Righteous Rumours (The Hero Next Door Series Book 4)

by Rebecca King

  ‘Harrison can take all of the papers to Nottingham and search through them at his leisure,’ Roger corrected.

  ‘I will go and speak with Geranium before it gets too late,’ Ronan said quietly as he shoved out of his seat.

  ‘You mean later than eleven o’clock at night,’ Hamish smiled.

  Ronan rolled his eyes but let himself out of the house. He found Dean hiding in the undergrowth and quickly told him what the Star Elite had decided. When Dean nodded his understanding, Ronan made his way to Geranium’s house. He still wasn’t happy with the thought of her having to use the weapon but knew that she would if Lynchgate was foolish enough to appear at her house and threatened her.

  Ronan knocked three times on the back door, waited, then knocked three more times when she didn’t answer. He did this again, and again, until the window upstairs slid up and Geranium poked her head out of the window.

  Geranium gasped when she saw who it was. ‘What is it?’ she asked, clutching the folds of her dressing gown tighter around her.

  ‘I need to talk to you,’ Ronan whispered loudly. ‘Let me in. I won’t be a minute.’

  Geranium frowned. She looked at Mr Quinton’s house because although the night was quiet, she could hear the jangling of harnesses. Given that all the men were moving about in the yard, it appeared that the Star Elite were preparing to leave. Horrified at the thought, Geranium raced downstairs.

  ‘What is it? What’s happened? Do you know what time it is? Where are you going?’ she began without preamble.

  Ronan stared at her and waited for her questions to ease. Now that he was getting used to them, he found them quite endearing. It was a sign that she was interested in him. Rather than be annoyed with her, he was just relieved that she was talking to him again.

  Geranium clutched her shawl tighter around her shoulders and waited. ‘Are you moving on?’ she asked quietly when it appeared that Ronan didn’t quite know what to say.

  ‘No. We are moving the investigation on,’ Ronan replied. He stepped into the kitchen and closed the door behind him. ‘We are going to get into the workhouse tonight.’

  Geranium stared at him in dismay. ‘Why tonight? Why can’t you do it in the morning?’

  ‘Because we work better in the dark. Shadows hide us. The place is heavily guarded by Lynchgate’s thugs who aren’t trained like us. They are less likely to see us approach the building at night,’ Ronan explained.

  He had no idea why he was going into such detail with her. Geranium really didn’t need to know how the Star Elite worked, but she wanted to know what they were doing so he told her. It didn’t make him feel as if he was betraying his friends. It made her aware of what he was doing, so she was more likely to do what he asked of her and be less worried about him.

  Ronan struggled to find a way to tell her why he had called upon her. ‘We need every man we have,’ he began.

  ‘So nobody will be in the safe house,’ Geranium murmured quietly, unsure what she should make of his sudden need to confide in her. ‘Why are you telling me this?’

  Ronan sighed. ‘Because there is going to be nobody around to guard your house while you are asleep.’

  Geranium felt her stomach sink. ‘Oh.’

  Ronan pursed his lips. ‘I am sorry, Geranium, but we need every man we have. We have to go to the workhouse because we need to find Lynchgate.’

  ‘I understand.’ Geranium offered him a smile she truly didn’t feel.

  ‘You have to stay awake, I am afraid,’ Ronan added suddenly.

  Geranium blinked at him. ‘Pardon?’

  ‘While we are away, it isn’t safe for you to go to sleep. It is best if you light several candles and stay awake. Read a book or sew or something. Whatever you do, try not to fall asleep. Listen for odd noises, scraping, creaking; noise that someone would make while trying to break in.’ Ronan reluctantly held the gun out toward her. ‘Take this. Have you used one before?’

  Geranium stared down at the gun in his hand. Ronan watched her carefully. He expected her to back away from it and refuse to touch it. It was deeply troubling that she appeared to be curious instead and had no qualms about lifting it off his palm. Their hands touched causing him to jerk and her to gasp. Her eyes flew up to his.

  Ronan found himself leaning toward her. Before he could take a step forward, he sucked in a breath and forced himself to stay where he was. ‘Here, let me show you how to use it.’

