“I hope Lord Hughes won’t be long, Michael. I won’t be able to prop my eyelids up for much longer.”
“Would you like to go back to the house? I can handle things here. You can rest and I can report to you in the morning.”
“No, thank you. We have come this far together. I would like to see this to its conclusion.”
“That’s a good man, Mouse.”
Katrina shot him a look of disdain.
“What?”
~*~
The Black Diamond sat at a table with several others, observing Sir Tidley and his companion. “Who is that with Sir Tidley? And how did Tidley come to be so hale and hearty? His servant said he would be on his deathbed by now.” His piercing eyes dared the men around him to give him an answer and warned of reprisals if the answer did not meet his approval.
“My lord, Tristan left town and has yet to return. Word was that Sir Tidley departed.”
“Tristan has yet to report?”
“Correct, my lord,” said a nervous young blond man to the right.
The Black Diamond frowned. Those around him waited with bated breath. Finally, he motioned them in and they all leaned forward to hear his whispered instructions.
~*~
Katrina tried to contain her curiosity as they sat by the wall. Michael seemed so at ease here, leaning back, drinking his wine, his legs stretched out in front of him, boots crossed at the ankle. As Mr. Shepherd, she felt horribly underdressed, but that didn’t seem to bother Michael at all. She hoped that Lord Hughes would be available soon so they could get some sleep.
Shadows appeared and Katrina looked up and gasped in dismay.
“Sir Tidley, what a surprise to see you here with, um…” Lord Phillip Westcombe left the sentence unfinished as he gazed at Katrina. Emotion crossed his features. Surprise, and then anger as he turned back to Michael. “You had better have a good explanation for this.”
“I do, but I will not defend myself right now. You need to trust me.”
Phillip took a deep inhale as he stared at his friend. Exhaling, he finally spoke. “Fine. But he needs to go.” Turning to Katrina, “Elizabeth would love to see you again. I will escort you to my carriage.”
Katrina set her glass down and glanced at Michael, who gave her a resigned nod. Frowning, she rose and followed Phillip out of the club. Once they exited, she yawned.
“You look exhausted, Katrina. He hasn’t compromised you, has he?” Phillip’s tone was soft and low.
Katrina shook her head. “Phillip, I do not want a forced marriage.”
“You’ve loved him for years, it would not be a bad match for either of you.”
Katrina sighed. “You don’t understand.”
“You don’t think so? Ask Elizabeth how we came to be married. A ‘have to’ can end up being a beautiful thing.” The carriage pulled up and Phillip opened the door.
Katrina stepped up but glanced around to Phillip. His face was hidden in shadow and the light from the nearby gas street lamp illuminated his blond head like a halo. “You have always lived a charmed life, Phillip. But realize that God doesn’t have that same kind of favor for everyone.” She climbed into the carriage and reached to shut the door before Phillip could answer. She thought she heard him say, “Ask Beth.”
Phillip waved the carriage off and headed back into the club.
~*~
Katrina rested against the comfortable cushioned seats of Phillip’s carriage. The rich, royal blue looked black in the moonlight and she gazed out the window as the city passed by. She felt lulled to sleep by the clippity-clop of the horses’s matched gait as they traveled through the nighttime streets of London. Her eyes grew heavy and she fought to keep them open. It was a battle she lost.
~*~
Michael took advantage of Phillip’s exit to steal away. Some men eyed him suspiciously and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. A sure warning sign that something was about to go wrong. He slipped further into the club and awaited Lord Hughes.
~*~
Michael awoke to the sounds of water in the near distance. His stomach protested the stench of the river as well as other raunchy smells he wasn’t sure he wanted to identify, from the cloth covering his mouth. He fought to keep the nausea at bay. His hands were tied behind him and his feet were secured. His boots were missing and his toes were numb from the cold. The dirt floor beneath him was rough and he struggled to move to avoid the few stones that poked up through the floor to torment him. He heard a moan behind him.
