The man didn’t take his eyes from my face. “I should say my employer. Mr. Cawnton.”

“Cawnton.” The name was like a red rag to a bull to Tom. The Cawnton brothers ran most of the smuggling enterprises on this part of the coast. It was hard to ignore their presence, especially at the dark of the moon, but we usually managed it. “My father won’t receive anything from Cawnton, you know that.” Tom threw up his arms in exasperation and let them drop to his side with a resounding smack.

“My orders is to deliver them,” Cooper reiterated, his accent broadening, every inch the stupid peasant—except that he wasn’t. His calmness threatened Tom’s agitation, and as far as I could see, he was winning the encounter, provoking Tom’s temper shamelessly.

“It’s an insult.” Tom glanced at me. “You shouldn’t be here. I’ll deal with this.”

“Don’t be foolish, Tom. It concerns me as much as you. James had a delivery yesterday.”

The man turned smug, smiling broadly in his triumph, but Tom was perturbed by what I’d said. “What did he do with it?”

“Gave it back. With thanks, but a refusal.”

Tom spun around to confront Cooper again. “Why are you doing this?” A cry born more of exasperation than any desire for knowledge.

The man said nothing, but met him stare for stare. The only sounds were Tom’s heavy breathing, the jingle of the harness and the stamp of the horse’s hooves. The bird was still singing. Its persistence irritated me.

“My father won’t have anything to do with it, you know.” The new steadiness in Tom’s voice relieved me. The pause must have given him a chance to regain his composure.

“That’s up to him. My orders is to deliver the goods.” The smell of unwashed humanity reached me and I was hard put not to wrinkle my nose. Those clothes he wore had seen more seasons than my grey gown, but far less soap.

“I can give you our answer now,” Tom said. “We won’t let you run the goods over our land, much less use our storehouses and barns.”

“Mr. Cawnton would be sorry to hear that.” A menacing tone entered Cooper’s voice.

Tom took a quick breath, and his voice lifted again. “Are you threatening me?” The man’s insolence and Tom’s quick temper threatened to turn this encounter into something dangerous. I hoped my presence might deter them but I doubted it.

The man moved as though shifting his position, but when he did so his heavy coat moved aside. We saw the two serviceable pistols stuck in his belt, and the heavy Navy cutlass slung around his waist. Tom stared at Cooper in silence. I held my breath, not daring to move. If Tom attempted any violence he would come out the loser. He was not armed and these men didn’t respect authority.

Cold fear clutched at my stomach. “Come away, Tom.” I tried to keep my voice steady. Another fraught pause followed. “Your father will send a message to Cawnton.”

“Dear God, I hate this.” To my relief Tom turned away from Cooper to me. “No, it wouldn’t be right to brawl with this man with you here. But understand this,” and he turned back to confront Cooper again, “you won’t get any joy from my father.”

With a deliberate action that underlined his decision, Tom turned his back and strode away, leaving me to scamper behind him.

The harness jingled as Cooper and his laden horse continued on their way, and we rejoined the other two. I breathed out in a long sigh of relief, which Lizzie saw. She raised an eyebrow in query. “So what was all that about?”

“One of Cawnton’s men.” She grimaced. “He’s trying to persuade Tom’s father to lend him some barns, and let him move the goods over his land.”

“I don’t know why he doesn’t,” Lizzie said. “They’ll do it anyway. And whom does it hurt? They’re just running a few bits and pieces ashore.”

“A few bits and pieces?” Tom’s face was a mask of astonishment and fury, the heavy brows beetling over his eyes. “Smuggling is the most lucrative business in Devonshire. They make more from one run than a year working in the fields. You must know how well organised they are, Lizzie, and what they do here.” His voice was louder than it needed to be, and I hoped the other man hadn’t heard. Sound carried a long way in the country.

Lizzie shrugged. “People don’t complain.”

“Naturally they don’t,” came the swift reply, but in a more normal tone. “They’re either well paid or terrorised into silence. That’s the part I don’t like. They shouldn’t have so much power they can rule a whole county. If the Cawntons aren’t stopped, it won’t be long before they have the whole of Devonshire under their control.”

“You might be exaggerating there, Tom.” I took his arm and pulled him into motion. We walked towards the village below, in the opposite direction to Cooper.

Tom took back the reins of his horse. “They’re clever. And quiet, but their influence increases every year. My father is worried about them, Rose. You’re lucky you’ll soon be away from here and all this.”

I wasn’t sure. I would miss my home, even this less comfortable part of it. “You’re right, Tom, when you say that with smuggling wealth comes power. The Cawntons rival the local gentry, but they’re on the wrong side of the law.”

He sniffed. “Parliament takes little notice of the Trade, and they send too few men of too little ability to combat it. Have you seen the latest excise officer in Exeter?” I