The Counterfeit Lady_A Regency Romance

by Alina K. Field

  He frowned and glanced over his shoulder. “We are quite alone, cherie. No one is coming to rescue you.”

  Chapter 19

  The coastal path and the fields behind were dark and silent. The only noise was the crashing surf.

  Anger reared in her. Bloody Fox—he wasn’t coming.

  Perry yanked Pip around. The skiff with the other villains had disappeared round a point. They were quite alone with this villain.

  And they must save themselves.

  “Do as I do, Pip,” she whispered, easing him closer to the cliff edge. He planned to shoot and push them over.

  “Very good.” The Frenchman sounded pleased. “Now you will kneel. I should have liked more time with you, cherie, but I must be off. I am good at what I do. You and the boy will feel no pain.”

  “I can swim,” she whispered. “On three.” She put a foot back and bent her other knee, pretending to kneel.

  “One, two, three.”

  They catapulted off, and heard both shots before hitting the water.

  Bloody hell. He’d been almost too late.

  Fox ran to the promontory, shifting the hot pistol to his other hand and pulling out a knife. He skirted the dark-clad body and ran to the edge.

  His heart all but stopped. The Frenchman had got off one shot. Perry or Pip, he couldn’t bear seeing either hit.

  One shot wouldn’t have pushed them over this cliff. They’d jumped―in time, he hoped.

  Perry’s head crested the surface, and his heart started again. She gulped air, thrashing, fighting to stay afloat, pulling at the boy who finally surfaced.

  Fox bent to the Frenchman and sliced his throat, neat and deep. He dropped pistols, knives and coats, tore off his boots, and jumped.

  Bloody hell, the cold.

  He’d cannonballed, bounced off the mercifully deep enough bottom and shot up again. Currents grabbed him, pulling fiercely while he fought, and gulped air, and spat water.

  There. She and the boy had been pushed further out. He grabbed the force of a retreating wave and shredded through water, every muscle in his arms and chest and legs moving and kicking.

  He grabbed for her, and the current pulled her away.

  A swell massed behind them. He treaded water, waiting, waiting, and “Kick!” he shouted.

  The wave launched them up. He shot toward them and snagged the boy’s arm.

  “Kick, Pip.”

  “I am.” The boy snorted up water. “It’s too far.”

  “We’ll get there. Are you all right, Perry?”

  Her teeth chattered. “Y-yes.”

  The next wave sent them in closer, close enough for him to stand neck high, the rocks cutting into his stockings and feet. He hoisted the boy onto his hip, and braced against the retreating current, until it shifted. They staggered the rest of the way out of the water, Perry dragging along with them by her tether to Pip.

  Perry pulled a knife from her boot, hands shaking.

  “Let me.” He pried the knife from her grip and sawed at their bindings. Dark fluid trickled down her head. That was blood.

  “He hit you,” he said through clenched teeth.

  Perry’s shivering kicked up to a frantic pace, shock overtaking her.

  God’s blood, she’d almost died.

  “Who was he, Pip?”

  “I don’t know,” he rattled out quickly, “Some Frenchie.” The boy glanced up at the promontory. “He got away.”

  Fox saw the fear blooming on the boy’s face. “No. He didn’t.”

  “You killed ’im?” Pip’s eyes went big. “You ain’t a real painter?”

  “I’m a painter.”

  The rope gave way and the boy clambered to his feet. “Can you walk?” Fox asked him.

  “Aye.”

  Fox scooted near Perry, pulled out his tucked shirt and pressed the hem to her head. “You’re bleeding, my lady.”

  Her head plopped onto his chest, rattling his breath and his heart.

  “Pip, run up there onto the point. Bring my boots, my coats, my pistols and my knives. Make two trips if you have to. Careful with the weapons.”

  The boy scooted off.

  He lifted her chin to gaze into her eyes.

  “I h-hear you, th-thinking. Sh-she shouldn’t have left.”

  He wanted to throttle her. Now wasn’t the time.

  She took a deep breath and steadied herself. “I’ll get it right the next time.”

