by Rebecca King
Niall returned to his hiding place and smirked while he watched. It was slightly annoying that Clara hadn’t run for freedom as soon as she was released like he had hoped. Instead, she too was watching the amusing spectacle of Erasmus Boyle on the receiving end of a few pointed barbs for a change. The cat’s yowls of protest when Erasmus did manage to grab a paw were soon accompanied by hissing and spitting as the animal really got angry.
“’ere, what’s going on out here?” Albert, the inn keeper, cried as he charged out of the back door of the tavern to see what all the commotion was about.
Erasmus stumbled into a large barrel and knocked it over with a heavy clang but didn’t stop cursing long enough to be able to tell him. Albert’s busy brows rose as he too joined in watching the spectacle for a moment. It wasn’t Erasmus’s welfare that concerned him.
“What in the hell are you doing with my damned cat?” Albert boomed. He picked up a broom and began to smack Erasmus on the back with it. “Let my cat go.”
Clara’s lips twitched as she watched what was one of the most satisfying spectacles she had ever witnessed unfold before her. For all the harassment and worry Erasmus had brought her, it was good to see him on the receiving end for a change. She smirked and made a mental note to bring the cat a nice piece of chicken before she realised that she had to make use of Erasmus’s distraction. With one last look at the yard, Clara turned to leave only for the shifting shadows in the back of the yard to make her blink. She froze and studied the shadow a little closer. At first, she didn’t see anything, but when he moved, Clara found herself looking straight into the startling sight of Niall’s familiar face.
I would recognise that face anywhere.
Her gaze turned to the cat, and she began to wonder. What was Niall doing in the tavern yard? Was he following her? If so, why? Her thoughts turned to Will. Were they both still watching the house? Was it because of Erasmus? Had someone warned her father that he was making a pest of himself? It seemed a little excessive for her father to send in the might of the Star Elite to thwart him. Erasmus was, if nothing more, a local pesterer of women who tried his luck and was far too arrogant for his own good. But he was no serious criminal.
When she looked back at the shadows, it was to find them empty. Niall had vanished. Again. Without him there to answer her questions, Clara knew the only person who would be able to tell her what was going on was her father. Unfortunately, she couldn’t ask him without alerting him to the fact that there was a problem. She doubted he would allow her to remain with her aunt if he suspected Flo couldn’t be a proper guardian.
“Now what do I do?” she whispered.
It was odd to look about the seemingly busy street and know that someone was hiding, watching her every move. It was a little unnerving to think that someone had followed her from the second she had left the house that morning and had been watching her every movement since. She should be wildly thrilled that Niall was keeping a protective watch over her, but she was annoyed as much as she was curious because she was now desperate to know what she needed to protect her from.
“My dear, what is it?” Sissy asked when she saw the troubled look on Clara’s face. She turned to the sound of hideous wailing and Albert’s angry shouts. “What is all that commotion?”
“Erasmus,” Clara bit out before telling her friend what had just happened.
“Well, let’s get out of here, shall we?” Sissy threw a worried look at the direction of the commotion within the tavern yard before hurrying in the opposite direction.
“Erasmus won’t be happy he is being thrown out,” Clara warned.
“Let’s not be here when he gets out.”
Together, the ladies watched Albert beat Erasmus out of his yard with the end of his broom. Erasmus stumbled out into the street, his face scratched, his shirt all bloodied and torn. Even from a distance it was clear that he was furious, but he was no match for Albert, who was far too used to throwing angry drunks out of his tavern to bother much with Erasmus. Once he had vanquished the enemy, Albert forgot about Erasmus and began to croon to his now docile pet, which he picked up and draped across his shoulder. The feline placidly curled around his ample neck as if made to be there and glared evilly at Erasmus while Albert carried him inside. Seconds later, the doors to the tavern yard banged shut.
“Hurry,” Sissy whispered, dragging Clara into a narrow alley in between the bakery and the grocery shops.
“Where are we going?”
“Out onto Marley street. His curricle is parked outside the haberdashery. By the time he fetches it, we will be out of the area. It is a pity your fiancé isn’t around again. He would send Erasmus away with a flea in his ear,” Sissy growled.
“Niall isn’t here anymore. He has gone,” Clara murmured.
“When will he be back?”
“I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “I wish I did.”
“Has he gone back to London?”
“No.” Clara couldn’t lie anymore. “He isn’t my fiancé.”
“We know we shouldn’t pass the word around until there has been a formal announcement, but people will gossip,” Sissy countered.
“No, you don’t understand,” Clara interrupted.
She got no further before Sissy hauled her to a stop.
“Oh, no,” Sissy moaned.
They both watched a coldly furious Erasmus march resolutely toward them. Clara tensed and looked wildly around for Niall until she realised what she was doing. It was foolish to look for the help of someone who wasn’t going to be a part of her life in the future. If Niall was from the Star Elite, he would move on eventually and then she would be left to face Erasmus Boyle by herself anyway. It was high time that Erasmus realised she was not going to be harassed by him any longer. She had to stand up for herself.
