Righteous Rumours (The Hero Next Door Series Book 4)

by Rebecca King

  Geranium struggled to know what to say. She knew that Ronan didn’t have any answers because he had no idea what would happen in the next few hours but keeping him talking reduced the amount of time that she would be alone in the house.

  Worrying about him.

  ‘We need to leave.’ To prove him right, three owl-like hoots sounded outside. ‘That’s our signal that everyone is ready.’

  Shoving all personal feelings for Geranium aside, Ronan straightened his shoulders and offered her a brisk, impersonal smile. ‘Right, let me show you how to reload the weapon and then I will go. Just point it at the person who gets inside but please, make sure that you see who it is before you fire, just in case Kitty decides to call at the house to check on you in the morning.’ Ronan then spent a few moments showing Geranium how to put new bullets into the gun.

  When he had finished, Geranium studied the loaded weapon in her hand. ‘I hope I don’t have a reason to use it,’ she murmured, more to herself than to Ronan.

  When he saw fear lingering in her eyes, Ronan smiled reassuringly at her, but another three hoots interrupted him from saying too much. Ronan backed toward the door with bitter regret in his eyes. ‘I am sorry, Geranium.’

  Because he couldn’t just walk out of her life, Ronan tried to think of something, anything, he could say that would ease what was turning out to be a difficult situation. ‘Look, when we return, we will make those hooting sounds.’ Ronan pointed to the window. ‘Don’t answer the door to anybody until then. Whatever you do, make sure that the door is locked behind me and don’t open it again for anybody, no matter who it is. Nobody should call upon you in the middle of the night, Geranium, not least because you are a single lady living here by yourself. There can be no emergency in the village anybody should need your help with. If someone does knock, stay alert and don’t be distracted. Stay inside and stay safe.’

  Geranium nodded and knew that it was going to be a very long night indeed. She was cold, tired, but also felt incredibly alive. The last few moments had been the strangest she had ever experienced. While she was pleased that Ronan had come to talk to her, she was perturbed about why he had kissed her again while also making it clear that he didn’t want to further their acquaintance and hope for a more permanent relationship. Despite his obvious confusion about his feelings, he had kissed her with a passion that was overwhelming. He could have shown her how to use the gun but touched her as little as possible. It seemed that he had done everything possible to make their association intimate while at the same time making it clear that he had to leave her.

  ‘We have to talk,’ he murmured softly when she looked up at him. ‘About us. While I have no excuse for my behaviour, I don’t regret our kisses. I could never regret them.’

  ‘Me neither,’ she whispered sadly.

  ‘I am sorry for what I said about you the other day in the street. It was ill judged and ill timed. You didn’t deserve that,’ Ronan added.

  ‘But you found me an irritation,’ Geranium said bluntly with an offhand shrug. ‘Everybody does. I am used to it.’

  ‘You shouldn’t be,’ Ronan grumbled. ‘If I am honest, it wasn’t your questions I found irritating, Geranium.’ He sighed and eyed the door but hesitated. ‘I have to admit that I have not been entirely honest with myself about you and this – thing – between us. However, I know that I would be a fool if I just walked away from you, from this, from us, without exploring what we could have. With your permission, I would like to call upon you when this investigation is all over, so we can spend some time getting to know each other.’

  There was an air of resignation about him that made Geranium scowl. He didn’t sound like he wanted to spend time getting to know her. Hurt made her voice sharp when she said: ‘Neither of us should feel obliged to do anything about this, this-’ she waved a hand ineffectually at the space between them. ‘I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything. I mean, all we have shared is just a kiss or two. My parents aren’t here, and I really have no expectation of you.’

  ‘Has anybody made you feel the way our kisses do?’ Ronan challenged, aware that his masculine pride was going to be dented if she said that someone had.

  ‘No,’ she admitted almost instantly.

