My Lord Deceived (13 page)

“I cannot
believe my ears,” his uncle sighed with a mixture of delight and
fear. “Have you thought this through? I mean, you have only been
back a few days.”

“I am sure,”
Jonathan replied with a secretive smile. “Until matters are on a
much firmer footing with Kat though, you are not, under any
circumstances, to mention anything to her.” The mock frown he gave
his uncle was met with unholy glee that made Jonathan shake his
head in consternation. He knew Bruce well enough to know that the
mischief maker in him would not hesitate to stir matters up a
little and, as long as it helped Jonathan persuade Kat to consider
him marriage material, he couldn’t object to his uncle playing
match-maker.

At least Bruce
seemed to have forgotten the differences in social status for the
time being. Jonathan could only hope that it would remain that
way.

He could
understand why Bruce had pointed out his differing background to
Kat’s, but he also knew that he couldn’t tell his uncle that his
behaviour during his time with the Star Elite had been far from
that of a gentleman. He had killed, maimed and fought with the
heart of a warrior in order to stay alive. He had seen things; done
things that no landed gentry should ever be witness to, and he had
done it all with a will that would horrify the man seated opposite.
Not only that, but he had lived in places and experienced the worst
of depravity to the point that Jonathan had started to consider
whether he was good enough for Kat.

But his
decision was made now. If he was honest, it was a decision that had
been taken out of his hands many years ago when he had first set
eyes on her. Even as a young boy he had dreamed of Kat being his
wife one day. Now that he had the opportunity to turn that dream
into a reality, nothing and nobody was going to stand in his
way.

As he made his
way toward his study, he realised that he had not had a word yet
with Brian Meldrew or any of his friends. He hesitated in the
hallway and flicked a glance at the front door. A discrete cough
from within the luxurious confines of his workplace drew his
attention to his man of business who waited with a huge stack of
papers that needed his urgent attention. With a sigh, he made a
mental note to visit Meldrew at the first opportunity and
disappeared into his study.

Kat shivered
and snuggled into her cloak as she made her way down to the
harbour. The empty basket she carried was clutched loosely in her
fingers and she lengthened her stride to get out of the biting
wind. She couldn’t ever remember it being this cold so late in the
summer. Autumn seemed to have encroached upon summer even faster
this year and a wintry chill had already started to accompany the
bitter sea winds that battered the shores. Darkness had already
fallen. She knew that it wouldn’t be long before they would have to
head out to market in the dark, and would return in the dark.

She wondered
where Jonathan was. On the one hand she was glad that he appeared
to have gotten the message and decided that his escort duties
weren’t required, while on the other, she was avidly curious to
know whether he had left Dentham Hall and returned to London as he
usually did. She had certainly annoyed him with her rather probing
questions the other night. The fact that she hadn’t seen him then
bore testament to the fact that he had decided to stay away from
her.

She jumped a
little at a sudden movement in the shadows, and smothered a
relieved laugh when Mrs Arbottle’s cat appeared at her feet.

“Get a grip on
yourself, Kat,” she muttered. The sight of the Shipwright Inn’s
doorway was a welcome haven and she hurried in that direction. She
had no idea why she was so jumpy tonight. Market day had gone well
again and all of their stock had been sold but, for some reason,
she felt strangely restless. It was as though some inner warning
system was aware that trouble was afoot, only she didn’t know
what.

Her thoughts
turned toward the shipment that was due later and she shivered at
the reluctance that dogged her every footstep. She didn’t want to
go out to the beach tonight to bring the smuggled cargo ashore. She
hated being out in the darkness, let alone down on the beach with
the cold sea up to her knees. Boxes and barrels were usually
littered everywhere and, on nights like this, the tide was
dangerous. It hadn’t been unknown for smugglers to be swept out to
sea; dragged out by the ferocious tides that pulled them
relentlessly to their deaths.

Still, she knew
that they had a responsibility to bring the goods in along with
everyone else. Other women would be there. It wasn’t as though she
was the only female smuggler. It was just that she was sick and
tired of being cold and wet while she had to look over her shoulder
throughout her sleepless night.

