Captive Pride (45 page)

“I had nothing to do with it.”

“We'll just see about that, now won't we?” he sneered at the English nobleman. “Men, check the house. Don't miss anything. I'll be with His Lordship in the parlor.”

The soldiers quickly moved indoors and began to search the small home. They left no piece of furniture unturned and no item untouched in their zealousness to find the escaped prisoner.

Faith and Ruth grew nervous at the sight of the soldiers, and they hurried into the parlor to stay with Matthew.

“Faith and Ruth, this is Constable Roberts. Constable, this is my wife, Faith, and her mother, Ruth.”

“Ladies,” he greeted them shortly before turning his full attention to Matthew. “Now, Lord Kincade, I'd like the answers to some questions.” He regarded Matt doubtfully.

“By all means, what can I do for you?”

“I want to know where your brother is.”

“I wish I could help you, but I assure you I have no idea where Noah is. In fact, this is the first I'd heard that Noah had escaped. How did it happen?”

“Never mind.” Roberts dismissed his question. “Tell me, when was the last time you saw your brother?”

“I went to his arraignment earlier today.”

“Did you have the occasion to speak with him then?”

“No. It was not permitted,” Matt informed him.

“And you haven't had any communication with him or from him since?”

“No, sir. I haven't heard a thing,” he answered honestly.

“How about you ladies?”

Faith and Ruth both paled at his charge.

“Oh, no. We haven't spoken with or seen Noah since all of this happened,” Faith replied quickly.

They were interrupted as the soldiers returned from their search.

“Did you find anything?” Roberts asked.

“No, sir. Not a thing.”

“You checked everywhere? The attic…the cellar…”

“Yes, sir. There's nothing. There's no indication at all that anyone's been here.”

“All right.” Roberts turned back to Matthew. He had thought that the brother would be hiding out here, and it irritated him to find that he wasn't. “Don't think this is the end of it, Lord Kincade.”

Matthew's expression was regal with disdain. “It most certainly is the end of it, sir. I know nothing of my brother's escape. I was not a party to it, and I do not know where he is. I believe your search has been completed, and I would appreciate it if you would leave my home now.”

Roberts and his cohorts glared futilely at Matthew, but he ignored them as he moved into the hall and opened the door for them.

“Good night, gentlemen,” he said curtly. He shut the door with firm finality behind them and then breathed a huge sigh of relief that they were gone.

 

As Edward Demorest sat in his study trying to enjoy his usual after-dinner liqueur, his mood was somber. He had dined alone this evening, and he hadn't enjoyed it. He admitted reluctantly to himself now that he had missed CC's company all evening—not that he wasn't still angry with her, for he was. Her behavior today had been totally outrageous and quite unbecoming of a woman of her position in society. But he wasn't used to being so completely alone, and he decided to make his peace with her tonight rather than wait until morning. Pleased that he'd convinced himself to make the move now, he set his snifter aside and strode from the room.

“CC.” He knocked softly at her chamber door. “CC, I'd like to speak with you.”

There was no answer to his knock, and he frowned slightly. He knew Anna had told him that she was planning on retiring early, but he'd never known her to be a very sound sleeper. Knocking a little louder, he called out to her again.

“CC. I'd like to speak with you. Please open the door.”

He paused, awaiting her response, but silence was all that greeted him.

“CC?” Edward called her name. “CC, is something wrong?”

There was still no answer, and he began to grow worried. Anxiously, he tried the doorknob, and he was distressed to find the door locked.

“Mr. Demorest? Is there something the matter?” Anna stood at the bottom of the staircase as she called up to him.

“Yes. It's CC. She'd not answering…. Perhaps she's taken ill. Quick, bring me the extra set of keys.”

“Yes, sir.”

Within moments Anna was beside him with the set of master keys. Edward quickly sorted through them, located the one for CC's room, and hurriedly unlocked the door. Pushing it open, he strode forth into the darkened bedroom.

“CC? CC, my dear, if you're ill…Anna, quickly, light a lamp for me,” he ordered.

Edward started in the direction of his daughter's bed, fully expecting to find CC there. As Anna lit the lamp, bathing the room in a golden glow, he was astounded to discover the bed empty and CC nowhere to be found.

“By God! She's not even here!” He wasn't sure if he was more astonished or furious. “Anna!” Edward rounded on the servant as he spied the untouched dinner tray on the table near the bed. “What do you know about this?”

