A soft gasp escaped her when one large palm cupped the back of her head at the same time that he began to take sipping kisses from her lips. She opened her mouth instinctively beneath the pressure of his, and sighed when his lips immediately captured hers in a far deeper kiss than before. Although he didn’t draw her any closer, she could feel the corded muscles of his arms flex beneath her fingers, and the fine tension that swept through him.
“God, Tilly,” Harry growled when he buried his head in the curve of her neck. “We need to stop this,” he declared, and lifted his head, but made no attempt to draw away.
The sight of the supplication in her eyes drew him in though, and he dipped his head for one last kiss.
Tilly clung to him, helpless to deny him anything he wanted against the raw need for more of his kisses. She wanted him to hold her forever and leaned toward him in mute appeal. It was as though he knew, and understood, because his arms immediately swept around her, and drew her closer still. Their hearts pounded in unison, and their mutual desire carried them away on a silken sigh of unspoken promises as their kiss blazed a trail around them, binding them together forevermore.
Harry struggled to remember where they were, but then wished he hadn’t when he realised that they were in the bedroom. He suddenly grew painfully aware of the bed only a few feet away, and willed his wayward body to cool.
“We need to stop,” he whispered against her lips.
Although he felt her nod, she made no attempt to move away either. He closed his eyes against the alluring sight of her moistened lips only a breath away, and rested his forehead against hers while he fought for control. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Tilly suddenly snapped out of the soft daze she had willingly stepped into, and felt her world crash around her at the sound of the bitter regret in his voice. She looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes, and felt her heart squeeze painfully in her chest as she read the discomfort on his face.
The differences between them suddenly seemed to increase tenfold. She had enjoyed their kisses, and wanted more of them whenever the possibility arose. Unfortunately, while she had embraced what had happened between them with an open heart, he had regrets and clearly regretted their kisses.
She pushed at his arms until he released her. As soon as she was free, she hurried out of the room without a backward look.
“Tilly,” he groaned, desperate to try to put right the misunderstanding. Did she think he regretted kissing her? He moaned aloud when he thought over his words. He had to remind himself that she was innocent, and would have no way of understanding that his regret was due to the fact that he couldn’t take matters further right there and then.
She didn’t stop though. She couldn’t have spoken to him for the world, because no words would have forced their way past the lump in her throat.
A sudden wave of humiliation swept through her at the ease in which she had allowed him to kiss her. She hoped that he didn’t think that she was trying to offer herself to him, or saw him as some sort of personal saviour who would offer for her hand. She didn’t want that kind of relationship. No matter how desperate her situation was, even she wasn’t prepared to become his mistress just to keep a roof over her head. Unfortunately, from the look of the regret in his eyes, she knew that was most probably what he considered her willingness had been about.
It was going to be difficult to go back downstairs and face him now, but she knew that at some point she must. She had no idea what she would do, or say to him because she had never been in this situation before, and had no idea what she should do. Should she pretend it hadn’t happened? Should she try to brazen it out, bury herself in housework, and redouble her efforts to find employment so she could prove to him that she didn’t need his help?
She sat on the side of her bed, and stared blankly out of the window while she considered her options more carefully. Should she find herself another job so she could prove to him that she could look after herself?
She had made a mess of her life so far, but was older and considerably wiser now. There were a few coins still in her pocket. If she spent them wisely, it was still possible that she could find herself a job, with a room for both her and Zack. It wasn’t implausible.
However, she couldn’t lose sight of what Harry had told her. She was ostensibly in the middle of the government’s investigation into strange goings on at the poor house, and servants who were stealing from their employers. It would be incredibly foolish of her to go against his advice and put herself, and probably everyone else, at risk by going to interviews alone.
With no answers on the horizon, she turned her attention to what had just happened in the bedroom. However, acute embarrassment forced her thoughts in another direction.
Unsure what to think, she gazed blankly out over the garden. She stared at the hole in the roof of the outbuilding, and understood now why the house wasn’t maintained very well. Given that Harry was here for work; the décor, and condition of the garden, was of little consequence.
As her eyes wandered over the garden, she noticed something move in the woods at the end of the lawn. She studied it for a moment, only couldn’t decide what it was. Had it just moved? It couldn’t possibly be a fox or wildlife of some kind because the movement she had seen was a third of the way up the large oak tree and hidden in the shadows.
It looked as though someone was hiding there, watching the house.
When it suddenly shifted, Tilly went cold, then hot, then began to panic.
Was that Dandridge?
Her heart began to pound in her ears, but she didn’t wait to see it again. She lifted her skirts and practically raced down the stairs, straight into the group of men who were deep in conversation in the hallway.
Harry caught her. “What is it? What’s wrong?” He demanded with a frown.
In spite of what they had shared in the bedroom, the sight of him in the hallway, standing so tall, vibrant, and strong, was wonderfully reassuring. She would have slumped with relief if she hadn’t been so worried.
“Darling, what’s wrong?” Harry repeated gently when she continued to stare at him.
