by Liz Tyner
But then he’d taken a hammer and nailed the boards back in place even stronger than before.
She sat at the table in the darkening light, leaning back in her chair, her fingers interlaced at the back of her head, and sighed a sigh of contentment. ‘I quite like this place now. You’re finally getting a decent criminal mind.’
He stared at her. ‘I have no more a criminal mind than you do.’
She shut her eyes, secure in the knowledge she’d done much to help him. He hadn’t used his razor—the one she’d noticed while looking through the saddlebags—but he had dampened his hair and brushed it back from his face. She’d wait to offer him suggestions on buying new clothes with the coin he received from his share of the ransom.
Perhaps she could get him to secure paper and pencil for her and she could make a list so as not to forget anything.
She sat straight and looked at him. She’d been too happy with the supplies to think of asking earlier. ‘Where did you get the key?’
‘Perhaps I do have a bit of the blackguard in me after all.’
At the moment, he looked nothing like a blackguard. He sat in the chair, but his eyes were closed.
‘Where did you get the key?’ she repeated.
‘I am acquainted with the man who used to live here.’
‘How?’
‘I grew up near here. Lived a few miles away all my childhood.’
‘Is he still alive?’
‘Do you wish to know the stream he washes his small clothes in?’ he asked, one eye open.
‘Simple questions.’
‘Which I simply will not answer, Nigel.’
‘I find that discourteous.’
‘The same as he would find your questions.’ Both eyes stared at her. ‘Tomorrow will be better to discuss…your questions,’ he added. ‘After sleep. I’d just returned home when you barged in my door, then I spent the day trying to talk myself out of taking you while I got horses. Then I waited until your house was quiet. Only a few hours of sleep last night. You keep a man awake.’ He touched his stomach ‘And hungry.’
‘You will collect my ransom. You have not given me the details.’ She leaned forward, feeling the success of her plans.
‘The less you know, the better.’ Dark eyes twinkled with a teasing gleam. ‘Should you be tortured, I would not wish for you to be able to give away my secrets.’
She caught herself mid-nod and stopped. ‘No one would torture me.’
‘You’re right. Perhaps I have not figured out how to collect the funds and have not told you yet.’
She felt a flutter of unease and stood, taking the dishes they’d used so she could take them to the well. ‘Tomorrow I will go back to London, hide in your room and see the ransom is collected. I will arrange for it.’
‘You can’t retrieve a ransom and you needn’t get anyone else involved in this.’ He moved beside her.
She hurried to leave, trying to keep the plates from falling as she reached for the door. ‘You wish to keep it all?’
His hand snagged out and he pulled the door wide for her to leave. When she stepped back, he stood so close behind her she could feel his presence through her clothing. ‘Nigel. You cannot depend on me for much, but I would never take your funds.’
‘Not…’ She paused. ‘Not even your half?’
‘No.’ He shrugged.
She realised she’d paused a moment longer than she should have while she contemplated her awareness of his body as he remained behind her. A flush of embarrassment replaced the pleasant warmth she’d felt a second before.
‘I must have my share. I need to buy food, clothing and shelter and take care of Gussie.’ She tried to brush away her actions.
His hand went to the small of her back and he leaned in, so close at her ear she could feel each whisper of breath as he spoke. His voice rumbled against her with the strength of an outside fire blasted with a burst of wind. ‘I hope you use the funds to find an honest endeavour.’
Words escaped her mind, but the effort she used to find them went straight to her feet and she kept her head high and moved quickly out of his reach.
Katherine didn’t worry because he had a plan of his own, but she hoped it good enough.
She knew if he were caught, her stepfather would not rest unless Brandt dangled from a rope and she dangled from Fillmore’s tongue. She would wish to trade places with Brandt.
Augustine knew so many influential people. She should have told Brandt her stepfather had already had a man transported for theft and she had suspected his only crime had been to anger him.
At first she wouldn’t have cared if Brandt might be caught. His nimbleness in keeping ahead of the magistrate was his responsibility. But now—now she couldn’t see him killed.
