by Ann Chaney
Serena stomped off before she took him to task. How dare he blame her for their late start. He was the seasoned traveler in these parts, not her. She managed to saddle their horses before he joined her to deal with Gertrude.
“My apology. I’m not much for niceties when I first wake up. I will try to do better.”
She considered not acknowledging his attempt to make things right with her, but she wasn’t that sort of person. She refused to be petty in her dealings with him.
“Apology accepted. We are both at a disadvantage out here.”
A truce had been declared. She finished tightening the cinch on her horse. Neither spoke as they worked together.
Richard led the way onto the dirt track, a pitiful excuse for a roadway. Not that she’d share her opinion with the one person who’d not hesitate to remind her that she volunteered.
She refrained from speaking for most of the morning. The terrain had changed from the open expanse of the scrub bushes and gorse to rocky formations. Richard slowed his horse down to a walk and reached for the fully primed rifle. “I’m certain I don’t have to tell you to keep an eye out.”
No, she knew what he wasn’t saying. Arnold was no longer their only threat. They were prime targets for the nomadic bands of guerillas roaming the Portuguese wilderness. Their provisions and the animals would be regarded as a prize. Never one to ignore the worst outcome, Serena knew her own survival was at stake. She daren’t think what those lawless men would do to her.
Gertrude must have sensed something because she ceased her braying. Serena tightened her hold on the donkey’s reins.
Edging closer to Richard’s horse, she watched the rocks around them. “I never said the words, but you know I’m glad we are here together. I trust you as I do Thorne. I know you’d give your life for me. The reverse is equally as true. I’d give my life to save you.”
Like her brother, when emotions were discussed, he went silent. Two could play that game. She maneuvered her horse in front of him and took the lead.
If trouble was ahead their best chance was for her to be the bait. Richard would gain precious moments to identify where the shooter was and fire. She tugged on Gertrude’s lead rope to urge the animal to move faster. The sooner they arrived at Wellington’s encampment the better.
The sun was shining straight up in the sky when a chill crept over her body. The last time she’d had such a feeling had been in Lisbon when Richard left her in the doorway of the butcher shop. Moments before that awful ruffian grabbed her. Before she could warn Richard, the peacefulness erupted into chaos. Just like in Lisbon.
Chapter 17
Richard watched Serena battle with Gertrude. The complacent donkey of yesterday was not having it today. She didn’t stop altogether, but she walked at a slow crawl. He smiled at Serena’s attempt to get the animal to move faster.
They had been on the road for four hours. Serena had to be feeling the effects of riding astride.
A quick look around revealed no haven for them to rest. The only choice was to keep moving until they came upon a stream. He’d not been truthful with her when he said he knew the way to the encampment. His last visit had been over a year earlier when the army was still in Spain. He wasn’t worried about losing his way. Mounted patrols rode out daily to look for guerillas and French deserters. It was a matter of time before they would meet up with a patrol.
Guilt assaulted him as he dwelled on the dangers she had already been exposed to since he came back into her life. The sight of her with that poker in her hand swinging with all her might at Thomas Jones still filled him with a numbing fear. She had no idea of the dangers they faced.
A single report rang out. He spurred his mount forward. His immediate reaction was to reach Serena. He hunkered down over the horse’s neck and maneuvered his way between her and the shooter. He assumed their sniper was Arnold since only the one shot had been fired. Guerillas would have opened fire with a hail of bullets.
He jerked the Gertrude’s reins from her hand. “Follow me.”
She did as he said without arguing which only proved she was as scared as he was. She nodded and remained at his flank. He motioned for her to go to the far side of the road where there were two boulders. They could take refuge there. The horses and Gertrude would be exposed but they had no other option.
As they rode closer, he could see a dip in the ground. Most likely a dried-up stream that was large enough to provide cover for animals. Richard led the way behind the boulders. He dismounted while Serena all but jumped out of her saddle and landed on her posterior. He grabbed his rifle.
“Stay down.” He crawled onto the boulder to see what he could see across the dirt track. Before he could see much, another bullet whistled by his ear. He felt Serena move up beside him and waved her off. Only then did he realize there was no gunfire only silence. As another shot rang out, followed by silence.
A lone gunman with three single shot pistols. Percy Arnold.
Richard motioned Serena to come to him. She did not hesitate to respond and fell against him. He grasped her shoulders and moved her to the side, so she was hidden behind the boulder. He had to tell her his suspicion about the gunman’s identity. “I think Percy’s out there.”
“I had the same thought. You were right, we did catch up to him. I find it odd that his shots have missed us both and the animals. Not much of an assassin if he can’t shoot his intended victims.”
“Maybe he prefers to face his targets when he kills them. Better to ensure his prey is dead.”
“How do we keep him from doing the same to us?”
“He won’t engage us for long. I think we surprised him. Remember he thought his friends in Lisbon took care of us, not once, but twice. Now he’ll be forced to change his tactics. We are an unwelcome complication. Best see how serious he is about putting our spoons in the wall.” He took his hat and placed it on the tip of the pistol. “Take your hat off. Let’s see if we can discern where our prey is hiding.”
