by Rebecca King
“Did you see Melrose?”
“No. I was put into a carriage and taken to Melrose House.”
“Did you see or hear anybody mention the name of the house?”
“No.”
“Was the house a large one like Melrose House?”
“Yes, I think so. I didn’t get to see much of it. I went out of a back door and was immediately shoved into a waiting carriage, which had blacked out windows.”
“Was the house white? Did you see brickwork? Was it Tutor-style? Did you see any defining features?”
“I would recognise it if I saw it again, but I have no idea where it is.”
“It must be an old property for it to have an oubliette.”
“It was old. It was built from stone, I think. It wasn’t Tudor or white, I know that much.”
“You didn’t see any staff, like liveried footmen or anything.”
Mallory shook her head.
“Well, we have something to go on.”
“How?”
“We know now that we are looking for the owners of estates old enough to have oubliettes built into them. They aren’t added once the property has been built. Properties with oubliettes were usually built in the 1200-1500’s. That snippet of information will help us to narrow down who is likely to be hiding the kidnap victims before they are moved on.”
“I was then taken to Melrose House, into the kitchens via the scullery. I was then told I was going nowhere and would be working for my keep. At first, I refused. I told them they were stealing my life and that I didn’t agree to it, but they beat me. Each time I refused to work for them I wasn’t allowed to eat. I was so hungry, but they told me that I couldn’t eat. They said that I was fat enough. When I gave in and started to work, purely because I needed something to eat, the captors punished me by giving me more and more work to do. They were vile. They kept calling me names, ridiculing me, and stopping me from eating by withholding food until I did as I was told. I was then threatened with going to see the master. The only person that kept me sane was Jemima. She was the only one in that house they treated the same as me. We never got to talk much but when we did, she confirmed that she too had been snatched. She had arrived several weeks before me. She told me that escape was futile. They had dogs outside, and plenty of guards. The place was a fortress. I knew then that the life I had been living had gone for good.”
“You knew how hopeless your situation was,” Callum murmured.
“I didn’t know how to get out of there. I wasn’t allowed out of the house at first so didn’t even know where I was. They kept me in the kitchen working from before dawn to after midnight every day. I was allowed one sparse meal and that was removed if I didn’t work hard enough, or argued with any of them, or objected to their spite.”
“They didn’t want you to defend yourself. Bullies don’t. Bullies hate people who defend their ability to have the same rights as the bully. It isn’t for people to think they can browbeat someone with malice, whether physical or verbal. Abuse is abuse. Nobody should steal a life and try to stop someone objecting by beating them in any way, either verbally, mentally, or physically. It is a crime of the worst kind, and something that shall never go unpunished.”
“Do you know what happened to the others in there?”
Callum went cold. “Others like you?”
“No, the employees?”
“Do you care?”
“Yes, but only because I don’t want them to appear in my life again. I don’t want to be going about my business at any point in my life and bump into them in the street.”
“If they didn’t die in that house fire, which is highly unlikely given the explosion and the ferocity of the flames, they are all going to be arrested by the Star Elite. You saw what we did with Melrose’s men in the street. There will be no mercy for anybody who helps Melrose.”
“The only consolation to that is that they are now incapable of ever being able to steal anybody else’s life,” Mallory whispered.
“The men still free right now won’t get to you,” he promised.
Mallory looked up at him. “Make sure they don’t get you.”
The words were so heartfelt that her voice trembled. She had no idea what she would do if Melrose captured Callum. He seemed so strong, so capable, but so had Sir Hugo.
In the silence of the moonlit night, peace swirled around them. Like dancing wind, it teased and tugged the memories away leaving a soothing glow that healed the deepest of wounds.
Callum’s past on the battlefield faded into darkest history while Mallory’s more recent ordeal began a new chapter of her life; one in which she was far stronger than she had ever been. Consequently, she was bolder than she knew she ought to be when temptation proved too much.
Without saying a word, she stood on tiptoe and placed a gentle kiss against the corner of his mouth. At first, he didn’t move. Callum was bound by the tug of something infinitesimally moving that it snuck up on him, rendered him incapable of exerting caution, and instead made him follow her when she lowered herself back onto her feet. In turn, Mallory found her lips captured in a kiss that was as gentle as the shimmering moon bathing them in its silvery glow.
At first, the briefest of touches was enough to elicit a shivered response. Neither of them was even sure if what they were doing was at all wise given their current location. But as the minutes ticked by, the doubts faded and were replaced with a certainty that neither of them questioned.
Callum tightened his arms around her until she had no choice but to step closer. Mallory clung to his shoulders for balance when her world swirled around them. When she opened her eyes all she could see was him. In that moment, Callum was her world, the reason she was there. Mallory knew she would never be the same again. Not after this.