If they were discovered she would have to admit she willingly left with Brandt. Sacrificing the remains of her reputation would be no great hardship, but sacrificing herself to Fillmore would.
And she knew her stepfather would not rest until he had her married to Fillmore and Fillmore would not be a kind husband. Once she’d tried to rush from the room after they’d eaten and he’d taken her arm to prevent her from leaving. She’d had bruises in the shape of his fingers.
His courting methods left much to be desired. Even Augustine had not left bruises on her mother.
Katherine bit the inside of her lip and watched Brandt from the corner of her eye as she filled her cup with water from the bucket.
Perhaps the safest thing would be to get the bed ready so she could sleep. They’d slept late into the morning because of staying up most of the night, then he’d collected the things from the house for her and mostly stared at the manor house.
She looked across at the mattress he’d thrown out in the night and walked to inspect it. Definitely worse in the daylight. The ones he’d brought in would be much better and, while he’d put them close, she didn’t feel she had to escape from a snake or from Fillmore.
In fact, Brandt had tossed her from the bed the night before.
‘Will you promise not to toss me across the floor if I sleep close to you?’
‘If you sleep next to me, you do so at your own risk.’
She looked at him and at the shadows beyond his eyes. She would take the risk.
Chapter Fourteen
The door crashed open, waking her from the light sleep she’d finally managed, and her mind wouldn’t work fast enough to sort out the details. She blinked and looked into the barrel of a gun. A rifle the size of a carriage was held by a man who looked the size of a house.
She blinked again, expecting the barrel to disappear, but it didn’t. She felt Brandt’s hand clench at her stomach and she stiffened against him.
Three men, seven feet tall, with staring eyes and holding weapons, moved into the room. An army.
‘I did it,’ she shouted the words. ‘It was my plan. My idea and I kid—’
Brandt’s hand clamped over her mouth and he held tight.
‘Adam, could you not knock?’ Brandt drawled. ‘And I think the weapons have scared my lady.’
The men lowered their guns, standing stone still, staring. The one in the front barked a startled laugh and gave a quick bow, backing up. ‘I will wait for you outside.’ He chuckled again. ‘Welcome home, little brother,’ he added as they left and he pulled the door shut.
‘Welcome home?’ Brandt muttered, removing his hand from her mouth and sitting up. He raised an eyebrow. ‘My brother. The eldest. He’s always been a bit irritating.’ He studied her a moment, then said quietly. ‘I would prefer you do not tell him I kidnapped you.’
‘I thought he was a magistrate who had followed you,’ she whispered, looking into his face.
‘If a magistrate arrives, I would prefer you not mention a kidnapping to him—especially.’
‘I said it was my idea.’ She put a hand on his chest and could feel his heart beat, and she realised he didn’t have a shirt on. For a moment, they were alone in the world an
d he was the one person she wished to be with.
And she was a fallen woman next to a man who obviously had no idea what to do with a newly ruined lady.
Katherine saw no reason to move her hand away from him. She was quite pleased with the way his chest felt. ‘I would not have you take all the blame.’ In fact, she would take it all if he would keep his shirt discarded. She would even take responsibility for the fall of any empire.
‘I appreciate your consideration. I’m sorry he frightened you,’ he said and brushed a brief kiss across her forehead as casually as if he’d done it a thousand times. ‘I do not know what I will tell my brother, but I think it best if any person of law might happen upon us, we answer questions as they are asked and do not blurt out all.’
She thought she didn’t deserve such an insult to her criminal ways, but didn’t challenge him and moved to stand beside the bed. She saw a brief smile touch his lips as he buttoned his waistcoat and walked to pick up the beaten-down boots.
She scurried to put on her half-boots and the waistcoat.
He sat in the chair, slipping on his footwear. Pausing, he looked up and smiled. ‘So how did it feel to be caught in bed with a drunken kidnapping tavern rat?’
‘I look beyond repair,’ she said, scowling into the mirror he’d brought from inside the house. ‘I cannot speak with them looking like this.’