He tilted toward the sound, moved his fingers slightly, and touched someone else’s cold fingers. Petite hands. He closed his eyes and for the first time in years, he prayed.
11
Katrina’s throbbing shoulder got her attention first. Her toes and fingers were numb. Her neck was twisted at an odd angle and the muscles cramped as she tried to move. She moaned. She was afraid to open her eyes. Water lapped against something outside. She almost screamed when fingers touch hers. Michael? Her heart sank further. How did they manage to catch both of them? She fought the tears that threatened. Did they come this far only to fail now?
Her thoughts were scattered like the rats in a warehouse as a light appeared in the periphery of her vision. Dark shadows moved toward her and she could make out human shapes. She suspected the souls inside were anything but.
“Build the fire, men,” the tall central figure said.
The bodies did not come any nearer. A blaze started. The cold of the floor seeped deeper into her. Pain in her head and shoulder kept her from moving to try to touch Michael again. It was enough to know he was near. What was their fate? She hoped she would not have to watch him die. Oh, if only she had never become involved. Had Lord Hughes received the document? Would the men they sought to save benefit from the work they did and the suffering they had undergone?
Papa, I failed you, the tears came freely now. I will never get to prove that you didn’t betray the land you loved or redeem your good and honorable name. I failed you and I failed my king. Despair washed over her like the waves over the stones on the side of the Thames.
Footsteps drew closer. Katrina was yanked to her unbound feet by her arms tied behind her back. Her legs lacked the strength to stand.
“Don’t make me carry you.” The tough voice was accompanied by a foul-smelling breath. His appearance was hidden in the dark. She shivered more from fear than from the cold as he forcefully yanked her forward, grabbing her left arm. The pain from the abuse and her injured shoulder made her cry out involuntarily.
Show no weakness. Have courage. Don’t let them see your fear.
It almost sounded as though Michael were whispering to her soul those words of encouragement. She tried to glance towards Michael, but found a hand forcefully meeting her cheek in response to her attempt.
~*~
They dragged Mouse away and Michael’s heart sank. The man slapped her and anger welled up within him. He moved his wrists feverishly to try to get his hands loose but it was futile and only netted him raw bloody skin. He struggled to see what was transpiring. With the fire beyond them, all was wreathed in dark shadows and he could not make out the features of the people who were there. He groaned and tried to relax his muscles in spite of the twisted position he found himself in.
~*~
Katrina was brought close to the blaze and shoved face down across some boards elevated a few feet off the floor. Her body was fastened to the wood at the knees and waist with a rope. She found the wood and the position to be painful. The boards were supported at various points by something solid but she couldn’t tell what. Her head was torqued to the left and the muscles in her shoulders scream in pain. They pulled the gag out of her mouth. She gasped for air and tried to get the taste of the foul-smelling fabric off her tongue but was unsuccessful. A knife cut into her coat and shirt, exposing her right shoulder and arm.
A voice came from behind her. Sinister and dark. “You should have stayed out of this, Miss Shepherd. Y
our father meddled where he wasn’t wanted and you regrettably followed in his footsteps. You wasted precious time in my planning. But before I kill you, I want your partner to understand a pain he has never experienced before. He will watch you suffer for his failure to accomplish his task. He’ll hear your screams of pain. But don’t worry about being disfigured. You won’t be left alive in your pain for long. Your body, however, will be found as a warning to those who might seek to follow your path and undermine our efforts to support Napoleon in this war. You might even be ‘branded’ as a traitor yourself.” A sinister laugh followed this.
Fear exploded deep in the pit of Katrina’s stomach. She swallowed and willed herself not to throw up.
~*~
The smell of burning wood and smoke combined with pain, cold, and odors of the wharf made Michael dizzy. He fought to retain consciousness. Vibrations alerted him to someone moving towards him and he struggled to open his eyes. The dark figure was a menacing shadow made larger by the angle of the light behind him.
