Lord Cavendish Returns (21 page)

If he
wanted a future with the woman seated opposite him, and he wanted
to keep her safe and her to keep herself safe, he had to be
completely honest with her. After all, it wasn’t a healthy
relationship that is founded on lies and subterfuge.

“
Have you ever heard -” he frowned at that.

Of course she won’t have heard of the Star Elite,
he mused silently. At least he hoped
not.

“
I work for the War Office,” he said instead. “There is a
group of men who are all ex-soldiers, who work together to solve
crimes committed by people from all walks of life. It isn’t just
the petty thieves who are guilty of crimes; or the rich and wealthy
we fight to protect, our work involves everyone. Our organisation
is called the Star Elite. Recently, our work has involved finding
and arresting a group of French spies who have been in the country.
They adopted new identities to enable them to spy on the country
and send important information back to France. Their support
network included everyone from magistrates, smugglers, financiers
in London, to pick-pockets in the East End. Because of the variety
of people we have been in contact with, our work has expanded
outwards and we are now involved in all sorts of
things.”

Arrabella closed her mouth with a snap. “You don’t think that
your attacker has anything to do with your work in London, do
you?”

“
I have thought of that, but I simply cannot see that anyone
would follow me all the way here, to the middle of nowhere, to
knock me on the head. It just doesn’t make sense. If anyone wanted
me dead, they have had ample opportunity to kill me on several
occasions before now.”

The
casual, almost detached way he spoke about death; as though he
accepted it was part and parcel of his life, made her wonder just
what horrors he had faced throughout his life. He seemed completely
undeterred by the fact that someone had attacked him and left him
bleeding heavily, confused and barely able to function. Now here he
was, sitting before the fire, discussing people; thieves, French
spies and attackers as though it was an everyday part of his
life.

“
So what do you plan to do now?” She frowned at the carpet.
Although they had been through the facts, she still didn’t know
what to think. It was highly unusual for anyone in Hambley Wood to
help themselves to the keys without mentioning it to either herself
or Mrs Able at some point. Harper had taken her into his
confidence, of that there could be no doubt, but she had the
distinct feeling that he wasn’t telling her everything.

She
physically jerked at his next words.

“
I am going to go back to Moldton church.”

“
Why? Do you think that someone has returned the register to
Moldton?” She couldn’t understand his logic.

“
No, I think that someone is giving me a warning that they
don’t want me digging around in the past.”

“
That’s why they hit you?”

“
I didn’t have my pockets emptied. The person was squaring up
to me, but in the way of a gentleman fighter, not a street person.
No, I am convinced that they are warning me to stop looking for the
register. They don’t want me digging around in the
past.”

“
You could have been killed, Harper,” Arrabella gasped. “You
were covered in blood and barely able to remember who you were. You
could so very easily have fallen into a ditch somewhere where
nobody would have found you until it was too late. This is more
serious than a warning.”

Harper
shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He knew she didn’t understand
but it didn’t feel right to taint her world by describing the often
macabre crimes he dealt with. “Let’s look at it this way, I have
been walking the country lanes for miles yet have not been accosted
until today. When I left home this morning it was early and still
dark outside. I didn’t see anyone as I walked to Joseph’s house. If
someone wanted to accost me, or kill me, they had ample opportunity
to do so.”

“
Not if they were in Moldton.”

“
Quite. Let’s consider this then. In the church, if someone
wanted me to die, they wouldn’t have just hit me once. That
candlestick was heavy and they struck it right on my temple.
Whether they expected to knock me out or not I am not altogether
sure but I was stunned, not helpless. Any determined attacker would
have hit me and kept hitting.” He sighed and leaned back in his
chair. “No, I am convinced that they weren’t out to cause me
significant damage, they wanted to give me a warning to stop
looking for the register.”

“
Did he say anything to you?” Arrabella went cold and stared
at him when he shook his head. “It could have just been an
opportunistic crime,” she added hopefully but the doubt in Harper’s
eyes matched hers. If she was honest she didn’t believe for one
second that his attack was a random crime.

He
didn’t want to believe that the attack in Moldton was a one off
event, but couldn’t dismiss it either. He had no idea if the man
had been looking for something inside the church to steal. It
wasn’t inconceivable that he had disturbed a thief. After all, the
candlestick had been in the attacker’s hand. After the knock on the
head, he hadn’t thought to check the church to see if anything had
gone missing, but then wouldn’t know if it had.

“
I don’t understand something,” Arrabella sighed with a frown
and looked at him worriedly. “If the man has the register, why
attack you? I mean, I know that he could want you to stop looking
for it, but he didn’t give you any warning to stop looking for it.
Why not just leave the area with the register and simply vanish?
You don’t know who he is. He could disappear and never be seen. Why
come back and attack you?”

Harper
stared at her. “He doesn’t have the register.”

“
Was anything else missing from the church?”

“
I didn’t think to look.”

“
Was he already in the church?”

He knew
she was trying to point out that the crime could have been
opportunistic, and he couldn’t really argue with her. Right now, he
just didn’t know.

“
I have no idea.” It was true, he didn’t know if he had been
followed around Moldton, or if the man had been lying in wait. “I
need to see if anything else has been stolen.”

When
Arrabella saw the glint of fierce determination in his eye she
sighed and knew what was coming. Sure enough, his next words
confirmed just how dedicated he was to something that mattered to
him.

