Lady Star (22 page)

“Stop it, both of you! We must not go outside
the law,” Star admonished.

“Challenge him to a duel…” Miles said. “That
is what I shall do.”

“Also quite against the law,” Star stuck
in.

“Indeed, besides one does not duel with the
likes of Farley. He hasn’t a shred of honor in his blood. He would
have his henchmen shoot you in the back. No, he must be dealt with
as his lives… ruthlessly!”

“Agreed, let’s just put a bullet in his head
when we find him,” Miles said.

“No, no, stop it! You shan’t do such a thing.
I won’t have it,” Star said. “If anyone is to kill him, it should
be
me
! I am the one he accosted and if he tries it again, I
shall be ready for him.”

“There are some things, a man does not
discuss with his sister,” Vern told her.

“Too late, you already have, and this sister
knows too much to be left out at this juncture. Honestly,” Star
said shaking her head.

“Let us play at ducks and drakes. Where is
the board?” Miles said all at once and although Star got to her
feet and fetched the board and pieces from the cupboard she glared
at him and said, “Don’t think for one moment that I am fooled. I
will have my eyes on both of you!”

Chapter Eighteen

IT WAS A well sprung coach of modern design.
Its lines were sleek and its doors carried its owner’s crest
painted in gold. It was led by a pair of matched bay geldings and
Websly, the driver at the long reins knew his job well.

He called out to his employer through a small
trap door at his back and said that he was sorry for the bumpy road
and hoped sir was not too uncomfortable.

His passenger said, “Don’t concern yourself,
Websly. You and I have traveled far worse roads than this.”

“Aye, that we have sir, but this is in a
sorry state, it is.”

“So it is, but I don’t think we have much
further to go,” Sir Edward answered thoughtfully as he peered
through the darkness of his open window and surveyed the passing
landscape eerily lit up by a waning moon.

He could see shadowy trees and bushes
trailing beside the unkempt road. He had a great deal to think
about, but leading the list was the minx of a woman child and her
name was as bright as her smile.
Star
. How had he caved in
to his basest needs and taken her? If he wasn’t so in love, he
would be a cur…a cad…a…but he did love her and before long she
would be his, and his alone.

He sighed. His, she was his, and damn, bloody
damn, no one would rest her away from him. She was his and he
was…dash it all to hell, he was hers. This is what the Lady Babs
had meant when she told him one day he would fall in love and he
would know it.

It was as though he had always been looking
for Star. It was as though a secret thread reached out of her heart
and found his and weaved a net around it just before he was
thoroughly reeled in.

The problem was Jules.

Jules thought he wanted her and now, there
was nothing, not even his honor, or his loyalty that would allow
Jules to have her. Star was meant for one man, and he was that one
man.

He had wanted to see her this evening, but
business had kept him in Hastings longer than he had anticipated.
He didn’t complete his business with his bank until well into the
evening. There had been nothing for it but to have dinner and then
proceed home, taking a road that was not the main road, but he
remembered that it was a shortcut to Stamford Manor.

Suddenly Websly sounding worried called out,
“Bless me, Sir Edward…there is a tree blocking the road! Oi don’t
loike the looks of it…no Oi don’t.”

“What are you thinking, my man?” Sir Edward
had already pulled out his horse pistol and put it ever ready in
his lap.

“Has the taste of wickedness, it does,”
Websly said in grim tones. “Oi’ve got m’gun handy.”

Sir Edward reached into his satchel and
pulled out another smaller gun and stuck it into his belt. It would
be hidden by his cloak. A third gun went into his boot. He had a
great deal of experience on the road and knew just how to thwart an
attack as did Websly.

“Can you get around the tree?”

“Aye, with some effort…but Oi’ll have to get
down and lead them careful not to ditch em on the side of the
road.”

“Aye, slow down then man and I’ll get out as
well,” Sir Edward said. “That’s it, just enough for me to get out
for I mean to get a lay of the land.”

Sir Edward’s eyes roamed the area and then he
saw the form of a horse and rider quietly make its way out of the
woods. Hurriedly he hid behind the trees alongside the opposite
side and smiled to himself. He would not be expected. The high toby
would think he was inside the coach and he knew Websly would wait
for just the right moment to pull out his own gun.

