‘Steady, Lady Fenton. You are safe. Stop struggling or I’ll drop you. We need to get you away from the barn.’
Pain racked Kitty’s chest, her lungs burning and throat burning as she was seized by another bout of coughing. That surge of energy had drained away, leaving her limp and close to tears. Mr Trewin carried her from the yard and then lowered her to a grass verge, a rough stone wall at her back. In front of her was the track that led to that abandoned cottage and on that track stood a carriage. Fear flooded her. They’d come back to make sure Adam was dead.
‘Where’s Adam?’
‘Safe. Tolly has him.’
‘But you…’
She put her hand to her chest, pressing, incapable of more words. Her breathing was shallow and fast, but she willed herself not to pass out. Not until she knew for certain Adam was safe. Mr Trewin went to the carriage and rummaged about inside, emerging with a water canteen such as soldiers carry.
‘Here. Drink this.’ Mr Trewin held the flask to her lips. ‘Lucky I always carry water,’ he said. ‘A result of all my years on campaign…water can mean the difference between life and death.’
Water had never tasted so sweet. Kitty gulped it and promptly brought it back up.
‘Sorry.’
‘Do not worry about it. Just sip this time.’
She did.
‘Better?’
She nodded.
‘Shout if you need anything. I’ll not be long.’
Mr Trewin stood up and walked away. Kitty grabbed the opportunity to look around. She could see Adam, lying on the ground, through the legs of men clustered around him. She frowned. Where had they come from? What was Grenville Trewin doing here? He was supposed to be in London, as was Tolly, who she could see barking orders at men who had formed a line between the barn and a well. She ought to object…she ought to warn somebody that Mr Trewin had tried to kill Adam…she ought to…
Her roving gaze stilled at the carriage that Grenville Trewin had, without doubt, arrived in, as it had the Kelridge crest upon the door. It looked…big. Her eyes travelled slowly to the horses. Four, not two. Black, not brown.
Tears welled again, this time of relief.
* * *
This time, when Adam woke up, his brain felt…clearer. More normal. He was able to string thoughts together to make some sense. He was only vaguely aware of other times he had surfaced…people tending to him. Urging him to drink. His eyelids so heavy…
But, this time…his thoughts froze. Kitty. His nightmare…she had been there right alongside him. Burning…
Gritting his teeth, he levered himself up on his elbows.
‘Adam.’
She was there, cool hand on his forehead. Smiling. He flopped back to his pillow, and pain shafted through him. He raised his hand to his head and fingered the bandages. His eyes sought hers. Grey. Brimming with love. That hope he’d felt when he rode to meet her…
‘Masked,’ he muttered.
‘Don’t worry about that now. It is all under control. Your uncle—’
‘Not uncle. Voices…’
‘No, it was not your uncle,’ she soothed. ‘But he has everything under control. We’ll talk about it when you feel a bit better. Sleep for now.’
She brushed his forehead with warm, soft lips and Adam closed his eyes, calmed by her presence. Her words echoed in his memory: I love you. I cannot bear to lose you again. He forced one eye open and sought her beloved face.
‘D’ye really love me?’
Cool fingers caressed his cheek. ‘I do.’
Now he could sleep.
* * *
Kitty was still there when he woke again. She helped him to sit up and to drink some water.
‘There is someone to see you,’ she said and Adam’s gaze moved past her to the end of the bed.
‘Tolly.’ His voice still rasped in his throat and he sipped more water. ‘You here?’
Tolly moved around the bed, to the opposite side from Kitty.
‘I am,’ he said. ‘And happy you are on the way to recovery.’
Adam frowned as hazy images jostled each other in his head, his recollection of the day before still muddled. He only had a vague memory of what happened after a masked man had tackled him from his horse and he’d been knocked out by a blow to the head. But he did remember Kitty’s sweet voice in his ear telling him she loved him and threatening to stay there and burn with him if he did not help her get him out of the barn. And his own pathetic efforts to help—pushing with legs as weak as a baby’s.
Horror filled him at what she had risked. For him. He reached out, groping for her hand, and gripped it when she put it in his.
‘Ye put yourself in danger, Kitty. Ye saved me. How can I ever thank ye?’
Kitty shook her head as she perched on the edge of the mattress. ‘It was Tolly who saved you, not I. He saved us both.’
‘You are far too modest, my lady,’ said Tolly. ‘Adam…believe me when I say that without Lady Fenton, you would not be here now. Had you been further from the door when we arrived, we would not have had time to get either of you out. She’d managed to coax you to move until you were both right by the door, even though you were barely conscious. My father grabbed Her Ladyship and I managed to drag you clear just before the roof collapsed.’