“Sir Michael Tidley. Finally, we meet but you seem to be at a disadvantage at the moment. Tristan didn’t do a very good job at finishing you off, but the fact that my men overcame you at least proves his attempt. The old Cat would have never been caught. Believe me, I’ve been trying for years.” The dark figure moved in closer and while Michael could not see him he could detect the scent of wine and tobacco on his warm moist breath. “Or maybe, just maybe, the poisoning isn’t what weakened you.” The man looked pointedly over to where Katrina was bound.
Her eyes blazed into his even in the darkness and he drew strength from her with that gaze.
The deep voice continued. “Maybe it is a woman that has proven to be the undoing of the incomparable Sir Michael Tidley.”
Michael couldn’t answer but defeat emanated from Katrina. He shook his head and with the pain that ensued had to fight down the urge again to vomit. He perversely thought of how gratifying it would be to do so on the polished shoes in front of him. Was this the Black Diamond?
The body moved away and stood next to Katrina. “You have caused me more trouble than any woman is worth. Therefore, you shall suffer for it. You may have been, in another world and time, a suitable match for my son. But I find you a tiresome inconvenience.”
Katrina gasped out, “I haven’t had the honor of meeting your son.”
The dark man laughed, his robust sound was menacing and loud, reverberating off the walls of the empty warehouse. He smiled and she could make out the brightness of his white teeth illuminated by the fire while the rest of his features remained in shadow. She shivered.
“You’ve been half in love with him most of your life. I was aware of that even if he wasn’t.” The Black Diamond laughed again and walked away while casually telling the men by the fire, “Get this over with.”
Michael watched in horror as one of the men stuck a long metal stick in the fire with something on the end. The man held it there for a while before drawing it out, steam emanating from the metal as it hit the cold air.
“Be quick about it. I have a ball to attend.” The Black Diamond was somewhere nearby but out of sight.
The man with the branding iron came toward Katrina and holding the metal bar vertical to her shoulder he pressed it down into her exposed flesh.
The scream of pain was one that Michael would never forget. He tried to keep his eyes on her, to give her courage to communicate his love, but hers were closed even as the brand was withdrawn and shoved in a bucket of water to cool it down. She convulsed with pain, struggling against the ties that bound her tight until finally, she stopped.
The heavy tread of footsteps drew near again, this time from behind him. “She is mine now, son. You will never have her. Could there ever be a more fitting punishment for your interference? I withheld my name and now I take from you the woman you love. Even if for some reason you would survive this night, which I highly doubt, you will always remember it. A torture to your soul that the one person who so unwisely gave you her heart, you were unable to save.” The man loosened the cloth that bound his mouth. “I’ll give you the benefit of conversation as you die. But don’t be hopeful. If you are not dead by morning, I will personally see to the deed myself. Too bad you chose the wrong side of the war, son. You would have been a worthy ally.”
The heavy tread moved further away and whispered conversations could be heard by the other men. The bucket of water was tossed onto the fire and the hiss and steam rose up high as the flames were doused. They all departed from view and a door slammed.
~*~
Lord Phillip seethed. Michael disappeared while Phillip escorted Katrina outside. He sat down and awaited Lord Harrow who was due to meet him. It wasn’t long however before not only Lord Harrow, but also Lord Remington strode into the club looking ready for a fight.
“Where is she, Phillip?” Marcus, Viscount Remington asked. “I got a letter from Lady Orion and I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was up with Miss Shepherd. I got held up by the snow but am here now. Where is she and what has Michael been up to?”
Phillip set his glass down and sighed. “I sent Katrina home in my own carriage. We can go there and talk far more privately.”
“Then let’s leave,” Lord Harrow said, and the three men departed, with a small furry creature following them.
~*~
Reaching the house, Phillip escorted the men to the study and rang for a servant to give word to his wife to have Miss Shepherd brought down when she was presentable.
