“Thank you, brother, but that is risky too. The castle is gigantic and finding our way could take us hours. Four out-of-place men, we are likely to be discovered. We will sneak her out the window.” Graham stared at the opening. “We will wait till we have the total cover of darkness.”
Night fell and the castle grew quiet. The four Fairfield brothers stood at the bottom of the east tower. Puffs of smoke slowly twirled up into the sky.
Will held the long rope. He had tied an anchor to one end to add weight for throwing, but it would make a horrible racket if he missed.
“Back up,” he whispered to his brothers.
The brothers did as they were told. Will’s great arm heaved the anchor into the air. For a breath, Graham thought it would bash into the castle. But the anchor sailed smoothly over the beam and the weight of the hunk of metal pulled the rope back down into Will’s grasp.
“Impressive.” Tom stepped up to help his brother untie the anchor and tie the rope into a loop.
They double looped the rope around Graham’s waist. He gripped the rope above him. Tom, Will, and Nick grabbed the other end and began to hoist Graham up through the air.
Graham quickly reached the beam and heaved himself up. He slowly stood and peeked into the window. Directly in front of the window, a guard was sound asleep in a chair. On the other side of the room lay Charlotte. Even from across the room he could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest and the golden curls that spilled around her.
As gracefully as he could, Graham inched through the window. He slowly put one foot down, careful not to touch the guard. His foot was an inch from the guard’s boot. He shifted his weight and shimmied his foot farther from the man. Using his hands on the window frame to brace his weight, he set his other foot down. He gently pushed with his hands until his weight was on his feet. The guard snorted and Graham held his breath.
The man continued his rhythmic breathing again and Graham sighed. He had killed several men during the attack but this was different. He would not hurt a sleeping man who could not defend himself.
Softly he walked over to the bed. He sat his weight down next to Charlotte. She looked even more beautiful up close. Long lashes rested on high cheekbones. Her skin was a perfect pearl color with a hint of pink in the cheeks. Her full red mouth puckered and Graham was tempted to plant a soft kiss on those glorious lips. He gave himself a shake. This was not about his feelings for her. This was about her safety.
Graham softly shook Charlotte, but she didn’t awaken. His eyes narrowed. He looked back at the sleeping guard and he began to understand. He saw heaps of food on the side table. It must be poisoned with a sleeping draught. He walked back to the guard and pushed the man to the floor with his boot, then pushed the chair to the side. This man would give him no trouble.
Graham strode back to the bed and gathered Charlotte in his arms. Then, crossing the room again, he reached out the window and grabbed the rope. He plastered Charlotte to his body. He looped it around his and Charlotte’s waist, then between their legs.
Charlotte didn’t even stir and Graham shook his head. He was glad she wouldn’t see what they were about to do but it required a great deal of strength to accomplish.
Straddling the sill, he had one foot in the room and one foot out on the beam. Graham couldn’t balance on the beam while holding Charlotte so he was going to have to throw himself out and hope his brothers were watching to pull the rope taut.
He made eye contact with Will and then rocked one, two, three and out the window he flew with the sleeping Charlotte strapped to his chest.
They were seventy-five feet off the ground and for a split second he thought his brothers wouldn’t pull the rope. But suddenly the rope jerked taut and Graham angled his feet towards the wall to keep from crashing into it.
His feet hit the wall but he bent his knees to cushion their jump. Graham breathed a sigh of relief. Then Tom, Nick and Will began lowering them to the ground.
Graham’s feet touched the earth and Tom began unwinding them from the rope. He worked quickly. They left the rope where it was. It didn’t matter now if Lord Bard knew how they had gotten her out. They needed to get off the island fast. The four brothers sprinted towards the boat. What was important was putting as much distance between them and the island as possible. Charlotte still slept soundly in Graham’s arms.
Will climbed in first and Graham almost tossed Charlotte to him as he hurtled over the side. Tom jumped in behind Graham, and Nick gave the boat a heaving push just before jumping in.
