“I landed on my injured leg and my thigh is cramping.”
“Oh, Kala, help me get him up.” The two women struggled to get him to a reclining position on the bed. Tessa started massaging his leg.
“I think I’ll go back to my room. Good night,” Kala quickly left the room with a mischievous grin.
Derek and Tessa were so intent on the cramp in his leg that neither replied.
“Try flexing your foot as I work on your muscle,” Tessa instructed him. He did so even though it proved painful. They worked in tandem for a quarter-of-an-hour before the cramp eased and the muscle loosened. “Better?”
“Yes. And you?”
“Fine, it must have been a nightmare.”
“Are you frightened of storms?”
“I couldn’t tell you one way or the other. It attacked my senses more than anything, I guess. The loudness of the thunder and then I felt as if I were suffocating and being held down. I couldn’t free myself and then I woke with you hovering over me. I truly am sorry. I didn’t mean to knock you off the bed and hurt your leg.”
“I’m fine now.” She still leaned over him, her hair falling forward, acting like a curtain. He reached up and pushing her hair behind her shoulder and cupping the back of her neck in his palm. Derek pulled her down to him. Her eyes drifted half closed as he captured her lush, full lips. He teased her lips, coaxing her to join him in this play. She moaned and braced her arms on either side of his head.
“Tessa,” he moaned, struggling to deepen the kiss. “Kiss me,” he pleaded, deepening the kiss, his tongue sweeping inside the recesses of her mouth. She responded tentatively then he felt her stiffen. Tessa quickly crawled off the bed and away from him.
“No. We can’t do this.”
“We just shared a kiss.”
“And I said we can’t do this until I remember.”
“Dammit, we may never do anything again.” He looked at her from where he reclined on the bed, valiantly trying to get his body under control. When she made no move, he fell back on the bed and tunneled his fingers through his hair.
Tessa’s body throbbed and she ached to go to him, but knew it would make matters worse. The situation had turned awkward. A sudden flash of lightning lit the room quickly followed by a loud boom of thunder that shook the walls and rattled the windows. She jumped a little at the sound.
“Derek, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t,” he cut her off, “just don’t. Try to get some sleep,” he directed as he rose from the bed and hobbled across to their adjoining door. “We have a long day of travel ahead of us tomorrow.”
She watched him shut the door without looking back and suddenly felt very alone.
Chapter 13
“Kala are you ready?” Derek called up the stairs.
“Coming!”
Tessa and Derek stood tensely next to each other waiting for Kala to come downstairs, she in servant’s clothes and he in traveling clothes. Never had the difference between them been so glaringly obvious besides those first few nights in the safe house. This just proved to Tessa that she did the correct thing in stopping anything from happening last night.
Tessa became angrier and angrier that someone had invaded her life in such a manner. And the more she thought about the situation, the more she knew deep within herself that the charges against her were false. It would only be a matter of proving her innocence before time ran out because she could not do anything on beliefs and feelings. They had to find proof.
Things between her and Derek were complicated. She knew he felt anger and frustration, she did as well, but it could not happen again. Not until she fully regained her memory. It would not be fair to either one of them. If she were honest with herself, she would admit she enjoyed feeling the strength of him beneath her hands as she helped him work out his cramped muscle. Then the warmth and passion in his kiss caused sensations that made her blush just thinking about them. He made her feel protected, passionate, and scared, but she must not admit this to anyone. Most especially Derek.
“Tessa?”
“Hmmm? Oh sorry, what were you saying?”
“You were miles away,” Derek said and saw a blush creep up her neck and face. “What were you thinking about?” He asked huskily.
“N-n-nothing,” she stammered.
“It wouldn’t have to do with this, would it?” He questioned her leaning in to brush her lips with his. Tessa attempted to turn her face away but he grabbed her chin and held her still. She could not pull away from him no matter how hard she tried. He pulled away and growled, “You can’t say there is nothing between us.”
“I never said that,” Tessa whispered.
“Hm-mm,” a feminine throat could be heard clearing itself coming down the stairs. The couple broke apart like school children caught in the act of a mischievous prank. “Ready?” Kala asked brightly.
“What took you so long?” Derek asked sharply.
“Temper, temper, brother dear. The important thing is that I am ready now.” Kala looked quite fetching in her periwinkle carriage dress and matching pelisse. She wore a lovely bonnet on her head to complete the ensemble. “I will be terribly bored in that carriage all by myself all the way to Blackburn Hall. Can’t Sara ride with me?” Derek hesitated.
“Go ahead,” Tessa encouraged. “I will have Lucas riding with me.” It would be easier to hide her emotions from a chattering boy than a grown woman.
“Fine.”
Tessa made certain her mobcap covered her identifiable hair and moved to the servants’s carriage letting herself in, while Kala and Sarah were put in the first carriage. Lucas came running up with a small carpetbag and climbed into the carriage with Tessa, chattering excitedly about this grand adventure.
Tessa worried about putting everyone in danger, but Derek assured her all would be well. The entourage pulled off with Derek calling out that he would see them at the estate. He wheeled around in the opposite direction, and clopped off down the street.
