[Previously: Cedric has gathered some grooms and stable lad together to go after Lucius and Lavinia. Davis is also a part of the group, which has Jacques quite worried.]
*
Riding in front of his small band of grooms and stable lads Cedric was calculating how much longer it might be before they could intercept his uncle's coach. Every moment that Lavinia was forced to spend in Lucius' company was torture for Cedric.
The groom, who had unobtrusively followed the coach until he could determine which road to the coast Lucius intended to take, had returned to Kentham just in time to hear Cedric's instructions to his newly-formed troupe. It was thanks to that man's tenacity, and Jacques' forethought, that they were able to set off in the right direction immediately. Cedric knew every path and track, every hill and valley for miles around, after his months as the Avenger, and that knowledge was proving invaluable now. Yet the coach had more than an hour's precious lead on them.
Cedric was certain that Lucius would not hesitate to kill anyone, including Lavinia, in order to get away, so his plan to take control of the coach was going to have to be flawless. So much of their success would depend on the eventual location of the ambush that Cedric had been mentally reviewing possible sites along the road Lucius was now travelling. If the situation were not so desperate, Cedric might have found it amusing that Lucius' highwaymen were themselves about to be waylaid.
Several miles later, Cedric called a halt and told the others to wait for him in the shelter of some trees. "I'll scout ahead. Jacques, you stay with them, in case ... well, just in case."
Jacques had nodded, moving his hand nearer his pistol. He thought he knew what Cedric wanted--to make sure that Davis wasn't left unattended, and that there was someone he could trust watching his back. He had enough to worry about without having to worry about that, too.
"In case of wot, Mooseur Jacques?" Jack wanted to know, as soon as Cedric had moved beyond earshot.
Jacques was about to reply, but Hinkling got there ahead of him. "In case o' certain people askin' questions they don't need to know the answers to, that's wot," the groom responded in a repressive tone. "Now, youngster, shut your mummer and let them as knows wot they're doin', do it."
Jack subsided into an abashed silence, and the rest of the group occupied themselves in whatever way they saw fit. There hadn't been enough pistols to go around, so the ones left without had provided themselves with stout sticks to use as cudgels. A few of the men now decided that having an extra cudgel or two might not be a bad idea, and they began looking through the woods nearby for likely specimens. But, whether they searched for branches, or just dismounted to stretch their legs, Jacques noticed that they all kept their distance from Davis.
A few minutes later, Cedric rode back into view, and they knew immediately, from the look on his face, that the news was good. "We've nearly caught up to them. I could see Mademoiselle, and she seems to be unharmed. There are three outriders and the coachman, but he's ours and won't interfere with us. I couldn't see Simms, however."
"'Im!" Hinkling snorted derisively. "'E weren't wif 'is lordship, Master Cedric."
This news surprised Cedric and he exchanged worried glances with Jacques, for they knew how devoted the valet was to his master's interests. However, there was barely time enough to think about what they did know, without wasting any of it on Simms' probable whereabouts.
"Very well, but keep an eye out for him," Cedric warned, as the last man remounted. "Come, we must hurry."
In another moment they were on their way again, retracing the path Cedric had just taken, before heading east once more. Cedric led them on a rather zigzag course through a wood, which led steadily upward, until it came out on a tree-lined hilltop. From there, they could look off to their right and see the telltale dust rising from the wheels and hooves of a coach and four.
"Let's go," Cedric commanded quietly, "there won't be much time to get into our places." Almost as one, they turned to ride down the other side of the hill towards the ambush site.
Cedric had chosen well. Here, where the road narrowed a bit as it approached a sharp curve there were enough trees, rocks and bushes to provide adequate cover, even with the thinning of foliage brought on by autumn. They barely had time to get into their assigned positions before sounds of an approaching coach could be heard. It was only another minute until the vehicle itself, and its three-highwayman escort, came into view.
Inside the coach, Lucius was enjoying his uninterrupted time with Lavinia. Every moment he spent with her made him even more pleased with himself for having had the foresight to bring her along. She was intelligent enough and strong-willed enough to provide him with a great deal of entertainment; her other obvious attributes only enhanced her desirability. He was looking forward to the schooling of her, and never doubted for a moment that he would eventually succeed. Of course, once the fire was out of her eyes, and her chin no longer tilted upward in such charming defiance, he would have to discard her, for then the fun would have gone from their encounters. In the meantime, however ....
His first indication that anything was wrong was when he felt the coach lurch, slow, and then rock slightly, just before a darkly-clad arm and hand reached through the window on Lavinia's side of the coach--a hand that held a sword, the point of which was now pointed at Lucius' face. Attached to that arm, incongruously, was his nephew's head! Before Lucius could even begin to comprehend that astounding bit of information, or the fact that the coach had stopped and Cedric had managed, with his manoeuvre, to make of himself a shield for Lavinia, another--and larger--form filled the window at his side and Lucius found himself staring into the muzzle of Jacques' pistol! The ambush was a success! Lucius could only seethe and curse as he was disarmed and led from the coach by Jacques.
As soon as Jacques had pulled Lucius from the coach, Cedric's attention was all for Lavinia. In what seemed to her to be one swift movement, he tossed down his sword, flung open the carriage door and produced a knife to cut her bindings. Then he was lifting her from the carriage; into the security and love of his arms.