  It shook Ronan to realise just how much her answer mattered to him. He ran a hand through his hair and willed himself to remember that his colleagues were waiting for him. Even so, it was with great reluctance that he eyed the door and took another reluctant step toward it.

  ‘Just go. Your colleagues are waiting,’ Geranium prompted when he still hesitated.

  ‘Good night, Geranium. Stay safe,’ Ronan whispered once he was at the door.

  Geranium saw Roger at the edge of the garden, alone, waiting impatiently for Ronan. The rest of the men were nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Lock the door,’ Ronan urged softly as he stepped outside.

  Thankfully, Geranium hadn’t opened any of the windows or shutters since he and his colleagues had secured them earlier. As soon as Ronan had gone, Geranium locked the door and slid the bolt across for good measure. She then wedged a chair beneath the doorknob before working her way around the house to secure all the doors the same way. She didn’t stop until she had checked the ties Ronan had wound around the handles on the French doors as well so that if anybody did smash the glass the doors still couldn’t be opened.

  Geranium didn’t stop until the house was a veritable fortress. Only then did she reluctantly take a quick peek out of the shutter at the back of the house. Thankfully, the moonlight allowed her to see the garden, and banished most of the shadows of the night. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see Ronan. He had left for the workhouse with Roger, leaving her to her thoughts, and the rather overwhelming silence of the empty night.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ Roger asked quietly as he and Ronan approached the workhouse a short while later.

  ‘I will feel better when this is over with.’

  ‘Which? The workhouse or Geranium?’ Roger prompted.

  Ronan sighed. ‘Both.’

  ‘She matters.’ It wasn’t a question. Roger looked worriedly at Ronan. He suspected that something had happened at Geranium’s house that had upset his colleague. Roger made a mental note to stay as close to Ronan as possible just in case he was distracted by his feelings toward Geranium.

  For once, Ronan didn’t argue. ‘It’s damned difficult to understand.’

  ‘Affairs of the heart often are,’ Roger mused. ‘I mean, neither Joshua nor I expected to find wives. Joshua was just as determined as you to remain a bachelor, but his marriage has brought him nothing but happiness. There is no reason why a marriage to Geranium couldn’t make you just as happy.’

  ‘I have always been in the army or working with the Star Elite. My adult life has involved little more than fighting criminals or opponents. I don’t know if I can do anything else,’ Ronan sighed. He hated to admit it aloud but knew that if anybody would understand what turmoil he was in it would be Roger.

  ‘Look at me,’ Roger whispered. ‘I have been through a similar experience to you. When you are with the Star Elite you don’t live like ordinary people. Our work involves long hours, in the middle of the night, and is a large part of who we are. It is not just what we do. We cannot just go back to normal life because it takes a long time to get used to the peace of an ordinary house, being able to sleep in our beds at night, living life with the freedom to make our own choices. It takes a long time to settle into a normal rhythm of life, but I do. It is possible for you to as well. It just takes practice.’ Roger threw him a grin. ‘It does help if you have a stunning woman at home waiting for you, though.’

  Ronan rolled his eyes but was starting to understand what Roger meant. Although he was riding away from Geranium, Ronan was aware that there was a link between him and Geranium now that felt as if he was as connected to the house she lived in as she was. While he was physically at the workhouse, his mind, and yes, his heart, remained with Ger
anium. He was going to worry about her until he could return to her and see for himself that nothing had hurt her while he had been away. For now, all he could do was set aside his inner worries and feelings and focus on the work he had to do for the Star Elite.

  ‘What do you find irritating about her?’ Roger asked when they were approaching the large, wooden delivery doors of the workhouse’s delivery yard.

