He was bloody grateful that Archie had turned around and come to help, but was horrified that he had brought Portia with him. Glancing at her, and the assassin that was approaching her intently, her situation was now as dire as his and Archie’s. He glared down at Archie feeling his temper surge, but Archie was lost in the throws of battle with two opponents of his own. Shaking his head at the folly of the love-lorn, Pie kicked the clawing hands away from his ankles and threw a fist at a particularly stubborn Guard who kept trying to climb onto the roof beside him.
Portia glared at the man before her in outrage. As far as she could tell, Pie’s order was virtually impossible to carry out. There were at least six men between her and the carriage, even if she discounted Archie. Now though, she had a problem of her own to contend with. She waited until the Guard was almost beside her and lifted her foot out of the stirrup. The horse shifted uncomfortably and she had to grab at the mane to stop herself sliding to the floor. Kicking her foot out, she caught the Guard under the chin, and watched as the man staggered back, clutching his jaw. Shaking his head, he surged toward her.
Portia slid down to the ground and staggered backward until the horse’s rump blocked the man from view. Another man spotted her and headed her way, while the first man rounded the horse until he could see her again. He said something in French she didn’t understand but, whatever it was, she wasn’t going to ask for a translation. She glanced at the distance to the carriage and immediately discounted the possibility of getting to Pie. Looking around her, she spied a thick branch that had fallen of the tree beside the road, and picked it up. It was the only weapon she could find. She picked it up and swung around just as the Guard lunged for her.
Lifting the branch, she watched as the Guard looked at her in disbelief before turning his gaze to his stomach, and the rough edges of the branch that were now sticking painfully into his stomach. Despite her revulsion, Portia pushed the branch forward until the man staggered back whereupon she lifted the heavy weapon and smacked him on the head with it. The man collapsed without a murmur.
She saw out of the corner of her eye someone else approach her and swung around, her weapon at the ready, only to glance the second attacker on the side of the head. He too fell to the ground with nothing more than a grunt.
Her courage bolstered by her success, she sought out Archie who was battling three men single-handedly. Their swords and knives chimed sharply in the noon air. Like an outraged Boudicca, she hefted her weapon and waded into the fold.
Later, she could recall no knowledge of how she managed it, but she swung and bashed her way into the group, felling men this way and that until she faced a heavily panting Archie who stared at her with a mixture of shock and awe.
Giving him a shaky smile, they stared at each other for a minute before Archie lunged forward, grabbing her around the waist and shoving her behind him seconds before wading into another fight, but Portia wasn’t about to be deterred so easily.
Ignoring Archie’s orders to get back behind him, she edged toward the carriage and the Guard who was standing on the door trying to stab Pie with a long sword. Jabbing him in the back with her weapon, Portia took the opportunity of him needing to turn around to smack him soundly on the head. When it didn’t appear that he was going to go down at first hit, she smacked him again and again, swinging the weapon to the left and right until his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed onto the floor. She didn’t think anyone she had fought had been killed, and that eased the guilt of what she was doing, for the time being at least.
After all, as Archie had said before, this was war and it was evident that if she didn’t do something to help, neither Pie, Archie or herself, would be likely to survive. The Guards seemed to have come from nowhere. It was astonishing to Portia that so many men could follow them so easily without being seen. That was something that bothered her because, as far as she could tell, Archie had been keeping a close watch on the area around them. So how had the assassins found them so easily and managed to get men into position without being noticed?
Casting the unanswered questions to one side for now, she shared a grin with a clearly impressed Pie and began to swing her weapon.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
How long they battled she never knew. It was impossible to tell how long they took until the last of the Guards fell at the side of the lane but, by the time silence settled around them and the last sword was dropped, all three of them were panting heavily.
Pie dropped down to sit on the carriage roof and winced at the sore cuts on his calves and ankles. Although his thick leather boots had saved him from the worst of the blades, there had been far too many for the boots to protect him altogether, and the one or two blades that had caught him had cut deep enough to sting something fierce.
Panting heavily, he dangled his legs over the side of the carriage and glanced at Portia. She was simply stunning and had fought with a valiant dedication that had been simply amazing to watch. She was, without doubt, the most astounding woman he had ever met. Her hair had fallen out of its pins and now cascaded in wild abandon around her shoulders; the thick log she clutched tightly in her hands had been her weapon of choice and she had wielded it with the dedication and skill of the best swordsmen Pie had ever crossed. He could understand now why Archie had allowed her to follow him. Without either of them, Pie had been hopelessly outnumbered and it would have only been a matter of time before he was taken down.
“The next time I get trapped and have to fight my way out, I want you at my back,” he declared firmly to Portia, shooting her a rueful grin.
