My Lord Deceived (27 page)

The sound of a
door being closed behind him made him turn around. Dubois headed
toward them. It had never been necessary to learn it before to
learn the language before, but he had heard enough to know that the
Frenchman swore roundly as he drew his braces up over his
shoulders. Jonathan knew that Bernard would not be far behind and
shook his head in disgust.

He had spent
several weeks trying to find one of the bastards, now he had two on
his hands at the same time, and Kat and Billy right behind him. He
spun around and stared at Billy, who looked back at him in
confusion.

“Do you know
the Excise House?”

Billy nodded
hesitantly and glanced at Kat, who had moved to stand beside him.
“At the back of there is a small empty house. In there is a man
called Stephen. Go and get him. Now, Billy,” Jonathan ordered. He
gave the boy a shove and watched as Kat assured him that it was
alright. “Quickly.”

“What is it?”
Kat asked. She stepped forward just as the first bullet hit the
brick wall beside Jonathan. She didn’t have the time to scream
before her wrist was captured in Jonathan’s ruthless grip and she
was pushed roughly ahead of him. “Jonathan? What’s happening? Who
are they?”

“Run!”

Kat didn’t have
the time to think of anything else to say. Jonathan dragged her
relentlessly toward the end of the lane. She gasped and watched in
horror as he drew a wicked looking gun from his pocket and fired
over her shoulder at the two men now giving chase.

She screamed as
another shot whizzed past her ear and ducked, just as Jonathan
shoved her behind him and took aim. She wished now that she had
gone with Billy. Who were they? What did they want with Jonathan?
Just what on earth was he involved in?

She didn’t have
time to formulate many more thoughts.

“Kat, get
behind me and stay behind me. Do you see the alleyway behind you?
Run down it and at the end turn right,” Jonathan growled. He gave
her a rough nudge in the right direction. He took the opportunity
of the Frenchmen’s pause while they reloaded their guns, to
practically chase her down the street. He pushed her to go faster
and faster with a heavy hand in the middle of her back as he
steered her toward their destination.

Kat had no idea
what he was involved with, but he seemed to be in far more trouble
than she was with the smuggling. Being shot at had put her own
activities into perspective. Who was he? What did these men want
with him? She gasped for breath and lengthened her stride as much
as she could in response to his persistent hand in her back. As
instructed, she turned right at the end of the alley and found
herself on the way toward the town centre and the market. Did he
intend to try to lose them in the market? If so, what about mother,
or Billy when he came back?

Her fears were
unfounded when, after several more feet, Jonathan directed her
around another corner and into a small mews. In the far corner was
a discrete sign that marked the entrance to a small boarding house.
Kat had no idea how he knew where this was. She had been to
Tattersnell several times every week since she had been a small
girl and had never known of its existence. Still, she was glad of
it when they made their way upstairs unchallenged.

Once there, she
followed Jonathan to a small room at the top of the stairs. Once
inside, he motioned her to be quiet and walked silently across the
room. He stood to one side of the main window that overlooked the
market square and peered carefully around the shutters.

Outside, he
could see Bernard and Dubois, pick their way through the market. It
was clear that they scoured the crowds. For the time being at
least, they were free and clear. He could only hope that they
hadn’t had a good look at Billy and could recognise him. Stephen
knew where to find them. They would wait until the coast was clear
and he could get Kat back home once Bernard and Dubois were well
out of the area.

He watched for
a long time until both Frenchmen reached the far end of the market
and stood in conversation for several moments before they doubled
back to search again. Jonathan had no idea how many of their
reinforcements were in the area. Hell, he had no idea that
they
were in the area. With a shake of his head, he turned
away from the window and closed the shutter a little to protect
them from discovery.

He sighed and
mentally cursed his behaviour at the sight of Kat, still beside the
door, her eyes wide with fear. Her arms were curled protectively
around herself and, even from several feet away he could see the
fine tremors that coursed through her.

“I am sorry,
Kat,” Jonathan muttered. He snatched a blanket off the bed and
draped it around her shoulders. He rubbed her arms while he tried
trying to think of something to say that would reassure her but,
right now, their situation was precarious. He couldn’t in all
conscience tell her that everything was alright when it so
obviously wasn’t. If the Frenchmen decided to investigate the
taverns and hostelry that surrounded the main market square, they
would undoubtedly find them.

“Who are
they?”

Jonathan
sighed. “They are French spies. Smugglers are working in the area,
I know that for a fact,” his gaze was sharp. “But these foreign
spies were smuggled in further along the coast line by a ruthless
gang of smugglers who have now been brought to justice.
Unfortunately, we were too late to prevent those two,” he nodded
toward the window and Bernard and Dubois outside, “and several
others, from being smuggled into the country.”

“They are
spies?”

“Yes, working
for France. They have been using an established network of people
to enter the country, adopt new identities and disappear.”

“But what are
they doing here? I mean, they are already in the area and smugglers
around here won’t have allowed French people into the country. They
aren’t like that, Jonathan,” Kat’s voice was adamant that she was
right. Although she hadn’t been down onto the beaches to help with
all of the deliveries, she had never heard or seen any people being
smuggled. The very thought made her shudder in revulsion.

“Maybe not, but
there is smuggling going on in the area,” Jonathan argued. “It has
to stop. Although it may only be cargo being brought into the
country, it is illegal and everyone involved can go to jail. The
network those spies used to get into the country originally
smuggled cargo before they started to include people. It is only a
matter of time before Bentney on Sea is used as an entrance point
for new spies. We are at war after all, and these Frenchmen will
stop at nothing.”

“God in
heaven,” Kat whispered, her eyes filled with a mixture of disgust
and horror.

“It is why I
have to know what is happening in the village, Kat. I cannot have
that kind of crime on my doorstep.”