A harsh voice muffled by the wool scarf
covering the toby’s face called out, “Whoa there, aye then, Oi’ll
be thanking ye to pull up,
now.
”

Sir Edward’s driver pulled his team to a
complete stop and said nothing, his gun hidden beneath his
blanket.

Two more masked riders emerged from the
woods. Each took up a stand at the doors of the coach, while
another rider appeared and took up position at the back of the
vehicle.

“Now then, whot is it Oi should be saying to
the flash cove in there? Aye, right, Oi knows. Eh, Oi say, guv, yer
money or yer life…and quick about it, before Oi take both.”

The toby’s men chortled with laughter. No
sound was emitted from within the coach. The toby’s voice sounded
angry when next he spoke, “Be ye deaf, covey? Come on then, out wit
ye, or are ye quaking in yer boots so much ye have lost yer
tongue?”

The man at the back shouted out, “He must be
shaking with fear…just grab him and drag him to the ground.”

“Aye, mayhap that will be the way of it.” The
man in charge pulled open the carriage door and before he had a
good look said, “Shake yer shambles and get yerself out here where
we might have a look at ye, covey!”

Sir Edward heard and watched all of this. It
would be a tricky business. He would have to be quick and quiet,
but it called for immediate action, for it was now or never.

Before the high toby leader realized there
wasn’t anyone in the dark carriage, Edward moved in on foot and
caught the toby unaware.

Sir Edward had him off his startled horse in
a thrice and as the toby struggled and tried to recoup his breath,
Edward held a pistol to his head and demanded, “On the ground, face
on the ground.”

The toby did what he was told for he knew
when a man would as happily kill him as not.

“He is a dead man if any of you lift a finger
to stop me. Understood?” Sir Edward said grimly.

Websly had his gun out then and pointed it at
the man on his right, “Aye then, two of ye will be dead…two and
then we’ll make certain we find the rest if ye try and run off.” He
looked at the man on his left and made his horses move backward
ever so slightly so that the chubby rider would not have a clear
shot. “Aye, Oi wouldn’t get one of me own men shot, would ye?”

The chubby toby called to the rest of the
men, “Stand down lads…let’s not be rash, any of us.”

“Farley…whot do ye want us to do?” called the
man at the boot.

“Damn yer soul, what did ye go and say m’name
fer?” Farley lifted his cheek from the dirt and responded
angrily.

Sir Edward’s foot was on Farley’s back but
with this he grinned to himself and said, “Well, well, so we meet
again, you and I?”

Farley’s wool scarf had shifted off to his
chin and he looked up and around as best he could, “Who might ye
be? Do Oi know ye then? Why not let me and the lads go and we’ll
call it a night?”

Sir Edward reached for Farley’s arm and
dragged him to his knees. He then took the man’s coat and hefted
him up with very little effort to his feet as he said, “Tell your
men to throw away their guns.”

“Do as the flash says, lads…” Farley
croaked.

“Easy, make certain they do it easy. I
wouldn’t want my finger to slip while my gun is pointed at your
head.”

“Here now guv…no need for that. Come on boys,
you heard the flash…easy.”

“Aye, and remember me as well fer Oi wouldn’t
mind shooting ye one by one and be done…” Websly added to the
conversation.

The three men on horseback complied without
another grumble as the coach’s driver appeared to have murderous
intentions.

The guns dropped to the earth and Sir Edward
said with deadly seriousness lacing each word. “Now you will remove
the tree you so thoughtlessly left in our way.”

By this time, Websly had jumped from his
seat, collected the guns and made each man dismount. He took their
horses and neatly scattered them.

The three men loudly objected and he said,
“Be happy if ye come out alive…ye may still be able to walk—so stop
yer jawing and get to work to move that tree.”

Farley started toward the tree and Sir Edward
pulled him back by his collar and pressed the muzzle of his gun to
his forehead.
“Not you.”

It didn’t take long before the tree was, with
some grunting and huffing moved off the road and Farley’s men
allowed to go on their way.

Websly waited till they were out of sight
before climbing back onto his box, his gun still handy and Sir
Edward pushed Farley toward the open door of his carriage.