“Nothing, sir!” she answered quickly, defensively.

“The truth, Anna! I want the truth!” he bellowed as he realized how completely his daughter had defied him.

“That is the truth, sir!” she cried, fearful of losing her job. “I brought up the dinner tray as you told me to, and I offered to have a bath sent up. Miss CC said that she didn't want a bath, and that she was going to go on to bed early tonight since you weren't going to speak with her until tomorrow.”

“I see.” Edward's eyes narrowed as he looked about the room, noting her hastily discarded clothing and the open window. “You didn't see her or talk to her after that?”

“No, sir.”

He knew then how she'd made her escape, and he became even more upset.

“Mr. Demorest, sir, do you suppose she's all right?”

“Don't worry about it, Anna. You go back downstairs and take care of your own duties. I'm going to wait here for my daughter's return.” He stalked to the window and glanced out.

“Yes, sir.” Anna scurried from the room, feeling sorry for CC when she got back.

Edward crossed the room to close and lock the door before blowing out the lamp. Settling down in the chair beside the bed, he folded his arms across his chest and sat back to wait.
If CC thought she'd witnessed the full potency of his anger over her visit to Kincade at the jail, she was wrong,
he vowed silently as he contemplated a suitable punishment for such an unruly, wayward young female.

CC moved cautiously through the darkly shadowed rebel hideout. Though she could detect no sign of anyone's presence in the old two-story structure, she knew better than to assume that there was no one around. For years they'd been forced to meet in secret, and they were most adept at disguising their whereabouts. CC was aware that there were several windowless meeting rooms in the building, and it was in one of these that she hoped to finally locate Ryan.

CC ascended the staircase as quietly as possible, and when she reached the hall, she noted with relief that light was shining from beneath the door to one of the rooms. Quickly she rushed forth, anxious to impart her news about Noah's treachery so that precautions could be taken against any possible action by the Crown.

CC knew a momentary pang of sorrow over the fact that she had to tell Ryan of Noah's betrayal, but the memory of the scene at the jail between Noah and Eve assailed her then, erasing any kinder emotion she might have felt for him. She had always known that he was a double-dealer, and she felt foolish for having believed any of what Matthew had told her last night. She was glad now that she had not arrived at the jail before Eve. Who knows what kind of a fool she would have made of herself, professing her love to him? Her witnessing of his embrace with Eve had cured her of wanting him, and any love she had felt for him was buried beneath a hard shell of hate. It was in that frame of mind that CC knocked once on the door to announce her presence and then turned the knob to open it, calling out to Ryan as she did so.

Noah, try as he might, had only managed to get a few minutes' sleep since being left there. Unable to rest, he had lain upon the bed trying to come to grips with what he really wanted from life. His entire plan for the future had been destroyed by the events of the past few days, and he had to admit to himself that he was not altogether sorry. Matthew's blunt assessment of his character had shocked him, and yet at the same time it had forced him to accept the ugly truth about himself. He had changed. He had become a different person, and Noah knew he didn't like the man he'd become.

Looking back objectively, Noah could see how the humiliation of his father's failure had rendered him a slave to his obsessive desire to “prove” his worth to those who'd shunned him. He understood his own motivation in striving to reestablish himself, but he knew now that the goal of returning to England possessing great wealth was a useless, fruitless achievement. The opinions of his so-called friends among the peerage were not important, for, had they been true friends, they would not have deserted him in the first place. Noah's thoughts drifted to remembrances of the life he'd led before his father's death. He realized now that his existence had been completely hedonistic, not unlike Geoffrey's here in the colonies, and he knew he could never go back to that. He had discovered that there was more to life…. There was justice and dedication and love….

A sound in the hall interrupted Noah's thoughts, and thinking it to be one of Ryan's men returning to check on him, he quickly got up and started toward the door as it swung open.

CC stepped inside the room fully expecting to come face-to-face with Ryan and several other members of the group. Instead she found herself staring up at Noah. He looked so tall and so handsome that for a minute she froze, overwhelmed by his very nearness. Her hands went cold and clammy, and her heart began to pound in her breast.
What was he doing here?
Of all the people she'd expected to see when she came through the door, he had been the last. Her moment of disbelief was brief. He was a double-dealing traitor!

