The Toll Gate

 

By Georgette Heyer

Captain John Staple is finding life a bit flat after years spent fighting Napoleon on the continent. But the wars are over and the weather is miserable and John has become a little lost when he took the wrong road on his way to visit a friend in the country. And its gotten quite dark and the rain is unrelenting and he comes across a toll gate attended by only a young and frightened boy. John decides to spend the night at the toll station. 

So he stashes his horse in the station's chicken coop and makes himself at home in the station's living quarters. The boy, Ben, explains his dad left him in charge, saying he would be back in a couple hours. But he never came back. And the boy is very nervous, being alone at night and being in charge of the station. John feels sorry for Ben but that isn't why he decided to stay and help Ben. No, not at all. He decides to stay when he meets a young woman in the morning, Nell, and he is completely smitten. 

Nell is the granddaughter of the local squire and things are not going well for them. The squire, Sir Peter, is in very poor health and money is very tight. Staying with them is Sir Peter's heir Henry and Henry's friend Nate. Neither Nell nor anyone else in the household can figure out why Henry has showed up and what he and Nate are up to. And Nate has take a fancy to Nell and is constantly making up to her, despite her repeated expressions of dislike. Clearly things are not good at Sir Peter's home.

Meanwhile, after meeting Nell, John decides to stay at the toll station, and keep an eye on Ben and get to know Nell a bit more. As he learns more about Nell's and Ben's troubles, it becomes clear to him that something very fishy is going on involving Henry, Nate and Ben's missing father. And John is just the kind of person who enjoys a challenge like solving the mystery of the missing gate keeper and the mystery of the unwanted guests at Sir Peter's. Somehow the two are connected and the mystery becomes even more intriguing when a government man, a Bow Street Runner, shows up with lots of questions for the new gate keeper, John Staple.

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. It's more of a mystery story than a romance, although the romance between John and Nell provides the reason for John to stay at the toll station. It does take a bit of a grim turn with the discovery of the missing man's dead body. And the story is told from the point of view of John and not from that of his love interest, Nell. Still I did enjoy the story quite a bit, especially John's overseeing of young Ben's life and improving it in many ways, including better food and a cleaner home and just being there to keep Ben from being frightened at night. 

Here is a review by Laura A. Wallace on Austenprose.