Destined to Last (23 page)

Hunter fell into step beside him. “How did it go?”

“She continues to deny having anything to do with what happened today. I have never,
never
been so tempted to strike a woman in my life. Kate could have been killed.” He stopped and turned around toward Kate’s door. “Are we quite sure she wasn’t injured?”

“Not a scratch on her.” Aside from the healing cut on her shoulder. And he was certainly in a position to know. “As far as I could see.”

Whit stared at Kate’s door a moment longer before turning around again to resume their walk. “I’ve informed Miss Willory that she’ll go to the country, and stay there, or I’ll ruin her name and see her family in debtor’s prison.”

“I’ve always known you were a man of sense. You’ll speak with her family in London, I presume?”

“As soon as the mission is over.”

“I’ll come as well.”

Whit threw a glance over his shoulder as they reached his room. “Not your responsibility, Hunter.”

“I’ll come.”

Whit shrugged and opened his door. “Suit yourself. Drink?”

Hunter nodded, waited while Whit poured two glasses, and then took a seat in a chair by the fireplace. “I’ll own myself surprised you’ve not taken a swing at me as yet.”

“A swing?” Whit frowned at him and leaned against the mantel. “What the devil for?”

“It was my mission to keep Kate safe.”

“Saved her from a runaway horse, didn’t you?”

“Should’ve kept her off it to begin with.”

“True enough,” Whit agreed without heat. “But so should have I.” He shook his head. “Neither of us could have possibly known Miss Willory was capable of something like this. I’ve known the girl my whole life. Disliked her for ninety percent of it as well, but I’d never have guessed she was dangerous. Aside from that, your mission is to keep Kate safe from smugglers, not demented young ladies looking to thin out the competition in the marriage mart.”

Because it was in his best interest to be in the good graces of Kate’s brother, and because he didn’t want to dwell on how close Miss Willory had come to being successful in thinning out the competition, Hunter decided to change the subject. “Since you’ve brought up the topic of smugglers, I’ll ask if you learned anything from Lord Martin today.”

Whit shook his head. “Hadn’t time.”

“Well, as it happens, I did. The shipment arrives tonight.”

“Tonight?” Whit straightened from the wall. “You’re certain?”

“I am.”

“And you came by this information how, exactly?”

“Coincidence,” he lied. “I heard him make a comment to another guest.”

“Who?”

“I wasn’t in position to see. I walked along the outside of the house after we spoke this morning, and I overheard the comment through the parlor window, by the time I arrived in the actual room, Lord Martin had just maneuvered his way
into a game of chess with your sister.” It amazed him, sometimes, how proficient he’d become at deceit over the years.

“I assume you put an end to that.”

“Immediately.”

Whit nodded once in approval before taking a sip of his drink. “Well, the information is useful, but we can’t act on it without a location.”

“Smuggler’s Beach would be my guess,” Hunter remarked, a little surprised it hadn’t been Whit’s guess as well.

“Bit obvious, don’t you think?”

“Not for the likes of Lord Martin.”

Whit swirled the brandy in his glass. “The more I speak with him, the more I’m convinced he’s not in charge of this operation.”

“I agree. But with nothing else to go on, Smuggler’s Beach remains our best hope.”

“We’ll not find anything.”

“Are you suggesting we not try?”

“I’m suggesting we think it through,” Whit corrected, just a little testily in Hunter’s opinion. “It might be wiser to trail Martin rather than wait on the beach.”

“Lord Martin isn’t going anywhere. He’s not the sort to help unload crates.”

“He might fancy himself useful in a supervisory role and be present for that. He’s vain enough for it.”

“True. He might also be expecting a shipment at the house.” In fact, given his offer to Kate to deliver an entire barrel of brandy, it was highly likely.

Whit nodded. “Right. I’ll stay here and keep watch for—”

“You expect me to go to the beach on my own?” Hunter asked, raising his brows. He could request Mr. Laury’s assistance, of course, but Whit wasn’t aware of that.

“You’ll not be capturing a whole boat of smugglers,” Whit said defensively. “Just following the goods.”

“Better if there’s two of us.” And better if the second agent
was one Hunter knew from experience would keep his head in the unlikely event things went badly at the beach. He leaned back against the chair and stretched his legs out before him. “If we’re discovered, you can fend off our attackers while I run for reinforcements.”

A corner of Whit’s mouth hooked up. “Why don’t I get to run?”

“Your sense of honor wouldn’t allow it.”

“Neither would yours.”

“It would suffer, it’s true. But someone would need to survive to tell the tale to William. I’m willing to make that sacrifice for crown and country.”

Whit snorted. “Patriotic bastard, aren’t you?”

“I have my moments.” He smiled, feeling calmer for the drink and the banter. “I’ll pay off one of the staff to keep an eye on Lord Martin—fetch us from the beach if he goes anywhere. Shall we leave at say, eleven?”

“Eleven, then,” Whit groused. He scowled at his drink for a moment, then drank the remainder of it in one swallow and set the empty glass on the mantel. “I need to check on Kate.”

