by Rebecca King
Elias nodded. “Whoever made those fresh marks is likely to have left now. The snow is thickening again, so it would be a fool who stays out in this weather for too long. Look, why don’t you two get some sleep? I will stay up and keep watch.”
“You need to rest,” Ruth argued. “I will stay up.”
Elias was already shaking his head before Ruth had even finished talking. “If there is someone out there, you are in no position to challenge them. I can.”
“But I own the property. Or, well, Maud does.”
“No, you don’t understand,” Elias whispered. Heaving a sigh, he decided that it was just better to say what he needed to say and be done with it. “I am authorised by the War Office to shoot and kill anybody who poses a danger to my life, or the lives of the people I am protecting. I won’t face trial for murder. It is what I do if I need to. We don’t go around the countryside randomly killing the people we have skirmishes with but if someone does try to break in, I can and will kill them and won’t get arrested for it, especially when it comes to men like Rointon. He is a cold-blooded killer who has taken countless lives before and will be threatening the lives of the occupants of this property if he steps inside.”
“What would happen if we killed him?” Mark asked.
“Homeowners can defend their property, but there would have to be an investigation into how any intruder died,” Elias warned. “It is better if I take watch and decide how to deal with any intruders. You two get to bed. You both need to sleep too.”
Ruth hated the thought of leaving Mark to stay awake all night just as much as she hated the thought of having to stay awake herself. Rather than do as Elias asked of her, though, Ruth turned to Mark. “I have had some sleep. Why don’t you go and get your head down for a while? We have no idea what tomorrow is going to bring us. It might be best if you get some sleep while you can.”
Mark, who had been turning to face the door leading to the hallway and the bed chambers beyond, hesitated. “While I can? Why? What do you have planned?”
Elias looked pensive as he said: “We have a busy day tomorrow.”
“But it has snowed overnight. It is still snowing. We can’t go anywhere.”
Elias pursed his lips. “We are going to have to leave here tomorrow.”
“Is something wrong with Morgan?” Mark prompted.
“No. We have to find your family,” Elias replied.
“My mother? Why?” Mark’s worried gaze flew to Ruth.
“Regardless of whether she has a gun or not, your mother is in danger, Mark. I am not suggesting for one second that something might have happened to her tonight, especially because my colleagues will be scouring the area for Morgan and me because we didn’t meet them like we were supposed to. Rointon must avoid my friends. It might be enough to stop him looking for us, but he might decide to bully your mother if he suspects that she is withholding information about your whereabouts. She will be far safer if she goes to stay with relatives elsewhere for a while. We have to get her move her out of the county as quickly as possible.”
“Do you have any farm animals that will need looking after?” Ruth asked.
“No. Mother got rid of them when my father left. My mother sews for the big house now instead,” Mark replied.
“Where did your father go?” What Elias really wanted to know was if the man would be back.
Mark seemed reluctant to speak. Elias slid a concerned look at Ruth but before he could ask her for details, Mark replied. “He left us. Mother said he went to work somewhere else, but he hasn’t come back.”
“That was four years ago,” Ruth warned Elias pointedly. “It is just Mark, his mother, and Mark’s two brothers at the farm now.”
Elias nodded but didn’t press for any more details. Mark’s domestic affairs didn’t really matter. What was important was the number of people the Star Elite had to take into their care while Rointon was on the loose. “We have to fetch her at first light. We can take her to a safe house until the boss can arrange someone to escort her to your relatives. Because I doubt that Morgan is going to be in any position to travel anywhere on horseback for the time being, I will go on foot to our safe house in the morning and will return with more men who will help me move him.” Elias slid a worried look at Ruth but addressed Mark when he said: “I need you to come with me.”
“Is that wise?” Ruth asked. “I mean, the highwaymen know you both. If they see you with him, Elias, they will know that Mark helped you escape. Right now, they don’t know what happened to either of you.”
Mark nodded. “Ruth is right. I think that Ruth should go on her own and take Maud with her. I mean, if they went nobody would pay them any attention because they are locals walking around the village,” Mark offered. “Besides, Ma won’t object if they turn up on her doorstep.”
“It makes more sense,” Maud muttered from the doorway. “His mother won’t panic if we go and see her. Don’t forget that you are a stranger to her, Elias. She will worry if you turn up on her doorstep. She might assume that you are one of the highwaymen. Everyone is worried about them and wondering who is involved with them. She will probably just think that you are one of them and shoot at you, especially if Rointon has already called around there asking about Mark.”
Ruth studied the handsome investigator while her aunt was talking mostly because it was difficult to keep her eyes off him. Elias was by far the most handsome man she had ever seen. His refined features were chiselled but defined by eyes which were hypnotic. High cheekbones sat atop curved lips that emphasised the sharp blade of his jawline. When he spoke, the deep rumble of his voice was soft and gentle which was at odds with the man’s burly size.
“I will go with Maud in the morning. We can bring Adelaide here or take her somewhere else ourselves rather than leave her at the farm,” Ruth suggested but had no idea where ‘somewhere else’ should be.