Portia stared at him nonplussed, wondering how he could joke at a time like this. Whatever she was about to say was cut off as Archie dragged her around to face him. In contrast to Pie’s affable good humour, Archie was coldly furious. She stared in shock as he ran his hands down her, frantically patting her front and back as he searched her thoroughly. She heard rather than saw Pie snigger, but ignored him.
“I’m fine,” she gasped, trying to capture Archie’s questing hands. “I’m fine,” she repeated when he didn’t seem to hear her. She saw the panic in his eyes and wondered if he had yet to realise that he wasn’t fighting any more. She was answered moments later when he swept her into his arms and buried his face into her neck.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” he muttered, several long moments later. “I thought -” Until his dying day, Archie would never forget the confusing array of emotions that had almost brought him to his knees at the sight of her thrashing and pocking the huge stick she still held. Once or twice she had been targeted by a particularly determined Guard, and Archie had barely covered the distance in time to prevent the lethal blade from reaching her.
It had been a close call on more than one occasion and he would never forget the deep horror he had felt at the sight of her facing three assassins single-handedly. When she began to squirm against the tight hold he had on her, he eased back enough to look down at her beautiful face. The sight unmanned him.
The smudges on her face only heightened her delicate beauty, even if her eyes did still flash a fiery warning.
“If you ever place yourself knowingly in danger like that again, I’ll paddle your backside,” he growled, almost groaning when her shoulders straightened and her eyes flashed chips of green ice at him.
“You can try,” she huffed, pushing against his chest. A dark scowl settled over her face as she glared at him, and he couldn’t resist the lure.
Portia barely had the chance to draw another breath before her lips were captured in a daring kiss that made her stomach flip, and all trace of anger toward him vanish in an instant. This was unlike any kiss he had ever given her before. This was a kiss of possession; a claim upon her soul. She was helpless to do anything but tip her head back and allow him to plunder. Her soul cried out with joy at the need he was unable to restrain and she slumped against him in ready defeat as he drew her against his hardness and captured her head with one steady ha
nd as his lips sought and mated with hers.
They were both panting heavily when he finally lifted his head several minutes later. The sound of Pie moving the horses from the middle of the road broke the sensual hold Archie had so easily woven around her, and she glanced across at him as he hobbled across the road, three horses in tow.
“He’s hurt,” she murmured, flicking Archie a warning glance but Archie was already studying his colleague. Even from several feet away it was clear that Pie had sustained several cuts to his back, legs and ankles. Although Archie would never admit it, Pie was trained not to give up until he took his last breath and would not give in to his injuries until the road was cleared and they had a visible route out of the area.
“Help me move this lot,” Archie ordered, ignoring her comment and hefting the shoulders of one of the injured assassins in careless hands. In all conscience he didn’t care if they were left in the middle of the road and run over by the next carriage that came round the corner, but he couldn’t risk any of the locals coming into contact with them and incurring their vengeance. His thoughts raced with possibilities. They should round them up, tie them up and escort them to a place of safety and wait for them to be collected. Each man needed to be questioned about their part in the spy smuggling operation, and information gathered on their immediate superiors. Given that Pie was now injured, it was impossible to take Portia on to Applemore and leave Pie with so many adversaries.
Together, he and Portia began to drag the bodies to the side of the road. A couple of them started to groan and come round. A firm fist from Archie soon put paid to any threat from them. Portia gasped as she watched the heavy blow Archie gave them, but her instinctive protest lodged in her throat. A small voice warned her that this was after all war, and these were men who were traitors to king and country, and men who had just tried to kill them. But it still went against her soft hearted nature to see anyone deliberately struck in such a way, especially someone who was already injured. She shivered with revulsion and turned around, unable to find the heart to be annoyed or disgusted with Archie. The last few days would remain forever with her and she had no doubt that in comparison to some of the things Archie had seen, this afternoon’s events were a mere triviality. She didn’t know how he coped with the cruelty of it all.
“Glad you came back,” Pie declared, slapping Archie heartily on the back. He was still surprised at Archie’s behaviour toward the beautiful Portia, but couldn’t blame the man. Clearly, he had good taste and if Portia was the one who would bring another of the Star Elite’s men to the altar, then that was fine by him. He was still slightly in awe of the way she had fought so valiantly without question. Most women he knew would have screamed and ended up at the sharp end of the Guards’ blades – helpless female and all that. Shaking his head at the complexities of relationships, and women in particular, Pie winced and bent to drag one of the Guards to the small group Archie and Portia were already assembling.
“I think there is some rope in the back of the carriage,” Pie said when all of the men were laid out in a row. There were twelve in total, although to Pie at the height of the fight it had seemed like a hundred. He couldn’t be entirely sure if some of them had run away, but for now those that remained would provide them with all they needed to know.
Archie collected the rope and together they strung the men together. Pie’s eyes met and held Archie’s meaningfully for several minutes and they both glanced at Portia.