  Geranium remained quiet as Ronan showed her how to cock the gun and reload it. He then handed her a small pouch of bullets.

  ‘Keep them together. Whatever you do, make sure that you never point the gun at yourself. Try to aim for Lynchgate’s legs but if you do kill him then you won’t face any charges for it because you have had to defend yourself. Lynchgate is a known criminal and will have broken into your home or be trying to. Roger will see to it that you face no charges. Harrison, the magistrate for Nottinghamshire, is now the temporary magistrate for Leicestershire as well. He knows what crimes Lynchgate has committed and won’t arrest you either if you kill Lynchgate. Just make sure that Lynchgate cannot get anywhere near you.’

  ‘Do you think he will come after me?’ Geranium whispered.

  ‘I hope not,’ Ronan replied fervently.

  They stared at each other. Ronan couldn’t help it. With a muttered curse, he hauled her into his arms. It was instinctive to press a kiss into her hair and savour a few private moments with her without threats from Lynchgate, or the outside world watching them.

  ‘I am not sure I can do this, Ronan,’ Geranium whispered as she returned his embrace. She tried to decide whether she meant allowing Ronan close, or using a gun if she needed to. Either way, she couldn’t make herself release him and step away from his warmth. He was holding her so tightly, so protectively, that it made her feel precious, fragile, infinitely feminine. She didn’t want the moment to end.

  ‘I will be back as soon as I can. If we don’t find Lynchgate at the workhouse, you must move into the safehouse for a while. It isn’t safe for you to be here. We would move you tonight, but you are familiar with the layout of this house and its sounds. Moreover, you are the homeowner here and will be within your rights to use the gun against intruders. Just try not to jump at every creak, eh? It won’t help if you get too panicked by being alone and too disturbed by the odd noise.’

  ‘I will try,’ Geranium said, hating the thought of having to endure the long night ahead all by herself. ‘How long will you be gone?’

  ‘As long as it takes. I cannot tell you because I don’t know. We have no idea if the guards will surrender or put up a fight. We don’t know where Lynchgate is. If he has escaped already, we will have to go after him. We could be gone for several days. Just don’t venture out anywhere, don’t let anybody into the house, and for tonight, try not to go to sleep.’

  Geranium nodded but felt sick with worry, not for her own safety but for Ronan’s. If she was in such danger in her house, he was going to be in even more danger outside where the threatening presence of Lynchgate lurked. ‘This is your life, isn’t it?’

  ‘It is something I am used to,’ he said with a nod. ‘We will be back as soon as we can.’

  ‘What will you do if Lynchgate is in the woods and decides to break into the safehouse while you have gone?’

  Ronan smiled at her. ‘There is nothing there except for Mr Quinton’s things. Lynchgate cannot steal anything. All we have there are a few personal belongings and a mound of boxes stuffed full of Sminter and Wardle’s papers. He can take them if he wants to but there are rather a lot and he won’t be able to find anything on Wardle’s papers on account of the lemon juice.’

  ‘Have you found any messages?’ Geranium asked.

  Ronan suddenly grinned. The transformation in his face made him look boyish. ‘Yes, we did. Wardle has left notes in lemon juice. We have only found one, but it is enough. He has named the workhouse Master as the thief who has stolen the money.’

  ‘Good L
ord,’ Geranium breathed in awe. ‘So, my uncle was right.’

  ‘Indeed, and thank you for suggesting it,’ Ronan said, smiling down at her with more tenderness than Geranium had ever seen.

  The silence of the night settled around them as Ronan and Geranium stared longingly at each other. Neither of them edged closer, nor stepped away. Unspoken questions lay between them alongside a wealth of emotions neither of them had the confidence to discuss so early in their acquaintance, but they felt their mutual desire, and yes, affection, growing rapidly. It wound around them and charged the atmosphere to the point that Geranium expected flashes of lightning to spark around them at any moment.

  Ronan shifted his weight while he tried to think of something to say. It was only when he glanced down at her, and realised that he was still holding her, that he sucked in a breath and forced himself to say: ‘I have to go.’

