“I need your advice, Harry,” Kat mumbled later that night. She had to keep her voice down. There were very few patrons in tonight, possibly due to the fact that a strong storm had blown in and almost everyone, except for a few hardy drinkers, had chosen to remain at home.
“What’s that?” Norman leaned forward to listen.
Kat glanced at Norman, Harry and Charles, the three elderly locals she knew she could trust. She explained the incident in the field with Brian and his friends, and Brian’s ominous threat. When she had explained about Jonathan’s insistence that he offer his protection on the way home after her shift, she paused and waited for her friends’ opinion. She watched them glance at each other carefully for a moment while they absorbed what she had told them and wondered if she should just go and serve, when Charles sighed.
“Well, I think you have a bit of a problem on your hands there girl, and that’s a fact.”
Kat fought the urge to roll her eyes. Talk about stating the obvious, she sighed to herself.
“At least if he does escort you home then he isn’t going to be around to see what we are doing,” Norman replied reasonably.
Harry lifted his brows and looked askance at Kat. “Unfortunately though, you will be at home when you need to be here, so will have to make two journeys on your own.”
“Down on the beach there are enough of us to make sure that you are looked after. We all know what Brian is like. He won’t get near you with us about, don’t you fear.”
“Shh.” They all cast furtive glances around the empty tap room before they put their heads together again.
“We can all help her get the goods home. At least then she will be with us all the time.”
“What about the lord though? We cannot risk him staying in the area once he has dropped her off.”
Silence settled for a moment while they all thought.
“Course, she could always allow him to take her home and stay there herself. We can drop her cargo off when we take our own deliveries home. We have to take Hester’s and Pete’s. We can drop Kat’s off at the same time.”
Kat wasn’t sure whether she liked that idea or not. If there was a spy in the village who was reporting to Harrison, she didn’t want a band of smugglers turning up on her doorstep with boxes of cargo. By herself, she was just making trips backward and forward from work. There were numerous excuses she could make: taking laundry home perhaps, or checking on her family while she was at work. Unfortunately, having to explain the presence of a gang of smugglers carrying boxes into her house would take some inventiveness even she wasn’t sure she could manage with any degree of conviction.
She sighed and wondered how long she would have to live with this arrangement. If luck was on her side, Jonathan would soon get bored with village life, as he usually did, and head back to the bright lights of London. Then life in the village of Bentney on Sea could return to normal.
A small voice warned her that it was impossible now. She had gotten too close to him. This time, although he had only been back a few days, they had spoken more than ever before. She had seen him more than ever before and couldn’t understand what had brought about this change in circumstances. He had never really shown any interest in anything that had gone on in the village before, so why now? She wondered if he had heard rumours about the smuggling and was intent on checking out for himself what was going on. She sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case, and hoped instead that he had found himself a bit bored for something to do while on his brief visit home.
“I think that you have to allow him to take you home and let us bring the stuff to you. I can store it here overnight and deliver it to you in the morning,” Harry offered.
“Harrison always turns up though,” Kat countered. “It is as if he knows when it is due to arrive, and starts to look for it before we can store it.”
“I know,” Norman grumbled. “That man knows something and that’s a fact.”
“Do you think there is a traitor in the village?”
“I am certain of it,” Charles joined the conversation for the first time. “You cannot discount the fact the usually absent lord of this parish has turned up at the same time that Harrison has started to step up his searches.”
“They aren’t working together,” Kat gasped. She refused to believe someone like Jonathan even spoke to someone like Harrison. “I don’t believe it.”
“Your young man is a friend of that magistrate, Harper-Smythe. They had dinner together recently I heard.”
“Where do you get your gossip from?” Norman sighed. He rolled his eyes and wondered if Charles still visited that cook’s assistant, Gertie.
“I am not going to tell you,” Charles snapped, “It is just that Kat’s man –”
“He isn’t my man,” Kat interjected.
Charles merely looked back at her obliquely until Kat rolled her eyes.
“He is friends with the magistrate. He has friends in high places and that’s a fact. You cannot ignore the fact that he could be working with Harrison, and they could be friends.”
“Jonathan is completely opposite to Harrison. They are the least likely men ever to be friends in the entire county of Cornwall.” Kat ignored their raised brows at her familiar use of Jonathan’s first name.
“I am not saying they are,” Charles argued. “But it is damned odd, you have to admit.”
“Keep him out of the way,” Harry warned. “We can go about our business. The man wants to walk you home. What harm can it do? At least when he has dropped you off at home, he can then go back to Dentham Hall, and is far away from the village.”
“What does he want with Kat though?”
“Well, she is pretty,” Harry remarked dryly. “What man wouldn’t want her?”