“You! What are you doing here?” CC erupted in shocked fury.

“CC!” Noah was surprised, but thrilled, to see her. He had never suspected that she would be the one coming to check on him, and all he could think of was that he was finally going to have the chance to tell her everything. She looked beautiful to him even in her boyish garb, and he could hardly wait to take her in his arms and profess his love.

“I asked what you were doing here!” CC snapped, her emerald gaze a vicious glare as she stepped warily backward to maintain a definite distance between them. Trying to ignore the way her pulse was racing, she nervously glanced around the room, hoping someone else was there. To her dismay, they were alone.
Where was everyone?

“You don't know?” Noah approached her slowly, a slight smile curving his handsome lips. “It's obvious, isn't it?”

“It's not obvious to me!” she retorted, feeling overwhelmed by his dominating presence in the small room.

Noah frowned as he considered her answer. Surely she knew about the jailbreak…. “CC, I'm here because this is where Ryan sent me,” he explained simply.

“Surely you don't expect me to believe that. I know what a filthy, double-dealing liar you are!” she declared, her green-eyed gaze scathing upon him as she remembered him heatedly embracing Eve several hours earlier.
How had he come to be here in the rebel hideout when he had been plotting with Eve?
CC was desperate to locate Ryan and find out the truth.

Noah knew CC had every right to be angry with him over the way he'd treated her when they were last together, but he had not expected this type of reaction from her. His only hope was to apologize for that night, but she gave him no opportunity.

“I'm going to find Ryan!” CC was seething as she started out the door, “And I'm going to tell him the truth about you!”

Surprised by her vehement accusations, Noah stood immobile for a moment. Only the thought that she was stalking out without an explanation goaded him to react. Grabbing her by the shoulders just as she would have left, Noah spun her around to face him.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” He gave CC a brief shake as he dragged her closer. Even as annoyed as he was with her, the feel of her slender shoulders beneath his hands sent shock waves of awareness through him.

“
You
are what's the matter with me! I know all about you and your deals and plans! You're the lowest of the low, Kincade! You're nothing but a damned insidious traitor!” CC hissed, wishing she could break free and slap him.

“A traitor?” Noah could only stare down at her in complete bafflement. CC thought him a traitor? The idea was as close to ridiculous as anything he'd ever heard.

“That's right!” she challenged, taking advantage of his momentary confusion to wrench herself free from his firm hold. “I'm going to find Ryan right now and let him know just how low-down and conniving you really are! Unless…” The thought suddenly struck her that Noah must have already set his betrayal into action and that her friends were probably even now being arrested by the authorities. She blanched as she stared up at him, her eyes dark and haunted in her pale face.

Noah read her distress and didn't understand it. “Unless what, CC? What the hell are you talking about?” Noah was completely confused by her wild charges, and he raked a hand nervously through his hair as he stared down at her in consternation. Where in the world had she ever gotten the idea that he was a traitor?

“Unless Ryan and the others have already been arrested…” She backed toward the door, her very real fear reflected on her features. “No wonder I couldn't find anybody! You've already turned them in!”

“Turned who in, CC? I'm no traitor!” he protested, reaching out to snare her arm as she would have fled the room.

“You expect me to believe that after what I saw and heard this afternoon?” CC struggled against his overwhelming strength as he drew her closer to him.

“Yes, I expect you to believe it, especially since it's the truth! And I'd also like to know just what it is you supposedly saw that convinced you I was so devious.” Noah countered, trying to make sense out of her accusation. “Don't you know that I just sold the arms shipment to Ryan for half of what I'd originally asked?”

“Oh, I know all about that. You almost had me convinced that I'd been wrong about you.” CC glared up at him mutinously. “Almost. I had forgotten for a moment what a despicable, amoral man you really are, but after seeing you with Eve today, you can be sure that won't ever happen again!”

“You saw me with Eve?”

“I went to the jail and accidentally walked in on the two of you. I saw you kissing her, and I heard you make a deal with her!”

Noah was stunned. CC had gone to the jail to see him? Why? He longed to know the answer, but first he had to find out what it was she thought he'd done.

“I made no deal with Eve. In fact, CC, when Eve left my cell, she was in quite a temper.”

“If Eve was in a temper when she left you, it was probably because she couldn't bed you right there! I saw you kissing her, Noah! I heard her say that she knew you were a man who liked to deal and that she could have you out of jail before the day was over!”

