CAPTIVE SURRENDER
The Star Elite Series
Book Seven
By
Rebecca King
Captive Surrender
By
Rebecca King
© Rebecca King 2014
SMASHWORDS EDITION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER ONE
Prudence glanced up at the sound of hooves on the gravel driveway, and froze at the sight of the men riding toward the house. She shared a panicked look with her sister, Maggie, and nodded toward the house.
“Go and get Bobby inside.” Although her face remained impassive, inside she was a bundle of nerves. She pushed her shovel into the soft soil at her feet and wiped her hands on her apron as she tried to brace herself against what she knew was coming. Her stomach dropped to her toes as she studied each of the four riders in turn.
The smallest rider, Ludwig Levant, was local gentry, and a bully through and through. His sudden arrival at Dinnington Hall several weeks ago had been a shock to everyone, given that nobody had any hint that the previous owner, Lord Dulwich, had even intended to sell his ancestral home. Since then, Levant had earned himself a reputation for being someone who would insult, intimidate and downright threaten whenever he felt like it. It had quickly become evident to everyone, including Prudence, that Levant was a man to be avoided at all costs. If she could have avoided the imminent confrontation she would have but, given that Cragdale Manor was her home, there was nowhere she could go to avoid Levant’s latest visit.
Even from several feet away, Prudence watched the man’s small beady eyes run longingly over the large manor house behind her. He seemed to naturally carry an air of someone who considered everyone around him beneath him, and had the mistaken belief that money could buy whatever he wanted. Unfortunately, he had made it perfectly clear that he had wanted the house Prudence and her family lived in, and had taken to visiting several times a week to make ridiculous offers for the place that were accompanied with snide insults and threats.
The man to his right had been born and raised in the village, and was nothing more than a rather dim witted local thug, but it still irked her that he had taken to accompanying Levant on his visits. Opinion in the local village of Marchwell was divided as to Humphrey Brown’s intelligence; some considered him merely strange, while others suggested that he lacked common sense. Whatever his state of mind, he was a huge bear of a man who was swift with his fists, however rather slow with his speech. That combination had landed him in jail on more than one occasion, and was undoubtedly one of the reasons why Levant had him in his employ: he didn’t have the intelligence to ask questions. Right now, his girth sat astride a horse that clearly struggled to carry his immense weight, but that didn’t seem to bother Humphrey, who peered around him with all of the aplomb of a lord of the realm.
The man to Levant’s left was someone Prudence had only ever seen once before, and that had been on the day of his arrival in the village with Levant. He had never actually accompanied his boss on any of his weekly visits to Cragdale Manor before; the fact that he was present now unnerved her. Was he someone else who was going to issue sinister threats toward the house and family? Casting her fear aside, she bravely threw him a disparaging glance and turned her attention to the tallest rider of them all.
The last man was someone Prudence knew she had never seen before; she would have remembered him. His straight back and broad shoulders had a military bearing and, if it wasn’t for the large gun on his hip and the company he rode with, Prudence could have believed that the cavalry had arrived to help her. She swallowed and studied the handsome features of the nameless rider. She couldn’t help but think that it was a pity someone like him was involved with such an awful person as Levant. The closer he rode toward her, the more she was able to see of his wonderful amber eyes, and rather austere features beneath a mop of shockingly jet black hair. She didn’t need to see behind him to know that it had been rather unfashionably tied at the nape of his neck, but it made him look roguish rather than disreputable.
She blanked out the flurry of awareness that began to distract her and sternly reminded herself that he was an associate of her arch enemy. It was enough to embolden her to rake him with a rather rude and disinterested glance before she turned her attention back to the main perpetrator of the latest bout of trouble.
At least this time Bobby wouldn’t be around to witness the insults, vile innuendo and veiled threats again. The last time Robbie had seen Levant in action, her young brother had cried himself to sleep at night and spent days fretting about the family’s future.
“Ah, there you are, Prudence, my dear,” Ludwig drawled in a voice that was as syrupy as it was insincere. “It is a wonderful afternoon we are having, is it not?”
Prudence’s face remained impassive and she remained silent. She wasn’t going to even waste her time sharing the time of day with the odious creature. She knew from past experience that if she was hospitable, or even sociable, he would waste no time in stalking around the place, inspecting everything while smarming and sniping his way toward offering a ridiculous sum of money for the house. The last time he had visited, he had even made an offer for her! It was outrageous, and something Prudence simply wasn’t going to allow to happen again.
She watched as the horses drew to a stop only a few feet from where she stood. It left Prudence at a distinct advantage, but she refused to give the men the satisfaction of stepping backward to be able to see them more clearly. It galled her that she had to crane her neck at an uncomfortable angle as it was, but it was either that or talk to the horses.
Determined not to be intimidated, she merely sniffed dismissively and turned to lift the shovel out of the ground.
“Aren’t we speaking today?” Ludwig sighed theatrically. “Your manners really do leave a lot to be desired, Prudence, I must say.”