She was so lost
in thought that she didn’t notice the dark shadow appear at her
right elbow, but a flurry of movement on her left did draw her
attention. She gasped when her elbows were captured from behind in
a ruthless grip. She felt the solid length of a man directly behind
her, and cursed fluidly at the sight of Brian Meldrew’s spiteful
face right beside hers.

“I thought you
had been told to stay away from me,” she snapped and started to
struggle to get her elbows free. They hurt fiercely but she refused
to let the pain show on her face. After several moments of futility
she stopped struggling, but also planted her feet firmly on the
floor so Brian couldn’t shove her around. She hauled her body
weight backward to stop him as he tried to push her toward the
alleyway at the side of the tavern. She knew that nobody used the
alleyway while the pub was open. It was dark and quiet. Nobody
would be able to hear her scream through the thick stone walls of
the tavern and the noise of the singing from within.

She eyed the
blackness of the alleyway in horror and kicked out at Wally, who
immediately let go of her foot to clutch his painful shin. She
elbowed Colin in the mouth and winced when pain exploded in her
elbow. She took advantage of Brian’s distraction to yank her arm
out of his grasp only for him to grab a firm hold on her wrist
before she could get away.

“Get off me,”
she snapped and twisted her arm in an attempt to break the ruthless
fingers that encircled her other wrist. She tried to free their
hold with a desperation that threatened to give way to panic,
especially when she couldn’t get her nails between their fingers
and her bruised flesh.

“You are going
to come with me,” Brian smirked. “What’s wrong, Kat, aren’t us
local men good enough for you anymore? You are free and easy with
your kisses with the rich man. What about giving us locals a go,
eh?”

Kat began to
struggle with renewed vigour. Panic threatened to overwhelm her as
she became aware of the presence of the others as they tried to
overwhelm her. She kicked out behind her and was awarded with a
curse.

“Let me
go!”

She hated any
one of them seeing any weakness, but she was horrified at the
thought of what they would do with her if they succeeded in getting
her into the alleyway. She had heard so many vile rumours about
their behaviour toward other females who lived nearby, none of
which had been proved but, given their behaviour tonight, was more
than likely true.

“Grab her
legs,” Brian growled.

Her scream was
cut off by one large, grubby palm against her mouth. Fear
overwhelmed her as hands grabbed her ankles and she was lifted off
her feet. She began to squirm, twist and writhe. She didn’t care if
they dropped her onto the hard cobbles as long as they didn’t
succeed in their aim.

“Put her down!”
Jonathan snarled as he emerged out of the shadows by the side of
the tavern. Kat froze and whimpered with a mixture of relief and
pain. The hold they had on her was fierce but she was so bloody
relieved to see Jonathan, who stood tall and ferocious on the edges
of the shadows. Tears pooled in her eyes and she tried to suck in a
breath around the foul smell of the fingers that threatened to
smother her. She wrenched her head to one side, and twisted her
arms to try to get her captors to release her, but to her
consternation they held firm.

“I will give
you one last warning.” Jonathan’s voice was as deadly as the
merciless eyes that moved slowly over the youths. He stared at
Wally, the smallest of the group, until the younger boy dropped the
leg he held.

Kat immediately
yanked on her other leg and slammed her foot on the ground at the
same time that she dug her teeth into the fingers that covered her
lips. She was rewarded by Colin’s painful yowl.

“Or you are
going to do what, rich man?” Brian snarled. “You are nothing more
than a dandy boy.”

“You know
nothing about me, boy,” Jonathan replied as calmly as if he was
reading aloud from a broadsheet. “I strongly recommend that you
consider Kat strictly off limits to your kind of bully-boy
antics.”

“Or what? What
can you do about it?” e He He shared an amused glance with his
cohorts who all stared belligerently at Jonathan.

Jonathan merely
lifted his brow and studied Kat for a moment. Even in the gloom he
could see the dark marks around her wrists and felt his stomach
churn with anger. His fingers clenched with the need to lash out.
He knew that his years of fighting experience were no match for the
young boys before him. They needed to learn that appearances, and
gossip, could be deceptive.