“Wait a minute?” Kat snapped. “I am not going to be offered up as a human sacrifice to any man.” She stared down at each man in turn and glared when Harry sniggered.
“You lot are reprehensible,” she growled with a scowl. “If only your wives could hear you now, you would all be sleeping out in the back alleys where you belong.”
“An ale please.”
Kat gasped and turned to Jonathan’s now familiar face. She threw one last contemptuous glare at the older men and turned her back on them, aware that Harry’s shoulders still shook, and Norman’s smirk was carefully hidden behind his tankard.
“Are these reprobates bothering you?” He drawled and smiled at the flashing fury in Kat’s eyes. Together with the angry blush that stained her cheeks, she looked as ferocious as a kitten and he couldn’t help but wonder where this delightfully passionate woman had come from. She looked as though she was going to lunge across the bar and scratch his eyes out. He studied her with a wary respect at the same time that he threw the elder men a studying look. They had been teasing her mercilessly if he was any judge of character, and Kat was as annoyed as she was amused by it.
“They are always bothering me,” Kat drawled. “They breathe, that’s enough.” She threw a dark scowl and the remark in their direction, and handed Jonathan his ale.
“It’s quiet tonight, Kat, why don’t you head home?”
Kat stared blankly at the wall for a moment and slowly turned to Harry, who still battled to keep his smirk under control.
“Oh, I take it that I am still going to get paid despite being let off early?” She smirked back when Harry hesitated and stared at her nonplussed for a moment.
“Erm.”
“Well, thank you, that is very generous of you, boss,” Kat snapped. She left the bar and snatched up her shawl. “I will see you tomorrow,” she nodded to Jonathan who tossed a coin on the bar. He hadn’t touched his brew but didn’t mind one bit. Being able to witness the interplay between them was a privilege. It gave him an insight into who Kat really was, and how much respect she had from the locals. It warmed him to know that the almost paternal teasing was a result of a deep rooted respect and admiration of the young woman and that, coming from the older generation, was not an easy fete in such a small, close-knit community.
He held the door and waved Kat out before him. They were immediately swept up in the strong winds that buffeted the harbour. Kat shivered and glanced at the boats as they bobbed about on the storm tossed sea.
“I hope it dies down by morning, or the fishermen are going to have a rough ride.”
“They are used to it,” Jonathan replied and lengthened his stride to keep up with her. The first smattering of rain drops began to fall around them as they made their way up the narrow, cobbled streets toward the small house in which Kat lived. It really was a quaint little village that was full to bursting with families, both young and old alike.
Unlike some of the villages he had been to over the past few years, this one had an age-old air of mystery around it that he had grown familiar with but never questioned before. It was something that had drawn him back again and again. Other villages had the same atmosphere about them, as though if you looked into a dimly lit window you would see a familiar face looking back at you. However, unlike other villages this one felt safe, as though you could walk around with a pocket full of gold coins and still reach home safely. He had kept in regular contact with Harper Hamilton-Smythe to know that there was very little illegal activity in the village. There had been no reported crime for at least two years which, given the current financial climate, was extremely rare. Most people struggled financially, and it was habitual for the odd sheep or two to disappear one dark and lonely night, however in Bentney on Sea, there didn’t even appear to be even sheep stealing going on. He couldn’t help but wonder why.
Once again, he wondered whether he was looking for ghosts where there were none. He glanced down at the lady at his side and held out an elbow almost hopefully, and was pleasantly surprised when she took it. He used the contact to draw her infinitesimally closer while they hurried up the hill toward home.
“You know in all of my years of living here, I have never been able to get used to these steep streets,” he growled when a particularly strong gust of wind snuck up his back and made him shiver.
Kat threw him an amused glance. “Well, you don’t come here very often. Maybe you are not as fit as you think you are.”
His brows rose and he grinned openly at her. “I can out-run you any day,” he challenged, his voice dipping low.
“Ha! You are an urban gentleman. I bet the last time you ran anywhere, you were chasing your newspaper,” she snorted and cast him a disparaging glance.
“The last time I ran, I was the one being chased.” His low drawl made her stop and, despite the inclement weather, she turned to stare at him, seemingly oblivious to the driving wind and persistent rain.
Jonathan had never seen anyone so beautiful. Tiny curls had started to spring free from their tight confinement and now lay teasingly against her high cheekbones and delicate curve of her jaw. He ached to sweep them away along with the rainwater that trickled slowly down her smooth, alabaster cheeks.
“You were being chased?” Personally she couldn’t believe that anyone would be so stupid as to chase after Jonathan, unless it was an angry husband or a particularly persistent female.
“I was.” Jonathan dipped his head in rueful acknowledgement. “I was also being shot at, if I recall.” He frowned into the distance for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Her nervous shuffle drew him back to the present and he realised that while he was reminiscing, she was getting soaked.