Richard raised the pistol up barely enough for the top of his hat to be seen. She leaned around his body and watched the rock formations on the other side of the dirt track. She doubted Arnold would be fooled by Richard’s ploy, but what did they have to lose?
The loud report of a firearm and the distinctive ping of a shot landing in the rockface had her searching for any sign of where Arnold was hiding. She almost missed the puff of smoke.
“There! He’s by that large rock that looks like one of Aunt Philly’s turbans. Do you see what I am talking about?”
“Interesting, his hiding place is poorly chosen or ours a stroke of genius. He can’t get an advantage. Let’s show him we know where he is.”
Richard popped up and fired a shot, before dropping back to her side. “We can end this now. I’ll make my way over to Arnold. If I’m fortunate enough to have the element of surprise over him, I can get the upper hand and overpower him. We can return to Lisbon and sail for England. Wellington will learn of his near miss in the War Office’s dispatch.”
“No, the risk is too great.” She grabbed his arm and held tight. “What if he is waiting for you to do exactly that? This could be a trap.”
“My dear, you knew the risk to us both when you took this on. Don’t turn simpering miss on me now. Load and prime the rifle. I’ll take my pistol with me and you keep the rifle and your pistols. If I’m the one who doesn’t walk across that sorry excuse for a road, kill him. Ride like the demons of hell are after you. Thorne will see to your return to England.” He paused. “Do you agree?”
She nodded her assent. He hated the fear he saw in her eyes. The last four years he’d kept his distance to prevent this very situation from happening. What a waste of time for both of them.
He ignored everything—Arnold, the heat of the day and the voice that echoed in his head telling him he was about to make a monumental mistake in judgment. He watched her eyes as he lowered his head. He shook his head to banish all the reasons why this was a horrid
idea. Serena growled. She threw her hands around his neck and pulled him to her. Her lips touched his and that obliterated any of his misgivings.
His heart sang with joy as Serena took control. He had never experienced such emotion. She was right. She was no longer that young girl he fell in love with four years earlier. She was a woman taking hold of what she wanted. There was no bloody way Percy Arnold was going to kill him. Not after that kiss!
A shot rang out over their heads bringing their kiss to an end. He touched his forehead to hers. “Rena, no fretting. I intend to get us through this and return home where we are going to come to an understanding. That I promise.”
He dropped to the ground and crawled on his belly into the shallow streambed where he pulled his body along further down the dirt track. All he had to do was get far enough from Arnold to cross the road without being detected. Play Arnold’s own game–ambush. The chase would be over, and he could escort Serena and Arnold back to England, where hopefully he could once more live his life his way.
Without Serena?
That thought washed over him. After years of feeling relieved when he managed to escape the hoyden, now all he felt was sorrow. What if she found that one gentleman who she loved to distraction? What if that masculine paragon of patience loved her just as much in return? What if they married freeing him, Richard, from ever having to rescue the impossibly impulsive woman ever again? She’d become someone else’s problem. Why did that notion fill him with despair?
Far enough from both Serena and Arnold, he pushed his thoughts into the box in his brain noted as Serena and came up on his knees. The only sound he heard was the occasional thump coming from behind him. What was Serena doing?
He waited a moment for the next thump before duck walking his way across the small road. A shot rang through the air, but he found little comfort in the direction of the bullet. Not at him, but straight for Serena. He stretched his body forward trying to see what the imp was about.
A rock flew over the top of the boulder where she hid. The chit was creating a diversion for him. Did she ever listen? Did she ever do as she was told?
Another single shot answered the harmless rock toss. She may be a pain in his arse, but the woman did do her part. He now knew where Arnold was situated in the rocks.
He made his way over the rocky terrain intent on surprising Arnold. The sight of the traitor hunkered down behind a boulder as large as the one Serena was currently behind was the golden opportunity he’d been praying for. Richard moved too quickly causing a rockslide. The noise alerted Arnold.
Arnold’s face paled at the sight of him. Richard reached for his pistol only to find he no longer had the firearm.
Arnold laughed. “Some agent of the Crown you are, you lost your pistol?” He waved his firearm at Richard and motioned for him to join him.
Richard remained where he was. “Yes, but you’re in no better position. That pistol is not loaded. It seems we are at a quandary as to what to do. My suggestion is you put down your pistol and surrender like the gentleman you’ve pretended to be.”
“No, I don’t think so. I’d be a fool to do as you are asking. I do believe my stay here is at an end. I bid you farewell.” Arnold tapped a finger to the brim of his hat. “Please pass on my sincere regrets to Lady Serena for not having time to renew our acquaintance. I will make amends for my oversight the next time we meet. Oh well, one does what one must, doesn’t one?” The assassin stepped back and disappeared.
Anger fired Richard’s blood as no woman ever had. So close and yet Arnold still eluded him. He all but fell to where Arnold had stood. He roared at the sight of a narrow opening between the rocks. Arnold’s means of escape. The traitor had won again.
The only sound was the galloping of Arnold’s horse as he fled. He followed in Arnold’s footsteps to where he’d hobbled his horse. No campfire or evidence of a meal. No doubt the killer intended to pick them off one by one which proved they were a problem. The only bright spot of the encounter was the grove of apple trees.