“
I am going to Moldton church.”

“
Why now? Why not wait until morning?”

“
Because we have to find that register, and quickly,” he
turned and pointed one long finger at her. “Like you said, now that
they have the register, why don’t they just leave the village?
Until we can establish whether my attack was a random crime or not,
we don’t know if we are even looking at the person who has the
register. Like you said, they didn’t give me a verbal warning to
stop looking for it.”

“
So why go?

“
Because I need to see if anything has been stolen, or someone
has tried to break into the ante room. If they have, then we know
that the attacker doesn’t have the register and was looking for it.
If they haven’t, then the attack on me could have just been a
warning, or a random crime completely unrelated to the register.
Until we take a look at the interior of the church, we just don’t
know.”

“
But why now? Why tonight? Angus said you must stay warm and
rest. You cannot go haring out into the night to a cold and empty
church, it just isn’t right,” she argued loudly.

“
I am fine,” he assured her. He turned to her with such a look
of menace on his face that she instinctively took a step back. “If
the church hasn’t been broken into then I am taking my attack as a
personal warning. My attacker is in Moldton somewhere, so first
thing tomorrow I am going to go and find him.”

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

Arrabella glared at him and watched as left the room. The
heavy sound of his boots on the stairs for a second time made her
hurry to the door. He was sitting on the stairs putting his boots
on when she reached the doorway and she shook her head in disbelief
to find him now fully dressed.

“
Harper, can I remind you that only this morning you were
knocked out by an attacker at the church. It is eight o’clock in
the evening and dark outside. You are asking for
trouble.”

“
The quicker I can get to the truth, the quicker I can start
to make a few important decisions about my life, Arrabella. This is
important because the truth about my birth is a very big part of
who I am. I mean, am I one of three sons who were born and raised
in the village, or am I really an entitled lord, closely related to
the Cavendish brothers.”

Arrabella felt a gulf of difference open up between them and
sighed in dismay. She could understand his eagerness to find the
truth, but to do so in his condition was ridiculous. Was he so
desperate to get out of Hambley Wood that he was prepared to risk
everything just to get the information he needed? Her heart broke
just a little and she watched him move to the coat hook with a
sigh.

“
Go into the village and find your brother. You need to take
someone with you.” Unsurprisingly he shook his head.

“
Arrabella, I thank you for your concern, but this is what I
do. I have spent most of the last few years working throughout the
night using the darkness and shadows to help me. Trust me, I know
what I am doing.”

“
But you are injured,” she cried and nodded toward the white
bandage on his head. Much to her consternation, he quickly yanked
the bandage off and shoved it into his pocket.

“
Thanks for that,” he grinned. “I would walk around like a
beacon with that on my head.”

She
wasn’t listening. She was too busy studying the large goose egg on
his temple that looked as sore as it did black. How on earth he
could even contemplate stepping outside of the door was anyone’s
guess, but he seemed to positively relish the possibility of going
out and coming face to face with the person who had hit
him.

He
paused beside the front door and turned to look back at her. “Lock
the door behind me and don’t answer it to anyone.”

“
But, you cannot just go out there all by
yourself.”

“
Why?” He demanded. “Are you coming with me?”

Her eyes
widened and she stared at him in horror. She couldn’t think of
anything worse than having to walk around outside, in the dark,
with an attacker on the loose. She didn’t feel comfortable in
Moldton church during the daytime let alone during the night, but
the idea of sitting and fretting in front of the fire while she
waited for him to come back filled her with sickening dread. She
knew that she would spend the night wide-awake, going out of her
mind with worry, and it wasn’t only because of the deep affection
that was beginning to blossom for him.

Who are you trying to kid?
She
thought morosely.
You already care for him
deeply.

“
I think someone has to, and, seeing as you don’t seem to want
any of your brothers with you, then I suppose it is down to me.”
She could sense an argument brewing from the horrified look in his
eye, but figured that if bluffing him with the promise that she was
going to come with him if he left the house got him to stay beside
the fire, then that is what she would do. “After all, you have no
idea what church property should be there and won’t have any idea
if anything has been stolen.”

“
You are not going.”

“
You cannot stop me. Besides, what will Mr Turner think if he
catches you in the church all alone? You are a stranger to these
parts; most of the people here cannot remember you. He might
mistake you as a trespasser and take matters into his own hands.”
She shook her head when he opened his mouth to speak. “No, he
wouldn’t hit someone over the head, so don’t even think
it.”

His
brows lifted in stunned disbelief when she stalked over to the hook
and lifted her cloak down. She threw it around her shoulders and
defiantly ignored Mrs Able’s protests. She waited for him to change
his mind and reluctantly agree to stay beside the fire, but he
merely stared at her.

“
It’s cold and dark, Arrabella. It isn’t wise for you to be
outside on a night like this.”

“
I don’t see why not. It is not any different than any other
night,” she replied with a sniff.

“
I am going back to the church where I was accosted,
Arrabella. Who knows what dangers might lurk outside, or in for
that matter?” He fervently hoped his oblique reference to their
being locked in the crypt was enough to put her off but mentally
cursed for about the thousandth time when she merely shrugged
unconcernedly.

“
Then with two pairs of eyes we will be able to keep a closer
eye out, won’t we?”

Mrs
Able’s head swivelled from left to right and back again as she
watched the interchange.

“
It is going to be cold inside the church and we may have to
go back down into the crypt again.”