Adam raised Kitty’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her soft, sweet-smelling skin. ‘Thank ye.’ Her warm smile enveloped him. He tore his gaze from hers to focus on Tolly. ‘How did you and my uncle come to be at the barn? I thought you were gone to Brighton.’
‘We hadn’t left London when we heard the news you’d been shot.’ Tolly looked grim. ‘Father worried one of us might be thought responsible, so we came straight home.’
‘Who told you about the shooting?’
‘It was Lord Datchworth,’ Kitty said. ‘You haven’t met him, of course, but he is Lady Datchworth’s son.’
‘And how did Datchworth know?’
Kitty huffed a laugh. ‘Robert did, if you remember. He met Lord Datchworth on the London road after making his enquiries at the tollgates.’
‘Ah. Yes. That.’ Adam felt his face burn. ‘Sorry, Tolly…but we had to be sure it couldn’t be either my uncle or you.’
Tolly shrugged. ‘I’d have done the same. We were the most likely suspects, I can see that.’
‘Anyway,’ Kitty continued, ‘Robert asked His Lordship if he’d noticed any increase in poaching and told him about you being shot so, when he met Tolly in town, he told him.’
‘And we headed for home right away,’ Tolly said. ‘And, as we passed the cottage, we saw the smoke. We might not have thought much of it, but I’d noticed a horse tethered to a gate we’d just passed and so we decided to investigate. And, of course, as the smoke rose higher, it was visible from the village, so other helpers soon arrived.’
‘And ye got us both out in time.’ This time, Adam reached for Tolly’s hand and gripped it. Hard. ‘I canna thank you enough. You and my uncle.’
‘Nor I,’ said Kitty.
‘So…did ye find out who attacked me? And why?’
‘Oh, yes. We found out almost immediately,’ said Tolly. ‘It was Carter and Eddings.’
Adam sat bolt upright. ‘Carter? The steward?’
‘Yep. And we caught them red-handed, thanks to Lady Fenton here,’ said Tolly. ‘If she hadn’t remembered the details of the carriage, and the pair that drew it, I’m not sure we’d have found the evidence we needed to implicate them.’
‘I was petrified when your uncle carried me out of the barn,’ Kitty said, ‘and I was convinced that he and Tolly were the masked men I’d seen for, otherwise, why were they there when they were meant to be in London? And they had a carriage…but when I calmed down a little, I realised the carriage was bigger than the one I’d seen earlier, and it was drawn by a team, not a pair. So, I soon realised your uncle and Tolly hadn’t been involved and so I told them all I knew. Your uncle suspected right away that the brown pair of horses I’d seen were Kelridge horses.’
‘We went to the stables immediately,’ Tolly continued, ‘and sure enough, there were the horses, which had clearly been worked. One of the grooms confirmed that Carter and Eddings had taken the small carriage out and had only recently returned.’
Adam shook his head, aghast to discover Carter’s villainy. ‘Where does Eddings fit in?’
‘He is the brother of Carter’s wife,’ said Tolly. ‘It transpires that Carter has been stealing from the estate for years by falsifying the accounts. The abduction was a last desperate attempt to stop you uncovering the truth. All three of them have been benefitting from the extra money Carter swindled and Eddings helped by reporting livestock deaths and thefts that never actually happened. Father is mortified he never noticed what was going on and that he allowed Carter such freedom in keeping the estate books. He thought he could trust him.’
‘I had found some irregularities in the record books,’ said Adam, ‘but I had not even begun to imagine that anyone was deliberately falsifying the entries. Poor Uncle Grenville. But I can hardly blame him…he really does have no head for figures. At first, I thought he was deliberately trying to confuse me when he answered my questions so inconsistently, but I believe he genuinely does mix numbers up. No wonder he left the bookkeeping to Carter.’
‘That is true,’ Tolly said. ‘He has always been the same…absolutely no head for numbers. But he does have his uses…he was so furious about all this that he…er…persuaded Carter to admit to everything before the constable came to arrest him.’
‘Yes,’ said Kitty. ‘He admitted it was he who shot at you that day at Fenton Hall. He had ridden over to deliver Tolly’s letter—choosing to do so himself in case he saw an opportunity to kill you…’ her voice hitched and she swallowed before continuing ‘…and then, when his shot failed, he returned to Kelridge Place, taking the letter with him, knowing you might be suspicious if he turned up that same afternoon.’
‘So…’ Adam frowned. ‘Was that story about the poachers and the three sheep even true?’
‘No. He concocted it to divert us all from believing someone was targeting you. And he succeeded.’ Kitty stroked Adam’s hand.
‘He got the idea of killing you after your horse threw you when you first arrived at Kelridge Place,’ said Tolly.
‘So that incident was not down to him?’
‘No.’