“Look here, flash…no need to take me wit ye.
Oi don’t mean ye no harm. We’ll call it square, we will, and all
make our different ways.”

“I think not. You see, I mean to have a
little talk with you and if you cooperate, then perhaps I won’t see
fit to drop you off at the nearest guardhouse and have them haul
you off to prison.” Sir Edward eyed him. “Or I could save myself a
great deal of trouble and shoot you dead, right where you stand and
mark me, it is quickly becoming the more attractive choice.”

Chapter Nineteen

STAR HELD HERSELF and shivered as she closed
the library window and walked away. “Brrr…so cold this morning,
unusually so,” she complained to her brother.

“Hmmm, is it?” He looked up absent-mindedly
from the
Chronicle
he was perusing and then resumed reading
once more.

“Yes, and it looks like rain, blast the
weather. I need a ride,” she told him.

“Ah,” he responded not really paying
attention.

“I was thinking of jumping into the pond with
all my clothes on and turning into a sheet of ice,” she said
looking directly at him.

 “Hmmm,” he seemed to agree.

“Would you like that? To jump in with me,
Vern?” she pursued the topic.

“Jump…jump in? Where?” he looked at her
perplexed.

“Good, I now have your attention,” she said
and plopped down beside him on the sofa. “Tell me, what do you
think of Sir Edward?”

Startled his brows rose. “Sir Edward?” He
shook his head, “Whatever do you mean?”

“Don’t you have an opinion about the man? I
am curious,” she said and watched him closely.

“Well, I don’t really know him, do I?” He
shrugged his shoulders, “Seems a knowing fellow and Jules says he
is top sawyer.”

She sighed, “Oh Vern, he is so much more than
that. He is…” she saw her brother’s eyes narrow as he looked at
her. “He is such a gentleman,” she decided to say.

“Well, yes and I will tell you that I rather
think he is up to every rig. A Corinthian, as well, anyone can see
that and I would wager he practices in the ring…handy with his
fives. I could tell by the way he carries himself.”

“Yes and his seat…he rides beautifully…” Star
added. “And Vern…his eyes, he has such speaking eyes.”

Vern sat up straight, “Does he, by God! And
have they been speaking to you?” He wagged a finger at her and
before she could answer him, continued in an admonishing tone,
“I’ll tell you what, m’girl, I don’t know him all that well, but I
know that you are, for all your managing ways, just a green chit
and not up to his rig! He’ll break your heart, and not even know he
has done it.”

She contemplated her brother for a long
moment and said, “Yes, I suppose you are right, except he would
know because he is up to every rig as you have said. I suppose he
would chalk it up to a conquest when he wins a woman’s heart.”

“Star, do not tell me you have already lost
your heart to him?” Vern seemed genuinely worried.

“Well…never mind, I just think that he is
quite…exceptional and yes, I have flirted outrageously with him and
enjoyed it,” that was all she was telling Vern. How could she tell
him she had already succumbed to the man’s charms and her
desires?

“Stay away from him,” Vern told her sharply.
“Jules is the man for you and have a notion he means to come up to
scratch very soon.”

“Do you? I think he has had second thoughts
and I think that is because his attention has shifted to Georgie.
He quite stares at her at times,” Star said with a soft smile.

“And that pleases you?” her brother asked on
a frown. “Georgie and I…”

“Will not make a match of it. She won’t have
someone she thinks of as her brother, so do get over that…it is not
about to happen.”

“Never mind, Georgie and me. This is about
you,” he said.

 “Oh no, it is not,” she laughed and
started to get up from the sofa. He pulled her fingers and stayed
her.

She eyed him and he said, “You know Miles
wants to marry you…and I know you don’t think of him as a
brother.”

“No, not quite a brother, but a dear, very
dear and womanizing friend. I am not for him and he certainly is
not for me,” she answered.

“You know, he has quite set a record he told
me and has not kissed a maid for two weeks as he is planning on
getting down on one knee for you,” her brother said and barked a
laugh.

She giggled, “Absurd, isn’t it? Miles and me?
He shall want Marcia next month and
faith!
I can’t even
guess who will be next. He hasn’t lost his heart to me, but one
day, he will lose it to someone…hard. One day he will meet his
match and be thoroughly besotted.”