My Lord Deceived (31 page)

“We have no
idea who fetches it. By the time we have taken our cargo home and
returned to the beach, all of it has gone.”

“As quickly as
that? It’s a hell of a lot of cargo to move that quickly. Is there
nobody else around?” Jonathan demanded with a frown. His thoughts
turned toward Brian Meldrew, and he wondered just what the boy was
up to. “Who do the horses belong to then?”

“They would be
the farmers. He uses his cart to take the heavy barrels off the
beach and takes them to places in the churchyard and around the
farm. We pick them up from our allotted places when we have taken
the smaller stuff home,” Harry replied with a frown at a solemn
Kat. In all of the years he had know her, he had never seen her
this quiet before.

“Has he ever
seen anyone else on the beach?”

“I haven’t seen
anything or anyone,” the farmer replied with a disgruntled snort.
“I usually leave when everyone else does.”

Jonathan knew
that Rupert had been tasked with keeping an eye on the main cargo
to see who collected it, and would be able to furnish them with
more information later.

“Forget the
cargo on the beach,” Jonathan ordered. “It is government property
now and, as such, is part of our investigation.”

“We have lost
nearly all of our stock tonight. You want us to lose the bits we
left on the beach too?” Harry growled. He knew that Jonathan was a
lord and probably the least likely of everyone to double cross his
own villagers, but he still felt driven to ask.

“We have been
tasked by the War Office to close the door on all illegal smuggling
along the coast, and that includes here. If you don’t comply, I
will send you all to jail for a considerable length of time.”
Jonathan’s voice was cold and hard. He turned to look at the woman
beside him and wondered if she was ill. He wanted to ask her if she
was alright, but she looked so lost and forlorn that all he wanted
to do was sweep her into his arms for a hug.

“Are all of the
stolen smuggled goods the government’s property?” The question came
from the back of the room.

“All goods
brought into the country illegally that are seized by Excise
officers, or any other government official for that matter,
immediately becomes the property of the government. It is illegal
for anyone to help themselves once the goods transfer into the
government’s hands,” Simon sighed and tried not to squirm against
the feel of his wet clothes as they clung to his chilled skin.

“So what do you
want us to do? Watch to see who collects what’s left?”

“No, the cargo
that has arrived tonight is completely lost to you. Under no
circumstances must any of you touch it or go anywhere near it. We
are His Majesty’s government and have significantly more seniority
than Harrison. It is in our possession and, as such, is seized
cargo. Touch it now and I will throw you behind bars.” Jonathan
replied. “What I want is for you all to pretend that you know
nothing about it. From this day on there will be no further
smuggling in this village. We will deal with Hawkshurst and anyone
else he is connected with. Until we do, all of you must keep your
mouths shut about what has happened here tonight.”

That last
comment made everyone’s brows rise and they nodded with approval.
Now that the initial fear and shock had worn off, the reality that
Jonathan was being honest in his offer to keep them out of jail had
sunk in. They seemed to realise just how close they had all come to
destruction, twice in one night, and a sense of relief settled over
everyone.

“Well, you can
count on my help,” Harry sighed with a nod at Jonathan. He glanced
at Kat again with a frown.

“Aye,” Norman
replied with a nod that matched Charlie’s beside him. A rumble of
acknowledgements drifted around the room.

The only person
who didn’t speak was Kat; who couldn’t get anything past the lump
of tears that were very firmly lodged in her throat.

“Well, I don’t
know about everyone else but I am going to go home,” Harry sighed,
and glanced hesitantly at Jonathan. “Unless you are going to keep
us here all night?”

“Wait a
minute!” One man called from the back of the room. He stood up and
hesitated nervously when everyone turned to look at him. “I don’t
know about everyone else but I think we all deserve to have a share
in the cargo on the beach. We struggled to get that stuff to the
shore. Why should we sit back and allow an unnamed smuggler to have
it all?”