With that pronouncement, he turned and strode from the room.

Hunter stared after him. What the devil had gotten into the man? It wasn’t like Whit to suggest they not follow a lead, no matter how unlikely it was they would find anything. In fact, it went against his very nature. Whit was a details sort of man. He checked and rechecked everything. So why would he suggest they not check Smuggler’s Beach?

If Hunter hadn’t been absolutely sure of the man’s uncompromising sense of honor, he’d suspect Whit was hiding something.

He would obtain Kate’s opinion on the matter after dinner, he decided. She knew her brother better than most. He’d have preferred to speak with her now, but after he’d brought
her back to the house, he’d been none too subtly brushed aside by her brother, her sister-in-law, Lizzy, Mrs. Summers, and the dowager Lady Thurston. The last had made him distinctly uncomfortable when she’d grasped his face in her hands and, with her eyes bright with tears, brought his head down to place a kiss on his brow. She’d murmured something about being wrong, then something about sons and nephews that made absolutely no sense to him, and then Kate had been bustled away. He estimated the odds of getting a moment alone with her now were fairly long.

Setting aside his drink, he rose from the chair and went to inform Mr. Laury of the newest turn of events, and to see if a certain stable boy was interested in earning another sovereign.

T
o Hunter’s vast amusement, Simon hadn’t been nearly as interested in earning another sovereign as he had been in earning two. But after much consideration, deliberation, and considerable negotiation, he owned himself mildly intrigued by the idea of one sovereign, half.

Hunter gave him the half in advance and promised the rest after the job was completed. And the rest, he decided, would be the full two, simply because the boy had had the gumption to try for it.

“He’ll be rich as Midas by the time this house party is over,” he informed Kate as they sat together in a quiet corner of the parlor after dinner.

“Do you think it’s wise to trust a member of the staff to
watch over Lord Martin?” Kate asked, brushing a piece of lint from the soft lilac skirts of her gown. “I thought you expected at least some of them to be involved.”

“Not a twelve-year-old boy,” he replied and watched her brush at another part of her skirt. She was nervous, he realized with a small smile. She was nervous because they’d not spoken since they had returned from the beach. “Lord Martin wouldn’t trust a young servant with his secrets.”

“Twelve is old enough to keep a secret. But, yes,” she admitted after a moment’s reflection, “you’re right. Lord Martin would assume otherwise. Is it safe for him? He’s only a child, really.”

“Old enough to serve on a warship,” he pointed out.

“Of which I do not approve,” she replied in a hard tone. “But that is neither here nor there, at the moment. What if he’s caught hiding in the closet by another staff member, or what if he’s caught by the smugglers in an attempt to reach you and—”

“He knows this land like the back of his hand,” Hunter cut in. “The beach is a favorite haunt for any local youth interested in engaging in a spot of mischief. In addition, he knows not to approach the beach, for any reason, if there are signs of activity. And he’s not to go into the house until the staff is abed. If, by some bizarre twist of fate, someone catches him, I’ll see to it he’s taken care of. Satisfied?”

“As to his relative safety, yes. But, the staff is very loyal to Lord Brentworth, presumably that loyalty extends to his son. Simon might decide to protect Lord Martin, even if he’s not aware of what he’s protecting Lord Martin from.”

“He might have been that loyal,” Hunter agreed, “but then I offered him the coin.”

“Not everyone’s loyalty can be bought.”

“I’m not buying his loyalty. I’m buying his temporary cooperation.”

Kate shook her head. “You’re paying him to be disloyal
and so the principle remains unchanged. You must admit that not everyone’s cooperation, as you put it, can be acquired through bribery.”

“I don’t,” he countered, “because everyone’s can. It’s simply a matter of price.”

“That’s not true.” She straightened in her chair. “My loyalty can’t be purchased.”

“Not even if the price was the well-being of someone you loved?”

“What do you mean?”

He tapped his finger on the arm of his chair, thinking. “Suppose, for example, a band of gypsies snuck into Haldon and spirited away every member of your family—”

“The gypsies that pass through Thurston land really aren’t prone to kidnapping.”

“This particular band is,” he assured her. “And they have commanded you to take a letter containing state secrets to France and—”

“Where in the world would they have gotten such a letter?”

“They stole it off William. What does it matter?”

She bit her lip in an obvious attempt to keep from laughing. “Well, I should like to know the sort of gypsies I’m dealing with.”

“The sort who have promised to return your entire family to you in small bits and pieces should you refuse to betray your country by taking the letter to France.” He leaned back in his chair. “What would you do?”

“I’d come to you for help.”

He couldn’t help finding that a very gratifying answer, indeed. “A wise decision. Sadly, I’ve been spirited away as well.”

“I see. Determined lot, aren’t they, to have kidnapped so many people? Might have been easier just to deliver the letter themselves.”

“Too late now,” he informed her with a shake of his head. “All their manpower is needed just to guard the prisoners. What would you do, Kate?”