“You can’t take her to the safe house. It isn’t safe for you to travel that far,” Elias warned. “Besides, my colleagues won’t allow you near the place because they don’t know you.”
“How do we alert your colleagues to your whereabouts without Rointon finding out?” Maud asked. She slid into a chair at the kitchen table with a weary sigh, but her eyes were alert as she studied the handsome man who kept looking longingly at Ruth.
Elias slid a hand down his face as he contemplated that. “I would like to say that someone trustworthy could go for the magistrate.” When Mark began to shake his head, Elias cursed. “No?”
“One of the magistrate’s men is helping Rointon,” Mark informed him.
“Has Bob told you that?” Ruth asked.
“No. I heard Bob discussing it with someone in the village. They were whispering, like they didn’t want anybody hearing what was being said because it was a secret. They mentioned that Henderson, one of the magistrate’s men, was going to send the Star Elite in the wrong direction with a tip off that was a lie,” Mark offered.
Elias mentally cursed. “That explains a lot, but we don’t get all our information off the magistrate’s men.”
“That’s settled then. First thing in the morning, Ruth and I will go over to Mark’s house and tell Adelaide to go and stay with her sister for a couple of weeks, and that Mark is going to stay with us. We can then get word to the Star Elite and tell them that you and Morgan are both alive and well, but need help getting out of here,” Maud announced, heaving herself out of her chair again. She turned to level a hard look at Mark. “You are to go and get some sleep young man, and that is not a request. It is an order. Go. Now. Sleep.” She pointed to the door with a mulish expression on her face that left Mark with no choice but to do as he was told.
Once they were alone, Ruth and Elias looked at each other. “Thank you,” he murmured. “I know I keep saying it, but I mean it.”
Ruth flushed. “I didn’t do it willingly; I can tell you that much.”
“Promise me something.”
It wasn’t really a qu
estion, but Ruth nodded.
“Don’t do anything like that again.”
“I don’t intend to thank you very much,” Ruth snorted. “I would have been more than happy not to get involved in the first place, but I had to.”
“Morgan will survive. His fiancé is going to be delighted,” Elias murmured.
“It can’t be easy.”
“What?”
“Knowing that someone you care about is putting their life in danger like he did,” Ruth reasoned.
“Lucy has had her own fair share of problems lately. Her parents were two of Rointon’s victims a couple of months ago. She knows better than anybody why the Star Elite are investigating him,” Elias warned.
“I am sorry,” Ruth whispered. “I had no idea.”
Elias grinned suddenly. “Once he had met her, Morgan decided that he couldn’t leave the love of his life, so we turned her house into our temporary safe house, which we will use while we investigate the highwaymen.”
“How do we get to it?”
“We don’t,” Elias announced flatly. “But only because it is just down the road from Rointon’s estate.”
Ruth blinked at him. “Rointon’s estate is only about two to three miles away from here.”
Elias nodded.
“That’s not very far away at all,” Ruth breathed. It was right on her doorstep.
“We are sitting right in the middle of Rointon’s back yard,” Elias warned. “Given how many men in this area are helping the highwaymen one way or another, going anywhere will be fraught with danger. I know it is wrong to ask you to put yourself in danger again, but if I step out of that door, I am going to be hunted like a fox in the middle of hunting season.” Elias crouched down before her but only so he could look up into her eyes. “You have already done so much for me already. I hate to ask this of you.”
“Your friend needs you to protect him,” Ruth warned. “It makes sense for you to stay here while Maud and I go. Leave it to us.”
Elias smiled at her. It took a couple of minutes for him to realise that while he had been talking, he had caught her fingers in his. A contemplative silence settled between them for a few moments. Ruth looked down at her lap only for her gaze to fall upon their entwined fingers. Her heart began to pound. It was an incredibly intimate gesture; one that lovers would make. Ruth wasn’t sure how she should feel about it. She was thrilled while at the same time wary. He was handsome, charming, gentle, strong, capable.
He is also one of the Star Elite. He puts his life in danger every day and might not make it home one day.
Unsure how she felt about that, Ruth forced herself to put some distance between them.
“Stay safe,” Elias whispered, making no apology for the plea in his voice.
Ruth bitterly regretted the distance she put between them and distracted herself from it by wandering over to the shutter to peer at the footprints in the snow again. But when she opened the shutter, a scream escaped her when she saw a pair of eyes amidst a deathly pale face directly outside the window staring back at her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Elias was beside her within seconds. He swore when he looked outside and saw the dark shape directly outside. Thankfully, the stranger was turning to face the door and so didn’t see him. Slamming the shutter closed, Elias immediately tugged a frightened Ruth against him. “Who is it?” he breathed.
“I don’t know,” Ruth whispered.
“Stay here.” Picking the gun off the table, Elias re-opened the shutter, but was unsurprised to find that the figure had disappeared. But it didn’t mean that the intruder had moved on. He was probably still lurking outside somewhere.
“You are not going to open that door. This is no time for playing at being a hero,” Ruth snapped when Elias moved to the door and lifted his hand to slide the bolt back.
“Playing at being a hero?” Elias’s brows shot up. “I am going to see who is lurking outside your house in the middle of the night. Are you not curious to know who it is?”
