He studied the dark shadows beneath her eyes and frowned. The temptation to hold her was so strong that he struggled to keep his arms to himself. He wanted to slide them around her and draw her closer to his warmth. Eventually, after several moments of quiet contemplation, he gave in to the need to at least touch her.
Kat’s gaze was ensnared by his and she stood mesmerised as one blunt fingertip trailed slowly down her cheek and along the gentle sweep of her jaw until it stopped at the small indentation of her chin. Once there, he held her steady while his head slowly lowered. The briefest, whisper-light kiss that swept over her lips was barely there. If she hadn’t had her eyes open the whole time she would have put it down to her imagination. As it was, the tender moment was over far too swiftly. It was a jolt when he suddenly dropped his hand and stepped back. She watched his face fall into almost stern lines as he studied her.
“Get some rest, Kat. I will see you tomorrow.”
He didn’t look back at her as he made his way down the street. Kat knew because she watched him until he turned the corner at the end of the row of houses. She was about to turn to go back inside when she caught sight of someone in the window of Hester’s house. She was about to lift her hand to wave at her friend only for Hester to drop the curtain and move away without even so much as a smile.
“Have you fallen out with Hester?” Kat asked as she closed and bolted the door behind her.
Agnes sighed. “No, but there is something very odd going on with her at the moment.”
“How so?”
Billy sat at Kat’s feet and rested his chin on her knee as he usually did. Rather than be annoyed, she merely stroked his head and studied him. “Harold was saying that they are going to stay at grandma’s house for a while.”
“Is that right?” She lifted her brows in surprise.
Agnes shook her head in consternation. “Hester denied it though, but seemed really flustered when I asked if it was true. She said it wasn’t but I am sure she was lying.”
“You cannot blame her really,” Kat offered thoughtfully.
“Why?” Agnes’ brows lifted enquiringly.
“Well, it cannot be easy living on charity. With all of those children to support, it has to be difficult. If I were in her shoes, I would much prefer to live on a farm. Although there is work to do, life in the countryside would benefit all parties. The kids can get involved and help out with chores but can otherwise run free, and food would be much more plentiful.”
“Well, there is that, I suppose,” Agnes muttered and turned to stare into the fireplace absently.
“Well, I am off to bed,” she stretched and tapped Billy on the head as she passed. “You get to bed at a decent hour. I have to read tomorrow at Dentham Hall. Do you want to come with me?”
Billy’s eyes lit up at that and he drew himself onto his knees, his face wreathed in excitement. Kat knew that he loved his visits to the hall. He was always stuffed to the gills when he came back and chattered on for hours about the things he had seen while he was there. She had no idea why she had just asked him, and wondered whether it was for company on the long walk there, or protection from any more of Jonathan’s advances.
Not that she had any real cause to make strong objection to his kisses. He had pecked her on the cheek on a few occasions, and brushed her lips with his a couple of times, but not pressed her for anything more. Was he dallying with her because she was the only female for miles around? She had no idea, but she was aware that until she knew what his ‘responsibilities’ were, she could not allow anything else to happen between them.
That led her to consider what she actually did want to happen between them, if anything. She wasn’t sure if she was honest, but one thing was certain, she would miss him when he left.
CHAPTER NINE
Later that night, Kat rolled over in bed. Something had awoken her, but she didn’t know what. She stared out of the window for several moments and listened to the silence. When she had gone to bed, she had forgotten to close the shutters and stared directly up into the night sky. Dark clouds hovered in the sky, but they did little to banish the moonlight. It cast the buildings at the rear of her garden in a menacing glow that made her shiver and snuggle deeper beneath the covers.
She was so very thirsty. Should she go for a drink? She frowned as something creaked loudly downstairs. Her heart began to hammer in the throat and she sat slowly upright. Her thoughts immediately snapped to Brian. Had he decided to pay a night-time visit? As quietly as she could, she eased her legs out of bed and shivered when cool night air snatched the warmth from her skin.
