Adventure 1 Summary

Cast of Characters:

The Duke of Warrington (Matthew Mactyre): Born and raised in Boston, Benjamin Jonathan Seward was a wealthy trader’s son, taking over the family print shop when his father died. Six months following, a London solicitor arrived in the shop and explained to him he was the last living male relative in the Warrington line – and the new Duke. He is traveling with his sweet great-aunt, Lady Frances Sterling.

Lord Fenworth (Kirk Lund): the earl is a fellow Tory and neighbor of Lord Somerset, and he has been invited to help Lord Somerset review the proposals presented by Miss Georgiana DuBerry, Lady Eleanor, and Sir Walter. Lord Fenworth is a little overweight, as he is a man who enjoys a good brandy and meal.

Miss Georgiana DuBerry (Cheri Lund) is twenty-two and has taken charge of her family’s business – horse breeding and training – since her father’s death three years ago. She has been invited to discuss providing horses to the army with Lord Somerset. She is a well-built, athletic woman with brown eyes and auburn hair.

Lady Caroline (Caro) Fenworth is traveling with her father. She is quite attached to Sir Frederick Sutton.

Sir Frederick Sutton is a young baronet. A large (6’3, 230 lb) man, he is attractive, charming – but not terribly bright. He is known for his good humor.

Sir Walter Ellington is a wealthy tradesman with stables to rival Miss Georgiana’s. Before her father’s death, Sir Walter defaulted on a payment for some brood mares – and used it to start his own stables.

Lord Rhys-Davies knew one of Lord Somerset’s sons at the university, but has no real connection to the party. He is enjoying himself digging in several sites at the Park and has found several impressive Roman coins from the reign of Claudius.

Lady Eleanor Tillyard is also at the Park to discuss business matters with Lord Somerset – her ship designs.

Mrs. Elizabeth Hawkins is an old friend of Lady Somerset’s. A beautiful woman in her thirties, both her husband (Captain Hawkins) and her son (Mr. Midshipman Hawkins) are at sea. A daughter of an earl, she was renounced by her family when she wed then-Lieutenant Hawkins; she does not use the appellation “Lady.”

Also attending – with Lord Fenworth – is Major Beresford Warburton III, a gentleman in his thirties. Though attractive and good-natured, he has had no luck with women to date.

**

Lord and Lady Somerset have invited a number of parties to Canfield Park in Kent. Several have been invited by Lord Somerset to present proposals. Miss Georgiana is to show off some prize horses, Lady Eleanor is showing off her new ship designs, and Sir Walter is there to present the virtues of his own stables and shipwrights. All are hoping to gain lucrative government contracts.

The house party begins on June 1, a Saturday. Lady Caro and Sir Frederick go on a picnic together, accompanied by Major Warburton, while the others get settled. Miss Georgiana, Lady Eleanor and Sir Walter are set to present their plans/ideas/horses to Lord Somerset on Monday.

At supper, Sir Walter begins drinking, continuing to do so when the men retire for brandy and to talk men-talk. He is extremely inebriated and begins insulting Warrington, calling him a republican and worse! Warrington and Fenworth discuss politics together and find they had some common ground, despite the differences in their origins. Lord Rhys-Davies hides in the corner with Ovid while Sir Walter is venting his spleen.

Lady Caro questions the ladies about their opinions of Sir Frederick, whom she finds very handsome. Lady Eleanor and Miss Georgiana talk about their respective businesses while Lady Somerset and Mrs. Hawkins talk. Mrs. Hawkins works on her needlepoint. Miss Georgiana warns Lady Eleanor not to trust Sir Walter.

The gentlemen return. Sir Walter insults Miss Georgiana and Lady Eleanor, saying that women have no right to attempt to do man’s work – they are not suited to it in temper or ability. Mrs. Hawkins diverts Sir Walter and manages to engage him in a conversation on neutral subjects, allowing the others to speak more freely. Lord Rhys-Davies shows off his Roman coin finds to his grace and to Miss Georgiana and expresses his regret that Lord Somerset will not allow him to dig around the foundations of Canfield Park, which he believes was built upon the ruins of a Roman fort. Miss Georgiana and Lord Fenworth speak with one another.

Sir Walter retires, and Lady Eleanor, tired by her journey, follows soon after. Ten minutes later, there is a scream from upstairs. The guests and their hosts race to the wing housing the ladies and find Lady Eleanor holding an empty packet – her ship plans are missing!

A groom forces his way past one of the upper servants to speak with Miss Georgiana a few minutes later. He and several other men were overpowered in the stables and the three prize stallions she’d brought to show Sir Walter are missing!