“Who are you? I
mean, what do you do? Why do those Frenchmen know you and what do
they want with you?”

Jonathan
sighed. He didn’t want to take her into his confidence. Not now,
and especially when they were in such danger, but he had no
choice.

“I am a member
of the Star Elite. We are a unique, carefully selected unit of
elite soldiers straight out of the army. We all have our individual
skills but we have been protecting the country from French
invasion. We have all served our time in the war, and have returned
to English shores for various reasons. Since then, we have worked
as a unit ever since. It is our duty to ensure that smuggling of
any kind is stopped, and the French spies brought into the country
are tracked down and removed from being any threat.”

“You mean
killed.” Kat felt sick and stared at Jonathan with a mixture of
horror and dread. He was the man she loved, but he was also her
worst enemy. She couldn’t confide in him now. She would put
everyone in the village at risk. But, now that she knew what he
was, she was in the worst kind of situation. How could she not tell
the other smugglers what he was? Who he was, without betraying him?
She didn’t want to place his life in danger. After what had
happened today, he seemed to be in considerable danger enough
already. If she told the villagers, they would gossip and it would
spread to nearby villages. If the Frenchmen were located in
Tattersnell, they could hear about Jonathan, and would know where
to find him.

“We have to do
whatever we have to in order to stop their activities, Kat. The
safety of the country and everyone in it is at risk if we don’t.
This is war, and this is my job.”

“You work for
the Star Elite,” she whispered with a dazed shake of her head. She
had no idea about this part of his life. She turned to study him.
“It is what takes you away from home so often, and for so
long?”

Jonathan
nodded. “I have missions to complete that require me being away for
weeks at a time. Uncle Bruce is perfectly fine being looked after
by the staff. I have a good man of business who takes care of
things for me so I can concentrate on getting the job done.”

“What about
when the war is over. What do you plan to do then?”

Jonathan smiled
gently, but it was more a quirk of his lips than an outright grin.
“If I am still here, then I am going to retire to run my estates. I
don’t want to continue with the Star Elite until I am caught and
killed, or am too old to carry out my duties safely. At the minute
though, the men I work with are also my friends. I cannot abandon
them to fight alone. I have a duty to watch their backs. We take
care of each other.”

“The two men
who came: Rupert and Stephen?”

“They are two
of my colleagues from the Star Elite. They have come to help me put
a stop to the smugglers, and capture the spies in the area.”

Kat closed her
eyes and sat on the bed with a thump. She never really knew him at
all. All this time she had thought he was a wastrel who was merely
using Dentham Hall as a place to lodge when the bright lights of
the big city got too much for him, and all the time he was off
fighting for king and country. She felt so guilty for having judged
him so harshly but, in her defence, she had only been going on what
she had seen. She hadn’t stopped to consider that he might have a
more altruistic reason for being away from home so much.

“Who are the
two men giving chase?”

Jonathan moved
to the window, just in time to see Dubois’s head disappear into the
mews. With a curse he began to reload his gun. “Frenchmen. I had
been sent home to take a well earned rest, and been instructed to
see if I could find one of them in Dadington. I never realised that
they were here instead. I have been rather busy,” he smiled wryly
at her and watched her shift uncomfortably.

“Babysitting
me.”

“Helping you,”
he replied gently. “There is a difference.”

“How?”

“Because you
are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself,” he glanced over
at her darkly. It was on the tip of his tongue to make reference to
his knowledge of her illegal activities, but kept quite. He had a
lesson or two to teach her before he revealed that he knew what she
was up to.

It irked him a
bit that she didn’t feel that she could confide in him but could
understand her reluctance now that she knew who he really was.
Right now, she was damned if she did tell him, and damned if she
didn’t. He was going to let her stew over it for a little while,
just to make her a bit more uncomfortable. Hopefully, the worry
would remain with her and put her in a position where she had to
stop and take stock of what she was really doing, and the
implications it had on all of her family. Then, when she had second
thoughts, he hoped she would have the common sense to stop. If she
was on the beach the next time the cargo came in, or any of the
goods were delivered to her house, then he would drag the matter
out into the open with her and ban her personally from any further
involvement.

It didn’t
change his determination to get her to marry him. Indeed, the
thought that she was brave enough to head out into the elements and
stand on a beach in the middle of the night to smuggle cargo made
him rather proud of her. He would have been too, if it wasn’t
highly illegal and liable to land her behind bars. Still, he was
glad that she wasn’t some insipid miss that would bore him as soon
as the honeymoon was over. He was greatly reassured that their
marriage would be a long and happy one. If only he could get her to
agree to give up her nefarious lifestyle for one of hearth and
home.

Kat studied the
ease in which he held the gun and walked silently across the room.
His face was sterner than she had ever seen it before. The old
Jonathan she had come to know, and love, had developed a hardened,
almost ruthless side that she wasn’t sure how to deal with.

Now that she
knew what he did while he was away, she wished he hadn’t told her.
She was now stuck to know what she should do next. She had agreed
to accept one more delivery of cargo while another smuggler could
be found to replace her. There was already an abundance of cargo
because of the demise of Mr Barnaby. However, she had made it clear
to everyone that she and her family were done with smuggling for
good after this last shipment. She could only hope that until that
cargo was safely delivered and sold, Jonathan would be none the
wiser. Her thoughts turned toward the goods hidden in the various
places around home, and she mentally winced at his condemnation
should he ever find out about her subterfuge. Guilt began to weigh
on her and she stared worriedly down at her feet.

“They are
headed this way,” Jonathan murmured. He turned the lock in the door
quietly and put a finger to his lips. He moved to sit beside her on
the bed. Even from a few feet away he could feel the trembles that
coursed through her. He wanted to slide his arms around her and
offer her comfort but needed to keep his hands free in case the
door was kicked in.