“Head straight for the Scottish Coast. We’ll find horses and supplies, but we are defenseless on the open water,” Graham hissed as Nick caught the wind with the sail and headed for the shoreline.
“We’ve lucked out. The wind has shifted directions for us,” Tom called over the rush of the water.
Graham’s face was grim. Luck would get them to the coast before Charlotte’s absence was noticed. Will passed Charlotte back to him and she stirred in his arms. She licked her lips, bringing Graham’s attention back to her glorious mouth. The sea air and distance from the castle seemed to lift her sleeping potion.
She opened her eyes. She licked her lips again and then blinked sleepily a few times. Then, seeing Graham, Charlotte gave him a soft sleepy smile. Graham felt attraction like a bolt of lightning shoot through his body.
“You came,” she reached up touched his cheek with her hand.
“Of course,” he smiled back, her beauty taking his breath away. His hands were wrapped around her and he was suddenly aware that she wore only a nightdress. He could feel her incredibly small waist. Her breasts were crushed up against his chest.
She curled her hand into his hair and pulled his head to hers, their lips softly touching. From that small touch, Graham felt heat spread down his body. He was instantly rock hard.
Charlotte pulled away, their lips breaking contact. Her eyes were gigantic. “I thought I was dreaming.”
Even in the dark, Graham could see her cheeks flush bright red. “My apologies,” Graham gritted out. He could have cursed himself. Charlotte would never be his. He was foolish to forget that even for a second.
Charlotte started to respond, but suddenly a dark shadow blocked out the moonlight. A massive schooner was headed right for them.
Graham lifted his head from the beautiful woman in his arms. “How far to the coast?”
“Quarter mile, maybe a half. There is an outcropping of rocks!” Nick pointed to their left and aimed the sailboat in that direction.
The other ship came closer and Graham could see the men in black on its deck. “It’s them!”
Will grabbed his bow and the largest arrow Graham had ever seen. The other ship flew across the water towards them; it would be on top of them in less than a minute.
Tom got out his tinderbox and an oil rag. He lit the rag almost instantly and handed it to Will, who wrapped the flaming rag around a gigantic arrow.
“Hit the main mast,” Nick yelled over the surf.
“Easy for you to say. I’ve only got one arrow. I can’t miss!” As the boat bore down on them, Will released the string and the flaming arrow shot like a ball of fire in the night.
The boat burst into flames as the arrow pierced the main mast of the ship. The fire caught the sail which billowed to the deck, lighting it on fire as well.
“Bloody bullocks,” Tom called softly as the flames rose higher.
“Have you ever seen the like?” Nick asked.
The boat stopped dead in the water. Their small sailboat coasted out of its shadow. Graham sighed. For an instant he thought they were safe. But the boat was burning quickly and it gave a heaving groan then listed to one side. The flames had spread to every inch of the ship and all three masts glowed red in the dark.
“Nick, steer the boat away, or that mast could come down right on top of us!” Graham bellowed at his brother.
But Nick couldn’t correct in time and, as the large boat went down, one of its
flaming masts smashed into their smaller vessel, splintering half their boat into pieces.
Will and Nick went diving out the sides of the boat.
Tom wrenched a piece of wood from the deck and set his toolbox onto the board, pushing it away from the sinking vessel and then he jumped in the water.
“We have to jump!” Graham stood with Charlotte in his arms.
“I can’t swim!” Charlotte screamed, panic choking her voice.
“Doesn’t matter,” Graham yelled back as he jumped off the side of the boat with Charlotte still in his arms.
Both plunged under the cold ocean water, but Graham quickly kicked them back to the surface. Charlotte gasped for breath. The shrieks of men pierced the air and the boats burned, lighting the scene. The larger boat seemed to heave its last breath and it sank below the water.
Graham made to shift Charlotte but she clutched him tighter and they both sank below the surface. Graham kicked them up again.
