by Jane Feather
“I know,” she whispered.
Their gazes held. The cool curtain over his was gone, and the gray in his eyes was turbulent.
Finally, he reluctantly released her. “Go,” he commanded.
“How do … I find you again when … the earl returns?”
He grinned suddenly and it changed his face. He looked young and vulnerable. “Georgette,” he said. “Bring Georgette into town for something. I’ll have someone keeping an eye out for her. I’ll meet you that afternoon.”
“Here?”
He shook his head. “It will be too dangerous.”
“The church,” she said. “I sometimes go into the church to pray for my mother.”
He winced, and she suspected it had been a long time since he’d visited a house of God. But then he nodded. “Go now,” he said, “before I ravish you right here.”
She swirled around before the idea became irresistible.
AFTER HEARING of the earl’s arrival in Cornwall, Justin waited in the village tavern, setting Denny to watch for a pretty young lady and a white goat.
He played his role as gambler and creditor to its limit. He drank, played with whomever he could tempt into a game. He seldom won, though, reluctant to take money from men who obviously had little.
And he tried not to think of Holly. He wanted to make her promises he had no right to make. He’d seen the hunger in her eyes, but he’d not stooped low enough to take an innocent.
He could never have her.
For one wild moment, he’d thought about asking to call on her, but he was a man with no home, no future, and a past littered with deception. And his was a profession that promised neither security nor longevity.
He was too old, too cynical, too jaded to change. He could only make her life a misery.
But he could give her opportunities she didn’t have now. He hadn’t used the bribe money available to him, and so he would find a way to give it to her as a reward.
Justin knew Cornishmen. He had fought alongside some. He had lived among them before. She and her family would not take money for helping the government. But he would find a way. He would also find them transport to America.
He just wished the thought didn’t cause him so much pain.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE SMALL CHURCH sat at the end of the village, its doors always open. A cemetery spread its harvest of stones next to the modest building.
A sense of peace radiated from the burial place. Justin paused and studied the plain white stones with their sparse epitaphs. He saw a number with the Hastings name.
Sadness seeped through him. The Hastings family had obviously had its share of grief and tragedy. He wondered whether the other members of Holly’s family had her courage, joy of life, and compassion.
It had been a long time since Justin had felt compassion, and he hadn’t even realized that fact. That was the saddest aspect of it. When had he ceased to be a human being?
Maybe he was being given a second chance.
After glancing around to make sure no one was paying him any mind, he strode toward the church door with an eagerness that surprised him. That was another feeling he hadn’t experienced in a great many years.
The church was empty except for a lone figure in a back pew. Her head was bowed, her body still. Not wanting to startle her, he purposely tapped the cane on the floor. Her head swung around. Her face was solemn, but her marvelous eyes welcomed him. She offered acceptance and trust—such overwhelming trust that he felt reborn. Years of cynicism seemed to fade away.
“Miss Holly,” he said softly.
“Mr. Savage,” she acknowledged with a smile.
He slid into the pew next to her. “It’s Justin,” he corrected, wanting her to know, and speak, his true name.
“Justin,” she repeated. He was surprised at how lyrical his name sounded on her lips.
Blast, but his heart fluttered like a schoolboy’s. He’d almost forgotten the reason he was here. If this continued, he would get them all killed.
“He’s back,” she said.
He nodded.
“No one has come to Da yet about the missing kegs,” she informed him.
“It will take time for Gatwell to find another Tim Bailey.”
Her questioning gaze cut to his sharply.
“A friend of mine intercepted him,” Justin said with satisfaction. Bailey was now ensconced in a gaol far to the north.
“Did he admit anything?”
Justin shook his head. Unfortunately, the man had not talked. His fear of Lord Gatwell was obviously stronger than his fear of authorities. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“Yes.” Her voice trembled slightly, but her chin was set determinedly.
“There’s a young man who will accompany you. He will wait outside the gates.”
She shook her head. “No. Lord Gatwell will be suspicious.”
“You’re not going there alone,” Justin said. “Denny will accompany you. He’s my valet. He’s as helpless-looking as a puppy and won’t pose a threat to Gatwell. Say that Denny was taken with you and is dogging your very footsteps.”
“If he’s helpless?”
“I didn’t say he was helpless. I said he’s helpless-looking,” Justin pointed out. “He’s a trained soldier for all his youth, and brighter than most.” Justin smiled. “And he is taken with you. ‘A vision of loveliness,’ were his very words.” He remembered the awe on the boy’s face when he’d reported sighting Holly and the goat.
She made a face, and Justin wondered whether she was unaware of how pretty she was.
“If Denny doesn’t see you leave within an hour of your entrance into Gatwell’s place,” Justin continued, “he’s to alert me. I have men standing by. But I don’t think Gatwell will try anything as long as he knows someone saw you enter.”
He prayed to God he was right. He prayed so rarely, he wasn’t sure whether his plea would be an advantage or a disadvantage. He thought briefly about canceling the plan, but Gatwell was a danger to her family, to the entire village, and Justin was taking every precaution. Still, uncommon apprehension ran up and down his spine.
