My Lord Deceived (9 page)

“Parents?”

“None. He lives
with his grandma in Smisben.”

Jonathan lifted
his brows.

“Colin Foster
is also from the village but comes from a family who are just as
bad as he is. The trawler they run is barely able to stay afloat
yet they continue to take it out.”

“I take it that
Colin works on the trawler?”

“Yes, but
unfortunately that gives him the rest of the day to cause
trouble.”

Jonathan
sighed. He knew that none of the boys posed any serious threat to
him, they were in his eyes still boys, however they did pose a
threat to Kat, and that was something Jonathan had to put a stop
to. As quickly as possible given the sinister threat Brian had just
issued.

Jonathan gently
placed a kiss on her forehead in an almost fatherly manner. The
warmth of his lips as they briefly pressed against her cold brow
made her gasp in surprise but, before she could fathom what to say
to him, he relinquished his hold and turned to face forward.

“Let’s get you
home,” he drawled.

“I was going to
go to read to your uncle,” Kat murmured from behind him. For some
reason, she was strangely reluctant to put her hands on him, much
less her arms around him. She was astonishingly aware that her
skirts were rucked up above her knees. As they made their way
toward the village, she frantically tried to think of something to
say that would make him leave her at the edge of the village. While
she didn’t want to offend him, she didn’t want the gossips to have
a field day. Although being connected with the lord of the manor
wouldn’t be too much of a discredit, she didn’t want her virtuous
reputation to be tarnished by being branded his lover, his whore or
anything else they wanted to call her. She couldn’t lose sight of
just how easily he disappeared from the village, and stayed away
for many months at a time. She didn’t want the pitying looks, or
suspicious glances, when people assumed that she was his dumped
lover.

To her
consternation, Jonathan insisted on her riding to the front gate of
the first house that marked the edge of the village. Even then she
had to persistently nag him until he sighed and agreed to allow her
to dismount. To her dismay however, he dismounted too and insisted
on escorting her to her front door. She was aware of the curious
looks and the cautious greetings of her neighbours as they passed,
but didn’t take the time to explain.

She tried to
say goodbye to him at the front door, only to be thwarted by her
own family. As soon as she opened the door, she walked in and
caught sight of her mother. The initial shock that appeared on
Agnes’ face when she caught sight of Jonathan behind Kat was
quickly replaced with a cautious smile of welcome.

Kat’s eyes met
and held her mother’s for a moment and she silently willed Jonathan
not to tell her mother what had happened. Her mother had enough to
worry about as it was.

“Kat has been
accosted by Brian Meldrew and his gang,” Jonathan warned darkly
when he was waved into the room and offered a seat. He watched
horror flood Agnes’ face and understood in that moment just how
much of a threat Brian and his associates posed to Kat.

Although Kat
had done her best to put on a show of bravado, he knew now why she
had high-tailed it over the gate as quickly as she had. Had she not
wanted to lose face in front of him? For some reason that thought
touched him deeply, and he felt a gentleness sweep through him that
made him want to hug her. It drew out his fierce protectiveness
even more and he knew that whatever it took, Kat and her family had
to remain safe; from smugglers, from Brian and his gang, from the
mysterious Harrison and, to his even bigger concern, his work with
the Star Elite.

“She is
alright, but I think it would be best for now if she doesn’t go
anywhere alone,” Jonathan sighed. He ignored Kat’s put upon sigh
and turned to stare at Agnes. “I thwarted them this time but they
gave her a hard time in Molly’s field and I dread to think what
would have happened had I not turned up.” He pointedly ignored
Kat’s impatient sigh and gave Agnes a warning look.

“I am fine. It
is nothing to worry about,” Kat snapped in an attempt to hastily
reassure her fearful mother.

“Don’t tell me
that they plan to target you now,” Agnes gasped. She clutched at
the small silver crucifix necklace that rested on her chest as
though she needed divine inspiration. “Dear Lord.”

“I am fine,
mother. It is nothing to worry about,” Kat whispered and rushed
forward when her mother collapsed into her chair.

