By the time he drew to a stop beside Agnes, his heart pounded in alarm. Fear was evident on Billy’s face. He glanced around but could see no sign of Kat.
“Oh, Jonathan,” Agnes cried, her face twisted with a mixture of fear and tears. “Where is she? Tell me you have seen her?” Her desperate fingers clutched the front of his jacket as she pleaded for information.
“Kat? Is she not at home?” Jonathan’s scowl was fierce.
“She should have been back hours ago. Is she not with you?”
His gaze flew to Harry’s. Without a word the older man hurried off up the street, and only stopped to thump heavily on several doors as he passed. Billy sidled closer to Jonathan and gazed up at him expectantly.
“Do you know where she is?”
Jonathan shook his head and ushered both of them inside the tavern. “No. She left with the rest of the smugglers a couple of hours ago. I thought she was at home in bed.”
“Oh, Jonathan, where do you think she is?”
“I don’t know Agnes, but I am damned well going to find her.” His voice was deadly. He tried to keep the panic at bay, but this was the first time in his entire life that he had ever felt so shaken by events that had thrown him for a loop. He cursed bitterly at the realisation that he should have escorted her home and had failed in his duty of care toward her. In spite of the fact that the smugglers had left only moments earlier, she had undoubtedly been waylaid between here and home. But by who?
His immediate thoughts turned toward Brian. Had he decided to take revenge for the altercation the other night on the harbour side?
“I want you to do something for me,” he snapped at Billy, and beckoned the boy toward him. He bent down until they were face to face and clapped one hand on the boy’s boy shoulder.
“I want you to go to Brian’s house and find out if he is at home. Don’t go inside and don’t talk to Brian directly. Knock on the door and ask to speak to Brian. If his mother calls for him to come to see you, then run back here. If his mother says he is out and she doesn’t know where he is, high-tail it back here as fast as your feet can carry you. Don’t stop for anything or anyone, Billy, do you understand?” He made no attempt to keep the urgency from his voice and watched the boy nod before he hurried to the door.
Agnes took a breath to object only to pause and glance uncertainly toward Jonathan.
“Do you think it is Brian?”
“I think it could very well be. Kat has to be around here somewhere. I can promise you here and now Agnes that I am damned well going to move heaven and earth to find her.”
The ruthless intent on Jonathan’s face made her feel somewhat reassured, even through her intense worry.
“Are you angry with her?” Agnes gasped hesitantly.
“No,” he sighed, and tried to offer her a reassuring smile but failed miserably. “I love her very much. I know about the smuggling operation and have known for a while. Last night my men and I caught them red-handed on the beach and brought them back here. They have all agreed to stop.” He paused when Agnes suddenly slumped into a chair and buried her face in her hands.
“I am sorry, I am just so relieved,” she whispered as she wiped tears off her cheeks. “I have been so worried about her but each time we wanted to stop, something happened and the others needed her help more than ever. It has been impossible.”
“Did she seem to be worried about anything yesterday?”
Agnes frowned and looked at him. She swiped her tears away almost angrily and sniffed as she looked at him. “Not that I can recall.”
“She was very quiet and behaved strangely while everyone was here,” Jonathan ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He wanted to tear the village apart but knew that he had to remain calm and logical. Still, he felt strangely sick at the thought that something had happened to Kat last night and he had not known a damned thing about it.
“What do we do?” Agnes gasped, and jumped as the tavern door suddenly swung inward. Harry appeared and was followed by several of the smugglers. Jonathan counted at least twenty men, for which he was very grateful. Right now it was imperative that everyone help out. He would cause such a rumpus in the village that anyone hiding her would not be doing so for long.
“What do you want us to do?” Harry demanded. Before Jonathan could speak, the group parted as Billy pushed his way through.
His face was flushed and his eyes lit with a mixture of worry and success. “Brian isn’t at home. His mother hasn’t seen him since this – yesterday morning.”
“Oh, good Lord above,” Agnes whispered and turned to stare at Jonathan in horror.
Jonathan turned toward Harry. “Tear this village apart. Conduct a house to house search. She has got to be around here somewhere. If you see Brian, Colin, Wally or Robert, bring them straight here and keep them here in any way you have to.”
Without a word everyone turned and made their way out of the tavern. Jonathan turned to Agnes.
“I want you to go home and wait, just in case she comes back. If she does appear then bring her down here.”
“Do you think Brian has her?”
Jonathan gave her a careful look. “I think that is almost guaranteed, don’t you?”
Jonathan wriggled into position beside Simon and almost relished the confrontation that had presented itself. He was so blazingly angry right now, and worried sick for Kat’s safety, that he wanted to pound something relentlessly until his fears had subsided.
Together they watched silently as two rowing boats battled the pounding waves. The boat ebbed and flowed along with the tide that relentlessly threw them toward the shore. He almost wished the boats would capsize and throw all four of the boys into the icy sea. A watery fate seemed to be quite fitting for them however Jonathan needed answers from them first. From his position he could see inside the boats, and was certain that Kat wasn’t in either vessel. So where had they stored her? For what purpose?