Prudence remained stoically silent and continued to dig the ground over, however the rich scent of the dark brown soil did little to soothe her frayed nerves. It was odd that she felt so on edge. Ludwig Levant’s usual visits, often thrice weekly, hadn’t bothered her all that much before. She knew that as long as she stood firm, and continued to refuse to sell the house, there was nothing that Ludwig, or any of his men, could do to force them out. What was it about this visit that was so different? Why were her nerves all on edge?
She glanced up and groaned inwardly as two of her sisters, Maggie and Georgiana, came out to join her in a show of solidarity. They were only trying to offer their support, but had unwittingly just set themselves up as targets. She threw them a dark look that warned them to keep quiet, and didn’t have to wait long before Levant began to peck away at the fresh prey that had just presented itself.
“Morning, my dears,” Levant called and doffed his imaginary cap in their direction. His swarthy face broke into an insincere smile. “I am glad that you could join us. I was just telling your sister here that it is a wonderful, fine day we are having.”
Maggie and Georgiana merely glanced at each other, and followed Prudence’s approach and remained silent.
Levant glanced askance at his associates and folded his arms defiantly. “Well, I think that we must leave and come back again because I don’t think that they know we are here.” He coughed loudly and leaned forward in his saddle. “I thi
nk, Prudence, that you must pay attention a bit more, my dear, because we won’t go away, you know.”
Prudence lifted her eyes and met his with a directness that made the squire sit up and study her with a frown. It was the first time in her entire life that Prudence had been deliberately ill mannered toward anyone before and she hated it; almost as much as she hated him. Her conscience and good breeding demanded that she at least acknowledge the man’s presence, and she would have done, if she hadn’t been pushed into being rude by the desperate need to do everything within her power to protect her home and her family.
“I have nothing to say to you, Levant,” Prudence snapped in disgust. She wished the man beside him, the handsome stranger, wouldn’t stare at her so intently. He unnerved her more than the loathsome squire. “We aren’t selling and that is that.”
“Well, how about I do you a deal then?” He paused only briefly to gauge Prudence’s reaction and sighed deeply again when she continued to remain silent. “I will purchase your beach and grounds, and you can remain in the house. I cannot say fairer than that, now can I? You cannot remain here all alone, without a man to protect you for very long though, now can you?”
“We aren’t all alone,” Maggie snapped and glared at Prudence in outrage. Why was Prudence so quiet? What was she up to? She opened her mouth to tell them to go only to wish that she had kept her mouth closed when all four of the riders turned their attention in her direction.
“Oh, I am sorry, my dear, I was forgetting about your young brother. What is he now, ten, perhaps? Old enough to work, isn’t he?”
“My brother will not work for the likes of you,” Prudence growled and accompanied her brisk statement with a filthy glare. She flicked the handsome stranger a dark look and turned away, desperately trying to ignore the flurry of awareness that frayed her nerves even further.
“I think that your mother must need him at home, what with you ladies being without a proper man in the house,” Levant smarmed.
Prudence threw Georgiana a hard look when her sister opened her mouth to speak. As astute as ever, Georgiana closed her mouth with a snap and returned to the house without uttering a word. It was all Prudence could hope for. She had to dig the rest of the garden over so that they could plant the winter vegetables before the rain set in. Dark thunder clouds were already gathering on the horizon and, if her predictions were correct, she had approximately one hour before the first deluge would arrive to turn their garden into a muddy, unmanageable quagmire. The sooner she could get rid of the unwanted visitors, the quicker she could finish the garden and get inside.
“I am going to purchase your lands and beach. My man of business here has the paperwork,” Levant declared confidently. All pretence of charm had vanished and been replaced with a brisk, business-like arrogance that rankled Prudence’s temper even further. She clutched the handle of the shovel tightly and had to draw in a deep breath to fight the urge to swing it at the horrible little man. Instead, she almost too carefully began to dig over the ground at her feet. When she made no attempt to collect the paperwork off Levant’s man of business, he dismounted, walked over to her, and held the paperwork out for her to take. Prudence merely glanced at it and continued to dig.
“I think that if one of us has a hearing problem, it is most definitely you, Levant,” Prudence snarled and paused only briefly to glare at him. She eyed the paperwork the man of business held out to her, but made no move to take it off him and glared at him before she turned her back. “I told you on many occasions that nobody in this family will sell you anything.”
“Then I suppose that I will have to marry you for it then, my dear,” Levant replied.
Prudence’s blood ran cold and she felt faintly sick at the thought of being associated in any way with this callous toad of a man.
“I would rather die a thousand deaths than be married to anyone like you.”
“That can be arranged,” Levant replied.
Prudence merely threw him a disinterested glance before she studied the paperwork the man of business continued to hold out to her. With a smirk, she snatched it off him, threw it onto the ground and proceeded to dig it into the soil. She turned a defiant glare at each of the men on horseback and nodded to the earth beneath her feet.
