At Jack’s nod, Matthew pulled another chair to the table. “They’re in business, all right. Ran a cargo of brandy last night, somewhere between Hunstanton and Heacham, cool as you please. I heard talk they did that consignment of lace we refused—the run that clashed with that load of spirits we took out Brancaster way.”
Jack swore. “Damn! I’d hoped that night was all a piece of Tonkin’s delusions.” He turned to George. “When I went into Hunstanton yesterday, Tonkin was full of this gang he’d surprised running some cargo south of Snettisham. Preening that he’d found another gang operating on Osborne’s turf that Osborne hadn’t known about. I spoke to some of Tonkin’s men later. It sounded like they’d seen a fishing boat pull in for a break and Tonkin invented the rest.” Jack grimaced. “Now, it seems otherwise.”
“Does it matter? If they’re a small operation…” George broke off at Jack’s
emphatic nod.
“It matters. We need this coast tied up. If there’s another gang operating, no matter how small, who’s to tell what cargoes they’ll run?”
The wind whistled down the narrow chimney and played with the flames licking the logs in the hearth. Abruptly, Jack pushed away from the table. “We’ll have to find out who this lot is.” He looked at Matthew. “Did you get any hints from your contacts?”
Matthew shook his head. “Not a whiff of a scent.”
George frowned. “What about Osborne? Why not just get him to clamp down along that stretch?”
“Because I’ve sent him to clamp down on the beaches between Blakeney and Cromer.” Exasperation colored Jack’s tone. “There’s a small outfit operating around there, but for most of that coast, the silts are so unpredictable no master in his right mind will bring his ship in close. The few reasonable landings are easy to patrol. But I sent Osborne to ensure the job was done. Aside from anything else, it seemed preferable to make certain he wouldn’t get wind of our activities and seek to curtail them. Tonkin, bless his hopeless heart, is so bumblingly inept we stand in no danger from him. Unfortunately, neither does this other gang.”
“So,” George mused, “Tonkin’s now effectively responsible for the coast from Lynn to Blakeney?”
Jack nodded.
“Whoever this other lot are,” said Matthew, “seems like they know the area well. There’s no whispers of pack trains or any such, but they must be moving the goods, same as us.”
“Who knows?” Jack said. “They might actually be better set up than us. We’re only novices, after all.”
George turned a jaundiced eye on Jack. “I don’t believe any man in his right mind would call Captain Jack a novice—not at this sort of devilry.”
A broad grin dispelled Jack’s seriousness. “You flatter me, my friend. Now, how are we to meet this mystery gang?”
“Must we meet them?”
“How else, oh knowledgeable one, are we to dissuade them from their illegal pursuits?”
“Dissuade them?”
Jack’s face hardened. “That—or do Tonkin’s job for him.”
George looked glum. “I knew I wasn’t going to like this mission.”
Jack’s chair grated on the floor as he rose. “They’re smugglers, for Christ’s sake.”
George sighed, dropping his eyes from Jack’s stern grey gaze. “So are we, Jack. So are we.”
But Jack had stopped listening. Turning to Matthew, he asked, “What cargoes do they usually take?”
Chapter 6
A week later, from the cliff top screened by a belt of trees, Kit watched her band beach their boats at much the same spot as on the night she’d first rescued them. This time, there was no Revenue troop about; she’d reconnoitered the cliffs in both directions.
Still she was nervous, twitchy. Since she’d taken over, her band had run five cargoes, all successfully. Her band. At first, the responsibility had scared her. Now, each time they came off safely, she felt a thrill of achievement. But tonight was a special cargo. An agent, Nolan, had met them in Lynn last night. For the first time, she’d joined Noah for the negotiations. Just as well. She’d intervened and driven their price up—because Nolan was in a fix. He had a schooner with twenty bales of lace and no one to bring it in. They were his last resort. She’d already heard of the Revenue raids about Sheringham and, for some reason, the Hunstanton Gang had refused the run. Why, she didn’t know—which was the root cause of her nervousness.
Everything, however, was going smoothly. The night was dark, the sky deepest purple. Beneath her, Delia peacefully cropped, undisturbed by an owl hooting in the trees behind them.
Watching the orderly way the men swiftly unloaded the boats, Kit smiled. They were not unintelligent, just unimaginative. Once she showed them a better way of doing things, they caught on quickly.
Suddenly, Delia’s head came up, ears pricked, muscles tensing. Kit strained her senses to catch what had disturbed the mare. Nothing. Then, far to the left, another owl hooted. Delia sidled. Kit stared at the great black head. Not an owl? She didn’t wait for confirmation. Pulling Delia around, she set the mare onto the path down to the sands.
In the trees on the cliff top, two riders met a third.