“I will warn
you once more, Brian. Put her down or you will go to go for a swim
to cool down that arrogant, hot head of yours.” He watched with
disinterest as Robert sidled carefully around him, clearly with the
intention of attacking from behind. But Jonathan was far too
experienced to fall for such tactics. The boy had only reached his
shoulder when one long arm shot out and cruel fingers clamped
tightly around Robert’s throat.

“Go away, this
is village business.” Despite his bravado, he frowned at the
choking noises that came from Robert as he clawed desperately at
Jonathan’s unrelenting hold.

“I am the
village,” Jonathan snarled. He was dangerously close to losing his
temper: something that he had learned many years ago never to do
while in the midst of battle. But the strain of carrying out his
decision to stay away from Kat over the past few days had taken its
toll on his patience. Now, he relished the prospect of being able
to vent his frustration.

“Jonathan,” Kat
gasped as she stared at Robert’s mottled face. Did Jonathan plan to
kill him? She watched in a mixture of awe and horror as Jonathan
immediately let go and Robert slumped to the floor while he coughed
and gagged, and desperately tried to suck in huge gulps of air. One
swift kick to the young man’s jaw and he was out cold on the floor
without a murmur.

“I warned you
to stay away from her.” Jonathan’s voice dropped to a deadly snarl
that matched the ruthless intent on his face.

Kat had never
seen this side to him before and wasn’t sure what to make of it.
All trace of the gentleness she had seen on his handsome features
when he had been dealing with his uncle had gone, and was replaced
with a deadly intent that made her immediately want to step back.
She would have done too, if Brian hadn’t grasped her elbow and
drawn her to his side.

“Brian, don’t
be a fool,” Kat snapped and watched as Brian drew out a filleting
knife from his boot and began to finger the wicked-looking
blade.

“Shut up,”
Brian snarled. “You are nothing but this nabob’s whore. You
consider yourself too good for the local men in this village, do
you? Well, let’s see how you feel about him when he has been cut up
a bit.”

Jonathan shook
his head in mock sadness. He glanced at Kat and took note of the
hold Colin and Brian still had on her wrists. Wally stood to one
side and stared avidly at him. Indecision was evident on his face
and he rocked on the balls of his feet while he decided whether to
stay and fight or run for his life. When Wally began to ball his
fists in preparation for a fight, Jonathan sighed and knew that he
was going to get considerably colder, and wetter, before the night
was through. He studied the distance between them and the harbour
wall, and judged that he could just about make it, as long as the
boys let go of Kat first.

He had to keep
his gaze carefully averted from Kat’s terrified face. The sight of
the fear on her beautiful features hampered his concentration and,
right now, he needed to be able to think about the battle that was
ahead. All of his years of Star Elite training and experience came
to the fore, and with a ruthless twist of his lips, his eyes locked
on his first opponent: Colin.

“Let her go,”
Jonathan drawled in a voice that was softly authoritative.

“Go to hell.
You are nothing more than a rich boy, here for a dalliance with the
local whore. You will be off as soon as you have got what you
wanted. Who will be around to protect her then?” Brian snorted and
began to turn the knife in his hand over and over. His implied
threat did little to intimidate Jonathan, who merely flicked a
disinterested glance at the blade.

“What happens
to Kat is my concern, not yours.” He cursed when three young men
walked up to them seemingly out of nowhere. At first glance they
appeared to be fishermen and not part of Brian’s gang, thank God.
They stared at the affray and sidled around everyone, clearly
undecided as to whether they should get involved or not.

“Kat? You
alright?” One of them asked as he eyed the boys’ hold on the
barmaid.

“No, I am not.
Get these bastards off me, will you? Or fetch someone from inside.”
She snapped. One of them disappeared inside, and Jonathan cursed
fate for being so bloody minded. The last thing he wanted, or
needed, was the entire tavern outside to watch. He had enough
control of the situation to be assured that Kat would escape from
this skirmish unharmed but, with the villagers crowding the harbour
side, God only knew what would happen.