Holly put her hand in his. Why didn’t he just take her and leave this place? But she wouldn’t go without ensuring her family’s safety. He’d learned that much of her.
His fingers went around hers. They were long and slender but callused.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I have a talisman.”
“A talisman?”
She took the bottle from her pocket and showed it to him.
He touched the silver filigree. “It is ancient,” he said, “and beautiful.” He cast a questioning look at her.
“I found it in a keg of brandy that fell and broke open.”
“A very unusual keg, indeed. This bottle could be worth much to someone interested in antiquities.”
She shook her head. For some reason, she knew that neither the bottle nor its message was meant to be sold.
Curiosity gleamed in his eyes, but she didn’t want to talk about the bottle anymore. If she did, she might end up telling him about the message. He might laugh, and she couldn’t bear that. “I’ll go home and sit with my mother awhile, then go to the earl’s,” she said.
“Denny will be waiting for you on the road. He has a lock of sandy hair that always falls over his forehead.”
“And he looks like a puppy,” she added mischievously. “I don’t think I’ll miss him.”
“Don’t go into the manor without meeting with him first,” Justin warned. “Do you promise?”
“Yes.” She looked toward the plain altar in the front of the church. She’d read enough books to believe love could strike like lightning. She felt as if that arrow of light had struck her the first time she’d met Justin on the cliff. Why else was she thinking or dreaming of little else than the tall, dark stranger with agonized eyes?
“Holly?” His voice stirred her from useless musings. He was here for on
e thing, and one thing only. He might even have a wife and family for all she knew. The thought was excruciatingly painful.
“Where will you go after this?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Where I’m sent.”
She hesitated. “And … your family?”
“I have none,” he said.
“None at all?”
“When my brother was accused of betraying his regiment, my father disowned him. I disowned my father. For all he knows, I’m dead.”
“You’ve never married?”
She was still staring at the alter, unwilling to look at him, afraid her eyes revealed too much.
“My occupation is not conducive to marriage,” he said, “and I have little to offer a wife.”
She could have told him she had no expectations, but she said nothing. She couldn’t. He seemed determined to live his life alone, and she couldn’t open herself to rejection. Or worse, his amusement that she could even imagine herself a match for him.
She disentangled her fingers from his and rose unsteadily. “I have to go now.”
He stood with her, and he held her chin to force her to meet his gaze. He shook his head, as if in wonderment. “You really are an amazing young lady,” he said.
She wrinkled her brows together, not quite knowing how to reply.
“You have more courage than most soldiers I’ve met,” he explained.
Holly swallowed hard. She was a fraud. She’d sounded brave, but she wasn’t. She was terrified. But if she told him that, he probably wouldn’t let her go, so she looked down instead.
“No,” he said. “Look at me.”
She forced her gaze back up. His face was too close to hers. Too attractive. Too tempting.
When his lips joined hers, she relished the feel of them. She felt the warmth of his body, and savored the intoxicating scent of him, an irresistible mixture of soap and leather. The ache inside was like nothing she’d felt before. She couldn’t force herself away from the magic that was transforming her from girl to woman.
His arms went around her, and she sheltered in them, her mind whirling with the pure wonder of what was happening to her, to her body. Reason told her she should fight against it, but she didn’t want to. She’d stepped into a marvelous, sensation-filled world that was alive with color and energy and life.
His lips explored hers with a tenderness that soon turned into something dangerous. His kiss deepened, his tongue probing her mouth with a recklessness that made her tremble.
He apparently felt it, for he stilled, and his tongue stopped its assault. She didn’t want it to stop, though, and suddenly her own mouth responded with a daring of its own. Nothing mattered now except the need each was creating in the other. Then they were feeding on each other, teasing, exploring, reacting, each touch sending her farther away from reality and into a spiral that seemed to have no end.
His lips left her mouth and trailed kisses over her face and her neck, and boldly, Holly found herself returning them, following his lead, knowing from her body’s reactions what was happening to his.
When their mouths parted for a moment, she drew back, reveling in what was happening to her. Nothing would ever be the same.
She heard him groan, then heard her own small whimper as he leaned down and kissed her throat. His every touch sent pulsating, heated ripples racing through the core of her.
She didn’t know how she could stand more. Her body ached in the most unfathomable ways. She wrenched away, trembling so badly she thought she might fall.
She loved him. She knew that now. She’d found her silver link. The caress, the kiss, the gentle yet fierce passion confirmed it. She loved him. And she was going to lose him.
She was aware of his eyes on her, of his arms still giving her support. Aware of his strength and his tenderness. She never wanted to leave his touch. But she must leave, even as she stored these memories for the future.
“Holly?”
She looked at him.
“You can still forget about helping me. I wish you would.”
She shook her head stubbornly.
“Go with God, then,” he said. “And know I’ll be right behind Him.”
With that comforting thought, she slipped out of the aisle and the church.