“Well, I suppose if that
highly
unlikely scenario was to take place, I would deliver the letter as commanded,” she admitted. “But I should like to point out that gypsies aren’t any more prone to acts of espionage than they are to kidnapping. Also, that’s not a bribe, it’s a threat, or possibly blackmail.
Also
, it’s quite morbid.”

It was, and he didn’t know why he’d pressed the issue, except it seemed important that she understand why Simon took the coin.

“Everyone has something they are willing to go to any lengths to obtain, or keep,” he told her. “For many, it’s coin. For some, it’s rank and power. For others, such as yourself, it is the people they love.”

“What of you?” she asked quietly. “What would you go to any lengths to obtain?”

You. I’d do anything for you.

He shoved that unbidden thought ruthlessly aside. “I’m very fond of apple tarts.”

She blinked once, then spluttered out a surprised laugh. “Is that how the gypsies caught you? They lured you away with the promise of pastries?”

“Shameful, isn’t it? You should have let them dice me into pieces.”

“I’ll know better next time.” She gave him a speculative look. “If I promised you a pastry now, would you reconsider letting me take a lantern tonight to—?”

“No.”

She slumped a little. “I thought not.”

“But speaking of tonight,” he said, eager to change the subject from her walking to the bluffs at night. “Whit is behaving oddly about our mission. Something the matter with him?”

Kate frowned and looked to where Whit sat talking to Mirabelle next to the fireplace. “He looks a trifle sulky, perhaps. But we did have something of a row, earlier.” She looked back to him again, her cheeks growing a charming pink. “You don’t think he knows about, er, about us, do you?”

“I’ve no doubt your brother’s reaction to that bit of information, should he come across it, would be something more substantial than a sulk.”

She blew out a breath of relief. “Yes, that’s true. He’d beat you senseless.”

“He’d try.”

“I can’t respond to that without being disloyal to someone.” She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Tell me what he’s done that’s odd.”

“He doesn’t want to go to Smuggler’s Beach. He’s of the opinion that we’ll find nothing.”

“Did he say why?”

“Thinks it’s too obvious a spot.”

Kate smirked. “If Lord Martin really is the man in charge of the operation, then too obvious would be a mark in favor of the location being Smuggler’s Beach.”

“That’s what I said, essentially.”

“And what did Whit say?”

“He argued a bit more, then gave up to check on you.”

“That
is
strange. Well, not the part about checking on me, but the rest, certainly.” She shrugged. “Perhaps he had a row with Mirabelle before he had one with me.”

Hunter glanced at the pair of them. “And likely hoped to make up for that row tonight.” He looked back to Kate in time to see her pull a face, even as her cheeks turned a brighter pink.

“I’ll thank you not to put such images in my head. Whit is my brother.”

“Whit is a healthy man with a pretty wife,” he returned, for no other reason, really, than to prolong the blush.

“Beautiful wife,” she corrected. “And please, do stop. Tell me what am I to do while you’re away.” She laughed when he gave her a hard look. “I mean about Lord Martin. If it turns out you’ve the wrong beach, you’ll not be able to apprehend Lord Martin, and he’ll expect me to meet him behind the wall at five.”

“Write a note and slip it under his door,” he instructed. “Tell him you fear being caught and you’ll meet him at an unspecified time in the future. In London, or at Haldon. I’ll let Simon know he is to expect to see you.”

“But—”

“No arguments, Kate. If he does take it into his head to bring along a barrel of brandy after all, then he’ll bring help. You may be certain of your safety in regards to Lord Martin, but you can’t be certain of what men who haven’t a title to protect them from the gallows might do, should they suspect a trap.”

“Yes.” She nodded reluctantly. “Yes, you’re right. I’ll pen the note. I…” She trailed off and turned her head at the sound of Lord Brentworth’s laughter mixed with the dowager Lady Thurston’s voice on the other side of the room. “Lord Brentworth has paid my mother a great deal of attention today.”

“He’s a healthy man with a pretty widow in—”

“Oh, don’t,” Kate half groaned and half laughed. “I beg of you, speak of something else.”

“Very well. I’d like a moment with you in private.”

“Now? I can’t possibly.
You
can’t possibly. You and Whit will need to leave soon. If Lord Martin thought to bring the brandy at five in the morning, then the shipment must be arriving only a few hours before. You’ll want to be there by midnight, won’t you?”

“Tomorrow, after I return,” he clarified, and saw her eyes widen in surprise. And well they should. They’d shared a number of private conversations in the past. He’d never asked
for any of them a day in advance. But this was different. This was to be a proposal of marriage, and it would have the hallmarks of respectability. Some of them, at any rate. He did plan on closing the door, and kissing her, and he’d chosen not to speak with her brother in advance—no point in giving the man the option of saying no, was there?—and he wasn’t going to wait bloody weeks for the bans to be read. He’d obtain a special license. But other than that…very well, he wasn’t entirely certain why he felt the need to ask in advance. It just seemed the thing to do. It seemed the sort of thing she would like.

“Will you give me the moment?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.” The blush returned. “Yes, of course.”