  ‘At first, I thought it was her questions. She was so inquisitive that I found her constant need for information frustrating, but I now realise that I felt annoyed because my work with the Star Elite meant that I couldn’t answer her questions. She wanted to know things about me that had to remain secret like why we are here, who I am, where I come from. It created a distance between us that was confusing because I have been compelled to see her. At first, I was happy to keep my distance from her because I like my life with the Star Elite. However, now I want something more, from her, from us, from this, this, connection we have. God knows what it is, or where it has come from, but it is there. I have tried to ignore it. I have even let Peregrine spend time with her but ended up insanely bloody jealous of him and their friendship. It was there for the world to see the other day in the town. The entire area saw them whispering to each other, and that is what caused the locals to gossip so much about her and question her morals at church the other Sunday.’

  ‘Until she told them that we are Star Elite,’ Roger said.

  ‘She had no choice. It is unfair to claim that she has had any choice about being drawn into our investigation. She was in her garden when we rode past her house the day we arrived. Geranium was the first villager who got a good look at us all together. Her curiosity was understandable. I am not saying that no other villagers saw us, but Geranium really watched us because she wanted to know what we were doing in the area. In just a few short moments, she knew what we looked like and where we were staying.’

  ‘You kept looking at her on that first day,’ Roger warned. ‘It was obvious to all of us that you were attracted to her. Most women like her would have made you look but ride on without bothering to look back, yet you couldn’t take your eyes off her. I think you were ensnared by her the first second you clapped eyes on her, and that is what has made you resistant to her questions.’

  ‘I know that now,’ Ronan snorted. ‘I just have to work extra hard to get her to think of me as a potential suitor, a future mate. Geranium is wary because I have been uncouth with my criticism of her, and I have hurt her. For that, I am sorry.’

  ‘All any of us can do is learn from our mistakes and make sure that we don’t keep repeating them. Any fool can repeat the same mistakes over and over. If they don’t learn they will live in perpetual misery brought about by their own foolishness. It is the wisest who learn from their mistakes and do everything possible to make sure that they aren’t repeated. You have learnt to be more aware of Geranium’s feelings and that can only make you wiser, less inclined to jump to conclusions, not just with Geranium but with everyone else. I confess that when I first met Leonora, everything in my life was settled. I didn’t see any reason why I should turn my life on its head to settle down and have children, but now that I have, I am bloody glad I did. My life has a different purpose now than it had several months ago. I have a reason to get the criminals off the streets and it is so my wife and children can go about their lives without being bullied, mugged, raped, attacked, or assaulted in their own homes by thugs who should know better. Nobody is above the law in this country. Criminals think they are the exception to the rule because they have committed crimes. If everybody behaved like them the entire world would collapse, nobody would be able to live their lives, and nobody would prosper because of it. The very fact that some people do enjoy life is because their lives haven’t been touched by the criminal mentality of others. Criminals take things, they help themselves to other people’s lives, belongings, property, joy, security, peace of mind. That is fact. There isn’t a criminal in any county gaol who hasn’t stolen one of those from some innocent soul going about their own business. It is our job to make sure that the criminals understand that they are a minority, even the gangs. They aren’t indestructible, they just think they are because they have surrounded themselves with like-minded fools who can all lie for them. However, lies have a way of revealing the truth, and no liar will ever go through life continually lying about what they have done, and who their victims are, without the truth unfolding eventually.’ Roger sighed and forced himself to calm down. ‘I am sorry, Ronan. I didn’t mean to rant at you. It just makes me angry that criminals think they can do what they like. We have a job to do with the Star Elite. If you are lucky enough to find a woman who understands the work you do, and loves you anyway, keep her. Our work is important, but it cannot be the only important element of our lives. We are men, first and foremost. The Star Elite won’t give you happy memories to look back on when you are old and grey. We can’t provide you with a happy family life, or children. Only the love of a good woman like Geranium can do that.’

  ‘I don’t know if I can be what she needs,’ Ronan confessed.

  ‘Then take some time to contemplate if there is some middle ground you can both accept; one that is similar to what I have with Leonora. If your love is strong enough you can be happy.’

  Ronan knew that his colleague was adamant about what he was saying by the force of his words, but even so, Roger had been lucky to meet a woman like Leonora. However, Ronan knew that not all women were the same, and had the same attitude toward what the Star Elite did like Leonora.