  “There won’t be a next time.” He braced an arm around her shoulders and settled his lips against hers, his cheek pressing her nose. She was cold, so cold―her lips, nose, and shoulders. He nipped and teased, trying to get her to open, trying to warm her.

  She turned away. “No.”

  “Yes.” He forced her chin around and pressed again, nudging her lips with his tongue. “You could have died,” he murmured. I could have lost you.

  “No,” she groaned.

  There’d be no next time. It was this time. This time for them. This night, and as many more as he could manage before Shaldon came and killed him.

  He pressed and caressed, found his way under her coat to her breast, teasing the nipple, already hard from the cold. She gasped and opened and accepted his kiss. Heat swamped him and he pushed it at her, letting it swirl around them both. He shifted and sat, pulling her onto his lap, into his heat, kissing her.

  A loud throat-clearing interrupted. Clutching her tightly, he broke the kiss and looked up.

  Pip stood shivering, his arms full of coats. Davy held the knives and the pistols. Gaz had the boots.

  Even in the dark, he could see Gaz’s glower.

  “Buggerin’ painter,” Gaz muttered.

  “Gentlemen.” Fox held onto Perry. “Give me that coat. Pip, wrap yourself in the waistcoat.”

  “No.” Davy set down the weapons, shed his own coat and wrapped it around his boy. “You’re drippin’ too. You take the waistcoat.”

  Fox draped Perry in both his waistcoat and coat and started pulling on his boots.

  “What about ’im?” Gaz jerked his head toward the promontory.

  Perry stumbled to her knees. “He’s still there?”

  “Dead and drained like a pig,” Davy said. “Neck flappin’. Dear God, Pip. Scruggs told me about the errand. Said you should’ve been back. What the hell did you get into? Dear God.”

  She struggled to her feet and reached for the boy. “You’re c-cold.”

  “No, m-miss.”

  “Miss?” Gaz peered closer.

  “They’ll f-find him.” She started toward the path.

  She was befuddled as hell. “Wait, Perry.” He stowed his weapons and followed her.

  “G-going up. R-roll him in.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  Footsteps crunched in the gravel behind them. “He shot at us, Da.”

  “Wait up, you two,” Davy said. “Come on, Gaz. Grab us some big rocks on the way up. We’ll give him a proper burial.”

  “We have to go that way anyway to get back to the road,” Fox said. “I need to check his pockets.”

  “Aye, and that was a damn fine gun,” Gaz said.

  “We’ll go through them pockets and get those guns. Might be some dry powder too,” Davy said. “You keep the lady and my boy here out of the wind so you don’t catch your death.”

  Could he trust them?

  Davy pushed Pip toward him. “We needs do this now. Don’t want them spotting a body from the road.”

  “It will go faster with my help, and we can be on the road,” Fox said.

  “That road be busy tonight with pack trains coming south.”

  “Do you know another way back?”

  “Scruggs keeps a skiff here and there. Be cold on the water, but we’ll get back faster.”

  “Check pockets, boots, seams. Under his cap. Keep the weapons and money. Bring me the rest.”

  Davy nodded and pulled Gaz along.

  “And, Davy…”

  The man turned. Fox swept
his arms around the boy and Perry. “Thank you.”

  The cold breeze lashed like the devil’s own blade through the tight weave of Fox’s wool coat. Just as soon as she’d willed herself to stop quivering, a fresh slap of air would come down the cliff, snake under her wet clothing, and into her scattered brain.

  Fox seemed to know these local men who guided them along the coast, through rock beds and craggy mires. The best route was this way, they said. She’d balked—it didn’t seem right. Once they reached the end of this narrow bay, there’d be no way out but up a sheer cliff, and she didn’t think her frozen legs would bear her.

  “Trust my da,” Pip had said.

  Fox had simply picked her up and carried her. She was lodged now against his chest, feeling the wild pounding of his heart, hearing his labored breath.

  “I can walk.” She said it, over and over, a mad litany, while she shivered.

  They’d almost been murdered.

  Tears sprang, and she sniffed mightily and said again, “I can walk.”