He hated leaving the women alone with only the two coachmen as protection, but it had been part of the plan that he and Gabe had decided on. They wanted them to appear vulnerable, and hopefully draw out the villain, besides the two men were armed. Derek and Gabe suspected nothing untoward would happen until after the entourage reached the first coaching inn. A few miles past there the roads became more desolate and less inhabited. They should easily catch up to them by then.
Derek rode to the office and met up with Gabe. While there, the director pulled them into an impromptu meeting. He questioned them on their current case, which involved Tessa. Unfortunately they had little to report.
“What’s the holdup, men?” Director McKenzie demanded.
Gabe looked at Derek expectantly. “We have run into a bit of a problem, sir,” Derek began.
“Problem?”
“Yes sir,” Derek replied respectfully and fully explained the situation to the Scotsman.
“Your wife?” the director yelled, sitting up straight in his chair and banging his muscular hand on the desk in front of him. “What the bloody hell is going on? Why did one of you not inform me of this earlier?” he bellowed loudly. “Do either of you realize what Castlereagh will say when he finds out about this?”
“I had hoped that after a few days her memory would begin to return, and it has. Just not at the rate we wish it to.”
“Why did you not take her from his custody?” he directed the question at Gabe.
“It seemed the best place for her at the time,” Gabe answered calmly. Derek appreciated his friend taking his side and knew what it cost him at the moment.
“Where is she now?”
“On her way to Blackburn Hall to finish recuperating. I am hoping that the peace of the country will bring back memories.”
“Who is with her?”
“I have several outriders with her,” Derek informed him. He became more uncomfortable as time elapsed, knowing it would be more difficult to catch up with them. He al
so had another stop to make before they left town.
“You have a fortnight for her to remember, then I want her back in London where I can question her. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And if it turns out she is guilty, you can prepare to be charged as well,” the director said. “The both of you,” he growled as the men left his office.
“Well, that went better than I thought,” Derek did a poor attempt at lightening the mood.
“He’s a bloody bastard,” Gabe snarled.
“Damn, look at this fog. It will take twice the time to catch up with them,” Derek attempted to take Gabriel’s mind off the meeting. “I have another stop to make before I will be able to catch up.”
“Since you sent outriders, I’ll go with you.”
“Perhaps we should go ahead and leave. I can make this stop some other time.”
“Why the change of heart?”
“I lied to the director.”
“About?”
“I sent them in two unmarked carriages, but there are no outriders.”
“Bloody hell, Blackburn, where is your head these days?” Gabe bit out as the men moved as quickly through the London streets as they possibly could.
* * *
All went as planned when the group reached the first coaching inn. A heavy fog started rolling in as the group left London and moved toward the coastal estate, causing them to travel slower than they would have preferred. Tessa kept a close eye out of the window of the plain coach watching for anything unexpected.
Upon arriving at the inn, Tessa and Lucas exited the carriage and made their way to a separate building for servants. They each ate a meat pie, cleaned up a little, and then quickly got back into the carriage. Within thirty minutes the group set off once more. They planned for Derek to see to some last minute business at the office and then catch up with the entourage just past this first coaching inn. There would not be a need for another stop until they reached the estate.
The fog made it more and more difficult to see causing the group to travel slower. Tessa’s stomach started knotting. Derek and Gabe were going to have a more difficult time catching up with them.
“It will be all right, Tessa,” Lucas placed a reassuring hand on her leg. “The sirs’ll catch up to us.”
Tessa smiled at his easy trust and tried to push back her encroaching fear. She could not fight the feeling that they were being followed. The conveyances continued to move cautiously through the fog-shrouded afternoon.
“Tell me about your family, missus,” Lucas said attempting to distract her.
“I don’t remember much.”
“Why not?
“I was in an accident and lost my memory.”
“Oh,” he said and remained quiet for a few minutes, digesting this new piece of information. “Will it get better?” he finally asked.
“I hope so,” she said softly. “Can I call you Luke?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Lucas just seems so grown up for a little boy. I remember the other day you told me that you had a hard life after your mom died. What did you do?”
“Whatever I could to survive. Sometimes da’ would be gone on a ship and I would have to find my own way. I wasn’t always good, ma’am. And I’m not all that little, I’ll be twelve on me next birthday.”
“No one is accusing you of anything.” Malnourishment must be a cause for his smaller size.
“I ran from the constables a lot.”
“Oh Luke. You poor thing.”
“I did what I had to.”
“Luke, do you know how to read or do computations?”
“Compu...what?”
“Work with numbers,” Tessa clarified.
“No ma’am. I know the different kind of money, but that’s ‘bout it.”
“Would you like to learn to read and work with numbers?”
“What will it do for me?” he asked warily.
“Well, it can help you when you grow up. If you have business dealings, you will be able to read the information presented. You will be able to do figures. It will keep people from cheating you.” She let him think about it for a little while. “So, what do you say?”
“I don’t know.”
“Look at it this way, you will be doing me a favor.”
“How?”
“If I spend my time helping you, I won’t be able to dwell on not being able to remember who I am.”
