CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A soft scuffle from directly outside the door, followed by two grunts and a heavy thump was accompanied by a low whistle that was barely discernible to Kat. She stared in horror at the door and clutched at Jonathan to stop him when he began to move away from her.
“It’s alright,” he reassured her. He paused long enough to place a tender kiss on her lips, and caught her hand in his as he moved to slide the bolt back.
Stephen stood on the other side of the door, a dark scowl on his face and an unconscious Frenchman at his feet.
“Took you long enough,” Jonathan drawled. He bent down to study the relaxed face of Bernard, who lay unconscious on the floor.
Stephen studied Kat for a moment. He lifted his brows at Jonathan and waited for an explanation.
“Come in.”
He helped Stephen drag Bernard into the room where they secured his hands with belts and strips of bed sheet.
“Dubois is around here somewhere,” Jonathan sighed. He moved toward the window to study the crowds. He glanced across the square and saw Agnes busy with the stall. As she worked, she threw quick glances around her, clearly on the look-out for either of her children.
“Where is the boy?”
“He will be there in a minute.”
Jonathan watched and, sure enough, Billy slammed to a halt beside his mother. Even from a distance Jonathan could see that the boy panted heavily, even if he ignored the wind-swept hair and his cheeks that were flushed with exertion.
“He is fine,” Jonathan smiled Kat’s. “I will escort you and your family home. By the look of it, Billy and your mother are nearly finished with the stall for today. The cart is just about packed. When you are at home, I will come back here and help Stephen with Bernard.”
“If you see any sign of Dubois, don’t engage with him unless you have to. We can find him later,” Stephen warned and shot Jonathan a careful look. They both knew that Dubois was by far the more ruthless of the two Frenchmen. It was going to need all of Jonathan’s dexterity to get Kat and her family home in one piece, without having to out-run Dubois. He glanced down at the unconscious man at his feet and gave him a nudge with his boot, but got no response.
“When he is awake and able to answer a few questions, we will decide what to do with him.”
Kat shuddered at the ruthless tone in Stephen’s voice and sidled closer to Jonathan’s reassuring bulk.
“Let’s go,” Jonathan checked the shot in his gun for the fifth time. For some reason he was tense and on-edge. This part of his job was by far the most important. He couldn’t even stop to consider the possibility that he would not succeed in escorting Kat safely home.
Several minutes later he led Kat out of the room. She closed the door on the sight of the Frenchman with a shudder and hurried after Jonathan.
Their return to the market stall was fraught with tension that shimmered in the air despite there being no sign of Dubois. She stared at Billy who, rather than looking frightened and nervous, seemed to have relished the mad dash for reinforcements and the hasty race back to market. His eyes glowed with anticipation and Kat almost groaned at the expectation on his face as he studied Jonathan.
“Is everything alright? Did I do a good job?”
“You did a wonderful job, Billy,” Jonathan assured him and gave him a friendly clap on his shoulder.
“Job? What job?” Agnes demanded as she glanced from Billy to Jonathan, then to Kat. She studied her daughter’s flushed face and wondered what she had been up to with the rather too handsome Jonathan, and then considered that she would rather not know.
“I -”
“Did a little job for me,” Jonathan finished for Billy as he gave him a look that warned him to keep quiet. “He was very good too.” He was about to hand the boy a coin but then stopped and looked at Kat. He didn’t want her being offended, and wasn’t sure how she would perceive the monetary reward he wanted to give the boy for his efforts. Instead, he smiled at Billy. “I will give you an extra long riding lesson next time you come to Dentham Hall,” he promised and slid a look at Kat, who merely rolled her eyes.
“I give in,” she grumbled. She hefted the last box onto the back of Molly’s cart. Once they were all on board, Jonathan climbed onto the back with Billy and they trundled through the traffic toward home. Jonathan studied the area, as did Kat, but neither of them saw any sign of Dubois.
By the time Jonathan had stored Molly and her cart in the field and returned to Kat’s house, his mind was firmly on the need to return to Tattersnell and question Bernard about his contacts. Still, despite his urgent desire to conclude his Star Elite business, he couldn’t forget the most important part of his operation. Kat.
At the front door, he placed a hand on Kat’s elbow to keep her beside him for a moment. Once she had turned toward him, he stepped closer and drew the front door closed. He was aware of the curious looks of a couple of the villagers as they passed and nodded politely to them.
“I am sorry about what happened in Tattersnell. You should never have been involved like that.”
“Do you have rooms in all of the villages?” Kat wondered why someone would need to use run-down lodgings like that unless it was to meet a woman. She was shaken by the depth of the jealousy that consumed her. Sometime over the past several weeks she had started to think of Jonathan as hers. It was ridiculous really because he never could be, but that didn’t stop her feeling slightly predatory towards him, especially given the kisses they had shared.
“I don’t want Star Elite business on my doorstep. I cannot bring danger to Dentham Hall because it is not only my home but also my uncle’s. It isn’t fair to place him in danger. I was sent back home to take a break as I told you, but I was also instructed to search Dadington for any sign of French spies. I chose rooms in Tattersnell, because it is half way between Dadington and home.”