As a gentle breeze began to build around them, tugging at their clothing, urging them silently inside, Callum and Mallory clung to each other. Their need to be together wasn’t based on fear, or doubts, or insecurities, but was driven purely by an attraction that was compelling. Neither of them could fight it or hid from it. Instead, they explored, the sensations, the emotions it brought them, while they each contemplated what needed to change so they could keep it. Being together as they were was like a bonding; a union. It forged a new venture in their life which included being together as a couple. What that meant Mallory wasn’t sure. She didn’t think she could ever cope with life as Callum’s wife only to have to wait at home while he ventured out to fight people like Melrose. While she could understand why he did the job he did, she would never forget what Melrose had done to Sir Hugo. Callum mattered to her too much for her to ever accept something like that possibly happening to him as well. The very idea was so disturbing that Mallory clung to him just that little tighter and savoured each moment they were bound together just that little bit more.
“Time is precious,” she whispered.
“I know,” he murmured. “I know.”
“We barely know each other,” she added, when he began to pepper kisses down her neck.
“I know.” He lifted his head and looked down at her. “I know, but I feel as if I have known you my entire life.”
“I know,” Mallory breathed.
Callum knew that his time with Mallory was nearly over. While they were temporarily distracted by Sir Hugo, the men would realise Mallory and Callum hadn’t returned to the house and would soon come out to look for them. All Callum could do was memorise every moment he had alone with Mallory because he had no idea if they would be alone again.
“We have to stop this. I am supposed to be keeping you out of Melrose’s clutches, not posing a danger to your virtue.”
Callum shook his head ruefully at her and tutted chidingly when she smiled at him.
“I think I can fight you off,” she teased.
“Oh, you think so, do you?” he countered with a smile.
Before she could issue another taunt, Callum covered her mouth with his and kissed her the
way he truly wanted to. This wasn’t any gentle persuasion, this was a deep, drawing kiss that compelled her to surrender. This kiss was possessive branding, which left Mallory in no doubt of his need of her. It was bold, it was brash, it left her in no doubt that he cared. This was natural, without any restraint, barriers, or hindrance.
It was honest. It was them.
Words failed her. The ability to step back and put some distance between them disappeared completely. All Mallory could do was give herself over to his masterful kisses and cling to him while she revelled in the moment. In just a few precious minutes, Callum had made her feel more of a person than anybody had since her parents had died. She had never felt this protected, this cared for, this wanted by anyone in her life, and it left her aching for more. She wanted to feel this way all the time, but only with Callum. Only he could make her feel so safe, she was sure of it. It was stunning, but at the same time slightly worrying because she had no idea where it would lead her, and what it meant for her future, especially if she had to face that future without him.
We are just sharing a few kisses. I cannot expect more from him.
But she did because this was no ordinary kiss. The slide of Callum’s lips against hers tugged at something within her. A part of her didn’t care where this would lead her, or what would happen next, she just didn’t want Callum to step back. She didn’t want these wonderful feelings to ever end. She wanted them forever.
She wanted him forever.
But it has only been a day.
Mallory felt wanton, reckless, foolish even, but was honest enough and brave enough to be able to face her emotions. Callum created emotions within her that were instinctive, natural, she could never regret them. She could never regret this.
When Callum moaned and edged closer still, Mallory felt something warm and tender begin to flourish deep within her heart, in a place where she had never felt emotion before. When her hands slid up along the broad expanse of his chest, along the rigid length of his heavily muscled shoulders, so her fingers could slide into the soft tendrils of his hair, she half expected him to object. Instead, he groaned again, and tipped his head even more so he could deepen the kiss for a moment before sliding his lips down the long column of her throat again.
Mallory shivered as the warmth in her chest began to expand throughout the rest of her until she was sure she was glowing. She didn’t care that his hands copied hers, and in doing so scattered pins everywhere. When her hair slithered over her shoulders, she tipped her head back, allowing him greater access to explore as he wanted. When he tugged her head back up so he could kiss her once more, she clung to his shoulders with tighter arms and narrowed any lingering gaps between them until they were bound together as tightly as possible. Breaths blended and swirled, hearts thundered and echoed each other. Hands scoured flesh, savouring, memorising, teasing, until the barriers became frustrating.
“We have to stop,” Callum pleaded, his breath in short pants.
Mallory sucked in a breath and dutifully tried to steady herself.
Callum knew he was lost to her. With her head tipped back, the long tresses of her curled hair shimmering out behind her, she looked like a Goddess, as wild and free as the winds that now swirled around them. He half expected her to vanish; for her to be a figment of his over-active imagination. How she looked now was only something he had ever seen in his wildest dreams. At no point in his life had Callum ever anticipated that it – she - might become a reality; that Mallory might be in his life.
But she was.
Mallory was right before him.
Alive.
As passionately enchanting as he could have hoped his future wife would be.
It was that thought that gave him a moment’s pause. While a passionate kiss on a moonlit night with a woman as beautiful as Mallory was something no sane man would ever turn down, he wasn’t prepared to sacrifice his bachelorhood for it – was he?
Could Mallory ever be his wife?
“What is it?” Mallory asked when she felt his withdrawal.