  ‘Stay away from Geranium if you doubt that it is going to lead to anything more permanent,’ Roger warned finally. ‘Don’t hurt her, Ronan.’

  ‘We are ready,’ Hamish announced when Roger and Ronan arrived at the delivery doors of the workhouse a few moments later.

  Shoving aside all personal discussion, both Roger and Ronan dismounted and went to join both their colleagues and Harrison’s men.

  The vast structure of the workhouse sat before them; an imposing four-storey building which was stark to look at because of the rows of small windows and the dark brickwork. It sat a little like a panther, crouched amidst the undergrowth, waiting to pounce on its prey. In the middle of the night, everything around it was still and silent. There were no birds chirping in the trees, no scuttling of animals in the woodland to the right of the main building. Nothing stirred except for the men who were preparing to do battle.

  The soft jangle of the horses’ harnesses, the quiet creaking of the leather, was the only noise they made, until Roger said: ‘Nobody would willingly volunteer to go to a workhouse. People who end up in there have been forced there because life has turned against them. The last thing they should have to face is for the roof over their heads to become a gaol, confining them for crimes they haven’t committed. We must make sure that the self-important, self-righteous guards face justice for their arrogance. Justice has to be served at all times but only by men in authority like us.’

  The men spent several moments discussing the different routes they were going to take to get into the workhouse. Thankfully, Harrison had already prepared for such an event, and had already secured the equipment the Star Elite were going to need to break into the building in the undergrowth nearby.

  ‘Hamish, Joshua, set the small explosives. Let’s get those doors open,’ Roger announced grimly.

  They paused when Harrison appeared, but after just a few moments of brief discussion, the mission to break into the workhouse began.

  ‘Ready,’ Joshua announced when the last of the gunpowder had been put into position.

  ‘Two of my men are with Hamish at the front of the building. We haven’t got enough powder for the side door the staff use, but we can get that open once we are in the delivery yard,’ Harrison explained.

  ‘Where do these doors lead us?’ Ronan asked, nodding to the huge black doors before them.

  Roger, who had already seen the architect’s drawings
of the workhouse explained. ‘These doors open to a small group of outbuildings used for storage. There is also a small, make-shift mortuary, and a guard’s room where the guards on patrol take rest periods. The guards patrolling the outside of the workhouse don’t venture inside. The guards inside don’t come out unless they are removing a body. The place is locked up tightly so once we get into the delivery yard, we have to make sure that we remove the guards on patrol while a team gets to work on getting in through the kitchen door. It is weaker than the front door, more fragile. We will go straight to the master’s office. If Gorman is there, we will find him.’

  ‘I hope he is in Lynchgate’s office with Lynchgate,’ Harrison muttered.

  Once all the men had confirmed they were ready, and had checked their weapons for shot, Harrison lit the gunpowder and they all stood back to wait for the blasts.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Despite being braced for them, the blasts that shattered the peace of the night made everyone jump. Within seconds, the men surged into the yard and scattered in all directions. All the outbuildings were searched, and the stunned guards rounded up with shocking speed. Few put up a fight once Harrison told them who he was, and the guards saw the number of guns the new arrivals had trained on them.

  Ronan kicked the lock on the kitchen door and watched the wooden frame shatter. Within seconds, he was inside the kitchen. Together, Ronan, Roger, and Daniel, crept through the silent workhouse, searching every room they passed. It was so still and quiet that Ronan began to wonder if anybody was alive in the building.

  ‘Something is wrong here,’ Daniel whispered.

  Roger shook his head. ‘Now either everyone who lives here are deaf or they are not in the building.’

  ‘Where could they have gone?’ Daniel asked.

  ‘Keep searching. We need to remember which corridors we have checked. Hamish and his team are working toward us so the closer we get to the front of the building the more we need to be careful not to shoot anybody who joins us,’ Roger warned.