by Rebecca King
“It is our pleasure,” Callum assured her.
“If it is all right, we will go and get some sleep?” Niall asked around a yawn.
“Of course. I will make the beds up,” Elspeth gasped.
“No. We can sort ourselves out, just point us to the closet,” Niall said, waving her away from the door.
“I know where it is,” Phillip smirked.
Elspeth lifted her brows at them but neither man even looked at her before they left the room.
“Thank you for all of this,” Elspeth said to Aaron when they were alone.
It was difficult not to stare at him. The Aaron before her now was a masculine creature who was completely unfamiliar to her in a way that left her a little uncertain of him yet also immensely intrigued. Elspeth knew now that Aaron had a sinister side to him that was hard and unrelenting, but she wasn’t threatened by it. In fact, given her situation, Elspeth found this new, completely unexpected side of him reassuring rather than worrying. She couldn’t help but think that Thomas would never have been this protective of her.
“Why are you here?” she whispered. “Why didn’t you come to Thomas’s funeral?”
Aaron nodded to the door. “Let’s go into the kitchen where it is warmer, and I will explain what happened.”
When they were both settled around the kitchen table, Aaron poured them both some wine and studied her as she took a sip from her goblet. He was relieved to note that Elspeth was no longer tinged with a deep and worrying shade of blue. In fact, when bathed in the warm glow of firelight, she was ravishing. Aaron just couldn’t tell her that.
“I am sorry about Thomas,” he whispered sadly.
“I miss him,” she murmured tearfully.
Aaron reached out and placed a warm palm over hers. That brief touch sent a white-hot shiver of connection through him that made the room around them fade into insignificance. Aaron knew nothing else mattered but him and her, and what they shared. He struggled to find a way to tell her because he didn’t want to offend her. The timing was lousy. Besides, he had no idea if she could ever consider him more than Thomas’s friend. The thought that she might reject this growing connection if he made his romantic interest in her known was enough to forestall the declaration of affection he wanted to make, for the time being at least.
Slowly, gently, Elspeth turned her hand over, so their palms touched, and they were effectively holding hands. She had no idea what compelled her to do it, but that simple human connection meant the world to her. For the life of her she couldn’t have made herself move away. Thankfully, Aaron didn’t appear to want to break the link between them either.
“We will have to go for a walk to the graveyard tomorrow, so I can pay my respects. I should like to see the grave for myself,” Aaron said softly.
“What about your work? Don’t you have to get back?” she murmured.
“I am not going back,” Aaron smiled.
“You have quit?” Elspeth gasped in astonishment.
Aaron nodded. “I should have been here for you, Elspeth. No job can be so important that it is worth missing a friend’s funeral for, or not being there for one of the most important people in my life when I am needed most.”
“What will you do about it?” Elspeth’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Your job, I mean.”
“I don’t give a damn about it right now. I have devoted my entire life to fighting some cause or other. When it counted, that cause stopped me personally doing what was right for the people I care about. I cannot continue to sacrifice who I am, what I am when I am not fighting, to some other people’s criminality,” Aaron bit out. “I am afraid that the Star Elite have recently been devoting so much manpower toward the endeavours of one thug, who keeps snatching women off the streets, that our boss seems to think we are not entitled to time off, or a private life. It is ridiculous that the group of men you have seen working together tonight are made to race up and down the country in search of criminals with hardly any time to themselves. Most of the work we do requires us to be up at night. That is when most rats come out of sewers, and when most of the underworld do their business. It doesn’t stop there, though. On top of having to work overnight, we are also required to spend our days keeping watch over people, none of whom even know we are there most of the time, but we are. We live like ghosts most of the time.”
Aaron’s thoughts turned immediately to his colleague’s wife, Charity.
“What is it?” she prompted when Aaron seemed lost in torment of some kind. She recognised it because something akin to grief settled over his features that looked much the same way as she felt.
“One of our colleagues, a man called Angus, recently wed,” Aaron began.
“Well, that’s good then,” Elspeth smiled.
“His wife was almost murdered by the man who we were supposed to be watching,” Aaron added. “To this day, I will never forget the sight of her being shot and falling to the ground. Angus’s world shattered in a matter of seconds. While our boss did his best to ensure she was well provided for, we nary had the time to attend their wedding when she was well enough before we were back on duty, trying to find the kidnapper’s relations. It has been non-stop ever since. While Angus does help us when we are in the area, he has been put under pressure to return to duties in London. His wife is due to have their child soon. He is obviously reluctant to leave her. That doesn’t seem to matter to our boss, who has continued to send him notes demanding he return to London as soon as possible,” Aaron explained.
“Why? What is down in London?” Elspeth asked. “Why can’t Angus just join you when you are nearby like he has been doing?”
“That is what we said. Sir Hugo has simply refused Angus permission to have any time off because he wants the kidnapper off the streets before he strikes again,” Aaron sighed. “The kidnapper comes first, apparently. I know he is snatching innocent lives, but we aren’t going to be able to defeat him if we are so damned exhausted, or worried about our families that we can’t concentrate. The problem is, once we have caught this kidnapper, we all know there will be some other equally ruthless fiend we have to find next. It just doesn’t stop. Meantime, none of us are having any time to have a life of our own.”
