Lord Cavendish Returns (22 page)

“
Why? We know the register isn’t there,” she snapped and
dismissed his ridiculous attempt to frighten her into stopping at
home.

“
Your reputation will be ruined if we are seen out in the dark
together.” He had to admit that although the thought of her
accompanying him to Moldton filled him with absolute, bone-shaking
horror, he was rather enjoying the swift banter they
exchanged.

“
Who is going to see us? Most people are already beside their
fires right now. We are going the opposite way to the village, and
will be heading directly to the church, which is empty.”

He had a
sneaking suspicion that they could have gone on like this for
hours, and frantically tried to think of something to put her off.
“What if the attacker shows up? What do you plan to do then? Just
because you are a woman doesn’t mean that he won’t strike you. Do
you know how to duke it out?”

Arrabella thought about that for a moment and stared at the
floor with a frown. Harper mentally heaved a sigh of relief that he
had survived this particular skirmish intact; only to curse
inwardly when she stalked across the hallway and picked up one of
her father’s walking canes. She hefted it for a moment as though
assessing its weight before she shrugged and held it in her palm as
though she was heading out for nothing more than a ramble around
the countryside.

He saw
Mrs Able clamp a hand over her mouth when she witnessed Arrabella’s
actions and couldn’t quite decide if the housekeeper was laughing
or holding back a scolding. His beseeching look was met with a
rather bland stare that assured him that he would get no assistance
from that particular quarter, and he gave her a dirty look before
he stalked toward the door.

“
Arrabella, please listen to reason.” He mentally winced at
the plea that was evident in his voice but, right now, would rather
beg than allow her to place herself in danger. “I know you mean
well, but things like this are something I do for a living. I am
used to traipsing around in the darkness where it is cold and
dangerous. You are a beautiful, yet refined lady whose place is
before the fire.” He winced as the said fire appeared in her eyes
and he knew that he had just said the wrong thing. He eyed the cane
she lifted menacingly and almost pitied the poor bloke she had call
to use it on. Whoever it was, it was most definitely not going to
be him.

“
My
place
?”
She growled. “My
place
is before the
fire
?” She would have done any
school mistress proud. Her back was ramrod straight and her eyes
shot sparks molten fury at him as she turned narrowed eyes on him.
“You may be used to big city crime, but this is the country and we
do things a little differently here. Besides, you are forgetting
that Moldton church is in
my
area. Now you are the one who has been injured,
not me. I suggest that you take your
place
before the fire and
recuperate.”

With
that, she yanked the door open and stormed outside. It was
satisfying to slam it behind her, but it did nothing to ease her
temper. As she stalked down the driveway muttering dire
consequences for stupid men under her breath, the tip of her cane
rapped loudly on the stones beneath her feet. She almost wanted
someone to come out of the bushes at her because right now, she
would give them a piece of her mind that would blister their
ears.

It was
only when she turned out of the driveway and looked at the dark and
empty road that loomed before her that she realised what she had
just done.

“
I hate the dark,” she grumbled.

“
Me too.”

Her
scream made a screech owl sound like an opera singer and he
mentally winced as his head began to pound from the
trauma.

“
Good Lord woman! What the hell are you trying to do, summon
the dead?”

“
Don’t creep up on me like that. What are you doing creeping
up on people? Didn’t anyone teach you it is bad
manners?”

Harper
shook his head and did the only thing he could think off. With one
hand firmly locked on the back of her head, he drew her forward and
placed a hard kiss on her lips to silence her. He wondered briefly
if she was going to clobber him with the cane, and placed a gentle
hand over the one holding the wooden stick in case she thought he
was taking liberties again.

When she
had slammed out of the hallway he had turned beseeching hands out
to Mrs Able who had erupted into gales of laughter.

“
You haven’t helped, you know,” he grumbled.

“
I know, but if you don’t hurry up she is going to get to
Moldton before you do and you could be the one she hits with that
cane. I wouldn’t get her upset right now if I were you. There is
nothing worse about Arrabella than her temper.”

If he
was honest, he loved her quick temper. It proved his suspicion
correct in that she was a passionate lady who deserved the very
best the man in her life could offer. He knew, without a shadow of
a doubt, that the man in her future was going to be him. In
essence, it wasn’t really all that important now whether he was
linked to the Cavendish family or not, or carried a title, or had
wealth. He had been born and raised in Hambley Wood, and this was
the place he called home; especially now that Arrabella was in the
village.

He was
so busy contemplating the future that at first he didn’t realise
that Arrabella had moved free of his hand and begun the long
journey toward Moldton without him.

“
Arrabella, wait!” His curse broke the silence and he
half-walked, half-ran to catch up with her.

“
Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain!” She called as she
disappeared into the shadows. Although she continued walking, her
heart was pounding so loudly that she couldn’t hear her own
footsteps, and it was a relief when he caught up and began to walk
beside her.

“
Arrabella stop,” Harper growled. When she didn’t appear to
have heard him, he grabbed hold of her elbow and turned her to face
him. “Please, just listen to me. It is not too late to go
back.”

It was
on the tip of her tongue to agree, but she knew that she couldn’t
just stop at home and wait for him to return. It would be the early
hours of the morning before he returned, even if he wasn’t accosted
again. She would go quietly mad. Going with him was not ideal but,
right now, it was the lesser of the two evils. She had no choice,
she had to go.

