The Amorous Nightingale by Edward Marston Page B

brusquely.
        'There's
been more trouble, sir.'
        'Trouble?'
        'I
didn't know who to turn to. Mr Chiffinch said I wasn't to bother him but I
wasn't to talk to anyone else either. Apart from you, that is. He gave me this
address so I come here.'
        'And
picked a fight with my servant.'
        'I
thought he was lying to me.'
        'Jacob
never lies, Mr Trigg. As you saw, I was not on the premises when you called.
Well, come on,' he prompted, 'let's hear it. What's all this about trouble?'
        'Someone
else was took, sir.'
        'Someone
else?'
        'Mary,'
said the other. 'Mary Hibbert. Mrs Gow's maidservant.'
        'Kidnapped,
you mean?'
        'That's
what it looks like, sir. Mary almost never stirs from the house except to go to
the theatre with Mrs Gow. She should have been there. But when I got back, the
door was open and the place was empty.'
        'Had
anything been taken?'
        'Not
so far as I could see.'
        'Were
there any signs of a struggle?'
        'None,
sir.'
        'Then
how do you know that Mary Hibbert was kidnapped?'
        'It's
the only explanation, sir,' gabbled Trigg. 'One of the neighbours told me he'd
heard sounds of a scuffle and the noise of a coach being driven away fast. His
wife thought she might have heard a woman's scream.'
        'Might
have?'
        'Mary
is in danger, Mr Redmayne. I know it.'
        'The
evidence is hardly conclusive.'
        'She's
such a dutiful girl, sir. Mary would never go out of the house when Mrs Gow was
expected back. Nor would she leave the door wide open for anyone to walk in.
Mrs Gow has many admirers,' he said with a touch of rancour. 'Too many for
comfort. Some of them try to pester her at home. My job is to keep them at bay.
If I'm not there to protect Mrs Gow, then Mary always is. Please, sir,' he
begged. 'You must believe me.
        I
wouldn't have bothered you without real cause. Mary's been took.'
        'Then
it's a worrying new development,' conceded the other. 'You did right to bring
the news to me, Mr Trigg. Thank you.'
        Though
he could not bring himself to like the man, Christopher took pity on him. In
the service of Harriet Gow, he had taken a severe beating. He was plainly
distressed that both of the women he was employed to safeguard had been
snatched away from him. Shuttling between anger and remorse, Trigg was like a
distraught father whose daughters had been abducted.
        'When
we met at the Palace,' recalled Christopher, 'you told me that you'd been
coachman to Mrs Gow for over a year.'
        'That
is true, sir.'
        'And
before that?'
        'I
held a similar post with Sir Godfrey Armadale.'
        'Why
did you leave?'
        'I
was offered the chance to work for Mrs Gow.'
        'How
did that come about?'
        'A
friend put in a kind word for me.'
        'You
obviously take your duties seriously.'
        'It's
the best position I've ever had, sir,' said Trigg earnestly. 'Until today, that
is. Mrs Gow treats me very well and I've grown fond of Mary Hibbert. They're
almost like a family to me. I can't tell you how upset I feel because I've let
them down.'
        'Don't
blame yourself, Mr Trigg.'
        'I
should've saved Mrs Gow,' he insisted, beating his thigh with a fist. 'I
should have been there to protect Mary Hibbert. It's my fault, Mr Redmayne, and
there's no getting away with it. That's why I want to do all I can to find
them. Use me, sir - please. Call on me at any time. I must be part of the
rescue.'
        'You
will be, Mr Trigg.'
        Christopher
appreciated the offer of help though he was not quite sure how best to employ
it. The coachman's strength might certainly be an asset, especially as
Christopher did not have the reassuring bulk of Jonathan Bale alongside him.
Yet the sheer physical power of Roland Trigg could also be a handicap if used
in the spirit of vengeance. During their earlier meeting, the