Clarendon Estate (The Sinclair Society, Book Three) Rough Draft

Chapter Sixteen

C.I could only mean Conrad Ingram. That evil man had sought information and sold it for his own benefit. What had he held over Henry Bladen? Had Henry then decided he'd had enough of the man's blackmail and then killed Ihgram to be free?

If he'd killed once, he could easily have done so once more.

Remove N from equation. 'N', for Nelson. Me. Why hadn't Mr. Ingram, who had known my identity, revealed that to Henry? What game had he been playing at? Was this message why Mr. Bladen had found his way to the Leith estate?

A chill went down my spine. Henry had come to kill me. Should I trust Sir Horace or Mr. Harper to protect me? Until I knew for sure, nowhere in the house seemed safe. Somehow, I had to hide the letter until I could get into the right hands. Where could I put it that a stranger to the grounds would think to look?

Through the windows, I caught a glimpse of the maze and the tall hedges that made up the walls. Perfect.

Without a bonnet or shawl, I rushed for the servants staircase and fled down the steps.

The one person I knew I could trust was out of my reach. Celia had taken her guests to watch the shooting to give me enough time for my search. Even if I kenw I could trust them, Mr. Harper and Sir Horace both shooting with the other gentlemen.

As I crossed the yard, the back of my neck prickled. Was I being watched? I didn't want to look over my shoulder and check. That would look as though I were hiding something and I didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to what I was doing.

For all any of the other servants knew, I was taking my half day.

I had just stepped up to the entrance of the maze when a hand reached out and caught my arm. Startled and already on edge, I spun to the right and my instincts made me attempt to jerk away. A relieved breath left me as I recognized the young man who had caught me: Simon Leith.

Wait. Why was he accosting me in such a manner?

There was no time to even think as he pulled me towards him. I stumbled towards him, confused about what he was doing. At the same time, I heard a loud crack, almost like an explosion. Pain sliced along my right arm and a cry left my lips.

It took a second for me to comprehend what had happened. Someone had shot me!

Young Mr. Leith kept tugging on my left hand, dragging me into the maze with him. Off balance and in pain, I didn't try to fight him. All at once, he dodged out of the path and into one of the many alcoves that were all over the maze. The space was tiny, made even more close by the ivy growing thick around the entry. The young man held me close to him and even went so far as to put his hand over my mouth.

Up close, I could see the worry in his eyes. He had saved my life. If he hadn't acted, would the bullet—it wasn't a hard guess as to who had fired the gun—have been more deadly? When had Henry seen me? Had he laid a trap, one which I had stumbled into without considering the possibility?

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"Miss Nelson."

Maybe it was a good thing Simon's hand was over my mouth because I knew I gasped.

Henry.

"I know you are here, and I know you took my letters. Come out and let us have this discussion face to face."

Even if young Mr. Leith was not holding me in place, I would not have gone to Mr. Bladen. Not after what I had learned. Did he honestly think that I would trust him? He must not have a high opinion of my intelligence.

"You and I have been dancing around each other long enough, don't you think? From London to Bath and now here at Clarendon. How clever you must think yourself to have followed such an old trail. Who put you to it? Harper? I would not have expected such a move from a gentleman such as he."