[Previously: Lucius is back and he's brought some bad 'uns with him! Lavinia has been kidnapped, Cedric is tied up and unconscious ... things don't look good for the good guys.]
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Jacques' emotions upon returning to Cedric's room, to find that headstrong young gentleman gone, would have been unsuited to maidenly ears, had any unfortunate damsels been within earshot. He could tell from the state of the room that Cedric had decided to dress himself, and had had a bit of trouble settling upon an appropriate outfit. Jacques rolled his eyes in mock despair, muttered under his breath about young men in love, and began to return things to their proper places. But he became very French indeed when he spied Cedric's coat lying upon the floor. The sight of a well-made piece of clothing left crumpled and wrinkled in such a manner offended his Gallic sensibilities so much that he went in immediate search of his errant charge.
Kentham, on most days, was the very model of an orderly and decorous gentleman's home, and so the sound of several voices raised in various stages of outrage and confusion was enough to make Jacques forget, at least for the moment, why he was descending the staircase to the first floor. As he approached the area of the Library, his eyes were able to verify what his stunned ears had been trying to convey to him: most of the Earl's servants--both indoor and outdoor--were gathered in the Hall, and all of them seemed to be talking at once.
One of the kitchen maids spotted him first and then they turned as one and swept towards him, all trying to tell him, from their various points of view, what had happened and consequently robbing him of any hope of understanding them. Finally, though, he was able to gather that the Earl had returned that morning, with a group of brutish thieves to ransack Kentham.
"Où est Cedric?" he broke in, barely able to keep the terror out of his voice.
"That's wot we been trying to tell you, Mooseur Jacques," Tobias' ancient voice battled, and won, for prominence. "'Is lordship locked 'im and the perfesser in the book room and throwed away the key. And, he's gone and taken the mamzelle off in his coach!"
"Oh, sacré nom de Dieu," Jacques exclaimed, both as a curse and a prayer. He rushed to the Library door and bent down to look through the keyhole, but that view didn't tell him anything useful. He ordered everyone to stay where they were for the moment, and ran back towards the staircase. There were spare keys in Cedric's room that Jacques wanted to try first, before letting everyone in the house know about the secret passages.
It felt as if it took forever to reach Cedric's office again, but in truth it was only moments. Fortunately, the keys were well-marked, so quite soon Jacques was on his way back downstairs.
Everyone was standing still as statues; no one appeared to have moved as much as an inch since his departure. Many bore the expressions of those who have come upon some tragic accident--appalled that such a thing could have happened, and yet morbidly curious to see it through. For the most part Jacques ignored them, although he did see and pity poor Jeanne who was sobbing softly in the arms of one of the maids. His whole focus was on getting to Cedric. He fumbled the key into the lock with fingers that were not quite steady. There had been no sound from inside the Library and he was afraid of what he might find.
Once through the door he hurried forward, his voluble attendants in close pursuit. Rounding the first set of bookcases he came to an abrupt halt, a sound very like a sob escaping, unnoticed, from his throat. At that sound, all the others ceased their chatter, and stood respectfully silent. There on the floor, nearly twenty feet away, Cedric lay, grey-faced and bleeding.
Somehow Jacques made it to Cedric's side, although he could never later recall that journey. Oblivious to what the other servants were doing, or not doing, he fell to his knees and lifted Cedric up in his arms, cradling him as he fearfully checked for signs of life. The relief he felt upon discovering that Cedric still breathed was enormous, causing Jacques to lower his own head down towards the dark one resting upon his chest. Briefly he touched his cheek against Cedric's hair, while murmuring a thankful prayer.
Sacré bleu! Why hadn't the boy waited for him? What had he been thinking of to tackle so many at once?
Even as he mentally berated Cedric for his recklessness, Jacques knew that he could have expected nothing less. Cedric possessed, in too great a measure, both his father's courage and his mother's kind heart, to allow himself ever to ignore fellow creatures in need.
Tears of relief, and pride, blurred Jacques' vision as he tried to reach behind Cedric and untie him, while still holding him close. It was proving next to impossible, however, but Jacques was loath to let go, even for a moment, of his precious burden. His earlier fears for Cedric were still too fresh in his mind.
