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A moment later came another sound, sharper this time and followed by the unmistakable scrape of something heavy against stone. Baines set down his wine-glass. Across the table, Renforth looked at him. The Colonel merely inclined his head.
Baines rose. “Forgive me, Lady Beckenham, I believe I have neglected a small matter.”
She regarded him with amusement.
He crossed towards the door at an unhurried pace, although every instinct urged him to run.
Simmons stood in the hall. “Major?”
“Keep Miss Finch there if she attempts to follow.”
Simmons looked at him for a moment. “An ambitious request, sir, if I may say so.”
Baines almost smiled. “Do your best.”
He turned towards the western corridor. The noise came again. This time there was no mistaking it: someone was struggling.
Baines reached the linen cupboard and found the concealed panel standing open by several inches. Candlelight flickered within the narrow passage, throwing distorted shadows across the old stone. He drew his pistol and stepped inside.
The passage was barely wide enough for two men to stand abreast, and the low ceiling forced him to incline his head. Dust hung in the stale air, disturbed by hurried movement, while the uneven floor made every step treacherous.
Voices came from beyond the corner. “Hold still, you fool!” Fielding demanded.
“I am holding him!” Stuart insisted.
“Then stop standing on my foot!” Chum pleaded.
Baines rounded the corner. The sight before him would have been amusing under almost any other circumstances.
Mallory stood pinned against the stone wall, his arms restrained behind his back by Stuart, while Fielding held a folded sheet of paper in one hand and a small lantern in the other. Chum had apparently attempted to assist by blocking the narrow passage, but the result had left all three officers entangled in an arrangement that resembled a particularly unsuccessful country dance.
Mallory’s normally immaculate coat was torn at the shoulder, and his expression had lost every trace of professional composure.
Baines lowered his pistol. “Gentlemen, I see you have begun without me.”
Fielding looked disgusted. “He tried to run.”
“An understandable reaction to finding the three of you in a cupboard.”
“It is not a cupboard,” Stuart protested.
Chum disentangled himself from the others. “I had him perfectly well contained until Stuart attempted to assist.”
“You were blocking the passage.”
“That was the intention.”
“With your entire person?”
“A method which has proved effective.”
Baines raised a hand. “Much as I should enjoy hearing the remainder of this argument, perhaps we might attend to our guest?”
Mallory stared at him. “Major, there has been a misunderstanding.”
“Then you had better start explaining.”
CHAPTER 18