“By who?” The words were out before she could stop them. She made no objection when he began to walk again, this time more slowly.
“There is more to my life than you realise, Kat. I am not some dandy who spends his days living in London, with nothing to do but while away the hours frittering money away.” He wanted to say more, but his attention was captured a furtive movement further up the hill to their right. He knew immediately who it was, and felt his hackles rise.
“Just do one thing for me?”
Kat turned to look at him, aware of the shift in his voice. She wondered if he had revealed more than he had wanted to and now regretted his transgression because his face seemed implacable.
“If anything happens when we are walking you home, I want you to run for home, or the inn, whichever is closer, and stay there until I come to fetch you.” He had more than enough years’ experience to be confident in being able to deal effectively with four amateurish young country bumpkins, especially when Kat’s safety is at risk.
“What have you seen?”
She knew from the careful way he looked at her that he wasn’t going to deny he had seen anything, and for that she was grateful.
“Up to the right, I think your friend, and most probably his cohorts, are watching us,” he murmured. He gave in to temptation and touched one of the curls bobbing around her face. When she tried to turn around to look behind her, he placed a finger beneath her chin. His movement effectively kept her gaze locked on him. He took advantage of their close proximity and dipped his head low until his lips drew close to her ear. His voice dropped to a husky rumble. “If I tell you to run, that’s exactly what I want you to do.”
Her eyes closed as a shiver of awareness swept through her. She couldn’t remember anyone’s presence having this much of an effect on her. He didn’t even need to touch her, yet she found it difficult to breathe, much less think about anything other than his wonderfully reassuring presence before her. She made no objection when he placed his hands on her waist and drew her physically closer.
The mixture of cold air and his warm breath made her shiver with awareness, and she closed her eyes in a desperate attempt to battle with the white hot sensations that coursed through her. She began to tremble and hoped that he couldn’t feel it. Everything within her froze; locked in that moment in time when she stood so close to the man who had haunted her dreams for as long as she could remember.
“Kat,” Jonathan’s voice dropped even further, to a deep growl, but did little to penetrate the haze of desire that muddled her thoughts. “God help me,” he whispered. His warm breath fanned her cheek as he eased back enough to capture her lips with his. It wasn’t a deep kiss, or a particularly long one. It was more of a ritual branding. A warm pressure of his mouth seared her right down to her very soul. She could do little to break away, or find voice for any objection. Instead she stood perfectly still and allowed him to press his lips to hers. He didn’t draw her any closer and, after a few moments, slowly eased away.
Their eyes met and held for several moments. He made no attempt to apologise. He took a few moments to try to control the raging need that surged through him. The urge to sweep her into his arms for a deeper and much longer kiss was so strong that he had to step away to stop himself reaching for her for a second time.
The soft scuff of footfall snapped them both out of the haze of desire that hung over them and they slowly eased apart. There was nobody around, so Jonathan could only assume that the movement had come from Brian.
He hoped that the boy had gotten a good look and understood that Kat wasn’t a single, helpless female. By the time he had paid the boy a quick visit, the threat to Kat and her family would have moved far away. If not, then Jonathan would make a swift return and ensure that all of the boys knew he would protect what he considered to be his.
“Let’s get you home before we both drown,” he whispered. He drew her closer to his side and he escorted her up the hill. He hated the fact that she was so quiet. Did she not want to talk to him? To ask him what his intentions were? Was she so angry that she couldn’t find words to tell him off for the liberty he had taken? He took a quick glance at her face but could detect nothing on her face that was alarming. Instead, she seemed to be busy scouring the area around them as they walked, clearly on the lookout for Brian and his friends. It irked him a little that she was so unfazed by their kiss. He was shaken to the core. She had seemingly forgotten it had ever happened.
“I won’t let them hurt you, you know,” Jonathan growled and cast a dark glance at the alleyway as he passed. He almost wished the boy would make an appearance but then immediately dismissed the idea. One thing he had learned from his work with the Star Elite was that it was sometimes better to bide your time and strike an opponent when they least expected it.
“I don’t know why they have suddenly decided to target me,” Kat whispered. She hated the feelings that coursed through her. Wild hope surged with crushing disappointment as her emotions battled with logic. She knew that Jonathan was not likely to stay in the area, but couldn’t understand why he had decided to pay her so much attention. It was as disconcerting as it was trilling. What did he want? Was he expecting her to be his local dalliance? Did he want someone to warm his bed when he happened to drop by Bentney on Sea in the future?