“Because I want
to stay out of jail,” Harry snapped and turned to glare at the man
with his hands on his hips. “We have been given the opportunity to
stay out of jail and rid this village of Harrison once and for all.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I think we should take the
chance that Jonathan has given us. If we don’t accept any more
cargo, we don’t need to worry when the Excise come knocking on our
doors.”

“But you had
decided to quit anyway, Harry. You and Kat had already said you had
no intention of smuggling anymore. You have nothing to lose if we
leave the goods there. We do. We have purchases ready to buy them,”
the man argued.

“Yes, but you
are free. You will be no good to your wife or children if you are
behind bars. It is time to call it a day.”

Jonathan barely
heard the argument that broke out. His gaze was firmly locked on
Kat, who remained perfectly still. She had decided to quit? Was
tonight her last operation? He glanced back at Harry who watched
Kat closely.

“You had
already decided to quit?”

“Aye,” Harry
nodded. “Kat had enough weeks ago, but we persuaded her to carry on
once Andrew Ransley was arrested. Then wanted to quit again only
for Mr Barnaby to die. We desperately needed her help.”

“Will you lot
shut up?
” Norman bellowed. He glared at everyone until they
quietened down. Once silence had settled over them once more, he
turned toward the group. “There isn’t any choice,” he announced
flatly. “I don’t know about you lot but I am too blasted old to go
to jail. We have got this far but now it is time to call it a day.
These men are going to send us to jail if we don’t co-operate. We
are going to have to quit at some point. This cannot carry on
forever; we all know that. The money we have made has been great,
but it isn’t worth dying for, or spending the rest of our lives in
jail. We have families, children and people who rely on us to be
there in the morning. We will be no use to anyone in jail, and that
is where we will be headed. I am not going to be dragged into
smuggling Frenchmen into the blasted country. I do draw the line at
that.” He turned back toward Jonathan. “I think it is safe to say
that Kat, Harry, and I are all in,” he announced and stood shoulder
to shoulder with Harry, who nodded emphatically.

“Me too,”
someone else cried. He stepped forward to stand behind Norman.

“Count me
in.”

The calls went
on until everyone agreed to join in.

“We will leave
the cargo on the beach. Do you want us to bring it further onto the
shore so the sea doesn’t take it?”

“No, leave the
stuff where it is. As long as you all promise to stop then everyone
is free to go. I warn you again though, I do not expect to see or
hear of any of you being involved with smuggling again. There are
other gangs up and down the coast, and they will be brought to a
stop as well. Anyone smuggling around these parts from this moment
on will meet with the full weight of justice. Is that clear?”

There were
murmurings as people reluctantly agreed. Although some of them
really did need the money, they weren’t prepared to risk jail or
death to put an extra loaf of bread on the table. The luxuries of
tea and sugar they could do without, as long as they were at home
to break bread with their families.

They all
shuffled out of the door. Kat seemed to snap out of her daze and
stood. Her world rocked at the look of cool aloofness on Jonathan’s
face. She knew that she deserved his anger, and wished that he
would simply shout at her and get it over with. She hated the icy
indifference. Still, there was little she could do about it
now.

As she quietly
made her way out of the tavern, a part of her waited for him to
call her back and demand answers, or at least tell her off, but she
left nothing but silence in her wake.

“Are you going
after her?” Simon asked as he studied the worry on his friend’s
face.

“I have never
seen her like that. It is as though the fight as gone out of her,”
Harry added with a scowl at the door.

“No, I am not
going after her. She needs to get some rest tonight, especially
after her close call. I will go and see her tomorrow.”

Jonathan
watched her move past the window and wondered if he should at least
escort her home, but then decided against it. There were enough
Star Elite on watch over the village to ensure that she would get
home safely. He had to focus on his job and get the cargo dealt
with before he could consider his future.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Kat was
oblivious to the icy winds that pierced her wet clothes as she made
her way home. She never noticed that lights shone in several
windows as she passed. Every sense, every thought, every fibre of
her being was locked firmly on the man she had left behind in the
tavern.