“Sweetheart,” he crooned softly to calm her fear. “I am not going to let anything happen to you. I have to put you on my back so I can swim to those rocks.”
Charlotte nodded but as he went to loosen her arms, she tightened again. He held her tighter around her waist. He leaned his forehead to hers. “Relax,” he took a slow deep breath fanning her cheeks.
“Kiss me again,” her mouth begged in more ways than one.
“Charlotte,” Graham groaned out. His lips came down on hers in a brief strong kiss.
* * * *
Charlotte felt like her bones were melting with that kiss. The first she had been half-dreaming and thought she was asleep. But this kiss curled her toes and made her forget where she was and what she was doing.
Graham broke contact and immediately shifted her to his back. He kicked towards his brothers who were already on a nearby rock.
“I didn’t know it would be like that,” Charlotte whispered in his ear.
“What?” he asked.
Charlotte could hear the smile in his voice. She would have swatted him if he wasn’t all that stood between her and drowning. “Kissing. I didn’t know it would feel like that.”
“That can’t be your first kiss?” Graham actually attempted to turn and look at her.
“Well a few men have planted their lips on mine but those were not like this.” She snuggled closer. “I’m freezing.”
“Of course, my lady,” he chuckled. They had nearly reached the rock. “Charlotte, kissing is…” He paused, “almost never like that.”
“You felt it too,” her voice came out huskier than she intended.
They reached the rock. Graham pulled her back around him and then heaved her up onto the great stone.
If she thought she had been cold in the water, she was instantly frozen when she came up out of the ocean, onto the rock. Graham hurled himself up beside her. She scooted herself back into his arms. The heat of his body instantly warmed her.
They could see a few of the marquess’ men, but none of them made any attempt to swim towards them. On the rock, Will could easily pick them off with his bow. The soldiers were defenseless. They headed for the shore, hoping to survive the swim. Charlotte wondered how they were going to make it.
Tom jumped back into the water. He had already collected several boards and he grabbed four more as they floated by. “If we can collect enough wood, I can make a raft.”
Nick and Will jumped back into the water as well. Will grabbed a length of rope that was floating by while Nick grabbed a few more boards. Graham started to get up to help his brothers, but Charlotte looked at him pleading with her eyes. “Don’t leave me.”
“It’s all right,” Tom called. “Keep her warm. We’ll start a fire as soon as we hit land.”
“What will we start a fire with?” Nick pushed two more boards onto the rock.
“I have flint in my toolbox of course.” Tom rolled his eyes at his brother. He climbed back out of the water and began constructing the raft.
Tom worked with amazing speed and skill. Will and Nick continued collecting supplies from the wreck. Within half an hour, Tom had fashioned a serviceable raft.
Will and Nick pushed out of the water and on to either side of the small raft. Tom climbed on the front. Graham stood, still holding Charlotte, and his brothers steadied him as he maneuvered from the rock to the raft.
“The tide should carry us in, but these two long boards can serve as paddles to speed the process.” Tom handed one to Will and the other to Nick.
The wind blew damp ocean air towards the shore, but Charlotte felt warmer than she had all night. She was sandwiched between four large men on a tiny raft. They blocked the wind and radiated an amazing amount of heat. Graham still held her tightly in his grasp as she sat in his lap. Despite the danger, she had never felt safer in her entire life.
The group moved easily to shore.
Tom jumped off the front of the raft and pulled it up on the beach for the rest to disembark. Then he began taking apart the raft.
“Are you sure you want to take the time to do that?” Nick yelled over the surf.
“The raft is a giveaway of our location if more men come. Plus we might need the rope. We will scatter the wood or burn some of it to dry out.” Tom continued to work as he talked, handing any dry pieces to Nick.
Will began digging a hole with his hands to bury some of the wood. The rest they would let the ocean carry away.
“Can we risk a fire?” Will asked.
“I think we might have to,” Graham answered. Now that Charlotte was not trapped between the brothers she was shivering again in Graham’s arms.
