It was only when the door closed behind her that Jonathan realised he needed to escort her home. He barely had the time to snatch his cloak before he hustled out of the door to go after her.
He cursed the darkness that seemed to envelope him and hurried down the main drive. He could just about make out her silhouette in the gloom and wondered how she coped with having to walk around in the middle of nowhere in the darkness. Wasn’t she scared? His thoughts turned to Brian Meldrew and his friends, and it was enough to make Jonathan lengthen his stride to catch up with her, which he did, at the end of the drive.
“Why are you in such a rush?” Jonathan growled. When she made no attempt to answer, he captured her elbow in a firm grip and swung her around her face him. Unless he was mistaken, tears gathered on her lashes. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Kat sighed. She couldn’t explain to him because she didn’t know herself. For the first time in her entire life she wasn’t sure what to make of any of the last few hours and couldn’t explain the emotions coursing through her to herself, let alone him. She had come and gone from Dentham Hall many times over the years, but she had never felt the physical wrench when she left, the way she had today. If Jonathan had pushed her, she would have willingly stayed at the Hall and shared an evening meal with him, and forgotten her shift at the Shipwright Inn. It unnerved her just how tempted she was at the prospect of an evening alone with him.
“I am fine, just a little tired that’s all.”
Jonathan immediately felt guilty for having pushed her to read so much. “I am sorry, I didn’t stop to think.”
“It’s not you. There is just so much going on of late that it is difficult to make sense of it sometimes.”
“Such as?” He tried to keep his expectation out of his voice. He hoped she would feel comfortable with him enough to be able to confide in him but was disappointed when she merely shook her head.
“Too many things to mention. Look, you need to get your dinner, so I will be off. Don’t worry about me, I will be fine,” she offered bravely and sighed when Jonathan gave her an askance look.
“I have promised your mother I would escort you when it is dark. I can hardly sit at home eating my dinner while you wander around in the darkness with Brian Meldrew and his cronies on the loose,” he chided her in a voice that was rougher than it needed to be.
They were half-way back to the village when Kat’s curiosity wouldn’t be contained any further.
“How long are you staying for?”
“Pardon?”
“How long are you staying for? I mean, this has to be about the longest you have ever been back at home. I wouldn’t stay too long if I were you, your uncle might get used to you being here.” She tried to keep the waspish tone out of her voice, and failed.
Jonathan lifted his brows and stared at her. “Am I to take it that you are chastising me for being away from home so much?” He wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed that she felt able to judge him, or pleased that she wanted to know whether he intended to stay or not.
“It is nothing to do with me, but I know that your uncle misses you when you are away, that’s all.” She knew she had over-stepped the mark with her questions, but she was struggled to find a way to put some distance between them and, after this afternoon, that was what she desperately needed to do.
“I miss being here while I am away,” Jonathan replied with a sigh. It was the truth. He had kept a mental image of Dentham Hall, and Kat, in his head, and it had kept him warm throughout the coldest and most arduous of his duties with the Star Elite. Right now though, he couldn’t exactly tell her that.
“But you still keep going away.” She made no attempt to hide the censure from her voice and ignored his slightly annoyed look.
“I have many duties away from Dentham that you don’t understand, Kat,” he sighed. He wondered whether to just tell her. “It is inevitable that I have to go away for long periods at a time. I am aware that my uncle is aging and, at some point, I am going to have to come back for good but, for now, it is impossible.” At least until he could quit the Star Elite for a better, more secure life that wouldn’t put his future wife and children at risk.
“Are you married?”
“Do you really think I would have kissed you last night if I was?” He studied her profile for a moment and mentally cursed. She did. She really did. He felt his annoyance grow and stared blankly ahead while he considered the facts from her side.
It made him uncomfortable to acknowledge it, but most of the villages undoubtedly considered him a wastrel who trotted off to more salubrious venues, and left his aged uncle at home to manage the estates while he spent the money they earned. He wondered if that was why the villagers were so wary of him and glanced at Kat with renewed curiosity.
“Is that what the villagers think of me? I am some sort of scoundrel who doesn’t give a damn for my estates?”
“No,” Kat replied only to stop. In reality that was exactly what most of the villagers thought of him. “Well, I don’t know,” she muttered weakly and wished she had never opened her mouth in the first place.
Jonathan mentally swore and studied the lights in the bay below them. “I have responsibilities elsewhere that I cannot turn my back on right now.”
Kat felt her chin quiver and cursed herself for being such a cry baby. She had never felt the urge to cry so much and wondered what was wrong with her.
“You don’t have to explain to me.”
Jonathan felt a gulf open up between them and bit back a bitter curse of frustration. The need to explain was so strong that he had to clench his back teeth to keep the words in. He hated her to misunderstand him and mentally ran through his last statement.
“I can assure you that I am most definitely not married.”
Kat nodded and wasn’t sure whether she felt relief or fear. The coldness in his voice was most certainly intended to banish any further questions, and worked. Silence lapsed between them as they made their way toward the twinkling lights of Kat’s home.