Physically, Callum didn’t move. He just seemed to distance himself by staring at the floor blankly, as if his mind was a million miles away. She knew then that their wonderful embrace was over. While she wanted to weep for the loss of it, Mallory also wanted to find out why Callum had so brutally withdrawn.
She felt cold. Bereft. Alone. Scared. At a loss to explain what had happened. More confused than she had ever been, but so desperate to step back into his arms that she almost reached out to him. It was only that awful distance that stopped her.
“The others will come out to look for us soon. I don’t want them to catch us like this. It changes everything.”
“How? This is between us, Callum.”
Mallory hated the thought that Callum might go inside and tell his colleagues what they had done. Surely, he would be more of a gentleman than that, wouldn’t he? Mallory didn’t know him well enough to be able to say if he would or not.
Another stark reminder that I don’t really know him.
“Look, my colleagues are a little different to most men.”
“I know,” Mallory interrupted. “You work for the Star Elite.”
“No. It’s not that. Well, not entirely. My colleagues will view us as being together because I was the one who was sent to get you out of Melrose House. I have had to get you to trust me to get you to this far. Consequently, my colleagues will talk to me if they want you to do something. Moreover, if they know we are outside, they will suspect we are talking, or kissing, or something. While they will give us time to sort ourselves out, they do still have a duty to make sure we are safe. They will also see to it that your virtue is protected.”
Mallory’s brows shot up. “I didn’t intend to embarrass you.”
“It isn’t that,” Callum sighed.
Mallory suspected it was. A part of her that had once been blossoming and full of hope suddenly began to wither again, like a plant without water.
“My colleagues are well aware that I am not married, and you are beautiful.”
With that, Callum forced himself to take several steps away from her.
Mallory’s heart fluttered wildly upon hearing that he thought she was beautiful. An instinctive denial hovered on her lips, but he continued talking before she could speak.
“I think you should know that some of my colleagues in the Star Elite have been tasked with similar missions.”
“Rescuing women?”
Callum nodded. He seemed so reluctant to say what he did next that Mallory was intrigued.
“Unfortunately, they have fallen in love with the women they were ordered to rescue and protect. They were single at the time, and so were the women so essentially there is nothing wrong with their conduct. However, it resulted in the men marrying the women.”
“But you don’t intend to get married.”
Mallory wasn’t at all sure what she should think. She was deflated, if she was honest, but also stubbornly reluctant to admit that the passion they had both enjoyed just now was wrong in any way.
How can something that felt so right be so wrong? So, he doesn’t want to get married. Nor do I for that matter.
Where that left her was beyond her.
“I don’t want you to think that you have to be with me because I rescued you,” Callum muttered awkwardly.
“What has your rescuing me got to do with our kissing? Do you think that was gratitude? Just how easy do you think I am?”
Mallory was annoyed.
Callum mentally winced because the last thing he wanted was to offend her.
“I don’t think you are easy.”
“What is wrong with enjoying something like that just for the moment? We have both faced danger in the last few hours, or have you forgotten? We faced death, Callum. Isn’t it normal to want to reaffirm that we have life left within us?”
“Well, yes, but that is my point. I don’t want you to see me as a hero or anything, or someone y
ou feel grateful to.”
Callum scratched his ear and tried not to shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other. He hated feeling so damned awkward, but what could he do? He had to be honest with her. What he said just sounded wrong even though it was the right thing to say.
“I have faced death. I had no idea if they were going to kill me, especially after what they did to Jemima. I heard her screams. While I had no idea what they did to her in the hours before she died, I know she suffered. It was a stark reminder that while I stayed in that house, I faced the same fate whenever they chose to kill me. There was little I could do about it. I have no parents. Life has not been kind to me. While I would have been happy just rushing off to work, worrying about the little things in life, after what I have been through, those little things are just not worth worrying about now. Don’t you think I should be able to enjoy what life I have left? Don’t you think that I am strong enough and capable enough to decide if I want to share a few kisses with a handsome man if the occasion arose? I don’t expect you to offer for me or anything.”
“I don’t think it is a wise idea for you to go around kissing just any man,” Callum blustered.
“I am not that kind of woman,” she snapped. “However, I am single. I don’t intend to send the rest of my life on my own. I want to get married, eventually. What is wrong with that?”
“Just not now.” Callum stared hard at her. For some reason that irked him.
“No. Not right now.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have kissed me.”
This time, Mallory scratched her head. It was then that she realised her hair was flowing loose about her shoulders still. She looked down but the ground was encased in darkness. It was impossible to find her pins.
“I see no reason why I should not marry eventually,” she muttered.
Callum could sense an argument brewing but had no idea what had started it or how to vanquish it before Mallory lost her temper with him completely.
“I don’t object to you getting married. How could I?”
“Just not to you. Well, can I remind you that at no point during our – acquaintance – have I ever mentioned to you that I expect you to ask me to be your wife? At no point have I ever placed any demands upon you. You have rescued me. You have chosen to do what you have done. While I am grateful for it, I do not expect you to sacrifice the rest of your life to look after me. I, Callum, am perfectly capable of looking after myself.”