Kat nodded and puffed out her cheeks. She had no idea he had been so busy and realised then just how much she had really underestimated the man before her. Once again her thoughts turned toward the smuggling and, in particular, her own involvement. She could only hope that Jonathan would be busy tonight with the French spies in Tattersnell, and wouldn’t get time to investigate the village’s nocturnal activities. Once tonight was over, and the goods were sold at Smisben market the following day, she could breathe a sigh of relief.
“I want you to promise me that you won’t go to work tonight. I will send your apologies to Harry but, because we have to track Dubois down and have no idea in which direction he is headed, I don’t want you out and about on your own. I have to go back to Tattersnell and then on to my contact in Dadington, so I cannot escort you to work or back tonight. I am going to be busy elsewhere. Keep an eye out for Brian as well. Even though he has gone quiet since Mr Barnaby’s death, it doesn’t mean that he has forgotten you.”
Kat nodded and wondered how life had ever got this complicated. She had spent the last several months going about her business. Between the market stall and smuggling, she had been busy but relatively untroubled. Now, in the space of only a few short weeks, not only had Harrison arrived and turned village life upside down, but Jonathan had also arrived and turned her life upside down, to the point that she wasn’t sure what she wanted any more, or even knew what was possible.
She stared up at him and felt strangely closer to him because of the afternoon’s events. She still wasn’t sure what to make of this new side to him, but she had to admit that she wanted to know considerably more; as much as he was prepared to tell her.
“I want you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone about those rooms, especially Billy. He is a good lad but rather inquisitive. I don’t want him to come and try to find me there the next time you are at market. I don’t know how many other contacts Dubois has in the area, so I don’t want either you or Billy to go too far unless it is off to market and back.”
Kat nodded. “When will you be back?” She hated to ask. She didn’t
like him aware that she was that worried about his welfare, but she couldn’t hold the words back. It was really important to her own peace of mind that she knew when he was going to return to her.
“I don’t know, darling. One big problem with the work I do is that it can take me away for weeks at a time. I have no way of knowing how long my work will take because of the people I investigate. They aren’t exactly predictable. I am lucky now because I have the help of Stephen and Rupert, but I cannot just leave them to it.”
“Of course not,” Kat sighed. She knew that she had no right to ask really.
Despite the fact that they were outside, in plain view of everyone in the village, Jonathan cupped her cheek. “I will be back as soon as I am able,” he murmured gently. In reality, he would be back a damned sight sooner than she realised, she just didn’t need to know that yet.
“I know it is none of my business, but I just didn’t expect to spend this afternoon being chased by French spies,” Kat sighed. She shook her head and blanked out the mental image of the Frenchman, unconscious and tightly bound on the floor of the lodgings. “I don’t mean to pry.”
“If anyone has the right to pry, it is you, Kat, you should know that. I don’t mind. I am glad of your concern. It shows me that you truly care,” Jonathan smiled. He watched colour flood her face and took pity on her. Before she could object, he lowered his head and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He knew that this was probably the last time for a few days that she would allow him the liberty and intended to take full advantage while he could.
He knew that after tonight, he would be very lucky if she ever spoke to him again.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Stephen growled. He tugged on his black gloves with a rough jerk. He glanced around the room and studied Jonathan and Rupert, who were both dressed and ready for their next mission. Simon, Rupert and Archie, who had all arrived later that afternoon, stood just in front of the fireplace. After several hours of questioning, they had handed the Frenchman over to the custody of Hamilton-Smythe, who had him under armed guard. It left them all free and able to take part in the next part of their new investigation.
Jonathan had learned that Hamilton-Smythe had been busy following his own lead and had uncovered several interesting facts about the smuggling that was rife in Bentney on Sea. What he had uncovered had not surprised Jonathan in the least but, at that moment, he couldn’t allow it to cloud his thoughts. Although Harper had discovered that a contact had regularly fed information on the smuggling to Harrison, who was using the information to know when to search the village. Nothing had been found as yet, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t being found, just that the seizure inventories hadn’t been completed to officially register the findings. He had also uncovered one or two anomalies on the seizure list from a raid that took place further around the coast in Newhampton. The seizure inventory hadn’t matched the disposal inventory. It indicated that someone had held on to some of the stash. But did that make Harrison guilty of theft?
During his visit earlier that day, Stephen had been able to practically walk into the Excise House through the front door, and had made his way through the main hall toward the back corridor unchallenged, thus was the professionalism of the operation there. He had searched Harrison’s office with a fine toothcomb, but had come up empty handed and had left the building without any incident, or threat of detection whatsoever. It had been ludicrously easy; as easy as the search of Harrison’s house had been.
While Harrison hadn’t been at home when Stephen had searched the house, the man had managed to secure his home with a fervency that would have befitted a banking establishment. Still, Stephen had managed to find a way in and had retrieved the valuable papers they needed to prove that not only did Harrison have a ship’s manifest that detailed the cargo being delivered tonight, but manifests from a lot of other deliveries. They included dates, and numbers of barrels, boxes, crates and the like of which simply boggled the mind. He had also uncovered a list of goods seized by the Excise men but as yet had to uncover why Harrison had decided to keep those lists at home rather than his office and had chosen not to officially act on the information he had been given.