They watched the boats slide onto the sand and all four boys jump out. They wasted no time in lugging the heavy barrels, boxes and bolts of cloth across the sand before throwing them unceremoniously into the waiting boats. It took several trips before all of the cargo was on board and the boats were pushed back out to sea.
“I’ll go and find us something to follow them in,” Simon whispered and shuffled back to find a rowing boat they could purloin.
Jonathan had seen enough and hurried after his colleague. They had no trouble finding a boat that was sturdy enough and enlisted Harry’s help to untie the boat from its moorings. Simon and Jonathan were swiftly joined by Rupert and Archie. Stephen remained on land to continue the search for Kat, just in case she was stashed somewhere they hadn’t searched yet.
Even through the high winds and crashing waves, he could hear the heavy knocking on doors, and cries for Kat. He knew that there would be no nook and cranny untouched by the men who were determined to find one of their own. Although he would never understand why or how they had agreed to allow Kat to become involved in their smuggling operation, he was very grateful that they did consider her one of them, and were more than willing to throw their weight being an extensive search for her.
He knew that nobody would stop until she had been found. He bit back a curse of frustration because he wanted to be involved in the land search for her, but his gut instinct; the instinct he had relied upon throughout his time in the Star Elite, warned him that he needed to go out to sea with his colleagues.
Simon and Archie rowed with all of their might. Their departure from the safety of the harbour was swifter than the boys’ leaving the beach because they didn’t have the pounding waves to fight.
By the time they made their way around the coast, the first tendrils of dawn had started to creep over the horizon and provided them with enough light to be able to see the outline of the other two boats further ahead and give chase.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
It took nearly an hour before Brian and his crew arrived at Grampton, a
small fishing port further around the coast.
“Use this here,” Jonathan instructed as he pointed to a small outcrop of rock that sat alone in the middle of the water. They steadied the boat and used the cover to watch Brian and his friends dock beside a small fisherman’s cottage. A middle aged man emerged from the house before the boys had even tied the boats up, and together they started to off-load the cargo.
“I think that we have found the main purchaser,” Archie sighed and flicked Jonathan with a look. “How do you want to do this?”
From the look on Jonathan’s face, he wanted to storm in there and raise hell until he got information on where Kat was. Even though his friend had yet to speak, Archie knew he was in the midst of an internal battle between logic and emotion.
“Let’s go and shake things up a little,” Jonathan growled. He let go of the rock and pushed the boat away while Simon and Archie took up the oars again. Within minutes they were pulling up against the side of Brian’s boat.
The boys, along with the man, were in the process of unloading the cargo. It was Wally who saw them first. He dropped the barrel he was holding and disappeared inside. Within seconds all five were standing on the dock side watching Simon moor the boat.
Rupert, Jonathan and Archie, pointed their pistols at the men on the dock and warned them to remain perfectly still. Unfortunately, while the man, Wally, Colin and Robert all lifted their hands in surrender, Brian smirked and spun on his heel.
One shot was all it took to bring the boy down. His scream of pain echoed around the bay as he fell, his hands wrapped around his injured leg.
Within minutes of their arrival, the Star Elite had everyone, including the injured Brian, inside the small house. Jonathan studied the steady ooze of blood that dripped from the wound on Brian’s thigh but made no attempt to help him.
“You didn’t have to hurt him,” the older man growled.
“I take it you are Meldrew, the boy’s father?” Jonathan glanced derisively at the boy’s injury, his thoughts locked firmly on Kat.
“Aye that I am.”
“He is under arrest for kidnap and murder,” Simon drawled from beside the fire. His arms ached fiercely from the long row along the coast, but he was damned if he would show it. He stared hard at Wally and Robert, who stared avidly at the gun on his hip until both boys shifted uncomfortably against the implied threat in Simon’s gaze.
“Tell me something, Brian, or you will sit here and bleed to death,” Jonathan’s voice was merciless.
“I will tell you what you need to know,” Mr Meldrew sighed. He placed a fatherly hand on Brian’s shoulder that was shrugged off by the belligerent young man.
“Why tip of Harrison? What purpose does it have?”
Brian sighed and flicked a glance up at his dad. The dark look on his sire’s face warned him that he was in a lot of trouble. “Have you been talking to Excise?” The menacing growl was met with a disgusted look.
“I have, and I am glad I did too,” Brian snapped. The look he gave his father had very little respect in it. “I told Harrison when the shipments were due in so Harrison would search Bentney on Sea. I told him that there is a smuggling gang there and told him when the shipments were due to arrive.”
“You took a bloody risk there. He could have just turned up to arrest you during the delivery.”
“I wasn’t there during the delivery. Harrison is too lazy to get out of bed in the middle of the night. He wants some of the cargo; it’s as simple as that.” Brian’s voice was matter of fact. “I leave him a couple of barrels of France’s finest at the back of his house as payment for not interrupting delivery. He gets to search the village and looks for the haul he knows is there somewhere. If he does ever find it, he will go down in history for uncovering the biggest stash ever to land on Cornish shores.”
“You told him because you knew he would search Bentney on Sea, and wouldn’t venture toward – where the hell are we?”