Every sense was tuned to danger as she tip-toed silently down the stairs. She was relieved to see embers still in the fireplace. They lit the darkest corners of the sitting room sufficiently for her not to need a candle. She paused and looked around her. Her ears picked up the slight scratch of metal on metal in the kitchen. She clutched at the heavy boot in her hand with fingers that trembled and eased her way through the sitting room, into the kitchen doorway.
All trace of fear evaporated in an instant and was immediately replaced with anger. Despite the fact that she was still in her nightgown, she put her boot on the floor beside her feet, rested one elbow nonchalantly on the door jamb beside her and crossed her ankles while she waited. She watched Billy reach up on tip-toe to slide the bolt at the top of the door open and wondered whether she should scare the living daylights out of him, or just shout at the top of her lungs.
Instead, she waited until the last bolt had been opened and Billy had started to pull the door toward him. At the first brush of cold air, she stalked forward, slapped the flat of her palm against the solid wood and slammed the door closed. She towered over her brother when he squeaked and spun around in alarm. He had to tip his head back to look up at her, and she watched guilt sweep over his face when he realised that he had been caught trying to sneak out of the house.
“I don’t think I need to ask you where you think you are going,” Kat drawled matter-of-factly. Her voice was deceptively soft, but held a hint of anger that wasn’t lost on the young boy.
“I-I -” Billy faltered.
“Shut up,” Kat snapped in exasperation. She closed her eyes against the horrifying realisation that if she hadn’t snapped awake when she had, her brother would have made his way to the beach to help the smugglers bring in the cargo. “You promised me, Billy Baird.”
“I just thought that because you weren’t available to help, you know, because of what happened to you with Brian Meldrew, and all, that I should take your place.” He knew his argument sounded feeble and his voice trailed off. He lapsed into silence while he waited for the scolding he knew he was going to get.
“You agreed that you would not get involved Billy. It is dangerous. There are the tides, heavy barrels and boxes. The horses alone take two people to hold them. The grown-ups don’t need to keep a close watch on you too. If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time you could get crushed, stood on, or swept out to sea, and there would be nothing anyone could do to stop it.”
Billy sighed. Kat knew he was about to argue with him but could feel her anger and frustration build to mammoth proportions. She actually shook with temper and, right now, wanted to paddle his backside, but knew that with Billy, it was better to scare him.
She bent down and looked him in the eye until they were nose to nose. Her gaze was cold and hard. “What are you going to do if Brian catches you? Hmm? You do realise that Jonathan fought them all off single-handedly, but he has spent many years in the army and has been trained to do so? Brian, right now, has been humiliated in front of half of the village. Do you really think that he is going to let you wander around in the middle of the night, and not take advantage of the fact that you are all alone?” She hated being so brutal with him but knew that if she had any chance of getting through his youthful ignorance, she had to knock him down a peg or two. “You can barely hold on to Molly when she is frightened by Mr Partridge’s hunti
ng rifle. How in the hell do you expect to be able to fend off a vengeful Brian with his friends?” She looked him up and down snidely. “You are nothing but a mere strip of a boy. The smugglers don’t want to have to babysit you and will paddle your backside for me if they catch sight of you.” She leaned down to whisper in his ear. “I know, because I have told them to.”
She saw the tears pool on Billy’s lashes and felt awful for having made him cry. She turned her back dismissively and snapped the heavy bolts on the door closed with a thump that echoed around the quiet room. She didn’t care if the noise woke mother, Agnes would be told in the morning anyway. She glanced down at Billy and pointed silently toward the stairs.
“If I ever see you even attempt to leave this house in the middle of the night again when you have been told not to, I will not be responsible for what I do,” she warned darkly. She stood perfectly still and watched Billy rush up the stairs. She heard his loud sniff at the top and knew that he had started to cry. Everything within her wanted to go upstairs, comfort him and assure him that she didn’t mean it, but she really couldn’t. If she did, she knew that at the first opportunity, he would sneak out into the night and head off toward the beach. Whether he got there or not, or returned home in time for morning, depended on whether Brian Meldrew was up and about.