Rather than duck into a shop and hide until he had passed as she normally would have done, Clara planted her feet firmly on the path and tipped her chin up. When she would have lowered her gaze and cowered, Clara forced herself to square her shoulders and stare coldly at him.
Their eyes met. The lethal warning was written in his, but it copied her icy glare. Nobody spoke until Erasmus was forced to tear his gaze away. Once he had passed, Clara turned in the opposite direction and linked arms with a stunned Sissy.
“Did you see how angry he was?” Sissy gasped.
“I don’t care. He shouldn’t accost people. If he hadn’t scared Albert’s cat so much the kitty wouldn’t have attacked him. He gets everything he deserves,” Clara murmured.
When she felt Sissy looking at her, Clara turned to throw her friend a rueful glance. They both burst into a fit of the giggles not least because it was funny to see the otherwise pristinely presented Erasmus looking like he had spent the night in a hedgerow. It was a relief to be able to stand tall against her greatest foe and make it clear that she was not a victim. Despite her growing consternation about Niall, Clara felt rather proud of herself.
“As long as I keep my distance everything should be all right,” she muttered when they had turned the corner and lost all sign of Erasmus.
“You do keep your distance from him. He is the one who comes to find trouble with you,” Sissy chided. “Don’t blame yourself because he is too foolish to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Clara blinked at her friend. Sissy rolled her eyes.
“It is Erasmus that always pesters you, dearest, not the other way around.”
“I know,” Clara replied. “If he doesn’t get the message, I am going to have to tell father, but you know how he has always been about allowing me to stay with Aunt Flo. He knows how infirm she is and will have a conniption if he ever realises that I am going out alone. He will try to force me to go to London with him when he returns. I can’t do that. Even with Erasmus here, I like my life in Serpentine. I don’t see why I should change it.”
“Well, you are going to have to when you are married. I am sure your Niall won’t want to live here. He is rather-
” Sissy tried to find a word that would adequately describe Clara’s fiancé.
“Grumpy.”
Sissy grinned. “I was going to say debonair. He is a handsome man, but you know that or you wouldn’t have chosen him.”
“I didn’t choose him. We met by accident. He saved me from Erasmus.”
“Yes, I know he did. He rode into your life on a white charger and rescued you from a lascivious letch.” Sissy’s gaze turned dreamy as she stared blankly down the street.
“Well, not quite. I don’t even know if he has a horse. While he did save me, he isn’t staying in Serpentine.” Clara tugged Sissy to a stop especially when she realised that Sissy hadn’t heard a single word she had said. Before she could speak, Sissy continued her musings.
“That friend is nice, though,” Sissy murmured.
“Sissy. I am appalled,” Clara chided.
“What?” Sissy blinked and turned to stare at her friend. “He is friends with your Niall, is he not?”
“Well, yes, but how do you know he doesn’t have bad-habits or something? He might be quite disreputable, you know.”
“He doesn’t look disreputable. He looks dashing, and incredibly strong,” Sissy gushed.
“Sissy, get a hold of yourself,” Clara gasped.
She rolled her eyes when Sissy threw her a rueful grin, but Clara didn’t take her friend to task anymore. She secretly wondered if this was what she had been like the night she had first met Niall. That somewhat awestruck expression on Sissy’s face looked awfully familiar.
They were about to cross the road when Erasmus Boyle trotted past on his curricle. Clara frowned because she knew Boyle House was in the opposite direction.
“Do you think he is trying to worry us?” Sissy whispered. She slid a look at her friend who was stubbornly refusing to even look at the man who glared menacingly at her as he passed. “You could always tell the magistrate. Your father is the Secretary of State, you know. I am sure that if the magistrate was warned by your father to do a better job, Erasmus would be forced to stop. I mean, how would it look if the cousin of the magistrate was allowed to commit crimes and harass the daughter of the Secretary of State, and the magistrate didn’t do anything about it?”
“That’s just it,” Clara sighed. “The magistrate doesn’t do anything about it. I have complained about Erasmus, but his cousin always laughs and says it is a matter of affection and that it is high time I married. My father says the same, and just tells me that I should go to live in London where he can keep an eye on me. They all seem to think it is perfectly reasonable for Erasmus to make his affections known.”
“By accosting you in the street?”
“It was the first time.” Clara clamped her mouth closed because she had no idea why she should even begin to defend Erasmus. “His behaviour is awful. I confess that I had hoped that he would have lost interest by now.”
“But there is nobody else in the area like you,” Sissy sighed.
“You are not much older,” Clara retorted crisply.
“I know, but I am not the Secretary of State’s daughter.”
“Do you think that is what Erasmus’s pestering is all about? Do you think Erasmus is, in a strange kind of way, trying to secure my father’s favour, or further the career of his cousin?”
“I don’t see why he should,” Sissy countered. “I don’t know much about him, but Erasmus strikes me as an incredibly selfish man. He doesn’t seem to care what anybody thinks. Why should he do something like make his attentions clear so someone else can benefit?”
“I don’t understand what is going on here. I mean, I am not all that appealing,” Clara breathed in consternation.
“Your Niall certainly seems to think you are,” Sissy teased.