‘My brothers will understand.’ He stepped out the door. ‘They are family. It’s their lot in life.’
Family. The word settled into her mind like a soft cover falling over a bed. A family. She would get that, somehow. She would find a proper family for Gussie. Gussie had never had real grandparents, or aunts or uncles and no cousins. She could not bear to see her grow up so alone.
*
Outside, he found Adam and Harlan at the front of the house. Adam leaned against the railing and Harlan sat on the steps, scratching the ears of a bull terrier. His cousin, Jefferson, moved about at the edge of the weeds, but turned to join the others.
‘I didn’t expect such a memorable greeting.’ Brandt walked to the men.
When he’d last seen his younger brother, he’d teased him that he could shave with a flannel cloth over his chin. They looked just like his family should look, only a little older. The same darker hair from his mother’s side of the family, but in all else, he and his brothers were marked well by his father and Jefferson looked more like a brother than a cousin.
Harlan and Jefferson had been at university when Mary died. He was the only one of his father’s sons who didn’t go to Oxford. The others didn’t have the same reason to stay home that he did. He’d invented an illness to keep from leaving, and the apothecary’s mixture his mother insisted he take hadn’t cured the pretended affliction, but had made him sick. The whole house felt the argument afterward between him and his father, but he’d been allowed to stay.
‘I didn’t think you’d sneak home. But you’ve been known to prowl quietly about in the night.’ Adam grinned at his brother.
Brandt was surprised to feel no defeat at the mention of his past night-time travels. He reached out and thumped the younger two on the shoulder and then feigned an attempt to knock off Adam’s hat.
Harlan yawned, sitting on the steps, and propping the rifle across his knees. ‘Who’s going to tell him?’
Adam turned to him. ‘A man was looking for you this morning. Said he wanted to talk with you.’
‘What did you say to him?’ Brandt asked.
‘The truth. Hadn’t seen you in years. Didn’t expect to see you any time soon.’ He shrugged. ‘Then when he left, we decided to check on your house.’
‘What was he like?’
Adam’s lip curled. ‘About my age. In a carriage. Said his name was Peavey Fillmore.’
‘The man still around?’
‘We don’t think so. We made sure his carriage had left before we came out to check on you. No one in the village will tell a stranger anything, anyway.’
‘The man thought to marry her. He’s not going to. I just haven’t informed him yet.’
‘He didn’t look too happy with being sent away. Had a couple of his friends with him, but then, we had the advantage of surrounding the carriage so that calmed him down a little. Particularly as Harlan had the terriers with him.’
‘I’ll find him and talk with him.’
‘Want us to go with you?’
Brandt shook his head. ‘And don’t tell her about the man. I don’t want her to worry.’
‘Want to tell us about it?’ Harlan asked.
‘No, but I will soon.’ Another concern stopped Brandt. ‘And Mother is well?’
Adam brushed it off. ‘She is fine. All her little chicks are close by, but you.’
‘She needn’t be concerned.’
Adam looked heavenward as if expecting to see lightning bolt from the sky. ‘No. We have seen you but two times in recent years, and then only because I met you in London. Your letters to Mother—she keeps them by her chair.’ Adam’s eyes, one brow cocked, raked over Brandt, ‘She believes that rot about you staying at Albany and conversing with Wellington.’
Brandt looked at him. ‘I merely tell her I speak often with one of Wellington’s relatives. The man pretends to be close to him and I pretend to believe it.’ He shrugged one shoulder. ‘I give advice and tell him to pass it along and he assures me he does.’
‘At least you’ve returned now.’
Brandt shook his head and looked to the road. ‘I don’t know if I’ll be staying. I just wanted to see the house again.’
‘Appreciate your honesty, Brother.’ Adam adjusted his hat, tucking his hair under it. ‘You could have easily lied and said you wanted to see how your family is.’
‘I am pleased to see you.’ Brandt smiled. ‘But don’t ever expect to hear me say that again.’