“Grampton,” the older man growled.
“It’s worked this far. Besides, the smugglers in Bentney are an arrogant lot. Serves them right to get searches every day.”
“You turned traitor on your own villagers.”
“They aren’t my bloody villagers. Never have been and never will be,” Brian snarled. “Stupid idiots scurry this way and that while they try to hide their stash. Harrison is next to bloody useless because in all the time he has been looking for the goods he hasn’t found so much as a piece of lace.” He shook his head in disgust.
Jonathan thought of his own experience with the vocal reception he had received from one of the Excise men, and could understand the boy’s contempt.
“So you got the manifest from Hawkshurst because you have the most cargo. You then give a copy to Harrison because you know he will search the village when it is there. If he finds anything he can keep it and nobody can complain. If he doesn’t find it, he gets two barrels of the finest anyway. You get Excise to look in the opposite direction so you can move your cargo unchallenged. Everyone is happy,” Archie sighed.
“Except the people in Bentney on Sea, who have their houses torn apart daily for no reason,” Jonathan snapped in disgust.
“They are smugglers,” Brian protested.
“So are you!” Archie replied with a disgusted shake of his head.
“What do you plan to do now? Do you want the cargo?” Mr Meldrew asked. He studied each man in turn and wondered. “Whose gang do you run with?”
The Star Elite turned to each other with rueful smiles. “A gang that you will never be a part of,” Simon sighed. “I am placing you under arrest for the murder of Mr Barnaby, numerous counts of smuggling, theft and kidnap.”
A sly look settled over Brian’s face. “It could be two counts of murder,” Archie added. He kept his gaze away from Jonathan and knew from the look on his friend’s face that Brian was within an inch of not knowing what had hit him.
Brian remained stoically silent.
“Who has he killed?”Mr Meldrew demanded.
“Douglas Barnaby, a fisherman from Bentney on Sea. Your boy here decided that he wanted the man’s fishing vessel for himself. We understand from Mrs Barnaby that Brian and a few of the crew had offered to continue to take the boat out in exchange for giving her a percentage of the fish sales but, so far, she has received nothing in payment for either the vessel or the fish. So effectively he has murdered Mr Barnaby and stolen his boat. Then there are several counts of smuggling, which is highly illegal in Cornwall, and will ensure he faces a very long prison sentence. Unfortunately for your son here, he has also kidnapped Catherine Baird, a young bar maid at the Shipwright Inn, who has rejected his advances on more than one occasion.
“Kat Baird?” Mr Meldrew demanded. He dropped his hand and turned to stare hard at Brian. “You kidnapped her?” When Brian remained silent and continued to stare at the floor, Mr Meldrew grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him upright until they were nose to nose. The swift change in the man’s demeanour drew everyone’s attention and tension rose within the room while they watched the scene unfold.
“What the hell have you done to her?” Mr Meldrew growled. “Frank Baird was my friend, and a bloody good one at that. If you have hurt his daughter –” He shook the boy for emphasis.
Brian’s face became watchful and wary. He glanced around at the sea of faces in the room and swallowed loudly. All trace of bravado and belligerence evaporated and he turned hard eyes back toward his dad.
“You aren’t any father of mine. You ran out on mam for that floozy and where did that leave you? Here in the middle of nowhere stealing goods from Hawkshurst. How long do you think that can go on until he turns up to get his money and goods back?”
“The cargo is stolen?”
Brian realised then what he had said and wrenched his dad’s hand off his shirt. He snorted in derision and threw himself back into the chair. When he leaned back and propped his booted feet up on the table before them, Jonatha
n knew that he wasn’t going to provide them with any more information.
“I know where she is,” Colin replied.
“You do, and I will make your life a misery,” Brian growled. His eyes were hard and feral as they stared hard at Colin, but he jumped when Rupert bent over to stare the boy right in the face.
“You are going behind bars for a very, very long time. The judge will throw away the key and you will be a threat to nobody by the time you see daylight again, so do yourself a favour and shut the hell up.”
Robert moved to stand beside Colin. They glanced at each other before they turned toward the window. “If you want to save her, you will have to be quick. The tide is coming in quickly and the cave will be swamped soon.”
“Cave?”
“Aye, it’s around the bay, that way,” Colin reported. He pointed out of the window toward Bentney on Sea.
“It is too late,” Brian sing-songed. “The cave will be swamped by the time you get there and she can’t swim.”
“Kat can swim,” Jonathan snarled.
“Not with her hands tied behind her back, she can’t,” Brian’s smirk was ruthless. His laughter was cut short by the large fist that landed in the middle of his face.
Kat moaned against the pain in her head. Where was she? What had happened? She frowned into the darkness and tried to remember. A thick fog seemed to have rolled into her head and had stayed there because everything seemed to take so much effort. Right now it hurt to even think much less remember how she got to wherever she was.
Her brows dipped into a frown. It even hurt to move her eyes but, nevertheless, she blinked the blurriness away and tried to study the area around her. It was then that she became aware of the tight binding that held her wrists secure behind her back. Who had done this to her, and why?
My Lord Deceived Page 24