Clara sighed and stared at her. “I do wish you would stop calling him ‘my Niall’.”
“Well, he is.”
“No, he is not. We are not engaged, Sissy,” Clara snapped, now becoming impatient with Sissy’s refusal to believe her.
“Oh, good morning, Mrs Alton,” Sissy called to an elderly woman who was off to do her shopping.
“Morning ladies,” Mrs Alton replied.
“See? I told you I can keep a secret,” Sissy hissed once Mrs Alton was out of earshot.
“But there is no secret to keep,” Clara cried, fighting the urge to tug at her hair in frustration.
“Can we tell people now?” Sissy’s eyes lit with hope.
“No. You may not go around telling people that I am engaged to Niall Farley-Paget,” Clara snapped.
She slammed her mouth closed when a man she had never met before blinked blankly at her and did a doubletake before he appeared to collect himself and continue his march down the main street. Clara squinted suspiciously at him before she tugged Sissy with her and headed home.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
That evening, Niall, Harry, and Will stood outside Boyle House with two of the men from the local branch of the Star Elite; Richard and Morgan. Together, they studied the large mansion before them.
“It’s not what I expected,” Will hissed.
“What did you expect?” Harry whispered.
“Nothing this big. Boyle strikes me as a spiteful little blackguard. Is he connected?”
“I shouldn’t think so living in a place like Serpentine,” Richard muttered. “None of the family are connected. That magistrate cousin of his is not covering the family name in decency, I can tell you that. We have questioned his conduct many times over the last couple of years and wrote to the Lord Chief Justice for advice.”
“We have had a response now,” Morgan added with no small measure of satisfaction. “Let’s go and deliver the news to Cousin Erasmus first, shall we?”
“What does he do for a living if his family aren’t connected?” Niall asked as they slowly ambled up the drive.
“He is a businessman of some kind, but I don’t think many know what kind of business he is in. The man has connections to the arse end of Flamley Bridge, as does his magistrate cousin. The people in that area aren’t used to living within the law,” Richard warned.
“They are all up to something shady,” Morgan warned.
“The cousin too?” Niall’s brows lifted. “Why hasn’t someone done something about it?”
“We can’t get any proof. Erasmus and that cousin of his cover their tracks well. We know Boyle’s business dealings are shady and he has links to a gambling den, but we can’t get a man inside to find out just what they are doing while they are there.” Richard dismounted and checked his gun while he waited for his colleagues to join him.
“We don’t think it is just gambling they are doing there but have no way of knowing right now. We were working on it, but then were distracted by something else going on.” Morgan tugged his cloak around him and eyed the empty garden.
“Thankfully, his cousin’s term in office ends this year. However, it is several months away, and the boss doesn’t want him in power for that long. So, we have news, and are going to deliver it, and will keep a man on our Erasmus while his cousin is away. If Erasmus takes one step out of place, we will have him behind bars for abduction.”
Niall smirked at Richard when he grinned with satisfaction.
“Well, gentlemen, let’s get on with it, shall we?” Niall rubbed his hands together and turned to look for a way into the house.
Minutes later, they all converged in the hallway outside the study door. Inside, the house was deathly quiet and encased in darkness. The only sound that could be heard was the steady ticking of a clock somewhere in the deeper recesses of the house which was undisturbed because Erasmus was the only one at home. It helped the Star Elite considerably that there were no staff in residence, although it was highly unusual given the size of the place that Erasmus shouldn’t have at least a few servants to help him.
That’s because Erasmus has something to hide, I don’t doubt.
Niall, shaking his head in disbelief that they were having to do
this, stepped forward and slammed the door open to what turned out to be Erasmus’s study, the only room in the house with a candle burning. Within seconds, the men from the Star Elite had surged into the room and descended on a stunned Erasmus who half launched out of his chair in outrage only to drop back into it with a heavy thump when he saw Niall.
“What in the hell are you doing here? Get out of my house at once. I shall have you arrested for trespass,” Erasmus blustered.
“No, you won’t,” Niall drawled. “We are here on business.”
Erasmus leaned back in his seat. His gaze flickered over the men and remained wary when it returned to Niall, but Erasmus lost none of his arrogance.
“I don’t believe we have any business,” Erasmus drawled. “I am a little selective who I do business with. Now get out. I shall inform the local magistrate about your intrusion. He will have you behind bars where you belong. Oh, and by the way, stay away from my fiancé. Miss Potter is nothing to do with you.”
“She is not your fiancé,” Niall snorted. “I do believe that Miss Potter has told you on several occasions to leave her alone. She will stringently deny having ever accepted any proposal you might be foolish enough to make. However, seeing as the proposals you prefer to make are disreputable, I think her father would object to you having any connection to her, or himself for that matter. Seeing as Atticus isn’t here to warn you away from her himself, I shall be the one to do it. Clara Potter is nothing to do with you. Harass her again and I shall have you arrested for trespass, harassment, and attempted abduction.”
“You cannot come in here and threaten me like this,” Erasmus snorted disparagingly. “I don’t give a damn who her father is. You have no authority to come into my house. It’s trespass. Stay out of my house and my damned business.”