"If you will permit me, Monsieur Jacques ...?"
Jacques looked up to see Portman, the Earl's normally haughty butler, in the act of kneeling down at Cedric's other side. The man bore the beginnings of what would no doubt become a magnificent black eye, and both his wig and his neckcloth had obviously been mussed and then hastily straightened, but his outward demeanour was as calm as ever.
Jacques, though a bit stunned by the other man's altered appearance, nodded his approval, shifting Cedric's position a bit to allow the butler easier access to the bindings.
Portman began to untie the ropes around Cedric's wrists, his voice barren of intonation, as if it would be beneath him to comment upon such goings-on in a gentleman's household. "Since I could see that you were preoccupied with Master Cedric, Monsieur Jacques, I took the liberty of freeing Monsieur Le Mersurer. Thomas is assisting him into the Morning Room, where there is a better fire and more comfortable chairs. I have requested that tea and other restoratives be brought there, and have dismissed the other servants to go about their usual duties. Jeanne is being attended to by two of the maids. She is understandably upset. I believe that his lordship was quite rough with her when she tried to intervene on Mademoiselle's behalf."
Portman had succeeded in untying Cedric's hands and had moved down towards his feet, to work on the knots there. Jacques could only wonder at the change in the man. While acting as correctly as ever, he now somehow seemed less distant, more ... more human. Apparently, the morning's excitement had had a profound effect upon him. "Merci, monsieur," Jacques murmured faintly.
"Certainly," Portman replied, inclining his head slightly. "You might perhaps be interested to know, monsieur, that when Vincent was on his way to the Morning Room to build up the fire, he heard an odd noise from one of the parlours. Upon further investigation, he discovered a thief tied up behind a screen in the corner of the room, along with a considerable quantity of our household plate and sterling in a ..." a spasm crossed the butler's impersonal countenance for a second before being suppressed, "... potato sack. I do not know if the scratches on our second-best platter will ever be got out ... and as for the dents!"
The man's sensibilities had been offended, but he was making a commendable effort to hold himself together. Jacques could barely believe that this was the same man they'd sometimes suspected of being in league with Lucius. Portman's handling of Cedric was solicitous and respectful, and he'd obviously received rough treatment at the hands of the housebreakers. It would seem that previous assumptions regarding the butler would have to be reassessed.
"Also, monsieur," Portman continued, as he deftly removed Cedric's neckcloth, barely disturbing that young gentleman's position against Jacques' chest in the process, "before you joined us we had had to coax Peter out of the Blue Room. He'd been ordered by Master Cedric to lock himself in with another of the thieves, and his plunder, and was reluctant to open the door unless granted permission to do so by Master Cedric. Understandable I'm sure."
The butler wound the neckcloth around his hand to make a pad, and then pressed it gently against Cedric's injured side. "I do not believe that this is a serious wound, monsieur. It is bleeding only slightly. I will fasten it in place with my own neckcloth, and then we may carry Master Cedric to the Morning Room and lay him upon the sofa near the fire. It will be much more comfortable for him there."
Jacques agreed with this plan and Portman continued with the bandaging, gently working his hands around Cedric, lifting and replacing his waistcoat as he went. "I do not know how many other thieves may be hidden throughout the downstairs rooms, monsieur, but I have requested that a thorough search be initiated. It would appear that Master Cedric was most effective in preventing a complete looting of the premises before he was overpowered here in the Library. Monsieur Le Mersurer blames himself for that, or so I apprehend, as he states he had inadvertently allowed one of the thieves to become aware of Master Cedric's presence in a most untimely manner."
He finished tying the bandage around Cedric's torso and stood up. "I think we may move him now, monsieur. Shall I carry his feet?"
Jacques blinked, and found that his mouth was open in astonishment. He closed it, with effort, and then shook his head. "Non, monsieur. Merci, but I can carry him myself."
The butler bowed and stepped back, then accompanied Jacques and his burden to the Morning Room.