The horror in her eyes unnerved him. He glanced up the stairs and wondered what the hell was up there that had worried her so much.
“There is someone in the woods at the end of the garden, watching the house. They are standing in the shadows beneath the huge oak tree.” She spoke so quickly that she wasn’t sure if she made any sense whatsoever. It was only when she lapsed into silence that Barnaby suddenly lurched into action.
“I’ll go out the front and circle round,” he said. Once at the front door, he pierced Tilly with a dark look. “What did he look like?”
“I don’t know. It was definitely a man, but he was hidden in shadows. He is just standing there – watching.”
“Did he see you in the window?” Harry asked quietly, and began to rub his hands up and down the chilled flesh of her arms in an attempt to soothe her. When that didn’t seem to work, he drew her into his arms and stroked her back.
Tilly settled against him with a sigh. Her fear and tension suddenly vanished and she began to relax against him now that she had his quiet strength beside her.
“I didn’t go near the window,” she shivered. “I was sitting on the end of the bed, but don’t know if he can see into the bedroom windows from where he was. At first, I didn’t think it was a man, but then he shifted and I saw a bit of an outline of him. It’s not wildlife. It’s not.”
“It’s alright,” Harry soothed. “Barnaby and Marcus are going to check it out. Whoever he is, we will deal with it. You did right, my love. You did,” he assured her when he felt her continue to shake.
“I am sorry, Harry. I don’t know what’s come over me. I mean, it wasn’t as though he was knocking on the door or anything,” she whispered.
“Try not to worry, you are perfectly safe as long as you stay close to the house,” he assured her.
She leaned
back so she could look him in the eye. She didn’t think that he would lie to her, but she didn’t want him to protect her from the truth. Harry was so very protective, which in some ways made him absolutely wonderful. “Do you think it is Dandridge?”
“We don’t know,” Harry replied honestly.
“If it is him, why would he return to watch the house? What is he looking for?” Tilly frowned as she thought about the torn up floorboards in the housekeeper’s quarters.
Harry shared a look with Joseph. Neither of them said ‘you’, but it was what they were thinking.
“We will get to the bottom of everything, Tilly,” Harry sighed. “Unfortunately, it just takes time, patience and a lot of effort.”
Suzanna, completely oblivious to what was going on, poked her head around the kitchen door. “Tilly, I need a hand folding these sheets.”
“Go on,” Harry urged. “Leave it to us. I’ll see you later,” Harry promised with a nod, and watched her reluctantly disappear into the kitchen.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Minutes later, Harry crept up to within a few feet of Dandridge, who was completely oblivious to the fact that both he and Joseph were behind him. From his vantage point, he could see the back of the house, the garden, and the buildings to the side of the house where the horses were kept.
Had Dandridge left something hidden in the house; or someone? He hated to think that the man was after Tilly, or even Suzanna or Zack, for that matter.
They waited and watched Dandridge watch the house for a good hour. It was only when Tilly and Suzanna left the house and began to gather the remainder of the freshly laundered sheets off the washing line that Dandridge stood up, suddenly alert.
Even from several feet away, the tension in the man’s body was visible as he started intently at them.
It was clear to both Harry and Joseph then that Dandridge wasn’t there for anything he had stolen from the house but had yet to retrieve. He wanted the women.
When the washing was finally in the basket, the ladies carried it into the house together, and closed the kitchen door behind them. Only then did Dandridge begin to pick his way through the forest, and head toward town.
Although he didn’t know it; the Star Elite were in hot pursuit.
About half an hour later, Harry and his colleagues stood in the shadows at the rear of the old barn, and studied the huge house Charles Dandridge had disappeared into. He hadn’t used a key, but then the door hadn’t been locked either.
The house certainly wasn’t the kind of place where someone as impoverished as Charles Dandridge could afford to purchase himself. It belonged to someone else. Jubilation swept through Harry when he realised that he had finally located the mysterious ‘other party’ involved in the Dandridges’ schemes. As Harry settled into the shadows to watch and wait, he rather suspected that he already knew who owned the house. Bolsworthy.
The sudden faint crackle of twigs to the left of him drew his attention. He didn’t move. He daren’t for fear of discovery, but tension positively reverberated through him as he waited for the source of the noise to appear.
Even though he didn’t get a good look at the man’s face as he marched to the back door and disappeared inside, he was confident that the third person who was working with the Dandridges’ was the warden from the poor house named Cruickshank. It was only when he studied the stature of the tall figure, and noted the finer details, that he began to wonder if he was related to Mrs Dandridge in some way. He certainly looked similar.
A brother perhaps? A cousin? A nephew?
He nodded at Joseph, who stood on the opposite side of the house, and together they waited to see if anyone else - hopefully the Bolsworthy woman - was going to appear.
Two days later, Tilly was peeling potatoes for a pie that Suzanna wanted to bake when Harry appeared in the doorway.
“Tilly? Could I have a word with you for a moment?”
Tilly looked at the sternness of his face, and felt her stomach drop to her toes. It was on the tip of her tongue to say ‘no’, but she knew that she couldn’t.