As he spoke he studied their clasped hands. Elspeth’s fingers felt so delicate in his that it reminded him of the fragility of life. He could now fully understand Angus’s disgust with Sir Hugo, and the Star Elite as a whole. While there was no animosity between the men who worked together every day and relied on each other to stay alive, Aaron knew they had reached an impasse with their boss that they were not prepared to break until Sir Hugo started to consider that there might be more to the Star Elite than just the next criminal.
“The men behind the organisation are just as important as the criminals,” Elspeth murmured gently. “Without men like you to stand up for innocent people, thugs like Frederick Miniver would run riot. They are thieves. I think that now you have left, your boss will realise that he has nothing to supervise. He will have to offer you more time off, and more of a personal life, or he has no organisation to run.”
“I hope so,” Aaron sighed.
“What will you do if he doesn’t?” Elspeth asked.
“Find something else to do with my time,” Aaron smiled. “I have to confess that I had started to question whether I should stay in the Star Elite before this. To be quite honest with you, if it wasn’t for the connection I have with my friends in the group, I would have left a long time ago. We are close. I hate to say it, but I am closer to the men who came here with me than I was to Thomas.”
“That’s understandable given the work you do,” Elspeth soothed.
A companionable silence settled between them for several moments.
Aaron quietly picked up his goblet.
“He was still my friend, though. To Thomas,” he whispered, lifting his goblet toward her.
“To Thomas,” Elspeth repeated. “Wherever he is, let’s hope he has a plan u
p his sleeve to thwart Frederick, and persuade Sir Hugo to treat you like a person.”
They clinked their goblets together and each took a steady sip.
Elspeth positioned her goblet carefully on the table before her and felt the warmth the liquid left behind settle deep in the pit of her stomach. For the first time in a long time, she felt as though she was starting to warm from within. It was an odd sensation, but not unpleasant.
Maybe it has something to do with Aaron? She thought.
Even though she told herself it was foolish to nurse any yearning that he should consider her something more than Thomas’s younger sister, and now someone who needed his help, a small part of her still wanted him to notice her – the woman. It was foolish. It was ridiculous. It was completely unexpected that this need appeared out of nowhere and should make its presence felt right now. That said, it wasn’t entirely unwelcome because it made her think of something other than the grief she had been living with morning, noon, and night. Unfortunately, it made situations like this difficult to sit through and behave normally in.
As a result, Elspeth felt awkward, gauche and uncertain of herself. Confidence failed her. For the first time ever, Elspeth felt uncertain of Aaron. She had no idea what she could say to him without making herself look an utter fool. She was wary of what she could say that didn’t sound needy in, well, her hour of need.
But I am needy, she mused. I need his protection. I need him.
That thought troubled her more than anything because she knew it was only a matter of time before he returned to London, if only to see if he had a job. When he did, she would be all alone again.
CHAPTER FOUR
The following morning, Elspeth was woken by the sound of heavy pounding on the front door. She rolled over in bed and forced her eyes open only to stare blankly at her bed chamber door for a moment. After a few minutes, the knocking ended, but only to begin on the back door.
“Now what?” Elspeth whispered.
Disgruntled, she flicked the covers back and dressed before she made her way downstairs. It was strange to find the men going about their business as though nothing untoward was happening.
“Do you not intend to answer the door?” she asked, a little put out that none of them hadn’t.
Callum and Jasper were seated at the table. Callum was polishing his boots. Jasper was busy repairing a horse’s bridle. Neither of them even appeared to hear the knocking.
At the dresser, Oliver was busy stacking freshly washed pots.
Elspeth was a little worried that Aaron was not there. She wanted to ask what he was doing, but the heavy thumps on the door beside them shattered her concentration to the point she struggled to think beyond the noise.
“It isn’t our house,” Callum murmured without even bothering to look up.
When Oliver merely offered her a smile, Elspeth stomped over to the back door.
“Before you do answer it, don’t let them in, please?” Oliver warned from his position on the other side of the room. “As far as the visitor is concerned, you are all alone.”
Elspeth flicked a look at the closed shutters then nodded. She wondered if they thought it was Frederick who had called upon them so early but doubted he would be that brave. Frederick was a bully, but a cowardly one. After what she had seen last night she suspected – hoped – she had seen the last of her cousin for the time being.
“Do you know what time it is?” she asked the man on her doorstep when she yanked the door open.
Rollo Voss lifted his brows at her. “Did your brother not teach you any better manners? Did he not teach you not to greet a visitor to your house so rudely?”
“Did your mother not teach you any better manners than not to call at people’s houses before an acceptable calling time? Eight o’clock in the morning is not acceptable by any man’s standards, unless you are a barrow boy, that is,” Elspeth snapped sarcastically.