  Geranium looked sadly at him. ‘Just stay safe.’

  ‘I could say the same to you,’ he smiled.

  It was then that Geranium realised he was still holding her. ‘Oh!’ she gasped when she looked down at his chest and realised it was inches from her nose.

  Hastily releasing him, Geranium tried to step away only to find that Ronan wouldn’t release her. When she looked up at him it was to see his head lowering toward hers. Geranium knew she should stop him. It was foolish to indulge in another kiss, but the silence of the house was protective. It settled around them and closed out the rest of the world. It dulled her disquiet, settled her doubts, and left them secure from all their fears. In the room, in the house, in the middle of the night, there was just him and her. She could do whatever she wanted. There was nobody in the house who would know, or object, or criticise them for it. There was nobody except for Ronan who would scorn her, and he had as many doubts as she did. She sensed his hesitation, but his head lowered anyway.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The second his lips touched hers, Geranium stepped closer and clung to his shoulders as the pressure of his lips increased.

  Ronan held her as tightly as he could without hurting her. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to show her how much she affected him. Something compelled him to take this moment with her and savour its precious memory later. He couldn’t decide why he wasn’t already out of the door and on his way to meet with his colleagues, but nothing could make him stop. Ronan needed this final moment with her, and it was final, he was sure of it. There could never be another moment like this because these were unique circumstances. It couldn’t be repeated. Inside, it felt as if he was breaking free, from the burgeoning emotions she made him feel, from his growing attraction toward her.

  I am saying goodbye.

  Strangely, while just a few short days ago he would have been relieved to be able to leave, all Ronan could feel now was bitter regret. He had no idea what had changed or when, but at some point over the last few days, Miss Geranium Snetterton had touched his heart. She had not just touched it she had done everything to claim it as hers. He wanted it back. He needed it back because he wasn’t sure where he would end up if he handed it to her. His life, his future, his happiness, and yes, even his choices, would be influenced by her presence in his life. That was the last thing Ronan wanted, no matter what he felt for her.

  I need to work for the Star Elite and be free to come and go as I please.

  He didn’t want to have to spend his life considering the expectations of a wife. But as Ronan contemplated that, he began to wonder when he had started to consider Geranium as his wife.

  It is a warning that I have to get out of here and put some distance between us for a while so I can think a bit more clearly.

  Geranium had a propensity to muddle his thoughts and steal his logic. He stayed when he should have left. Held her more tightly when he should have released her. Geranium was so close to him that he could feel her breath, the thundering of her heart. Ronan still couldn’t release her, though. While she was content to stand in his arms and allow him to kiss her, he was more than happy to indulge and give them both what they wanted. That was dangerous, to his peace of mind and his life with the Star Elite.

  ‘I have to go,’ he whispered eventually.

  The reluctance in his voice was heart-warming.

  ‘Don’t ask,’ he murmured with a rueful smile when he could see the questions beginning to build in her eyes.

  Geranium lifted her brows at him. ‘What makes you think I was going to ask you anything?’ she asked primly.

  ‘Because I have questions that I want you to answer,’ Ronan admitted, mentally wincing when he realised how his words could be misconstrued. ‘I was wrong to be so quick with my judgement of you. I apologise but there is more to my criticism of you than you realise. At the time, I didn’t want to face what I was feeling, but it has crept up on me anyway and is now something that I cannot ignore. I have to do something about it.’

  Geranium’s heart soared. She stared at him with her heart in her eyes, but she didn’t care if he saw it. Right now, Geranium wanted to blurt out what she thought she felt for him, despite their short acquaintance. Despite her delight, there was something in the way he wouldn’t quite meet her gaze, in the way he seemed to mentally retreat, that warned her he was distancing himself from whatever he thought he felt.

  ‘What questions do you want me to answer?’ she asked quietly, trying to think of a way of finding out what was making him wary of his emotions, and what emotions it was he thought he felt.

  ‘I wish I had enough time for us to sit down and talk but I have to leave.’ Ronan released her and stepped back. ‘I am sorry, Geranium.’