“Thank you for walking me home,” Kat murmured at her front door. She had one hand on the handle and turned to offer him a vague smile.
“I need to escort you to the tavern.”
“Not tonight. It is mother’s night out tonight, so she can walk with me. We will be quite safe. Billy will be with us,” Kat assured him with a nod. “Thank you for your kind generosity, but this really isn’t necessary. I have lived around these parts all of my life and have never encountered any trouble before.”
“Don’t underestimate Brian or his friends, Kat. They may be local but that isn’t necessarily always a good thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“They are young and arrogant, and clearly think that they are beyond the law. They seemed to have lost sight of the fact that even they can fall flat on their faces.”
Kat frowned at him, and wondered what he knew that she didn’t. “They wouldn’t dare do anything to me or anyone within the village. Mostly they are all talk.”
“What are you going to do though if it turns out not to be talk, and you are out alone at night with nobody to protect you?” He drawled silkily. He hated to frighten her but she had to be a bit more careful about where she went alone at night. Even with so many people around her whom she knew well, she was young and beautiful and still at risk.
Kat knew he wanted to scare her and, if she was honest, he was doing a very good job of it. Still, she hated to have him tell her what to do. She hated anyone telling her what to do. She straightening her spine she looked him in the eye with almost regal condescension.
“I am sure I shall manage perfectly well. I have so far managed to get through life without undue trauma.”
Jonathan heaved a sigh of frustration. “I will say goodnight then.”
“Goodnight,” Kat replied and hurried inside before he took it into his mind to kiss her again. Tonight though, she had a strong suspicion that even if she had linger
ed on the doorstep, he wouldn’t have attempted even a peck on the cheek again. She felt as though she had annoyed him immensely with her questions. A part of her bitterly regretted the distance that now seemed to be between them, however the logical part of her told her it was necessary to protect her heart.
“I thought Jonathan was going to escort you to work, dear,” Agnes sighed as she watched Kat don her cloak and boots.
“He said he would, but I sent him home. I am perfectly capable of making my way down to the harbour,” she muttered and tied the knot on her boots with more gusto than was necessary. She winced when the top of her foot was pinched by the thick boot and wriggled her toes in annoyance. Right now she was so angry with everything that she almost wanted Brian Meldrew and his friends to appear before her. She sighed and picked up a long, thin log from the basket beside the fire.
“What are you going to do with that?” Billy asked. He eyed the ruthless determination on Kat’s face warily as she made her way toward the door.
“Go to work,” Kat snapped. “I will see you later.” She didn’t look back as she left and knew that her mother, and Billy, both stared after her in consternation. She hated to be grumpy with them. It wasn’t their fault that her world was all topsy-turvy. It was that pesky Lord Denham’s fault, but she had no idea what to do about the raging curiosity that burned through her. She ached to know what the ‘responsibilities’ were that he had alluded to, but she couldn’t ask him. His face had become withdrawn and implacable once he had realised just how much he had revealed to her as it was, although in all honesty he hadn’t revealed much at all now that she came to think about it.
That led her to one last question. Was he being honest with her when he said that he wasn’t married? More importantly, what ‘responsibilities’ could a single man like Jonathan have that took him away for weeks or even months at a time?
CHAPTER SEVEN
The following morning Jonathan ate breakfast in his study with his uncle.
“Is Kat due to read again today?” Bruce asked hopefully.
“She read rather a lot yesterday. It doesn’t seem fair to expect her to do it again today.”
“She doesn’t usually read that much. It was nice to carry on with the story,” he sighed with an air of satisfaction.
“I am sure that if she can make it, she will be here at the usual time.” He certainly hoped so because there were things Jonathan needed to discuss with her. “It is very good of her to come and read as often as she does.”
“It is very good of her to spend any time with an aged old man like me. She would make a perfect relation if she was gentry,” the old man sighed with regret.
Jonathan scowled at that. “You have never allowed social status to influence your association with people before,” he remarked pointedly. He knew his uncle was like any other aristocrat, and expected him to continue the family name, but this was something he had never discussed at any great length with anyone before.
“I know, but we have to consider that there are still social strictures. Kat is very nice but she hasn’t been trained to run the house, nor would she be able to hold her own amongst those other cats within the Ton.”
“I don’t consider the Ton of any importance to my future marital status. I would never consider the prospect of being associated with any one of them in matrimony,” Jonathan announced flatly. He couldn’t bear the thought of being landed with some insipid miss whose scheming machinations and avaricious mother would rule his house. Hell would freeze over first.
“You need to take a wife at some point.”
“If I don’t get to choose my wife, then I have no intention of getting married. It is as simple as that.” He stated flatly. His eyes met Bruce’s over the width of the table.
“I thought I taught you never to dally with the locals,” Bruce replied with no hint of censure in his voice.
“I have not dallied with her,” Jonathan argued. “If I have my way Kat will be far from a dalliance.”
“That sounds serious.”
