My Lord Deceived (32 page)

She had just
about reached the last house when she was ruthlessly captured from
behind. Her scream was blocked by the heavy hand that was slammed
roughly over her mouth. She twisted and squirmed against the tight
hold that swept her off her feet. A whimper escaped her as she
clawed desperately with the need to breathe. Her lungs burned and,
as precious moments ticked by, her vision began to grow dark. She
knew that if she didn’t get her captor’s hold off her mouth and
nose she was going to die. With desperate fingers, she clawed
ruthlessly with her nails as she tried to gasp for air. One solid
kick backward gained her the precious inches she needed to wrench
her mouth free and she sucked in a huge gulp of cold night air.
With more strength than determination, she lunged forward at the
same time that she squirmed around, and broke free of Robert’s
hold.

She took a
breath to scream, only for the world to suddenly go black.

Jonathan was
exhausted. He stifled a yawn and blinked his eyes wide to stop
their downward fall. His thoughts turned toward Kat for the
thousandth time since she had left the tavern. He hoped she would
get a good night’s sleep, and didn’t have any plans to go to the
market in the morning; he would pay a visit and talk to her then.
There were several things he wanted to say, and many things that
they needed to sort out.

First though,
he had to deal with Harrison and ensure that the man was on his way
to Bodmin, along with whoever was receiving the main bulk of the
cargo. Jonathan shifted and wriggled his toes in an attempt to get
some life back into them. A flurry of movement to the side of the
tavern drew his attention. He scowled when he caught sight of
Billy, running hell for leather down the main street toward the
tavern. Even from his hiding place several feet away, Jonathan
could see panic evident on his face.

He was too
close to the beach to see Kat’s house, but glanced toward the
alleyway that led to the back of the row of houses. There was
nothing untoward, but what had sent Billy on such a mad dash so
late at night? Jonathan frowned and watched Harry appear out of the
tavern’s front door. The man and Billy hurried toward Agnes, who
almost ran toward the harbour.

With a quick
glance at the cargo that remained untouched on the beach, he broke
his cover and made his way down to the harbour to join the others.
He studied the area around them but could detect nothing untoward.
Since he had taken up his position, he had not seen anybody. It had
been one of the most boring watches of his entire career.

By the time he
drew to a stop beside Agnes, his heart pounded in alarm. Fear was
evident on Billy’s face. He glanced around but could see no sign of
Kat.

“Oh, Jonathan,”
Agnes cried, her face twisted with a mixture of fear and tears.
“Where is she? Tell me you have seen her?” Her desperate fingers
clutched the front of his jacket as she pleaded for
information.

“Kat? Is she
not at home?” Jonathan’s scowl was fierce.

“She should
have been back hours ago. Is she not with you?”

His gaze flew
to Harry’s. Without a word the older man hurried off up the street,
and only stopped to thump heavily on several doors as he passed.
Billy sidled closer to Jonathan and gazed up at him
expectantly.

“Do you know
where she is?”

Jonathan shook
his head and ushered both of them inside the tavern. “No. She left
with the rest of the smugglers a couple of hours ago. I thought she
was at home in bed.”

“Oh, Jonathan,
where do you think she is?”

“I don’t know
Agnes, but I am damned well going to find her.” His voice was
deadly. He tried to keep the panic at bay, but this was the first
time in his entire life that he had ever felt so shaken by events
that had thrown him for a loop. He cursed bitterly at the
realisation that he should have escorted her home and had failed in
his duty of care toward her. In spite of the fact that the
smugglers had left only moments earlier, she had undoubtedly been
waylaid between here and home. But by who?

His immediate
thoughts turned toward Brian. Had he decided to take revenge for
the altercation the other night on the harbour side?

“I want you to
do something for me,” he snapped at Billy, and beckoned the boy
toward him. He bent down until they were face to face and clapped
one hand on the boy’s boy shoulder.

