk life and limb, my love, don't worry.'

So they set out together, John and Dennis on the box with a loaded rifle hidden under the seat, and Guy, Agnes and Dick inside the carriage, another rifle under one of the seats and Agnes carrying her handgun, hidden in a pocket of her dress. Dennis expected to enjoy riding on the box with John, though John never talked much, and when he had something to say he generally just blurted it out without a hint of subtlety, like when he told Agnes she should pay Dick wages.

But Dennis knew John had a good heart and he did not gossip. He was pretty sure John knew he was a deserter, he had seen Dennis in his tattered uniform before Agnes had caused the stranger to disappear from John's view, but somehow he trusted John not to tell anyone. Not even for a reward. Dennis had a feeling John approved of him, the reticent stable boy had never actually told him he did, it was all a matter of instinct.

No, their conversation would not be worth mentioning, John would not be entertaining, but since they were going the way Dennis had come after his escape from the army camp, he hoped to see some places he remembered. His fear of being found out had faded until he could hardly imagine someone recognizing the worn-out, rail-thin young soldier in the self-assured, perfectly groomed gentleman he was now.

A certain calm had come over him, no longer did he feel haunted by his past, he was still quite alert to his surroundings but that instinct had saved them before, he didn't mind so much. He was planning to use it now, to find clues where the robbers might be hiding.

The view was great from the box, and Dennis could imagine it wasn't such a bad place to be when the weather was fine like today. In winter it would be pretty exposed, not an enviable spot in freezing cold or driving rain.

'I'm actually very happy to have you up here, Dennis,' John said, 'with all this talk of robbers I feel much safer with a competent fighter guarding my back. Though you don't look like one, which is even better.'

Dennis couldn't remember John ever talking to him, and he felt rather pleased to be welcomed aboard.

'It is rather exposed up here, I can imagine you prefer to have an extra pair of eyes.'

'The driver is always the first to die in a robbery. I like my job, but on trips like these I do feel vulnerable.'

'But robberies are very rare, aren't they?'

'I suppose they are, but contrary to what you might think I have a very lively imagination, and I have never been in a life-threatening situation. I suppose you have, so you'll know what to do, and you can handle that rifle. That makes me feel safe.'

'You don't know what I can do?'

'No, no-one ever told me. I remember you were in a uniform when the mistress saved you from the moors. So I guess you know how to fight and use a rifle. And you are always aware of what is happening around you. But I don't actually know.'

'Dick never told you about me?'

'He didn't. Said it was not his business, nor mine. I still have no clue why you disappeared for months, and how you got lost on the moors in the first place. It still is none of my business, except I'd like to know whether you are any good with that rifle. In case something does happen.'

Dennis couldn't believe Dick had never told John about him, after what John had done for Dick, getting him pay for his work, then setting him up with the local spinsters. Maria was a treasure, and Dick had John to thank for her. These people from the moors were so different, they could gossip as badly as any townsman or -woman Dennis had even known, but once you earned their loyalty they would go through fire and water for you.

'I was one of the best, John.'

John could have turned him in a year ago but he hadn't, apparently Dennis was one of them by now.

'I was a veteran of three battles before I was twenty, killed countless French, survived against odds stacked higher than those cliffs we marched up on the other side of the channel. I can hit a man's eye at a hundred paces, and I can disarm any man we're likely to run into out here. So I guess you're safe with me.

I will not kill anyone, though, I'm done killing. The things I've seen and the things I've done, John, they brought me to the edge of reason, until I could no longer sleep with the images of cruelty and slaughter haunting me day and night. The mistress saved me from them, as she saved me from hanging. You and Cook, too. Thank you for not reporting me.'

'You're a good man, Dennis, I'd gladly call you master and obey your orders. Cook and I never knew for certain you were a runaway, but by the time you emerged from wherever the mistress had kept you it was obvious she loved you, and Dick and the others were just as smitten. So you had to be one of us. Cook felt the same. It's great fun when everyone is speculating where you came from, they really think you're some noble. I'm glad you told me, and of course nothing will change. Even Beatrice won't know. She's not like Maria, she likes to talk.'

Dennis had not expected to be talking with John, especially not this intimately. Maybe the stable boy would be willing to talk of his own life a little.

'I suppose most women do, don't they?'

John laughed heartily and replied frankly, 'Most people do, Dennis. You should hear what folks say about the manor, men as well as women, though the men generally seem to be pretty envious. It's just at the manor that people don't talk that much, everyone else does. Of course the mistress getting with child upset their image, in which she did every male in the house.'

Which was true, excepting Cook, had John forgotten his time with Agnes?

'They never get Guy and Patrick right, and you'll be very pleased to know that the tales on Dick are starting to change. Some have seen him walk his wife to work, then return to the manor with that cute little puppy of his, as happy as a man can be, and worshipping Maria. And they've seen his parents at the wedding, not happy at all at their son marrying into one of the most respected families hereabouts. People are starting to doubt the parents, and trust the son. A few more months and those rumours will be put to rest, but of course new ones are already forming, of veritable orgies taking place, with all the men worshipping the mistress, and her sharing the attention with Maria.'

Well, that rumour might yet come true as well. Dennis certainly wouldn't mind.

The ride had been very entertaining so far, they were still on the road across the moors, passing a small village every now and then. Dennis had visited some of them, this was still Agnes' property for miles in every direction. The soil was not good and the weather was atrocious in spring, fall and winter, but under her directions the countryside was thriving. Most of it was wild heath and moor, sheep husbandry the only source of income it could gain the hardy inhabitants, but there were some fields with good grazing to keep a few cows, and a patch of arable land here and there, well-tended and covered in some valuable food crop nearly ready for harvesting.

'We're nearing the area where the burglaries have taken place, Dennis, better keep your eyes on the hills. Though it's hard to imagine anyone hiding out there, they could dig out a hut and cover it with sod, but it would be very uncomfortable and surprisingly easy to find: on a clear day you can see smoke plumes for miles. My guess would be that they're hiding in the thick woods some ten minutes ahead, there have been plenty of deserted cabins out there since the mistress' former steward cleared out all the people. He said she wanted it done to improve her hunting, but in fact she didn't know about it, she never even hunted then, he used it for his own ends. When Guy and Patrick came to live here they found out, the mistress was livid. She dismissed the steward instantly, but the people who lived in the forest had settled elsewhere by then, they didn't want to come back. It's even poorer pickings than the moors, you know.'