  She’d almost been murdered. She’d have never talked to her father again, or seen Sirena’s and Gracie’s and Paulette’s new babies born, or played with her niece and nephew again, or been held like this in such strong arms.

  “I can walk.”

  “Shush,” Fox said.

  “I’m too heavy. Lumbering beast.”

  He stopped and his breath warmed her, his lips searched her cheek, bumped her nose, and found her lips.

  “Here it is,” one of the men said gruffly.

  Fox lifted his head, leaving her quaking for more.

  He set her on her feet and clamped an arm around her, like a footman steadying a prized piece of porcelain. Mama used to hold the precious Limoges chocolate pot like that, a gift from father, while her maid wrapped it in cotton wool. It traveled to town with them whenever they went.

  She needed to walk. She lifted a foot and felt the squishing. Jewelry, bank notes: all wet.

  Fox lifted her into a rough wooden boat and climbed in behind her. Pip clambered in next to her. The boat tipped wildly with the other men boarding, and then they were off, the two local men rowing.

  Fox’s warmth poured into her back. He shifted, and sharp pain sliced through her, making her gasp.

  He quickly adjusted her. “You’re injured?”

  “A bruise.” The ocean sparkled where stars broke through the clouds. “Those men. If we see them—”

  “We loaded the pistols, miss.”

  Pip was clearer-headed than she. She hadn’t noticed them loading the weapons. Perhaps she’d fainted for a moment. But if they saw the men, and they had pistols…She rolled her head toward the boy. “The big man is mine.”

  “Best to not speak much,” Fox whispered. “Sound carries.”

  Fox held her, thoughts burning. Perry wouldn’t have a chance to shoot either man. He’d tear them limb from limb, and let their weighted bodies land in the water next to their French friend.

  The man’s pockets and hems had been empty—no letters, no laissez-passer, no encrypted instructions. No tobacco, no keys, no money. He’d stayed at a safe house somewhere near Scarborough. He’d worked for someone near Scarborough. Probably the real John Black.

  And what the devil was this? If Scruggs was sending messages to his men about John Black, he wasn’t in league with the man. And how did Carvelle fit in?

  The rhythmic swish of the oars and Perry’s regular breathing lulled him. She cradled the boy, and Fox held her, all the dry coats draping them. For now, her trembling had stopped.

  They stayed close to the shore in the shallow-hulled boat and the cliffs helped break the force of the wind.

  He’d never be a match for her, but he’d give her as much as he could without taking all of her innocence. He’d keep giving until Perry was tired of him, or until Shaldon stepped in and murdered him.

  The coronation would take place in mere days. After that, Shaldon would make haste for Gorse Cottage. Whether or not Fox sent a message, the spy lord would have sources to pass on the news of his daughter’s adventure.

  He heard a sharp intake of breath, a muffled oath, and the oars stopped. They’d rounded another point, and almost collided with a cutter.

  Chapter 20

  Fox spotted the union jack fluttering astern and his heart started beating again.

  A crew member hailed them.

  “Shite,” Gaz mumbled.

  Fox pushed Perry and Pip up. “We’ll come alongside,” Fox shouted. “Do it,” he told Gaz and Davy.

  “Out for a row?” The uniformed officer peered down at the boat. “It is a fine evening.”

  Another man, attired in dark coats, came up beside the officer.

  Fox’s nerves prickled, and he pulled the coats higher over Perry. He didn’t recognize the man, but he knew the look.

  And still, the role must be played. “I’m Goodfellow, from Gorse Cottage. Two of my servants were waylaid and robbed on their way back from Scarborough. Villains held them awhile. We found them just in time to fish them out of the water.” He shifted again and braced his arms on the sides of the boat. “Three men on their way to the point north of the cottage took them and left them for dead. They were in a great hurry to meet a shipment coming in further north. Didn’t want witnesses.”

  “Your vessel looks like a smuggler’s craft to me. What else have you got in that boat?” the officer asked.

  “Nought but these two wet bedraggled bodies needing dry clothes and medical attention. Drop a man over to search if you will, but hurry before a fever takes them.”

  The two men conversed quietly.

  “What are they bringing in?” the civilian asked.