It hadn’t been lost to Jonathan that his request to see the next tip-off that was given to Harrison hadn’t materialised on his desk. It didn’t surprise him one bit. Was that because Harrison didn’t want Jonathan to know what was due to arrive? He thought about the cart that carried the huge mound of goods off the beach, and the large piles of items that were left on the dry sand. He wondered whether those goods had been collected by Harrison and wished now that he had kept a watch on the goods rather than look for bodies.
“I am absolutely positive that I have to do this,” Jonathan replied dourly. “I just need to identify whether Kat is there or not and, if she is, get her out of there before Harrison’s men turn up.”
“Do you think he will turn up tonight? The man hasn’t bothered with nightly raids before, even though he is armed with delivery information.” Archie sighed.
“I don’t know. If he isn’t there tonight then we know he is going to search the village in the morning.”
“But why wait until morning?”
“Because he doesn’t want the cargo to be seized,” Simon sighed around a yawn. “He wants it for himself.”
“What?” Archie paused and turned toward his friend.
“Who in the hell would buy smuggled goods off an excise man?” Jonathan frowned. Whatever the man was up to was undoubtedly illegal.
“Maybe he is selling it back to the smugglers at an inflated price?” Simon offered as he studied his boots.
“Jesus,” Archie sighed. “You mean he is stealing off the smugglers and then selling them their own goods?”
“I don’t know for certain, but it is entirely possible. Who would report him?” Stephen growled.
“It is a crime he could get away with because of his position.”
“But why continue to haunt Bentney on Sea the way he does? The man searches practically daily. If he knows when they are due to arrive, why not just wait at night and follow the goods home?” Jonathan scowled deeply. He tried to remain calm and relaxed but his temper began to surge at the two-faced duplicity of the man who had pestered Kat so much.
“Hasn’t he done that already?”
Jonathan shook his head. “He wasn’t there when I watched the last operation.” He nodded toward the manifests Stephen had found. “The list is there, so he knew they were due to arrive. There was no sign of him or his men on the beach or the cliff.”
“He wants the goods for himself,” Rupert sighed as he shoved his feet into his boots.
Jonathan paused and stared into the fire. He wasn’t sure whether the need to unravel the truth was down to the need to solve one set of problems, or protect Kat. Whichever, it was vital that he kept his mind on the task that lay before them. With a sigh he turned to face his colleagues and watched while Rupert tied his boots on.
“We need to search Harrison’s house for any sign of smuggled goods.”
“There is nothing in his house.” Stephen’s voice was cold and hard. He had searched every inch of the man’s house and had not found even a packet of sugar.
“I know of a few places the smugglers use to hide their goods,” Jonathan growled. His thoughts turned to the places Kat and her family used in their home. “One thing I have learned from Kat is that the villagers are very inventive when it comes to hiding their goods.” His voice was rough with unbridled anger and he jammed his feet into his boots with more force than was necessary.
“Setting Harrison aside for a moment: what do you want to do with the smugglers we round up?” Rupert asked as he drew on his coat.
“I am going to be deal with Kat personally if she is there. I am fairly certain that she isn’t going down onto the beaches, that job belongs to the men. But, I do know that one of the smugglers, a fisherman, recently died while out at sea. They are one member down, at
least. I know that Kat has some of the goods but if she is down on the beach, I intend to teach her a lesson she won’t forget in a hurry.”
“What about the others. We can round them up, what then?”
Jonathan beckoned everyone closer and lowered his voice. The fire crackled and popped as it flickered in the grate but none of the men paid it the slightest bit of attention while they discussed the best way to rid Bentney on Sea of crime.
Kat kept her eyes on her feet as she followed the others down onto the beach. The cold wind that came off the sea was accompanied by the sharp sting of the rain that lashed down around them. Even from the harbour side, she had heard the loud crash of the waves as they pounded the shoreline. Now that they were on the beach the noise deafened them to everything, and left them with no option but to shout at each other, in spite of the risks.
She watched Harry lift the lantern to signal the boats that waited out at sea. In the darkness, she could see the faint flicker of a light from the ship as it bobbed up and down, before it disappeared altogether. She couldn’t help but wonder if the boats would bother to try to fight their way through the surf. The last time they had tried, they had lost one boat and all of its crew, although the smugglers had managed to salvage the cargo out of the soggy foreshore.
It seemed to take an age before the first shadows of the boats became visible through the gloom. She watched them dip and sway as they were relentlessly dragged toward the shore.
Kat snuggled further down into her coat and fought to keep her teeth from chattering. She had been out for nearly an hour now and was already soaked to the skin. The horses had started to shift restlessly against the noise and their endless wait in the darkness. It was as though they had sensed danger because they were usually as docile as they came, but tonight didn’t seem able to stand still.
My Lord Deceived Page 21