“I want you to
go to Brian’s house and find out if he is at home. Don’t go inside
and don’t talk to Brian directly. Knock on the door and ask to
speak to Brian. If his mother calls for him to come to see you,
then run back here. If his mother says he is out and she doesn’t
know where he is, high-tail it back here as fast as your feet can
carry you. Don’t stop for anything or anyone, Billy, do you
understand?” He made no attempt to keep the urgency from his voice
and watched the boy nod before he hurried to the door.

Agnes took a
breath to object only to pause and glance uncertainly toward
Jonathan.

“Do you think
it is Brian?”

“I think it
could very well be. Kat has to be around here somewhere. I can
promise you here and now Agnes that I am damned well going to move
heaven and earth to find her.”

The ruthless
intent on Jonathan’s face made her feel somewhat reassured, even
through her intense worry.

“Are you angry
with her?” Agnes gasped hesitantly.

“No,” he
sighed, and tried to offer her a reassuring smile but failed
miserably. “I love her very much. I know about the smuggling
operation and have known for a while. Last night my men and I
caught them red-handed on the beach and brought them back here.
They have all agreed to stop.” He paused when Agnes suddenly
slumped into a chair and buried her face in her hands.

“I am sorry, I
am just so relieved,” she whispered as she wiped tears off her
cheeks. “I have been so worried about her but each time we wanted
to stop, something happened and the others needed her help more
than ever. It has been impossible.”

“Did she seem
to be worried about anything yesterday?”

Agnes frowned
and looked at him. She swiped her tears away almost angrily and
sniffed as she looked at him. “Not that I can recall.”

“She was very
quiet and behaved strangely while everyone was here,” Jonathan ran
a frustrated hand through his hair. He wanted to tear the village
apart but knew that he had to remain calm and logical. Still, he
felt strangely sick at the thought that something had happened to
Kat last night and he had not known a damned thing about it.

“What do we
do?” Agnes gasped, and jumped as the tavern door suddenly swung
inward. Harry appeared and was followed by several of the
smugglers. Jonathan counted at least twenty men, for which he was
very grateful. Right now it was imperative that everyone help out.
He would cause such a rumpus in the village that anyone hiding her
would not be doing so for long.

“What do you
want us to do?” Harry demanded. Before Jonathan could speak, the
group parted as Billy pushed his way through.

His face was
flushed and his eyes lit with a mixture of worry and success.
“Brian isn’t at home. His mother hasn’t seen him since this –
yesterday morning.”

“Oh, good Lord
above,” Agnes whispered and turned to stare at Jonathan in
horror.

Jonathan turned
toward Harry. “Tear this village apart. Conduct a house to house
search. She has got to be around here somewhere. If you see Brian,
Colin, Wally or Robert, bring them straight here and keep them here
in any way you have to.”

Without a word
everyone turned and made their way out of the tavern. Jonathan
turned to Agnes.

“I want you to
go home and wait, just in case she comes back. If she does appear
then bring her down here.”

“Do you think
Brian has her?”

Jonathan gave
her a careful look. “I think that is almost guaranteed, don’t
you?”

Jonathan
wriggled into position beside Simon and almost relished the
confrontation that had presented itself. He was so blazingly angry
right now, and worried sick for Kat’s safety, that he wanted to
pound something relentlessly until his fears had subsided.

Together they
watched silently as two rowing boats battled the pounding waves.
The boat ebbed and flowed along with the tide that relentlessly
threw them toward the shore. He almost wished the boats would
capsize and throw all four of the boys into the icy sea. A watery
fate seemed to be quite fitting for them however Jonathan needed
answers from them first. From his position he could see inside the
boats, and was certain that Kat wasn’t in either vessel. So where
had they stored her? For what purpose?

They watched
the boats slide onto the sand and all four boys jump out. They
wasted no time in lugging the heavy barrels, boxes and bolts of
cloth across the sand before throwing them unceremoniously into the
waiting boats. It took several trips before all of the cargo was on
board and the boats were pushed back out to sea.

“I’ll go and
find us something to follow them in,” Simon whispered and shuffled
back to find a rowing boat they could purloin.