  “We don’t know.”

  “You two at the oars. What are they bringing?”

  Davy looked at Gaz. “Sir, we don’t know. My boy’s freezing and I’d like to get him home safe and dry him up.”

  “Can your boys identify the smugglers?”

  Perry swayed in her seat and began to gag. Fox steadied her as she leaned her head over the side, hair shielding her face. Nothing came of her dry heaving, and he wondered if it was a ruse.

  “No,” Pip called. “It were nobody from here, I think.”

  “What does the other one say?”

  “This one was beaten almost senseless. For God’s sake, go north and check. Come round to the cottage after, if you will,” Fox said. Shoot at us if you will. “Gorse Cottage. Oars in, boys.”

  “Assassins,” she whispered.

  “Shhh,” he breathed into her ear. Assassins. She’d pronounced it the French way.

  “Wait,” she croaked up at the boat. The plainly dressed gentleman took out a spy glass.

  Fox pushed her down.

  “They were meeting assassins,” she whispered.

  “What is he saying?” the officer shouted.

  “The cargo might be an assassin.”

  At a word from the gentleman, the Captain turned to give orders.

  The gentleman leaned over the decking. “Take care of your servants, and get yourself into dry clothes, Goodfellow. Your work here is done.”

  The cutter sailed away, and Davy and Gaz took up their oars.

  Perry sat up and rested her face against her cupped hands. “Farnsworth.” She moaned.

  Farnsworth. He knew the name. Farnsworth worked with Shaldon.

  “Lean back,” he said. “You might be concussed.”

  Her head moved side to side. “I am sick from this infernal rocking, is all.”

  He draped an arm over her. “He couldn’t see you.”

  “He will know. They always know. You always know.”

  As the boat rocked, she gripped the side.

  “I don’t get seasick,” Pip said. The boy seemed completely recovered. Even his teeth had stopped chattering. “Look, we’re almost there.”

  They rounded a point and saw the dark mass of Gorse Cottage in the distance. The dimmest of lights twinkled behind closed kitchen shutt
ers. Except for the departing cutter, the coastline was free of vessels.

  Farnsworth might wait until the next day to visit. They still had days until the coronation, and then at the very least one or two more before Shaldon could reach the cottage. Fox could put off Farnsworth by hiding Perry away. There must be a smuggler’s hidey hole somewhere in that massive hillside.

  They could hole up together until she recovered, and then take a packet over to Holland.

  He shook his head at the mad thought. Perry had no place with him, nor he with her. Besides, he would finish this mission. Shaldon had sent him here to find his last spy, Gregory Carvelle, and he’d stay on to solve the mystery of Lady Shaldon’s death.

  Perry leaned to the side and gulped air. Her cap had come off in the water, and her hair straggled around her collar, the cut uneven. Her hair, curling down to her waist, had been glorious, ephemeral, turning her into the goddess of the picture he’d painted over, the one he still held in his heart. He’d always see that side of her.

  But now, with short hair, men’s clothing wet and plastered against her curves, the bare determined hands gripping the side of this boat, now he could almost believe she was just a woman, vulnerable, real, and accessible, even to one such as him.

  Heat coursed through him and he leaned forward, resting his chin on her shoulder.

  He felt the shiver that rippled through her. “We must get those wet clothes off you. We must get you warm.”

  “Who are they going to kill, Fox?” she whispered.

  He saw the slight stiffening in Davy’s and Gaz’s backs.

  “The King probably,” she said. “We must send word to my father.”

  Perry huffed her way up the hillside path, clinging like a girl to Fox. At the crest, she gulped in breaths that shattered pain through her back, while Fox whispered to Davy and Gaz.

  Hunching against the cold, she set out for the cottage. She’d made it this far, she could make it the rest of the way.

  Strong arms came around her and before she could utter a protest, Fox hoisted her up like a babe. Her teeth chattered too fiercely for her to object.

  The kitchen door opened and the immediate sensation of warmth sent her shivering out of control. Jenny stood wringing her hands, but when the door slammed, just the three of them remained. The two men and Pip had gone their own way.