Her thoughts turned toward the smuggling and his questions. Did he expect to befriend her in the hope that she would tell him what he wanted to know? That prospect seemed considerably more likely, and she struggled to control the bitter disappointment that began to well at the thought that he could be so coldly calculating. Still, she owed it to herself to not allow him to kiss her again. If only his kiss hadn’t stirred the strange warmth deep inside her, she would have had a better chance at keeping him at arm’s length. Right now, if she didn’t get him out of her front room and on his way home, she would most probably allow him to kiss her again.
“I wouldn’t worry about it Kat. They are not going to cause you any trouble. I have alerted my friend, Harper, as to their behaviour and he has men at the ready in case they approach you again. I intend to have a word with them first thing in the morning.”
He had followed her into the front room and now stood, seemingly oblivious to the rain that dripped steadily off him onto the wooden floor.
“Would you like a drink or something?”
She found herself hoping that he was going to kiss her again, yet wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when he remained by the door instead.
“No, I had better go before I catch influenza,” he replied wryly, and glanced down at his sodden clothing with wry amusement.
“Thank you,” she offered when he had stepped outside the door and turned to glance back at her.
“Will you be coming to read to uncle tomorrow?”
“If he is feeling up to it,” Kat offered. “I enjoy it.”
“So does he.” Jonathan smiled. He placed a hand on the door and stepped forward to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Lock the door behind me, Kat.” He stroked one blunt finger down her smooth cheek and smiled gently. “Goodnight.”
Kat stared at the empty space he left for a moment only to jump when he reappeared suddenly and smiled at her almost chidingly. She looked nonplussed at him, as though she couldn’t figure out why he was there at all.
“Lock the door,” he growled, fully aware as to the reason why she was so shaken. It soothed his ego considerably to know that she wasn’t as unaffected as he had first thought.
Kat seemed to snap out of her trance and nodded jerkily. He stepped away but turned back to look at her. She had moved closer and stood with one hand on the latch. She glanced at him and was close enough for him to drop another quick kiss on her other cheek.
“Go,” she ordered and tried valiantly to ignore the flush of pleasure that swept over her cheeks.
“Goodnight, Kat,” Jonathan chirruped, and strode down the street with ground eating strides. He paused after several feet and glanced back, pleased that she had done as he had told her and closed the door.
He studied the road before him for a moment. He could turn left, go down back toward the harbour and speak to Brian, or he could go right and head home. With a sigh, he glanced up at the night sky and closed his eyes against the raindrops that tickled his lashes.
“Right it is,” he growled. He tugged the collar of his jacket up to his ears and set off home. Brian could wait until tomorrow. For tonight, Kat was safely tucked away at home and, if he had his way, that home would soon be Dentham Hall.
Kat quietly closed the door and turned to face the room. Her mother had left a candle burning on the hearth. Kat paused long enough to check the locks on the doors and secure the shutters before she took the candle upstairs to bed. Once there, she snuggled beneath the covers and listened to the winds rattling the window panes. A part of her felt slightly sorry for Jonathan still outside undoubtedly getting drenched.
She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Sleep was eluding her tonight. If only she could close out the handsome visage of a certain gentleman who didn’t seem willing to leave her mind, then she may be able to catch a few winks before sunrise.
He really was extraordinarily gorgeous. If only he was a bit more stable and lower class, then she could quite easily consider a future with him. Unfortunately, he was gentry, and upper gentry at that. They were worlds apart. She knew it was folly to allow him to even kiss her, but there was nothing wrong with the peck on the cheek he had given her – well, twice. He hadn’t pressed for more, and she hadn’t stopped him. That didn’t mean that it had to go any further that the brief, yet heated kiss he had bestowed upon her out on the street.
Still, she couldn’t help but go back to the fact that he had only recently returned from an extended stay in London. Given his past record, it was inevitable that he would head back there any day now, and she wasn’t sure whether she was going to be sorry or not.
Of course you are going to be sorry, she sighed to herself. She hated to admit it, but Jonathan Arbinger had more of a command on her heart than she cared to acknowledge.
Her thoughts turned to marriage. Was she going to consider getting married one day? She wasn’t sure. There were certainly not many suitable candidates in the village, if any, really. Most of the men around her age were either off fighting for king and country, or were down and out wastrels like Brian Meldrew and his cohorts. She would rather end up a miserly old spinster than marry any of that lot.
Jonathan was the only man within miles who had ever brought forth feelings in her like the ones she had experienced tonight, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. They were as intriguing as they were frightening. A large part of her didn’t want anyone to have this affect on her. Nobody ever had before so, given what she knew about Jonathan, why was she even thinking about him now? Was it because he had been the only man ever to kiss her? Or was it because he was tall, roguishly handsome, intriguing, dangerous, and more than a little bit charming?
She hugged her pillow tightly as she closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. Whatever the future held, she knew that it was going to be best for everyone if she didn’t allow him close enough to kiss her again.
If only she would remember that in the morning.