Harper
cursed. For a moment there he thought he had succeeded and she was
going to head back to the vicarage. In spite of the darkness, he
had seen her hesitate. He had actually witnessed her second
thoughts with his own eyes. Unfortunately, at the last minute,
something had changed her mind and he felt, rather than saw, her
spine straighten. If only he had waited until she had gone to bed,
he could have crept out of the house and made his own way over to
Moldton and she would not have known anything about it. If he
hadn’t been fuelled with determination to get the matter with the
register resolved so that he could get on with his future with her,
then he would have had the forethought to wait. The realisation
that she was going to Moldton didn’t sit easily with him and he
sighed deeply while he dug deep for his patience. He didn’t think
his night could get any worse now.

He was
wrong.

It
did.

It began
to rain.

A
lot.

To begin
with, the light pitter-patter of raindrops around them was hardly
noticeable but, as the shadowed outline of Moldton appeared out of
the gloom, the heavens opened. Within seconds they were both soaked
to the skin, but there was nothing they could do except quicken
their pace and hope they didn’t drown before they got to the
church. As they walked, the road turned into a quagmire of muddy
holes that were nearly impossible to dodge around without the light
to see properly.

At first
Arrabella found it funny, especially when Harper lost his balance
and had to flail his arms to stop himself from falling into one
hitherto unseen mud pit. However, her mirth soon vanished when she
didn’t manage to flail her arms enough to prevent herself from
stepping into a puddle that soaked her boots through. The warmth in
her toes suddenly vanished and she felt the painful tug of cold nip
at them. She couldn’t help it, she felt her bottom lip tremble and
her teeth begin to chatter as the chill began to take
hold.

“
If we don’t get out of this soon we are going to end up with
influenza,” Harper growled. He could see the spire of the church
several hundred yards ahead but it was impossible to walk any
faster given that they could barely see more than three feet in
front of them. He glanced over at Arrabella and felt his heart
lurch at the sight she made.

Her hair
was plastered to her skin. Because it was so silken, it had started
so slip free of the delicate arrangement it had been pinned into,
and fell in heavy ringlets around her face. Rainwater dripped off
her pink-tipped nose which was accompanied by a dark blush to her
cheeks brought about by the cold evening air. She looked like a
rain-washed pixie. There was nothing he wanted more than to step
forward, sweep her into his arms and plunder her senses until she
gave him whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, but now was
hardly the time or the place.

“
Are you alright?”

Arrabella sniffed inelegantly and nodded. It was more of a
jerk of the head than an actual nod and she had no idea if he could
see her through the dark, but she had no intention of tearing her
gaze away from the blessed sight of the church up ahead.

“
Wait a minute,” Harper cautioned. He paused to consider what
to do for the best. He should search the area around the church to
look for anyone who might be lurking, but to do that meant leaving
Arrabella alone and there was little likelihood of that
happening.

The cold
fingers she suddenly wrapped around his wrist made him jump and he
frowned down at her, more with concern for her welfare than
fear.

“
What is it?”

“
Sshh.” She put her hand to her lips, drew him to one side of
the lane and pointed to the darkness behind them. “There is someone
behind us.”

Harper’s
brows lifted. He turned their positions around and effectively
backed her into the hedge before he moved into position in front of
her to protect her from attack. There, hidden in the shadows, they
waited.

Simply
standing there in the cold and the dark, waiting for someone to
walk up to them, was terrifying. Arrabella found herself clutching
the back of his jacket with fingers that were so cold they were
painful. She sidled closer to him and was very glad that she had
him by her side. The thought of experiencing this all by herself
was horrific. She eyed the shadow of the church spire longingly and
felt a sigh escape her. Although it would be cold inside, nothing
could be colder than she was right now. She briefly contemplated
going to Mr Turner’s house where it was at least warm, but he would
ask too many questions that she didn’t want to answer right now.
She would just have to accept that she was going to have to spend
the next several hours freezing cold, soaking wet, and utterly
terrified.

Harper
was fairly certain that the person behind them was moving toward
them, not away, but he couldn’t see a damned thing through the
rain. When nobody emerged from the shadows, and a shudder ripped
through Arrabella, he knew that he had no choice but to get her out
of the rain.

He
dipped his head until his lips touched her ear. “Let me hold the
cane.” He quietly pressed the ring of keys into her hand and folded
her fingers around the icy ironwork to silence them. “If someone
does appear, I want you to run for the church. Open the door and
get inside, lock it behind you and don’t let anyone in until I
knock three times. If you don’t get three knocks, don’t answer the
door, Arrabella. Whatever you do, don’t stop for
anything.”

“
What are you going to do?”

“
Right now, we are going to continue to walk to the church,
but I am going to be keeping a close eye on the road behind us. You
keep a watch on the road ahead. Together, we can get there without
being caught unawares by anyone.”

Luckily,
they entered the graveyard without seeing anyone else. She bent
down to unlock the door, but was shaking so hard that she dropped
the heavy ironwork several times before she managed to get the key
in the lock and open the door.

“
Before you go in, feel around the back and put the key into
the lock from the other side. As soon as we get inside, shut the
door and turn the lock.” Harper whispered.

Although
he didn’t say as much to Arrabella, there was someone standing just
inside the bushes at the far end of the churchyard. They must have
circled around them while they had been on the lane so they could
lie in wait in the churchyard. It pointed to the fact that the man
had been watching the vicarage, and was undoubtedly the same person
who had been in the garden the other night.

They are certainly determined
,
Harper thought to himself. As long as they stayed at the far corner
of the graveyard there was going to be no problem at all. If they
ventured anywhere near, then they were going to get a lesson in
fighting the Star Elite way.