Lady Elizabeth Westcombe came into the study a few moments later. “Phillip, you returned much sooner than expected. What is this request for Miss Shepherd about? I thought Lady Orion sent her to Rose Hill?”
Phillip put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “I am not sure why she was here in town, but she was and I sent her to you not an hour past. Is she resting?”
“My lord, she never arrived here.”
Lord Harrow spoke up. “I’ll head out to your livery to inquire as to your coach.”
“Thanks, Theo. Something is seriously wrong.”
“While we wait for Theodore to return, would someone mind explaining to me what is going on? I confess to being confused. The letter I received spoke of an injured shoulder and that Michael was making mooncalf eyes at Katrina.”
Beth bristled. “Michael is your friend. Why would you mind if he liked Miss Shepherd? I found her unexceptionally delightful and suspect that she has had a tendre for Sir Tidley for some time.”
“Beth, I have no objection to a match between the two, but something seems havey-cavey about the whole business.”
“Michael was very closemouthed about how Katrina was injured, and believe me, I tried to get the information out of him, Marcus. You know how Michael can be, winsome and yet, over the years it felt like there was so much he didn’t say about his life and how he occupied his time.”
“How was he knighted, Phillip? I don’t believe I ever heard the tale,” Beth inquired.
“Probably because Michael has failed to regale us with the reason for that honor. Not that we haven’t asked, my love, but he has artfully dodged the questions whenever possible.” Phillip released his wife and went to the sideboard to pour a glass of brandy. He offered it to Marcus who took it with a nod of thanks.
Marcus began to pace. “Something is definitely afoot. Do you think Michael is in trouble?”
The door opened and Theodore entered, clearing his throat. Accompanying him was a young man wearing the Westcombe livery but with rips in the clothing, a bloodied face, and swollen eye. “Phillip, it seems that you have a sorely abused servant and a missing carriage and horses. He had a long walk home and just arrived.”
“Where is Miss Shepherd, young man?” Marcus came forward toward the servant.
The servant recoiled in fear. “I don’t know nutin’ ’bout no lady. The young gent were kidnapped a few blocks from the club. I t’weren’t expecting ’em. Sorry, m’ lord.” The man’s do
wncast face indicated he expected to be discharged from his position.
“Can you describe the men who assailed you?” Theodore asked with a softer voice.
The interrogation continued for some time with Marcus in the lead until Beth called the men off. “The poor man cannot tell you much more than he already has. He needs to get those cuts tended to.” She escorted the man out of the room.
“So all we know is that Katrina is dressed as a man and has been kidnapped. And Michael is missing.” Theodore was now pouring himself a brandy from the sideboard.
“But what do we do about it? How do we find them?”
“Might I suggest we start with prayer?” came the voice from the hallway as Elizabeth once again entered the room.
The men stared at her for a moment, nonplussed.
Finally, Marcus nodded and briefly making eye contact with the other two men, he bowed his head and prayed.
When he finished they all opened their eyes.
“Phillip? What is that furry thing by your feet?” asked his wife.
Everyone stared at Phillip’s boots.
“I believe, my dear, that would be an elongated rat, otherwise known as a ferret. Didn’t I tell you that Michael owned one?” Phillip reached down to scoop up the animal.
The ferret gazed at him with dark beady eyes and clicked his tongue rapidly before jumping down and running for the door. He stopped to glance over his shoulder to make sure he was being followed.
“Gentleman, I believe we may have found the answer to our prayer.” Marcus smiled.
“Do you really believe God would use a ferret to lead us to Michael and Katrina?” Theo looked skeptical.
“If God can use a donkey to speak to a man, I believe He could use a ferret to lead us to our friends.” Marcus grabbed his greatcoat from the back of a chair as he headed toward the door.
“A crow led me to Beth when she had been injured.” Phillip came to his wife and gave her a kiss. The other men looked away. Phillip grabbed his coat as well and soon the three men and a ferret were out the door to find their missing friends.
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