“Just what kind of deal do you think I made, CC?” Noah asked, his tone quieting as it became clear to him just what had happened. For some as yet unknown reason, CC had gone to the jail to see him and had evidently walked in just as Eve was trying to blackmail him into marrying her. He regretted that CC hadn't stayed past that one kiss, for, if she had, they wouldn't be having this confrontation right now.

“She was probably working for the authorities, trying to convince you to turn us in in exchange for your freedom! What else?” CC looked up at him, her gaze cold and accusing upon him.

“Ah, CC,” he murmured in understanding as he lifted one hand to gently caress her cheek, “what else, indeed…”

CC slapped his hand away in irritation as she tried to deny the desire that was stirring within her. “Don't patronize me, Kincade!”

“I'm not patronizing you, CC. I'm trying to explain exactly what it was you thought you saw and heard this afternoon.”

“I know what I saw and heard!”

“You're right about Eve kissing me, and you're right about her offering me a deal, too, but you're wrong about everything else.”

CC looked at him skeptically as she began to doubt her long-held beliefs about him.

“Think about it,” he urged as he sensed that she was calming. “If I had done what you accused me of, why in the world would I be here?”

His reasoning was maddeningly logical, but still CC didn't want to believe him.

Noah read her mistrust and went on. “I'm here, CC, because Matthew and Ryan arranged for my escape from jail.” As he revealed the truth of all that had happened, Noah studied her expression, hoping to see revealed there an acceptance on her part.

Despite her initial reluctance to accept his explanation, CC felt her fierce belief in his treachery begin to fade. However, the memory of the scene with Eve was still branded in her mind, and she knew that she could not completely accept what he was telling her. “But what about Eve? I heard—”

“I know exactly what you heard,” he agreed steadily. “Eve offered me a deal of sorts that would have guaranteed my release from jail. I refused to take her up on her offer. Suffice it to say that when she left me, she was pleased at the thought that I was going to face the gallows for my crime.”

“Why would you refuse her deal if it would have freed you?”

“There were too many strings attached.”

“I don't understand.”

“Eve witnessed the fight between Geoffrey and me.”

“She did? Why didn't she tell someone?” She looked up at him in surprise.

“She saw it all, all right, but she withheld her testimony in hopes of forcing me to marry her.” There was a bitterness in his tone that betrayed his true feelings for the cunning, beauteous widow.

“What?” CC was truly shocked at his revelation.

Noah smiled thinly, but it was not an expression that mirrored happiness. It was a cynical sneer that reflected the contempt he had for the woman's sly maneuverings. “It seems Eve was at Geoffrey's the night I went there and quarreled with him. Geoffrey had just discovered that I had killed his brother in a duel in England. He was determined to seek revenge, and he drew a pistol. He planned to shoot me and then tell the authorities that I'd attacked him, but I wasn't about to let things end that easily. He didn't expect me to fight him for the gun, so at least I had that much on my side. The gun went off accidentally while we were struggling over it. The whole thing was entirely a matter of self-defense, but unfortunately, I was discovered in the very compromising position of having the murder weapon in my hand when the authorities arrived. Had Eve been a woman of honor, she would have come forth then to profess all she knew. Instead she maintained her silence, condemning me to arrest.” He gazed down at CC standing so close to him, listening so intently. “I wasn't even aware she'd been there until she showed up at the jail this afternoon. Her deal was that she promised to tell all and see that the charges were dismissed if I would agree to marry her.”

“And you turned her down?” CC knew Eve was capable of such treachery, but she thought Noah's refusal to save his own skin oddly out of character for him. He was a man who first and foremost took care of himself, with an eye always on profit. His decision was to remain in jail when he could have been freed. “I don't understand. You would have been free…safe….”

“I would have been trading one prison for another, CC.” Noah's voice was hoarse as he regarded her solemnly. “Death seemed far preferable to the prospect of a lifetime married to a woman I didn't love. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life knowing that I had sold myself to her for a price.” His gray eyes were dark and filled with emotion as they met hers. “There is only one woman I've ever loved, CC, only one woman I've ever proposed to….”

There in the smoky depths of his very serious regard she saw the truth of his feelings openly revealed for the first time. Her breath caught in her throat, and she found she could not answer.