Adam shook his head again. ‘Well, at least they are safely locked up now and can do no more harm. I guess I shall have to start looking for a new steward.’
‘Not right away, though, Coz,’ said Tolly. ‘You look done in. I’ll leave you in peace.’
He squeezed Adam’s shoulder and left the room. Adam leaned his head back and closed his eyes. What a sorry tale… He forced his eyes open and looked at Kitty, clad in a soft green gown, drinking in her lush curves and her beautiful face with her clear grey eyes and pink, full lips. How he loved her…
‘Here,’ she whispered, ‘allow me to help you lie down.’
With her help he wriggled down into the bed. She adjusted his pillows and pulled the covers up as exhaustion rolled over him and his eyelids drooped.
‘Kitty…we need to talk…’ It took great effort to get his words out.
‘Hush.’ Kitty soothed his forehead. ‘Sleep now. I will still be here when you wake and we will talk then.’
* * *
The next time Adam roused it was morning and she was still there, in the chair by his bed, her eyes closed, her long dark lashes a crescent on her cheeks. Her chest rose and fell gently as she breathed peacefully. He watched her silently, all the while taking stock of how he felt after his ordeal. He was pleased to find his headache had all but gone, his throat no longer felt scratchy when he swallowed and his mind felt as sharp as before.
Adam’s heart swelled with contentment. All was right with his world.
Well. Nearly all.
‘Kitty.’
Her eyes snapped open, as though she had not been sleeping, merely resting. She reached out to feel his forehead and smiled. A smile so full of love his pulse raced and his spirits dance with joy.
‘How do you feel?’
‘I feel fine.’ He pushed himself into a sitting position and began to swing his legs from the bed.
‘No.’ Kitty grabbed his shoulders, preventing him from rising. ‘You must not…the doctor said you must rest.’
But Adam was in no mood for more sleep.
‘I wish tae get up. I have been confined to this bed for days,’ he grumbled.
Kitty shook her head. ‘You have not. You are exaggerating. The fire was just two days ago, and it is only ten o’clock in the morning now.’
Adam scowled. ‘We need to talk, Kitty, and it is not a talk I wish to have while lying in bed. I want tae get up and I want tae get dressed. I have waited two days to hear why you refused me and I willna wait any longer.’
He recalled all too clearly his stomach roiling with a mix of conflicting emotions as he rode to meet her: doubts and hopes; fear and joy. She’d told him in the barn, time after time, that she loved him, but did that mean their problems were resolved and that she would agree to marry him?
‘I need to understand, Kitty. I need to know. I cannae rest with these vexatious questions nipping at me.’
She bit into her bottom lip, and desire surged through him. That decided him—if he was well enough to want to drag her into the bed and kiss her senseless, he was damned well fit enough to get dressed and sit in a chair to talk. He threw back the bedcovers.
‘Ye have two choices, Kitty, my love. Ye can wait there and watch me while I wash and dress myself, or ye can ring the bell for Corbett to come and help me and then ye can wait downstairs.’
Wordlessly, Kitty went to pull the bell. ‘I shall await you in the drawing room.’ She stuck her nose in the air—making Adam grin—and then she left the room.
* * *
Corbett—Uncle Grenville’s valet, who had been attending to Adam’s needs while he was confined to bed—had soon appeared and helped Adam with his ablutions before assisting him to dress. By the time Adam was fully clothed he felt more human, and more than ready to discuss their future with Kitty. Apart from a slight tenderness from the bump on his head, he appeared to be suffering no residual effects from the attack.
He went downstairs and to the drawing room where Kitty was sitting, waiting. She watched him through narrowed eyes as he entered the room and crossed to sit in the matching chair to hers.
‘I am not an invalid,’ he said. ‘Ye need not watch my every move.’
‘If you say so,’ Kitty said, with a sweet smile. ‘I ordered a tea tray. Shall I pour you a cup?’
I’d rather something stronger.
He needed fortification, but tea would have to suffice. He could bear no further delays. His gaze grazed over Kitty, finding comfort in her presence as he drank in her creamy skin and her clear grey eyes. Those full, pink lips. The craving to taste them again filled him, but he put it aside for the time.
Kitty had promised him the reason behind her refusal of him and the need to know…the need to understand…overshadowed any number of cravings for a kiss. She had stayed at Kelridge Place since the fire and, as far as Adam was concerned, she could stay for ever. He could not bear for her not to be here, with him, near him. This was where she belonged, but he was aware that if Kitty had refused his offer of marriage despite loving him as she claimed, her reason must be a powerful one. And this would be his best, and possibly only, chance to persuade her to change her mind.
His nerves wound tight and he hauled in a breath.
‘Why did you say no, Kitty?’