“That’s it, we
have to move,” Agnes cried. “We are not going to stop here now. I
have had enough. First thing tomorrow morning we have to start to
find ourselves somewhere else to live that is far away from
here.”

“What?” Kat
glared at Jonathan as she passed him, and bit back the urge to
lambast him for unnecessarily scaring her mother. If he hadn’t just
saved her from Brian, she would have thrown him out on his ear.

Jonathan
watched the over-reaction and wondered what else was going on.
Agnes had gone from tired, to wary, to panicked in less than five
minutes. He studied Kat’s almost maternal soothing and couldn’t
help but think that he had missed something – something
significant. Billy stood in the kitchen doorway and wrung his hands
indecisively as though he wasn’t sure what to do. The young boy was
clearly upset at the latest news, or was he shaken by it?

“Look, Agnes, I
can escort Kat from the tavern at night and keep her safe. I can
also collect her and drop her back here when she reads to my uncle.
That is not a problem. However, if she has to go to market to help
you then I suggest that you all go together rather than leave Kat
to walk alone across the fields. I am going to speak to Brian and
his colleagues as a matter of urgency.” Jonathan relished the
confrontation. “Until then, I think it would be wise if you ladies
stuck together.”

“Oh, we will,”
Agnes sighed. She offered him a hesitant smile that was
half-apology. “Please forgive my bad manners. Can I offer you some
refreshments?”

“Oh, no thank
you,” Jonathan replied. He eyed the bolt of cloth propped up
against the corner of the sitting room and wondered if they planned
to do some sewing. It was a large bolt and would have cost a pretty
penny. He wondered whether it was curtain material or meant for
clothing, but then decided it was really none of his business.

His thoughts
turned again to the customer she met in Tattersnell. It was on the
tip of his tongue to make polite reference to having seen her in
the tavern but, given the fear still evident on Agnes’ face and the
rising tension within the room, decided it was best to take his
leave.

“I will call
for you about six?” His look defied Kat to object.

“I will already
be at work by then. It is still light when I go, so you don’t need
to worry yourself,” Kat argued. She did not want to have to rely on
anyone, especially Jonathan who unnerved her so, but struggled to
find a way to put him off without sounding rude and churlish:
something she knew her mother wouldn’t let her get away with.

“It’s no
trouble. I have a duty to ensure that everyone in my parish is
safe, and that includes you, Kat,” Jonathan murmured gently. He
knew that even if she wouldn’t allow him to escort her home, he
would do it anyway. The likes of Brian and his little gang of
cohorts wouldn’t be dissuaded easily, and he had no doubt that they
would wait for Kat to finish work one night when it was dark and
quiet and she least expected them to appear. While he had breath in
his body, that would not to happen.

His thoughts
flickered briefly to his work with the Star Elite. Work that still
awaited his attention, but he quickly blanked it out. Until he had
decided what to do with Brian and his colleagues, there was no
prospect of him going anywhere else; Star Elite or not. His nearest
and dearest were always a priority and, when they were placed at
risk like Kat was, Star Elite business had to be put firmly to one
side. It had been the same with Hugo and Simon, and indeed Jamie,
who had recently wed his bride, Cecily. It was going to be the same
with Jonathan; or he was going to quit the Star Elite, it was as
simple as that.

“I am not any
of your concern though,” Kat argued and ignored her mother’s
warning look.

“I am afraid
that you are,” he replied softly. “You all are. These trouble
makers are running rife, right on my doorstep. It is down to me to
put a stop to it.”

“But this is
village business,” Kat gasped.

“Kat.”

She turned and
her mother’s look and sighed. “I am just saying that Lord Dentham
has been away from home for a long time,” she shot him a pointed
look. “I am sure there are a lot of things that require his
attention at Dentham Hall.”

“There are, but
I also have a man of business who is paid handsomely to ensure that
urgent matters are dealt with speedily. I wouldn’t want to impede
his endeavours.”

Silence settled
over them.

“Well, I will
be in the tavern later to escort you home.”

“I am due to
read to your uncle, though.”

“I will send
your apologies for today. Given your ordeal this afternoon, I think
you should take a well earned rest instead. I am sure that Uncle
Bruce will understand. If you are available, I will collect you
tomorrow morning?”