“Yes, but what are you going to do if it is Rointon out there or one of his men, or both? You are not going to put everyone’s lives at risk.”
Elias heard the panic in her voice and didn’t hesitate to gather her into his arms again. He didn’t have to coax her. She stepped willingly toward him and clung to his warmth and strength. “It will be all right,” he murmured when he felt her shivers.
“How can you say that? You can’t say things like that when you don’t know.”
“We are inside, and they are out. Whoever has been lurking out there has to be cold and will be slower than I am because of it.”
Moreover, I have a lot inside this house worth protecting now.
Elias was aware of his growing attraction toward her that went far deeper than mere sexual interest. He wanted her. Of course he did. She was beautiful. But what he felt went deeper than that. He was proud of her, impressed by her, inspired by her determination, enraptured by her beauty, and emboldened by her courage too. She was an inspiration, but also contrarily infinitely fragile. He was compelled to protect her. It had nothing to do with the fact that she had saved his life and he felt obliged to return the favour. This was personal between him, the man, and the stunningly beautiful woman before him.
Ruth’s heart pounded when she became aware of the lengthening, almost expectant silence from him. Curious, she lifted her head. Her eyes clashed with his. She couldn’t move and didn’t want to when she saw his head lowering toward hers.
His lips were nothing more than a featherlight touch against hers when an unexpected thud against the back door made his head snap up.
“Damn,” he breathed, a little stunned by what had just nearly happened.
While there is a bloody intruder outside as well.
Elias couldn’t believe he had allowed his focus to wander to Ruth while they were surrounded by so much danger. In the space of one day, he had failed - twice.
There can’t be a third time. Not now. Not ever.
Forcing himself to put some distance between them, Elias sucked in a deep breath and made himself focus on his work. But for the first time in his entire adult life, he had lost his ability to think about what he needed to do because he had been overwhelmed by what he wanted to do, and that was stay beside Ruth. She was starting to affect his concentration, but he couldn’t stop it.
Elias looked ruefully at her and said: “I need to find out who that is. It might be one of our colleagues looking for us.”
“I have to go. This is my house. If that is one of the highwaymen, they won’t think it unusual if I go to the door.” Ruth lost patience when she saw his objection in his eyes and turned away before he could stop her from yanking the window open and poking her head outside.
The dark figure was lurking beside the corner of the house. Ruth had no idea what he was waiting for, or if he was trying to listen to the conversation in the kitchen. Whatever he wanted, Ruth was suddenly incensed by him, and angrily called: “What? Who are you? What do you want here? Get out of here or I shall send for the magistrate.” Hiding behind her annoyance at being disturbed was the only thing that made Ruth behave the way she did. It was her natural annoyance that made the man believe that he had the wrong house.
“I am looking for Mark,” the man began, stepping closer.
“Who in the Devil are you? What are you doing out here at this time in the morning? Do you have any idea what time it is? Get away from this house, do you hear me? Mark doesn’t live here, and never has. Now go away,” Ruth snarled.
“I was told that he lived here,” the man persisted taking another step closer, and another, until he was standing right beside the back door.
“Well, you were mistakenly informed,” Ruth announced, aware that Elias had moved to the opposite side of the door. “I warn you now that if you plan to rob us, we have nothing to give you. Now get away from here, do you hear? Mark isn’t here. If you want him, you should go and speak to Bob whatever his name is.
Everyone knows he is friends with Mark.”
“Wait,” the man stepped forward when Ruth started to retreat to the warmth of the house.
She understood what Elias had said about the man outside being at a disadvantage. It was indeed so very cold that she was already shivering, and she was still partially inside the house. To her disgust, the man stepped closer again but only so he could peer into the empty room behind her. Ruth hoped he could see nothing more than the roaring fireplace and the kitchen table.
“What?” she rapped. “I have told you that there is no Mark living here. Now get off my property. Who are you? What’s your name?”
The man blinked at her and frowned. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does if you are lurking outside my house in the middle of the night. I demand to know what your name is,” Ruth growled. “You shall be hearing from the magistrate about this. Why, I warn you now that if any of the neighbours have been broken into, I have a good description of you and shall report you.”
“I am not going to burgle any houses,” the man snorted.
“So what are you doing lurking outside my house then?” Ruth countered. “Get away from here. Do you hear me?” She was talking so loudly that Maud returned to the kitchen again and said: “What is it, Ruth, dear?”
“We have a thief lurking in the garden,” Ruth informed her aunt coldly. “Do you have that old hunting rifle of father’s still loaded?”
“Yes, dear,” Maud replied, and promptly retreated to the bed chamber Morgan was in.
The man scuttled off but not before Ruth called: “And don’t come back.”
She slammed the window closed and banged the shutter across the window for good measure. The dull thud of wood hitting wood echoed menacingly around the house, but Ruth didn’t stop. She raced through the house to one of the two bed chambers at the front of the property. Opening the shutters, she peered outside, and watched the cloaked figure stop and look back at her. Even in the darkness, she knew their eyes met. She could see his coal-like eyes glistening at her in the darkness.