She had no idea what had come over her because she would ordinarily never be this rude to anybody. Whether it was Frederick’s behaviour last night, or the silent yet reassuring presence of the men behind her Elspeth couldn’t be sure, but she made good use of the confidence their presence gave her. Now that she had been able to rid her life of the troublesome baggage that was her cousin, she was determined to deal with the second major annoyance in her life right now – Rollo Voss.
“What do you want?” she asked impatiently.
“I should like to come in and talk to you,” Rollo drawled as though she was dense.
“I don’t think it is appropriate, do you? Nor is it appropriate for you to call upon a single lady unchaperoned at such an ungodly hour of the morning,” Elspeth informed him coldly. “Besides, I do believe we have nothing to talk about.”
To her disbelief, Rollo stepped uncomfortably closer. His head tipped toward hers until he was so close she had to lean back to avoid their heads banging together. She struggled to contain her disgust at the heady stench of his breath.
“I have come to make you an offer that I am sure you will be unable to refuse,” Rollo drawled. His voice dipped, but so did his eyes, and in such a lecherous way that Elspeth’s stomach began to churn with the force of her revulsion.
“What do you want?” she demanded with a heavy scowl.
Rollo studied her for several moments. His eyes flickered, several times, to the silence of the empty house behind her.
“Scared, are we, my dear?” Rollo murmured, his tone a mixture of sinister and silken menace that made her shudder.
“Of what?” Elspeth challenged.
“I can assure you that I shall behave myself,” Rollo drawled.
“I can assure you that you will,” Elspeth snapped. “Because you are not coming in. Now, for the last time, what do you want?”
Rollo sighed somewhat theatrically. He stepped closer and seemed to find it amusing that she immediately edged away from him.
The oaf likes the fact that he can worry me. He is nothing more than a bullying thug, just like Frederick.
Suddenly, as though one of the lightning bolts she had witnessed last night had just struck her, Elspeth jerked to attention.
Rollo, completely immersed in his mission, was oblivious to the steady squint she levelled on him.
“You are a young woman all alone in this huge house. It must be lonely living here all by yourself. Why, I wonder how you are managing to survive,” he drawled.
Elspeth, who was still raw from her ordeal of the last several days, found this a particularly harsh statement for him to make. It began to fan the flames of her fury.
“I manage,” she replied, affronted at his assumption that she couldn’t cope with life on her own.
She could – or would have been able to if she had had any money. The fact that she had none was something she would rather walk over hot coals in Hell before admitting to the likes of Rollo Voss, though.
“Well, I am here now to save you, my darling,” Rollo drawled dramatically.
“Save me?” Elspeth thundered. “From what?”
“A life of destitution and loneliness,” Rollo declared with a knowing nod.
Elspeth went cold at the absolute certainty in his eyes.
Suddenly, the door behind her was yanked open. Aaron appeared in the form of one long arm, the fist upon which suddenly grabbed an unsuspecting Rollo by the throat. Elspeth gasped as she found the space where Rollo had been standing empty within seconds. She turned in time to watch Rollo being slammed mercilessly down into a chair in the kitchen behind her.
“What the Devil is this?” Rollo demanded in outrage. When he tried to get up, a clearly annoyed Aaron shoved him ruthlessly back down again.
“Just what do you know about Thomas and Elspeth?” Aaron demanded without preamble.
“Who are you?” Rollo cried loudly. He jerked around in his seat to look at the assembled men in the room. “Who are they? What are they doing here?”
“Answer my question,” Aaron commanded, his voic
e dark and sinister.
“I-I don’t know anything,” Rollo protested.
“I think you can do better than that,” Aaron persisted. “You come here at an ungodly hour of the morning and tell this lady here that she is destitute. Why? How do you know what her financial position could be?”
“I-I don’t,” Rollo cried. “Look, let me out of here and I will forget about all of this, eh? It was my mistake. I didn’t realise she was already spoken for.”
“You were trying your luck,” Aaron told him with far too much predatory intent.
“I-I didn’t mean anything untoward.”
“So, why did you come here to proposition her then?” Aaron demanded.
“I didn’t,” Rollo argued.
“You just propositioned her. We heard you,” Oliver added.
Rollo froze. “I apologise. I didn’t mean any offense.”
Rollo turned a somewhat pleading look upon Elspeth who remained unmoved. She knew he was only ‘sorry’ because Rollo believed it might save his worthless backside. If she had been alone, Elspeth knew the man would have continued to lecherously pester her until she felt threatened, fearful and uncertain of her safety. She therefore couldn’t find it within her already battered and bruised heart to be lenient with him.
“You just stated that you think I am destitute. Why?” Elspeth demanded.
“You heard the lady. Speak,” Aaron thundered when Rollo stared first at her but then at Aaron with far too much calculation to be as afraid as he pretended to be.
“There are rumours going about the village, that’s all,” Rollo shrugged. He held his hands, palms upward, to the men. “You know how it is in these small places. People are talking about how a young woman like her is going to cope all alone.”
“You thought you would come here and try your luck, did you?” Aaron snorted.
“As you can see, she is not alone,” Callum said as he waved a hand around the group.
“Yes, I can see that,” Rollo mused as he slid a look over each of the men.