“That’s fine, I
will be ready.” She could think of nothing else to say.

“I will see you
later this evening,” Jonathan promised, and moved toward the
door.

Kat threw a
frantic glance at her mother who merely stared back nonplussed.
Luckily there was no shipment due tonight but there would be soon,
of that there could be little doubt. What then?

“Thank you, my
lord,” Agnes murmured and followed him to the door.

“Please call me
Jonathan. We have known each other long enough now to dispense with
the formalities. I hope I am not taking a liberty by calling you
Agnes?” He gave her his most charming smile that turned into a grin
at the flustered blush that flooded the older woman’s cheeks.

“Oh, my dear.
Of course not.”

Kat rolled her
eyes and shook her head at the man’s unabashed cheek. He really was
a scoundrel. A teasing glint of success lit his eyes when they met
hers and she felt the full force of his charm right down to her
very toes. She caught herself just as she started to smile back and
sighed.

If the man
didn’t get out of their house soon, her besotted mother would be
apt to follow him home, and most probably her as well,
Kat
thought ruefully. She watched the man wink at Billy before he
closed the door behind him. He really was a relentless charmer.

“Cor, did you
see the size of his gun?” Billy gasped as he rushed to the window
to peer out at the rapidly retreating back of the enigma from the
big house.

“Billy Baird,
don’t you dare start,” Kat warned. She knew that Billy was not
likely to leave the subject of guns alone until he had all of the
facts about them from Jonathan. “Leave the man alone.”

“He is quite
nice, really,” Agnes sighed.

“Good Lord. Not
you too,” Kat chided with a scowl.

She was half
way up the stairs to change her dress for work when she realised
that she too had taken a quick peek out of the front room window to
catch one last look at the man who had surprised them all.

CHAPTER
FIVE

“I need your
advice, Harry,” Kat mumbled later that night. She had to keep her
voice down. There were very few patrons in tonight, possibly due to
the fact that a strong storm had blown in and almost everyone,
except for a few hardy drinkers, had chosen to remain at home.

“What’s that?”
Norman leaned forward to listen.

Kat glanced at
Norman, Harry and Charles, the three elderly locals she knew she
could trust. She explained the incident in the field with Brian and
his friends, and Brian’s ominous threat. When she had explained
about Jonathan’s insistence that he offer his protection on the way
home after her shift, she paused and waited for her friends’
opinion. She watched them glance at each other carefully for a
moment while they absorbed what she had told them and wondered if
she should just go and serve, when Charles sighed.

“Well, I think
you have a bit of a problem on your hands there girl, and that’s a
fact.”

Kat fought the
urge to roll her eyes.
Talk about stating the obvious,
she
sighed to herself.

“At least if he
does escort you home then he isn’t going to be around to see what
we are doing,” Norman replied reasonably.

Harry lifted
his brows and looked askance at Kat. “Unfortunately though, you
will be at home when you need to be here, so will have to make two
journeys on your own.”

“Down on the
beach there are enough of us to make sure that you are looked
after. We all know what Brian is like. He won’t get near you with
us about, don’t you fear.”

“Shh.” They all
cast furtive glances around the empty tap room before they put
their heads together again.

“We can all
help her get the goods home. At least then she will be with us all
the time.”

“What about the
lord though? We cannot risk him staying in the area once he has
dropped her off.”

Silence settled
for a moment while they all thought.

“Course, she
could always allow him to take her home and stay there herself. We
can drop her cargo off when we take our own deliveries home. We
have to take Hester’s and Pete’s. We can drop Kat’s off at the same
time.”

Kat wasn’t sure
whether she liked that idea or not. If there was a spy in the
village who was reporting to Harrison, she didn’t want a band of
smugglers turning up on her doorstep with boxes of cargo. By
herself, she was just making trips backward and forward from work.
There were numerous excuses she could make: taking laundry home
perhaps, or checking on her family while she was at work.
Unfortunately, having to explain the presence of a gang of
smugglers carrying boxes into her house would take some
inventiveness even she wasn’t sure she could manage with any degree
of conviction.