“That will eventually rot and disappear into the soil. I promise you here and now that I will have to be the same way before I will allow you to purchase anything from this family. Your ridiculous offer of marriage is nothing but offensive, so I am afraid that you have nothing to offer that any of us are willing to accept. Now, you are trespassing on private property and, given that we have no prior acquaintance and never will move in the same social circles, I will ask you to leave. If you have anything else you wish to discuss with us, I suggest you contact our solicitor. Until then, gentlemen, I suggest you take your -” she paused and searched for the right word, “- offers, and go and pester someone else. The beach and lands at Cragdale are private property and, by decree of ownership, have to remain intact. They have been in this family for generations and will remain so for generations to come, so any further offers are just a complete waste of time.”
Prudence stalked toward the corner of the house and dug the shovel into the soil. She visibly trembled with fear, nerves and temper, but refused to show any of her emotions on her face; she could feel the men watching her. Their eyes practically burned into the middle of her back as she disappeared out of sight without another word.
Once she was in the safety of the hallway with closed the door behind her, she slid the bolt home and rested her forehead on the cool panelling while she tried to fight the tears that threatened. The sound of retreating hooves on the gravel was the most wonderful sound she had ever heard. For now, one battle was over, and she had come away relatively unscathed. She sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward and began to hope that she could recoup her energies in time for the next visit.
“Good Lord, Prudence, you mustn’t provoke the man so,” Maggie chided gently as she rubbed Prudence’s back in silent support.
“Well, he deserves it. We will never sell to that man. Never, ever, Maggie.” Prudence turned and studied her sister for a minute, very much aware of the fact that despite her fear, her mind was very firmly locked on the silent stranger who had ridden with Levant. For some reason, the way he had continuously stared at her had unsettled her far more than any of Levant’s visits. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.
A small, odious creature like Levant was easy to refuse, ignore and be downright rude to. Someone like the silent, yet handsome and intriguing stranger, who had the ability to make her knees tremble with only one look, was someone she knew she would have no hope of being able to ignore if he ever brought himself to speak to her.
She gave herself a mental shake and turned solemn eyes on Maggie. “Now that they have gone, I am going to get that garden dug over.” She didn’t wait for her sister to reply and quickly disappeared outside, determined to get the winter vegetables planted in the front garden before the storm clouds broke. Secretly, she couldn’t help but wonder if they already had.
Stephen followed Levant out of the driveway. He couldn’t resist one last look back as the small group of men ambled slowly down the narrow country lane toward Dinnington Hall. Levant was busy muttering about stubborn females and wayward daughters but Stephen paid him no attention. Instead, he watched the beautiful young woman called Prudence leave the house and return to digging her garden now that she was safe and her unwanted visitors had left.
He glanced up at the dark clouds and wondered if she would manage to get the garden finished before she was soaked to the skin. He was fairly certain that such a strong and determined young lady would not give in, even to Mother Nature. He could only applaud her common sense approach in the wake of adversity, and admire her strength and determination to see Levant off. He had fought to keep his approval off his face while he had watched her throw all of her visitors darkly sinister looks, and had silently en
couraged her not to show any sign of weakness in front of Levant. To his relief, she hadn’t, and, if Levant’s grumbling was anything to go by, she had managed to get the better of the oaf.
Prudence. She really was rather beautiful, with a mop of dark brown curly hair above an almond shaped face that embraced rosy cheeks and the most beautiful pair of emerald eyes he had ever witnessed in his life. He would remember her eyes forever more; they were framed by the thickest, and longest, lashes he had ever seen on any woman, and gave her a sensual look that made him wonder what she looked like first thing in the morning. With her rosebud lips and slender figure, she was a sight that had been created for a man’s delectation. From the look of her equally beautiful sisters, stunning good looks seemed to be a family trait. It irked him to think that they had no father figure in residence to give them the protection they deserved until they married. Women like the Freestone sisters deserved to have men in their lives who would provide for them, make them smile, and ensure they were well loved.
Stephen gave Prudence one last measured look just as the first smattering of raindrops began to fall. Unsurprisingly, she ignored them and continued to dig. He shook his head and wondered what had brought the family to live in such a remote location, all by themselves, without a man in the house.
He knew from having overheard Levant discuss the family with Charles Taylor, his man of business, that there were five sisters in total and one brother. Prudence was the eldest at four and twenty, followed by Eloisa, Margaret ‘Maggie’, Georgiana, Madeline, and a younger brother Robert, otherwise known locally as ‘Robbie’. Their mother, Agatha, had recently been unwell and was rarely seen around and about the small village of Marchwell. Instead, the family seemed to do most of their trading in the nearby larger town of Brumpton Marches.
Although neither Taylor, nor Levant, had ever raised issue with it, Stephen couldn’t help but wonder why the family would walk the additional four miles to the larger town when they could purchase everything they needed from the nearby village that was only a mile or so away. It didn’t make sense and was something he made a mental note to look into when he got the time.
Captive Surrender Page 1