“Richard? Where are you?”
He took off his jacket and started plucking the low hanging fruit. First, she’d thrown the rocks, now she was sailing into Arnold’s hiding place looking for him. The woman would be the death of him.
“Nice. You are a man of many talents, foraging for food. Gertrude will appreciate these. She only has a few apples left in the bag. Can low crawl under fire and return with a bounty of apples. Yes, indeed, a man of means.” Serena stood in the opening. “Before you say a word, I heard the horse riding off. I knew you were here alone, maybe hurt or worse, dead.” She held up her pistol. “Don’t fret, it’s loaded. Had I come across Arnold I’d have killed him.”
So glad to see her unhurt, he reached for her. He didn’t know who was more shocked at his action, him or her. “Don’t say another word.”
Richard took possession of her mouth. His anger at the missed chance fought his fear of what could have happened to Serena fired his blood. This was wrong. She deserved better than this. He made to push her away, but Serena wrapped her arms around his neck. The feel of her body against his stole every thought from his head. He’d never experienced the emotions that now rushed through his body.
Serena nibbled at his lower lip. How did she do that? He was the rake and the impresario of lovemaking, not her. He’d stake his life on her innocence being intact. No doubt sensing his withdrawal, she bussed his lip and arched her back away from him.
“I enjoyed that kiss. I refuse to say otherwise.” He had to get the words out before he allowed his brain to interfere with his heart.
“As did I.” She squinted up at him with a crooked smile of mischief. “I am impressed with your kissing. That was my third sampling and I have enjoyed each one. I understand how you came to have such a way with the ladies.”
“I have never kissed any woman the way I kiss you. I can assure you from this day to the day I die, you will be the only lady I kiss in any fashion. Except for our babes, of course.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t make assertions you will not keep or rather assertions I’ll not support. I will not marry a man who doesn’t love me for me. All you want to do is control me under the guise of rescuing me. I don’t need rescuing. Enough posturing for the sake of honor.”
Gertrude’s distinctive braying broke through the tenseness of their conversation. “I have enough apples for us and the donkey. Shall we be off?”
“No railing about my irresponsible behavior? How unlike you to pass up an opportunity to remind of my shortcomings. Arnold must have rattled you. Or was it the kiss that stole your tendency to lecture me?”
Before he could reply, she turned around and headed back. Richard followed with his coat filled with red and yellow skinned apples. His silence wasn’t because of Arnold at all, but her words.
He’d always assumed she was in love with him. She’d put a period to that belief. When he was told they would be together for this endeavor he’d accepted they would marry. That notion didn’t bother him. She loved him. He liked her. They’d rub along quite well he thought. Other married couples had less between them, or so he’d observed.
She wanted a love match. She was ruined. They’d marry. Serena had no say in the matter. He’d see to it. His service as an agent to the Crown and his mother would ensure when she signed her marriage lines, her signature would be next to his own as her husband and no one else’s.
He joined her on the other side of the road where she had her horse and Gertrude well in hand. He motioned for her to help him place the apples in Gertrude’s bag.
Richard shook out the dirt from his jacket and took the rifle from Serena. “Keep that pistol. I assume you reloaded and primed your pistol?” He looked up at the sun, sinking in the western sky. “We have about a couple of hours of light left. It is dangerous to travel these roads after dark. We must make for Malveira.”
“Malveira?”
“A village a little off this sorry excuse for a
road. We’ll be safe there for the night. Not really a village but a hamlet where a family of three brothers and two sisters live with their families.”
Richard nodded to the horses and left her to spring herself into the saddle. She did so without uttering a word.
“We’ll approach the village carefully, stop and watch from a hilltop overlooking the village. Best to make sure no unfriendly sorts, who can make trouble for us, are in town,”
She tightened her hold on the reins. She cleared her throat before speaking with a harsh whisper, “What if Arnold goes to the same village or worse what if he rides all night to get to the encampment?”
“We will leave the main track for a cattle path which is the back way into Malveira. The village is not on any maps. Only reason I know about the road is Sergeant Williams back at the consulate mentioned it as a safe haven for us.
“As for Arnold, he’s bright enough to stop for the night. We are closer to the battlefield, so the guerillas are rife in this region. The local fighters are always on the lookout for a troop of soldiers to ambush and take their horses and provisions. Arnold is well aware of that. He’ll find a hidey hole for the night. Trust me.”
She nodded, tugged on Gertrude’s rope, and headed off on the dirt road. He watched her for a moment pondering her silence. He’d kiss her more often if the end result was compliance. He winced at the thought. An obedient Serena wasn’t to his liking at all.
Serena could feel the tension flowing off Richard as they left the main track. He’d said they would follow a path. She couldn’t see where there was a path. He pushed on while she trailed after him.
She watched the bushes for any sign of movement. She almost wished Arnold would jump out from behind a bush and be done with this cat and mouse game. The uncertainty of when he’d make an appearance and try to kill them again was not for the faint of heart. A condition she now understood all the better.