“Well, since you put it that way, I guess it’d be all right.”
“Oh, I can’t wait,” Tessa clapped cheerfully.
“Now don’t get too worked up. I might not be a right proper student.”
Tessa laughed and then quieted when the shout of a male voice penetrated the muffling fog. She relaxed back against the squabs happy to know that the men had caught up. The gunshot broke the peace she felt and had her searching out the window. Birds went squawking and fluttering out of the trees startled from their perches.
“Lucas, get down,” Tessa commanded, pushing him to the floor of the carriage as she lifted the hatch in the roof just a bit. The driver of her carriage sat slumped over, clutching his arm. Blood seeped between his fingers and stained his coat. She had to stand on the seat and opened the hatch wider to see what unfolded ahead of them. Tessa could barely make out a lone horse and rider in the dense fog.
“Come out, Countess,” the rider called in a muffled, gruff voice, his face covered by a cloth.
Where were the men? The fog had to be impeding their progress, but shouldn’t they be close? She would have thought they should have caught up with them long before now. Tessa cursed herself for relaxing her guard, for trusting someone else with her safety. She should have been more aware of the rider coming up on them. Even then she probably would have surmised that Derek and Gabriel had caught up with them.
Tessa watched the door of the first carriage ease open and saw Kala step out onto the roadway. Sarah followed.
“What the hell is going on? Where is she?” The man demanded.
“Whom are you talking about?” Kala questioned him as if she were a princess and he a lowly peasant.
Tessa didn’t wait to hear his response.
“Luke,” she whispered, “where might a weapon be hidden in here?” Luke shrugged his reply and began worrying his bottom lip. “Help me look. Quickly.” Both of them began searching every tiny crevice.
“Oi, I think I’ve somethin’,” Luke exclaimed softly. Underneath his seat he found a tiny latch and when he turned it, a compartment revealed itself. Inside were not one, but two pistols. “Do ye’ think they’re loaded?”
“Only one way to find out,” Tessa responded. Praying the fog and the man’s preoccupation with the first carriage would cover her movements she carefully slipped out the door, pressing herself to the side of the carriage. She slipped around the back after easing the door shut.
“Hey! What’s going on back there?”
Bless the coachman and his quick thinking, he let out a moan and moved to get a better seat. “Just me, sir,” he grunted.
“Settle down,” the man ordered dismounting from his horse. He walked over to Kala and gathered a fistful of her hair, brutally jerking her head back. “Now, tell me where that red-headed witch is, and I’ll leave you in peace.”
Tessa motioned for Luke to stay low in the carriage. The damp foliage hid the sound of her footsteps as she tried to move to a better position. The coaches were some yards apart. A large tree stood like a sentinel along the side of the road between them. If she could make it there, she would be in a much better position. Slowly she made her way towards the tree, all the while trying to listen to the questioning going on between Kala and the bandit.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Kala bit out through clenched teeth.
“Let’s take a look in the carriages shall we?” He propelled Kala towards the door of the one she had disembarked from, still clutching her hair. He looked inside, but empt
iness greeted him. He then jerked her to the next carriage.
“Who’s this?”
“A servant. Are you happy now that you have frightened a child?”
“Don’t sass me. Where is she?”
“I told you, I do not know who you are talking about you filthy toad. Let me go!” She reached up and scratched at his face.
“Why you little bitch!” He holstered his gun and then used the back of his hand to slap Kala. “I know she’s here. He wouldn’t leave her in London alone.”
“I do not know...”
“Don’t lie to me!” Again he backhanded her on the same cheek. He dragged her behind the second carriage and pushed her up against the equipage. He held her there with his hand on her neck closing off her air supply. Tessa watched from behind the tree as he squeezed and then released her to let her talk, praying for an opportunity and that the guns were loaded.
An opportunity presented itself as he stepped back a little to avoid Kala’s kicking feet. Tessa lifted the gun, aimed at his shoulder, and pulled the trigger. A loud click sounded. The man turned his head toward the noise, a slow grin spreading across his face. Unfortunately, he passed too close to Kala who slowed him down by using a maneuver her brother taught her to use only when being attacked. Her skirts had not allowed her to truly do the move justice and the man recovered too quickly.
This time he used the full force of his fist on Kala and she went down. Tessa grabbed the remaining pistol and ducked into the foliage, thankful she wore a dark dress. She could hear him gaining on her. A large tree rose up in front of her and she quickly hid behind it. After saying a quick prayer that this pistol was loaded, Tessa lifted it and aimed. When she saw him come around the tree, she squeezed the trigger.
The loud bang sounded like heaven’s bells in her ears.
“You shot me!” the man shouted, followed by a long list of expletives. In the distance riders could be heard approaching. “This isn’t the end Tessa. I will get you.”
“Not today,” Tessa whispered, resting her forehead against the giant tree’s trunk. She pushed away and walked towards the coaches. The bandit could be heard escaping cross-country on his horse. Sarah and Lucas were with Kala, who still lay unconscious on the ground, her head cradled in Sarah’s lap.
A Traitorous Heart Page 11