Although she
was vastly relieved that she was not about to be taken off to jail,
she was bereft at the knowledge that she had lost Jonathan’s
respect. A small part of her reminded her that there was nothing
between them. He had made no attempt to further their association
beyond a few kisses. He had not pressed for more, nor had he made
her any promises. She had no real reason to feel as devastated as
she did.

Her heart was a
heavy weight in her chest and felt as numb as her frozen toes.
Tears pooled on her lashes and she sniffed against the urge to let
them fall. She only had a few feet to go until she reached home.
Once in the safety of her bed, she could give in to the misery that
consumed her.

She had known
that smuggling was highly illegal, but she had never before been
made to feel like a criminal the way that she had tonight, and she
hated it. Especially now that Jonathan knew she had lied to him.
She doubted he would ever want to speak to her again, and couldn’t
entirely blame him.

She sucked in a
huge breath and blinked rapidly as she tried to quell the fierce
ache in her chest. A huge lump formed in her throat and she gasped
against the urge to allow the sob to break free. Tears blurred her
vision. If they hadn’t, she would have seen who was waiting for
her.

“Well, well,
well. Lookee what we have here.” Brian’s voice broke the silence of
the night. Kat slammed to a halt and stared at the three familiar
faces that blocked the last few feet to her front door. She was so
close that another minute would have ensure she was safely locked
inside. She cursed her own stupidity for not asking for an escort
home.

“Go to hell,
Brian.” Kat’s voice was cold and hard, and had a hint of bored
disinterest that brought a sudden flash of anger to the young man’s
arrogant eyes.

“I think that
we have a bit of unfinished business.”

Kat snorted and
stared at the thick bandages wrapped around Colin’s wrists. She
shook her head at him and wondered if he really was stupid enough
to try to grab a hold of her again.

“Our business
is concluded, Brian. Jonathan has already told you to stay away
from me.”

“Jonathan, now,
is it?” Brian snorted. His small beady eyes ran over her
slowly.

“Yes, it is
Jonathan, and you should know that he is going to come after your
worthless hide, Brian Meldrew when he finds out that you have been
harassing me again. There is nowhere you can hide where you will be
safe. You have no idea who he is, and what he is really capable
of.”

Kat wondered if
she should tell him about Jonathan’s real job, but then decided
against providing Brian with a challenge and kept her mouth shut.
She shivered as another strong gust of wind slithered over her skin
and rippled it with goose bumps.

“Are you going
to move aside? Or do I have to scream my head off?” Kat waved to
the lit houses behind her. “People are still up and about, and will
come to investigate.”

“Do you think
that bothers us?” Brian snarled. “You would do well to keep your
mouth shut, and come with us.”

“I am going
nowhere with you,” Kat snapped with a haughty shake of her head.
She knew that she could deal with Colin with relative ease, but
Brian and Robert would be an entirely different matter. She briefly
wondered where Wally was, but didn’t really care as long as he
wasn’t beside Brian.

She glanced at
her front door and judged the distance. It wouldn’t take too much
effort to get there, if only she could skirt around all three of
the men, but she knew that they would capture her before she even
got to the door, let alone fumbled with the latch to get the door
open. The only alternative was to run back down to the harbour.

Her thoughts
immediately turned to Jonathan, who was still down at the tavern.
If she screamed and ran, and continued to scream all the way there,
he would undoubtedly come out to check what all the fuss was about.
She could only hope and pray that he hadn’t gone down to the beach.
With how ferocious the winds were tonight, it was highly unlikely
he would be able to hear her. She cast a mental prayer heavenward
and spun on her heel.

Her feet
pounded on the rough cobbles as she raced downward. Her body was
propelled by the steepness of the hill and she struggled to keep up
with the momentum. The wind snatched her breath from her body and
made it impossible to scream. It was difficult enough even to
breathe. Her eyes were locked firmly on the roof of the tavern as
she ran for her life. It seemed so very far away that she wasn’t
sure she could make it. Despite the winds, she could hear the
pounding of feet behind her as all three of them gave chase.