Warrington, Fenworth, Miss Georgiana, Rhys-Davies and Warburton mount horses (after an embarrassing moment where Warrington asks Miss Georgiana if she can ride), along with two of Miss Georgiana’s men. They race down the road to the village, where Warrington and Fenworth toss the pub, trying to determine where the men have gone. Miss Georgiana meets a young woman on the street who tells her she saw the men and horses racing by on the road towards the coast.

Miss Georgiana relays this to their lordships, who cease terrifying the local farmers and tradesmen and remount. Through Lord Fenworth’s superior knowledge of the area and good horsemanship, the party arrives at the coast not long after the thieves, despite their half-hour advantage.

Cresting a hill, the party sees a brigantine moored close to the shore, near some fishing boats. Planks have been lowered to the shore and the men are preparing to board the horses. There are six men working, while one stands apart. Warrington dismounts a mile away and attempts to sneak up to the men. Miss Georgiana directs one of her men to head for a nearby village – where soldiers are quartered – for assistance.

Lord Fenworth does not go in for such sneaky Indian tactics. He shouts, “Charge” and races forward, Warburton following close upon his heels. Warrington leaps onto Rhys-Davies’ horse as he rides by, pushing the earl off the horse and moving forward. The earl lands badly.

The prize horses begin to stomp and fight the men holding them. One breaks free, and bolts – Miss Georgiana directs her other servant to go after it. She calls out to another horse and using only her voice, manages to calm him. The third bolts, and she is able to retrieve it easily, weaving through the chaos of the scene.

As they approach, Lord Fenworth lowers his pistol and shoots at the one man – the leader – armed with a pistol. He misses. The other man fires at him – and misses. Warburton fires – and misses! Lord Fenworth leaps from the back of his horse to attempt to subdue this man, but he dodges aside. Fenworth manages, however, to keep his feet.

Warrington moves his pistol into his left hand and goes for the man holding the lantern, but is unable to coax his horse into the fray. He then spots the planks and tries to ride the horse onto them, but again, the horse stops cold. Instead, Warrington dismounts and leaps for the planks, managing to catch one as it is pulled back onto the ship.

The men on the ship notice Warrington and begin shouting. With his offhand and in the dark, Warrington attempts to shoot the closest. He succeeds, and the man collapses. [Game terms: he needed a 5 or less to hit, and he did it.]

The men on shore, seeing their ride slipping away, begin to panic. Of the original seven men, two jump into the water and begin swimming for the ship. Two others flee into the darkness. Sir Frederick captures the other two. Of the men in the water, one catches hold of Warrington and stabs him in the leg. Warrington lets go of the plank and begins treading water. From the ship, he hears a woman’s voice giving orders in French.

Lord Fenworth intimidates the leader into submitting [Game terms: fabulous reaction roll – 16 including modifiers.] He recovers the ship plans and an apple from the man’s satchel, which he promptly starts eating, before deciding it’s only fit for his horse.

Fenworth sees Warrington struggling in the water and jumps in, hauling the bleeding man to safety. Lord Rhys-Davies, holding his shoulder, limps up. He eyes Warrington apprehensively. Miss Georgiana is able to stop Warrington’s wound’s bleeding.

The party – and their prisoners – ride to the nearby village, where Fenworth interrogates the prisoners and Warrington and Rhys-Davies visit the surgeon.

The party learns that some of the men were French and some were English, hired in London. Francois Yordeman, the leader, looks vaguely familiar to Lord Fenworth, but he can’t quite place where. The captain of the brigantine was Pierre Gieraud, and they were headed for Calais, where they were to turn over the horses and ship plans to a magistrate named Jean-Michel Zola there. Their contact in Canfield House was Marie Faveau, a maid.

By this time, it is three in the morning. Miss Georgiana is offered hospitality at the colonel’s house, by his wife, while the men press on ‘til dawn.

They return to Canfield House early on Sunday morning. Lord Somerset greets them at the door and tells them that they have found Sir Walter – in one of Rhys-Davies’ burial mounds, his throat cut. Marie Faveau is missing, too. Lady Somerset has taken to her room with the vapors, but does relay that she hired her while they were in London this past Season – she had excellent references, and did a superb job with her hair. And so handy with a needle!

Sir Walter’s valet relays that he heard his master quarrelling with a lady speaking French earlier in the evening, but that he does not know what was said. He says she was giving him orders like Sir Walter was the servant!

**

Experience Points: 1.5