Her thoughts turned toward Jonathan, and she suddenly understood the wisdom behind his determination to ensure that Brian and his gang were enlisted and removed from the village altogether. Her biggest fear wasn’t the smugglers, or having her lies uncovered by Jonathan, it was the stark reality that Billy could very easily be targeted by a vengeful Brian and convinced to join Brian’s gang. She knew that Brian would undoubtedly encourage the youngster to join them, if only to get back on Kat and that was something she could never allow to happen.
With a sigh, she slowly returned to bed. When she passed Billy’s room, sure enough, she could hear him sobbing quietly. She hesitated just outside his door, but firmly quashed the guilt that rode heavily on her shoulders. Since her father had passed, she had adopted some of the parental duties toward the young boy because her mother was not always around to discipline him. It was a duty she usually did with careful consideration and tenderness. Tonight had been the first time she had ever truly scared him, and she hated it.
The following morning, Kat stood in the window of the library at Dentham Hall, and watched Billy kick absently at the stones on the driveway. Although he had accompanied her to the house, he had barely spoken all morning and had shown no interest in going to the kitchen to talk to Mable, the cook. It was highly unusual for the young chatterbox, who now looked so lost and forlorn that Kat wanted to rush outside and gather him up for a huge hug.
“Good morning.” Jonathan’s deep rumble, so close to her ear, made her whirl around with a start.
“I didn’t hear you,” Kat gasped and threw a quick, worried look at Billy.
“Is he alright?”
Kat wanted to explain about last night but couldn’t. The need to confide in someone, especially Jonathan, was so strong that she had to clench her jaw to stop the flow of words that threatened to spill out. She needed to tell him about her fears for her brother, but didn’t know what to say without having to betray the village and tell him about her involvement in the smuggling.
“I am just worried, that’s all. He is young and impressionable and I really do fear that he will be targeted by Brian Meldrew and his gang.”
“Do you think that Brian will start to bully Billy now?”
“I don’t know, but he may try to get Billy into his gang, and in trouble, just to get back at us,” Kat sighed. She had to tell him something; the need to confide in at least a few of her worries was so strong that she simply could not ignore it completely.
“I think that is something Brian Meldrew would undoubtedly do and Billy is too young to understand what is happening until it is too late.” Jonathan studied Billy for a moment. “Is he getting defiant?”
“It isn’t in Billy’s nature, for now at least. He is too young. But he does get lonely. The only children he gets to play with are Hester’s children, who are lovely, don’t get me wrong, but the opportunity to play doesn’t happen very often. With Molly, the stall, the house chores and everything else to contend with, there isn’t the time.”
Jonathan nodded. He knew that Kat’s life was busy, and had watched Billy help out at the stall. They all had their allotted tasks which they put their efforts into with admirable enthusiasm, however for Billy, it also meant that there wasn’t much time left to simply be a child.
“Uncle Bruce will be here in a minute. While you read to him, I will go and keep an eye on Billy. I will also have a word with him about Brian, and have a special project for him that should keep him occupied for a while,” Jonathan murmured. He stood back and put a decorous distance between them when the door opened and Bruce shuffled in. “I am going to see Harper Hamilton-Smythe this afternoon and I will talk to you later about what happens.”
Kat nodded and watched him effortlessly settle his uncle in his favourite chair before the window. She took the cup of tea he held out to her and settled in the window seat to wait while Bruce drank and handed his cup back to Jonathan. She waited until Jonathan had left before she began to read.
An hour later, a flurry of movement outside drew her attention and she glanced up. Bruce was fast asleep. Outside, Billy sat astride a small pony and ambled along beside Jonathan who walked them around in a small circle on the front lawn.