‘It sounded so strange to me the first time I have not been able to comprehend it,’ Adam said. He turned his head to look at the younger two. ‘Do you think he just got lost and ended up here?’
‘Yes.’ Harlan nodded. ‘He was always bad with directions—except with windows in the darkness.’
Adam gave Harlan a small shove towards the horses. ‘His courtship methods haven’t changed. His first courtship was mostly done under the bedcovers from what we could tell.’ His eyes challenged Brandt to disagree and his smile said he knew Brandt couldn’t.
‘This isn’t your concern.’ Brandt knew Adam never listened. ‘I’m not marrying Katherine.’
‘And you took this one from her bedchamber in the middle of the night and she is not married, either to you or anyone else?’
‘Could we not keep this among ourselves until I discuss it with her?’ Brandt asked. ‘I plan to have Mother tell everyone she hired a new housekeeper for my house. I’m going to open it again.’
Adam frowned. ‘Mother will never believe she’s your housekeeper. You’d be better off telling her she’s your sister.’
‘This is my house. My land. You should keep quiet about what happens here.’ Brandt knew his words were wasted.
‘And she’s your woman, too,’ Jefferson added.
‘She is not my woman.’
‘You didn’t have to reach far to put your hand over her mouth when we woke you.’
Harlan looked at Adam. ‘Wonder what he was keeping her from saying?’
Adam looked at Brandt’s face. ‘I don’t know, but it probably wasn’t “Good morning”.’ He tapped Brandt on the shoulder. ‘Stop by the house and see the family.’ He gave him a serious look. ‘I would like it if you came by. We’ll make things comfortable for you both.’ He looked at the home behind him. ‘And we can help you get this house ready so you won’t have to stay in the carriage house.’ He shook his head. ‘Housekeeper?’
Brandt agreed with a quick upturn of his head. ‘I won’t be here. It won’t matter.’
‘You could marry her. You married—’ He caught himself and stopped when he saw the warning glance in
Brandt’s eyes. ‘You married Mary. You don’t care about a person’s station in life.’
‘Nor do I care to marry again.’
‘Out of curiosity, have you ever courted a woman in the expected way?’
Brandt rubbed his arm as if he slowly rubbed warmth into his body, but the day wasn’t cool enough to need the motion. He met Adam’s eyes.
‘I can’t let anything happen to her. I couldn’t save Mary and Nathan—and this one’s been so sheltered…’
Adam spoke and each word had the weight of his whole being behind it. ‘If you need to leave her here and go—we’ll take care of her. And we’ll send anybody coming along on their way.’
Brandt shut his eyes and gave an internal blink before he opened them. ‘She’s a high-born woman who’s never had to make do on her own. I will have to find a way to get her settled.’
Jefferson spoke quietly. ‘I’d say you had her settled pretty firm on that bed.’
‘Her stepfather intended to force her into marriage with a man she doesn’t want,’ Brandt spoke. ‘And this is one woman who shouldn’t be forced against her will. Her husband could let his guard down at some point.’
Adam expelled a breath. ‘Brandt. I swear you couldn’t carry on a normal courtship if your life depended on it.’
‘I am not courting this one.’
‘No need,’ Harlan said. ‘She’s sleeping so close to him in the night he can’t roll over without bumping her out of bed.’ He appraised Brandt, frowning. ‘I swear I cannot get past the tips of a woman’s fingers and you and Jefferson cannot find a woman who will say no. Life is not fair.’
‘This is just a business arrangement for her.’
‘Even you cannot make me believe she is paying you—’ Harlan looked heavenwards.
The look on Harlan’s face irked Brandt. His younger brother needed to show more respect.
‘Well…’ Brandt gave a look of smugness, mixed with a leer, determined to shut Harlan up ‘…she has offered a few pounds. Nothing overly substantial. Certainly not my worth.’
Adam snorted. ‘Brandt. Your words fall so smoothly when you lie. That has not changed. “Oh, Mother,”’ he mocked. ‘“Please send for more books. I so love to spend my time reading.”’