Jonathan merely stared obliquely back at his uncle. The need to keep his intentions private was so very strong, but this was his uncle, his closest living relative. There should be no secrets between them.
“How do you think she is going to feel about the differences between you, and the expectation she will have placed on her if she takes up the position of your wife? There is a world of difference between her life as a villager and the life of Lady Dentham, you know. Your mother never really took to it and she was born aristocracy.”
“I know, but Kat is strong and will manage. Besides, I am going to be around to help.”
Bruce lifted his brows and looked at Jonathan in shock. “What about your work with the Star Elite?”
Jonathan studied his uncle carefully and read the hidden hope in his weary eyes. “I have grown tired of life in the shadows. While we are at war, I have responsibilities to the Star Elite that I simply cannot walk away from, you know that. The men I work with are my colleagues, but they are also my friends. I cannot simply leave them to fight alone. It is my duty to ensure that the borders are protected from smugglers and the like. But, that doesn’t mean that my private life has to be entirely compromised. I cannot countenance being wed to Kat before I need to disappear on another mission that is likely to take me away for weeks at a time, but I will have to. I can ensure that she is settled before I go. You will be here to help her with anything that arises while I am gone. Besides, she has her mother and Billy, who will be here too. It isn’t as though she is will be entirely alone. If it becomes apparent that I need to spend more time at home then I am afraid the time has come that I will have to leave the Star Elite, and will retire to run my estates without reservation.”
“I cannot believe my ears,” his uncle sighed with a mixture of delight and fear. “Have you thought this through? I mean, you have only been back a few days.”
“I am sure,” Jonathan replied with a secretive smile. “Until matters are on a much firmer footing with Kat though, you are not, under any circumstances, to mention anything to her.” The mock frown he gave his uncle was met with unholy glee that made Jonathan shake his head in consternation. He knew Bruce well enough to know that the mischief maker in him would not hesitate to stir matters up a little and, as long as it helped Jonathan persuade Kat to consider him marriage material, he couldn’t object to his uncle playing match-maker.
At least Bruce seemed to have forgotten the differences in social status for the time being. Jonathan could only hope that it would remain that way.
He could understand why Bruce had pointed out his differing background to Kat’s, but he also knew that he couldn’t tell his uncle that his behaviour during his time with the Star Elite had been far from that of a gentleman. He had killed, maimed and fought with the heart of a warrior in order to stay alive. He had seen things; done things that no landed gentry should ever be witness to, and he had done it all with a will that would horrify the man seated opposite. Not only that, but he had lived in places and experienced the worst of depravity to the point that Jonathan had started to consider whether he was good enough for Kat.
But his decision was made now. If he was honest, it was a decision that had been taken out of his hands many years ago when he had first set eyes on her. Even as a young boy he had dreamed of Kat being his wife one day. Now that he had the opportunity to turn that dream into a reality, nothing and nobody was going to stand in his way.
As he made his way toward his study, he realised that he had not had a word yet with Brian Meldrew or any of his friends. He hesitated in the hallway and flicked a glance at the front door. A discrete cough from within the luxurious confines of his workplace drew his attention to his man of business who waited with a huge stack of papers that needed his urgent attention. With a sigh, he made a mental note to visit Meldrew at the first opportunity and disappeared into his study.
Kat shivered and snuggled into her cloak as she made her way dow
n to the harbour. The empty basket she carried was clutched loosely in her fingers and she lengthened her stride to get out of the biting wind. She couldn’t ever remember it being this cold so late in the summer. Autumn seemed to have encroached upon summer even faster this year and a wintry chill had already started to accompany the bitter sea winds that battered the shores. Darkness had already fallen. She knew that it wouldn’t be long before they would have to head out to market in the dark, and would return in the dark.
She wondered where Jonathan was. On the one hand she was glad that he appeared to have gotten the message and decided that his escort duties weren’t required, while on the other, she was avidly curious to know whether he had left Dentham Hall and returned to London as he usually did. She had certainly annoyed him with her rather probing questions the other night. The fact that she hadn’t seen him then bore testament to the fact that he had decided to stay away from her.
She jumped a little at a sudden movement in the shadows, and smothered a relieved laugh when Mrs Arbottle’s cat appeared at her feet.
“Get a grip on yourself, Kat,” she muttered. The sight of the Shipwright Inn’s doorway was a welcome haven and she hurried in that direction. She had no idea why she was so jumpy tonight. Market day had gone well again and all of their stock had been sold but, for some reason, she felt strangely restless. It was as though some inner warning system was aware that trouble was afoot, only she didn’t know what.
Her thoughts turned toward the shipment that was due later and she shivered at the reluctance that dogged her every footstep. She didn’t want to go out to the beach tonight to bring the smuggled cargo ashore. She hated being out in the darkness, let alone down on the beach with the cold sea up to her knees. Boxes and barrels were usually littered everywhere and, on nights like this, the tide was dangerous. It hadn’t been unknown for smugglers to be swept out to sea; dragged out by the ferocious tides that pulled them relentlessly to their deaths.
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