“Without m-m-me here, you w-w-w-would be able to g-g-g-go without a fire,” she chattered out.
Graham chuckled, “Without you, we would be warm in our beds.” He squeezed her tighter. “This is much more interesting.”
“Speak for yourself,” Nick laughed as well. “I don’t get to spend the evening holding a beautiful lady.”
Charlotte blushed. In that moment, she had never been happier to have met any people in her life than she was the Fairfields. She suddenly couldn’t imagine her life without them. She looked at Graham. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to leave his arms.
The raft disposed of, the group went inland. Once they hit the cover of trees, Tom started a small fire. The three brothers stripped off their wet boots and shirts and laid them to dry.
Charlotte turned to Graham, who was still holding her. “Are you going to take off your shirt?” Her voice pleaded in a way that she hadn’t intended.
A sly smile slid onto Graham’s face, “I think we’ll leave our clothes on.” He scooted closer to the fire.
Disappointment coursed through Charlotte. She had never felt desire like this before and she longed to explore it. She desperately wished to touch his skin and her hand skimmed down his arm and trailed across the back of his hand.
“Charlotte,” his voice held a warning. She drew her hand back like she had touched fire.
“I didn’t mean, I just wanted…” her words trailed off.
Graham laid them down, still holding her in his arms. “I know,” he snuggled her closer with the fire to her back and his heat on her front. “Let’s get some rest.”
Charlotte had slept the entire day, and this had been the strangest night of her life. In addition, desire was curling through her center and spreading throughout her entire body. She didn’t think she would ever fall asleep. She lay there for a few minutes contemplating how she could sneak Graham away and plant more kisses on his mouth. But her thoughts were interrupted by a soft but definite snore. Graham had fallen asleep.
Charlotte let out an exasperated huff. How could he fall asleep?
She heard Will, Tom and Nick chuckle. Will leaned over, “He hasn’t slept in two days. He has carried you for the past four hours down towers and through ocean waters.”
Charlotte scowled. Will was always plain spoken and it irritated her now. She didn’t want to admit tha
t he had a point.
Tom got up, “I’ll take first guard.”
She snuggled closer to Graham’s warm body and, in a matter of minutes, fell asleep too.
STEALING A LADY’S HEART
CHAPTER SEVEN
The next morning dawned far earlier than any of them would have liked. But they were thankful to have made it without being discovered by the marquess or attacked by his men.
Will, who had taken second guard, stoked the fire and then left to catch some breakfast.
Tom gathered more wood, while Nick waited for Graham to wake.
Graham winked at his brother. Charlotte was still sleeping and determined to stay that way. She pressed her body the length of his, with her arms wrapped tightly around him. Graham’s entire body was rock hard, most notably between his legs. She looked incredibly beautiful and his eyes lingered on her lips, remembering their kisses.
Nick looked pointedly at Charlotte, “We have a problem.”
Graham nodded and sighed. “We have several. The first is finding Charlotte some clothes. She can’t travel through Scotland and England wearing a nightdress.”
“That wasn’t what I was talking about,” Nick stared more fixedly at his brother.
“I haven’t forgotten my place in this world,” Graham said as he stroked her hair. He wished he could forget his place as the third son of a lowly baron. He would sweep Charlotte up, marry her and keep her in his bed for weeks or months. Then he would build her a life that fulfilled her every dream.
It wasn’t to be though. She wanted him now, when he stood between her and danger. But when they returned--if they returned--to the civilized world, she would find a worthy duke, or prince, or a marquess to marry. That man would give her the style and comfort that she deserved.
His only source of revenue was as a locksmith. What kind of life could he provide for her?
“I just don’t want your heart broken brother,” Nick whispered.
“There is nothing to be done for it. I will do whatever I have to do to keep her safe as I return her home.” Graham’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Stealing a Lady's Heart: A Regency Fairytale (Fairfield Fairytales Book 1) Page 5