The last few days had been wonderful, with lazy, carefree evenings in front of the fire, card games and jokes aplenty. With all of the cooking and cleaning that had taken place, the house had a heady atmosphere of home that had drawn comments from everyone who stayed there.
It was a wonderful time of companionship and camaraderie that Tilly didn’t want to end, but she knew that at some point in the not too distant future, it must.
“Of course,” she replied hesitantly, and offered him a smile that didn’t quite make it to her eyes.
She was aware of his commanding presence behind her as she walked to his study, and felt almost brittle with tension.
“Please,” he said as he waved her toward a chair. He moved to stand in front of the hearth, and took a moment to stare into the flames while he contemplated the wisdom of what he was about to do. In spite of a few lingering reservations, he knew that it was far too late to go back now.
Although very little had happened with the Dandridges’ of late, and they had yet to see any sign of the Bolsworthy woman, he knew it was only a matter of time before something happened. Given what they had found out about the poor house this afternoon, he was also now aware that as soon as Dandridge or Bolsworthy were arrested, their investigation into the thefts, and the poor house, would be concluded pretty quickly.
With that in mind, it was imperative that he take steps now to ensure that Tilly was provided for. He glanced quickly at the letter he had written to the solicitor on his desk, and knew deep in his heart, that he had made the right decision.
“We finished checking the registers at the poor house this afternoon, darling,” he murmured quietly. He took a seat and stared at his boots. “There are two other girls there. Both of them are of similar ages to you and Suzanna.”
“They weren’t in the registers either?” She knew he was going to say ‘no’, even before he started to shake his head.
“Where are they now?”
“Marcus is questioning them before we take them home. They live not far from here and have families, so we can leave them where they are safe.”
“Why not bring them here?” She frowned when her eyes met his.
“Because we have no idea why the Dandridges’ brought you all here.”
“They had letters too?”
Harry nodded. “They all had letters offering jobs in Tooting Mallow which didn’t exist. Both of them are from fairly impoverished backgrounds so, once they got here, they had little chance of finding their way home again.”
“We have room for two more here,” Tilly protested.
“I know sweetheart, but we are struggling to watch over everyone as it is. If something does happen, we have five of you to look after, not two ladies and a young lad. I want you to promise me that if anything does happen -” he held his hands up warningly, “- and I am not suggesting for one second that it will; you need to take control of Zack. Don’t leave him to his own devices. Stay with him and look after him.”
“I promise,” Tilly whispered hesitantly. She wanted to ask him what ‘something’ could happen, but then wasn’t entirely sure that she really wanted to know.
For the first time since she had left the poor house, she began to feel afraid. Very, very afraid. “What’s happened?”
“Things have gone a little too quiet,” he sighed. “I know that sounds odd, and not in the least bit frightening, but it is unusual.”
Tilly nodded. She had no idea what he was talking about but knew that if something made Harry look worried, then there was good reason for her to be worried also.
“I will look after Zack, I promise.”
Harry nodded. “There is something else I want to talk to you about.”
“Alright,” she whispered.
The atmosphere within the room suddenly grew still and watchful. It felt as though something momentous was about to happen; only she didn’t know what.
“I have recently come into some money, and inherited a house from a distant cousin,” he sighed. “It is a long way away from here and, from memory; I don’t think it is any bigger than a small manor house. It has about eight bedrooms I think, and more ground than I know what to do with.” He ran a weary hand down his face. “Unfortunately, I inherited the contents of the house along with the house itself. Unless a lot has changed, it is full to the brim with all of my cousin’s personal possessions. It needs to be cleared out, and all of the contents catalogued. Then the entire place will need to be cleaned, decorated and refurbished. God knows what else it needs in the way of repairs and the like. I haven’t been there since I was a small child to be honest with you, so have no idea what kind of state it is in.”
“Where is it?”
“Cumbria.” Harry threw her a rueful look. “A small village called Todworthy, near Windermere.”
“You want someone to do all of that?”
“I know it sounds a lot. I will be there, of course, if I am not moved on to my next mission straight after this one ends. However, if I am given a new investigation, the house still needs to be sorted out. I don’t have the time to do it myself. It would take weeks, months even, to catalogue completely, arrange for the repairs to be done, etcetera, etcetera. I simply cannot be away from my job for that long, even if I chose to quit the Star Elite tomorrow.”
Tilly studied him carefully, and wondered how anyone could live such a vagabond lifestyle. She had only been homeless, and by herself for a few days, and already longed to put down roots somewhere.
“If you don’t mind my asking, where do you hale from?”
“I don’t mind you asking me anything,” he threw her a cheeky smile. “Whether I answer you or not is an entirely different matter though. I hale from Nottinghamshire. I have two brothers, both of whom still reside there.”
“You don’t live in Nottinghamshire now?”
“No, I don’t live there myself. I left when I joined the army, and only go back to visit relatives. When I do go and see them, I usually stay with one of my brothers,” he looked at her frankly. “The only house I own now is the one I have just inherited in Cumbria.”
Shattered Dreams Page 17