Jonathan had
seen enough and hurried after his colleague. They had no trouble
finding a boat that was sturdy enough and enlisted Harry’s help to
untie the boat from its moorings. Simon and Jonathan were swiftly
joined by Rupert and Archie. Stephen remained on land to continue
the search for Kat, just in case she was stashed somewhere they
hadn’t searched yet.

Even through
the high winds and crashing waves, he could hear the heavy knocking
on doors, and cries for Kat. He knew that there would be no nook
and cranny untouched by the men who were determined to find one of
their own. Although he would never understand why or how they had
agreed to allow Kat to become involved in their smuggling
operation, he was very grateful that they did consider her one of
them, and were more than willing to throw their weight being an
extensive search for her.

He knew that
nobody would stop until she had been found. He bit back a curse of
frustration because he wanted to be involved in the land search for
her, but his gut instinct; the instinct he had relied upon
throughout his time in the Star Elite, warned him that he needed to
go out to sea with his colleagues.

Simon and
Archie rowed with all of their might. Their departure from the
safety of the harbour was swifter than the boys’ leaving the beach
because they didn’t have the pounding waves to fight.

By the time
they made their way around the coast, the first tendrils of dawn
had started to creep over the horizon and provided them with enough
light to be able to see the outline of the other two boats further
ahead and give chase.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

It took nearly
an hour before Brian and his crew arrived at Grampton, a small
fishing port further around the coast.

“Use this
here,” Jonathan instructed as he pointed to a small outcrop of rock
that sat alone in the middle of the water. They steadied the boat
and used the cover to watch Brian and his friends dock beside a
small fisherman’s cottage. A middle aged man emerged from the house
before the boys had even tied the boats up, and together they
started to off-load the cargo.

“I think that
we have found the main purchaser,” Archie sighed and flicked
Jonathan with a look. “How do you want to do this?”

From the look
on Jonathan’s face, he wanted to storm in there and raise hell
until he got information on where Kat was. Even though his friend
had yet to speak, Archie knew he was in the midst of an internal
battle between logic and emotion.

“Let’s go and
shake things up a little,” Jonathan growled. He let go of the rock
and pushed the boat away while Simon and Archie took up the oars
again. Within minutes they were pulling up against the side of
Brian’s boat.

The boys, along
with the man, were in the process of unloading the cargo. It was
Wally who saw them first. He dropped the barrel he was holding and
disappeared inside. Within seconds all five were standing on the
dock side watching Simon moor the boat.

Rupert,
Jonathan and Archie, pointed their pistols at the men on the dock
and warned them to remain perfectly still. Unfortunately, while the
man, Wally, Colin and Robert all lifted their hands in surrender,
Brian smirked and spun on his heel.

One shot was
all it took to bring the boy down. His scream of pain echoed around
the bay as he fell, his hands wrapped around his injured leg.

Within minutes
of their arrival, the Star Elite had everyone, including the
injured Brian, inside the small house. Jonathan studied the steady
ooze of blood that dripped from the wound on Brian’s thigh but made
no attempt to help him.

“You didn’t
have to hurt him,” the older man growled.

“I take it you
are Meldrew, the boy’s father?” Jonathan glanced derisively at the
boy’s injury, his thoughts locked firmly on Kat.

“Aye that I
am.”

“He is under
arrest for kidnap and murder,” Simon drawled from beside the fire.
His arms ached fiercely from the long row along the coast, but he
was damned if he would show it. He stared hard at Wally and Robert,
who stared avidly at the gun on his hip until both boys shifted
uncomfortably against the implied threat in Simon’s gaze.

“Tell me
something, Brian, or you will sit here and bleed to death,”
Jonathan’s voice was merciless.

“I will tell
you what you need to know,” Mr Meldrew sighed. He placed a fatherly
hand on Brian’s shoulder that was shrugged off by the belligerent
young man.

“Why tip of
Harrison? What purpose does it have?”

Brian sighed
and flicked a glance up at his dad. The dark look on his sire’s
face warned him that he was in a lot of trouble. “Have you been
talking to Excise?” The menacing growl was met with a disgusted
look.