HOLLY FOUND Denny easily enough. She smiled inwardly as she realized how accurately Justin had described the lad. His face went red as she asked him to call her Holly, and he shuffled in embarrassment when she thanked him for his help.
“’Tis my pleasure,” he said. “I’ll not let anything happen to you.”
He would, without doubt, risk his life for their mission. It was a burden she did not want, and she wished she could send him on some useless errand. But she’d promised.
As they walked the three miles to the manor, she ran through her speech to the earl. She’d never considered him evil before, only arrogant and unprincipled, but now that she’d heard Justin’s tale, she remembered other things: odd disappearances, rumors, even terror. By the time they reached the manor, she was cold with fear. At least Barkley and his wife hadn’t returned with the earl; she didn’t think she could bear that sneering contempt in his eyes nor the knowledge that she’d once believed his silky words.
She walked to the servants’ entrance at the back and rang the bell.
A servant, dressed in black, opened the door and looked at her as if she were dung under his feet. A Londoner, she judged, for she didn’t recognize him and the locals would never have behaved with such arrogance.
“May I see Lord Gatwell?” she asked as respectfully as she could.
“What business have you with m’lord?”
“None I need discuss with you,” she retorted.
He started to shut the door, but she inserted her foot. “The earl would be none too happy not to hear my news,” she said. “Tell him it concerns Tim Bailey.”
The door slammed in her face. She sat on the step outside the door, hoping she had not misjudged the butler. He would go to Gatwell. He would be afraid not to.
After several moments, the door opened again and she was ushered through the great house. She’d been there once before with Barkley; he’d whisked her through when his father had been gone. She remembered, with some embarrassment, her awe of the interior. Now the grandeur didn’t impress her; now she knew it came from the blood of others.
Lord Gatwell was sitting at a desk in his study. He didn’t rise as she entered, nor did he acknowledge her presence as she stood awkwardly while the butler retreated behind her.
Finally, Gatwell lifted his head and regarded her with a cold stare. “What do you want, gel?”
“My da’s been trying to find Tim Bailey to give him some information, but Mr. Bailey has … disappeared.”
“And what has that to do with me?”
“Perhaps nothing, sir, and if not I humbly beg your pardon for disturbing you.” She turned to go.
“Wait!”
She stopped.
“Explain yourself,” the earl demanded.
“I … we … I mean there was something Mr. Bailey asked Da to do, and he told him where to do it, but … then the next day I saw there were strangers about and my da thought it best to move … Mr. Bailey’s belongings to a better spot. He was going to tell Mr. Bailey, but he just disappeared. Perhaps preventive men …” She paused for breath, then continued just as mindlessly, “I’d better go.”
The earl’s face paled, but still he blustered. “Why do you come to me? I know nothing of Bailey’s business.”
She gave him an innocent look. “I heard he works for you sometimes, but if he doesn’t, then I suppose … the goods now belong to Da.” She curtsied. “Thank you, sir.”
“Wait,” the earl said again, his voice almost a roar. “I suppose you’re talking about contraband. You know the penalty for smuggling? Perhaps you’d better tell me about these goods, and I’ll see to their disposal. No one will be the wiser.”
“That is very kind of you, sir
,” she replied. “But we wouldn’t want to taint your good name.”
The earl rose to his feet and set his hands on his desk as he studied her face. Had she overplayed her game?
But then he seemed to relax. “Ain’t you the gel Barkley trifled with?” Gatwell asked.
Blood rushed to Holly’s face. She wanted to throw something at Gatwell. Barkley had not gotten the chance to “trifle” with her, though he’d tried hard enough and, regretfully, almost succeeded. But she was not about to debate that point with the earl, particularly when he had that lustful gleam in his eyes.
Instead, she lowered her own eyes so he wouldn’t see the fury in them.
His voice turned soothing. “It’s my duty,” he said, “to assist my tenants when I can. Give me the location of the contraband, and I will see to its disposal. I would not like to see any of my tenants arrested and transported.”
“But what of yourself, my lord?”
He shrugged. “I’ll take care of the authorities.”
“You’re very kind, sir, but what about Tim Bailey, and the fee Da was to be paid?”
“I know nothing about fees,” the earl said. “I’m simply doing you a favor, ridding your family of something that could send you all to New South Wales.”
Anger pounded in her. He wanted to cheat her da out of his promised money. He had used her father, and now he’d found a reason not to pay him.
“The location?” he asked.
She shifted on her feet. She couldn’t give him the answer too easily.
His voice moderated, became almost seductive. “I just want to help you and your family. They’ve been good tenants. I wouldn’t like to see anything happen to them.”
“I’ll… have to ask Da.”
“We don’t have time for that,” the earl said impatiently.
“The cave at Kell’s Point,” she said in a low, ragged voice, as if the information had been ripped from her.
“Tell me about the men you saw.”
“I was keeping watch for Da and I saw this man at the top of the cliff, looking down, then later I saw him talking to several other men on the road. So Da went the next night … and moved everything.”
“What did this stranger look like?”