“You know something, Billy? You are a natural at riding,” Jonathan drawled. He tried not to look at the window in which Kat was sitting, but knew from his last hundred or so glances that she looked radiant in the afternoon sunlight. He wished that he was up there with her, but knew that the boy beside him needed him more.
“Do you think so? I have wanted to ride for so long now, but mother said I couldn’t.”
“Why?” Jonathan frowned. He wondered why on earth any mother would not want her son to be able to ride. Riding was the primary source of transport in the country. “Do you not ride Molly?”
“Oh, yes, we ride her back to the field, but she doesn’t take a saddle. Even if we could afford one, we always take the cart when we need to go anywhere.”
Jonathan lapsed into silence and frowned. “Does Kat ride bareback too?”
“Yes, although mother has a fit when she catches her because her skirts ride up above her knees – what’s that word?” He scowled down at his booted feet while he tried to remember.
“Wantonly?” Jonathan offered and shared a smile with the boy.
“Yep, that’s it. She says Kat behaves wantonly when she rides bare back, and always warns her that it will raise all manner of gossip, but Kat never listens.”
Jonathan smothered a smile at the youthful innocence and wondered what Kat’s reaction would be if she knew her brother had imparted such indelicate news. He liked Billy a lot. There were already the first hints of a young man breaking through the youthful innocence, and he knew that with the right guidance, Billy would turn out to be a very fine man indeed.
“Did you hear what happened to Kat outside the tavern yesterday?” He asked conspiratorially. He turned the pony around and led him in the opposite direction.
“Yes, I heard Kat when she told mother about it this morning over breakfast.”
“Then you know that Brian Meldrew and his friends are trouble?” Jonathan studied the area around them and made a mental note to ask Kat which flowers she liked. The rolling hills around them were a brilliant emerald green and lush with green foliage, but he had never noticed until now just how devoid of flowers they were. If the house was to become the residence of the new Lady Dentham, then it should be bedecked with beautiful flowers that befitted a member of the aristocracy.
He knew that if he had any chance of getting Kat to even consider becoming the future Lady Dentham, he had to start to make her feel more at home at the large stately house. To do
that, he had to start to include her and her family in what was going on in and around the house. She already read to his uncle, thankfully and felt confident enough to come and go as she pleased. That helped. Being able to teach Billy to ride would ensure that the boy looked upon Dentham as a good place to be. That only left one problem: Agnes. He had no idea what to do about her.
“They are just bored,” Billy replied, his eyes far wiser than they should be for a boy of his age.
“Bored or not, Billy, they are in deep trouble. They will have a visit from the magistrate today to warn them about the implications of their abhorrent behaviour last night. Kat could have fared a lot worse if I hadn’t happened by when I did. You would do best to steer away from all of them. They could be involved in the smuggling that is going on in the area.”
He watched the boy carefully and caught the startled look of wariness that flashed across his face. His eyes met and held Billy’s for a moment before the young boy looked away.
“Do you know if it is them, or someone else?” Jonathan hoped he would say Brian, and felt strangely disappointed at the answer he received.
“I don’t know of any smuggling,” Billy replied. He recited the words exactly as Kat and mother had told him to.
“But Andrew Ransley was arrested for smuggling by the Excise men only a few weeks ago. It must be the talk of the village.”
“I don’t know,” Billy replied. “I am busy with the stall. I don’t get time to play or gossip.” He frowned into the distance as though he needed to think carefully about something.
Jonathan wondered briefly if he should continue to probe, but reluctantly let the matter drop. There was a vagueness about the boy that alarmed him. It was as though he had closed off from the conversation, and all Jonathan was going to get was recited lines. He frowned and studied the young boy carefully. He had the distinct impression that Billy knew more than was letting on. The urge to continue to question until he got what he wanted was strong but, in the end, he sighed at the slight belligerent look in Billy’s eyes and accepted defeat. Anything else he intended to say was abruptly interrupted by the arrival of Kat who, by the look of it, was not very happy.
My Lord Deceived Page 12