  Geranium, unsure what he was apologising for, offered him a gentle smile. Ronan allowed the silence to settle between them. Filtering through the quiet of the night was the faint jangle of harnesses. It created a distance between them that was more than physical. The several feet of distance Ronan put between them seemed to be a silent warning of what she could expect from him, of how he had decided to deal with his emotions.

  Geranium’s heart broke a little. ‘You are leaving.’ She didn’t mean for the workhouse either.

  ‘We have to go and liberate the workhouse,’ Ronan repeated. ‘The magistrate’s men are there and, well, we have found out tonight that most of them are criminals.’

  ‘It will be dangerous to challenge them.’ Geranium’s gaze slid to the gun. The Star Elite didn’t go about giving people guns if they didn’t think the thugs that they were chasing posed a risk to people.

  ‘Gorman is even more dangerous to the unarmed occupants of that workhouse. God only knows what we are going to find when we get inside, but we cannot allow Gorman to preside over the place any longer than we must. We now know that he is a convict, one who received a more lenient sentence than he ought to have had for serious crimes.’

  ‘Because of Judge Sminter,’ Geranium murmured, and was unsurprised when Ronan nodded.

  ‘Have you heard of Gorman?’

  Geranium shook her head. ‘I am afraid I know nothing about him.’

  ‘Do you know who might be able to tell us all about him?’ Ronan pressed.

  ‘I assume the guards will know. Some of them live in the village,’ Geranium replied. ‘But I don’t know much about them either. You would have to ask Mr Muldover. He might be able to tell you. I haven’t heard mother and father discuss the guards but then it isn’t really dinner-time conversation.’

  Ronan knew that a refined lady like Geranium wasn’t going to be aware of the more sordid gossip from the locals. However, a man like Mr Muldover, a man who often frequented the tavern, would.

  When the jangle of harnesses grew closer, Geranium glanced outside but it was too dark to see anything.

  Ronan sucked in a breath and awkwardly said: ‘We have a lot of work to do.’

  ‘Thank you for telling me,’ Geranium murmured. She glanced at the gun. ‘And for that.’

  Ronan realised that he had forgotten one of the reasons for calling upon he
r. ‘Let me show you what to do with it.’ He stepped forward and lifted the gun off the table. ‘Hold it,’ he said, holding it out to her.

  Geranium’s hand shook when she took it off him again. It felt heavy, cold, unfamiliar. It was worrying that it was loaded. The thought of having to use it made her want to cry, but she knew it was the only thing that would keep her safe.

  ‘What do you expect?’ Geranium asked before correcting her question. She struggled to concentrate on what she wanted to say. The presence of the gun was distracting. ‘What do you expect Lynchgate to do? Do you think he is at the workhouse?’

  ‘We don’t know. I hope he is, but we won’t know until we get there. Nobody can be considered safe until we have arrested Lynchgate, Gorman, and everyone who has been helping them with their criminal activity in the workhouse. Stay on guard and keep watch. You have to protect yourself.’

  Aware of how much the gun was shaking, Ronan moved to stand behind her. He reached around her to cup her hands around the gun in an intimate pose that heightened the sensual tension between them. Geranium knew that if she looked sideways his lips would be so close to hers that she would be able to kiss him. The temptation to do just that was difficult to resist. It was the presence of the gun that stopped her. It was dangerous, and a stark reminder that all was not well with her world.

  ‘Always keep the gun pointed away from you,’ Ronan murmured, trying desperately to keep his mind off kissing her again. ‘Tug this trigger back with your thumb until it clicks then tug on this lever here to fire the weapon. When it fires it will make a loud noise and jerk in your hand. Make sure you don’t drop it. Hold it tightly. If you miss your target and drop your weapon you are just as vulnerable as you would have been without it. Any intruder will take advantage of your distraction when you pick it up.’

  ‘Do you think that Lynchgate will turn up here?’ Geranium asked worriedly.

  ‘I hope he won’t,’ Ronan whispered fervently. Now that she knew what to do with the gun, Ronan turned her to face him. ‘I am hoping that he will be arrested and be behind bars by dawn.’