“Don’t start that again,” she warned, dropping her log at her feet with a heavy thump. If she was honest, she was glad to be able to put it down again. It seemed far heavier than it had been when she had used it on the Guards, but it had served its purpose and she was reluctant to leave it by the side of the road.
“Start what?” Archie asked all too innocently.
“Trying to shut me out. I am in the middle of this with you, and I think I have proven that I am more than capable of keeping up with you.” She didn’t think it prudent to point out her less than elegant horse ride, but that was another matter. As long as they didn’t expect her to gallop across fields, she was more than able to keep up with anything they were planning.
“We aren’t shutting you out, but there are things you don’t need to know.”
“Rubbish,” Portia spat. “I am in the middle of this because of what happened back in the church. Have either of you wondered how they managed to get here so quickly?”
“What? What do you know?” Archie demanded, pushing to his feet.
“I don’t know anything, but don’t you think there is something odd about just how quickly they managed to find us? Or that they managed to follow without being seen?” She glanced from one man to the other and motioned to the row of bodies lying on the ground beside them. “I mean, this number of men don’t usually move about without being noticed. It is a veritable army, for heaven’s sakes.”
“You have a point, but I don’t want to upset you,” he warned starkly, flicking a glance at Archie warily.
Portia froze and stared at him in alarm. “You mean, they have got Cecily?”
“We don’t know that,” Archie warned, stepping forward. “We mean that there might be someone who is leaking information, that’s all.”
“What kind of information? Who?” Portia scowled at both men in turn and sighed when they both seemed intent on avoiding her gaze.
Pie sighed and rose to his feet. “We have been given instructions to take you to Applemore, our base. If someone on the wrong side got this information at the same time we did, they could easily arrange for an ambush because they would know which route we would take from Headingly.”
“Is that what this is?” Portia gasped, shivering at the thought of the Guards watching them pass.
“Like you said, it is difficult to move this number of men around without drawing attention,” Archie warned, wondering just who in the Star Elite was the traitor. “They had to be sitting here, waiting.”
“So what do we do now?” Her gaze flew to Archie. “What do we do about Cecily?”
“There is nothing we can do,” Archie sighed, sensing Portia’s argument. “She is with Jamie, and he won’t let anything hurt her.”
“But if they have been ambushed too -” Portia turned horror filled eyes on Pie who glanced back at her sympathetically.
“If Cecily is anything like you, she will be able to help fight their way out of any confrontation. Right now, we have to consider what we are going to do next because it is obvious that you cannot go to Applemore.” Pie turned to Archie and watched him nod solemnly.
“Monkton Castle,” Archie declared flatly in a voice that brooked no argument.
Pie’s brows rose and he glanced askance at his colleague. “My homestead in Gloucestershire.”
“Good enough.” Pie glanced down at the men. “What do we do with this lot?” If he was honest, there was nothing that would have pleased Pie more than to seek a little vengeance interrogating each and every one of them, but they didn’t have the time to waste.
“We will send word for help to meet us at Battlington, and hand them over there.”
“We will be considerably slower dragging this lot with us,” Pie warned, glancing over at Portia.
“I could take them to Battlington, while you and Portia head toward your castle,” Pie offered, watching Archie’s head shake slowly before he had even finished.
“We know that when they are attacking, they are doing so in larger numbers. You will be overwhelmed next time.”
He hated to admit it, but Archie was right. It was better for them to stick together, but it would be slow going.
“The alternative is that you take these to the local jail and drop them off. They are all French and I seriously doubt they will have the papers to explain why they are in the country. You can inform your colleagues as to their whereabouts and they can be collected whenever your associates are ready. There is a jail at Bodmin only a few miles south,” Portia declared flatly
, considering the distance they would need to cover with a baleful eye on her horse.
Pie snickered and threw a rueful glance at Archie who shook his head. It was a possibility he had never considered. He had spent so long in the Star Elite that he had grown used to working as a small unit without the assistance of outside forces. What Portia was suggesting was simple, logical and would solve all of their problems.
“We cannot double back on ourselves. We could cross paths with anyone coming this way,” Pie reasoned, impressed with Portia’s logic.
“There is another jail at Tolbridge, that will do,” Archie reasoned, mentally running over the area. They couldn’t put the Guards in a smaller jail that could be over-run, but Tolbridge was of equal size to Bodmin, if not slightly larger. The nationality of the men they were leaving there would be enough to ensure they were accommodated. That, and the message he would ensure one of their men took to London, and Simon’s house in Much Hampton.
With all of them in agreement, they started nudging and poking the sluggish Guards until they were mostly upright. Those that weren’t, were dragged along by their comrades until all were standing bleary eyed and belligerent at the side of the field.
“We’ll skirt round the village,” Pie declared firmly, vaulting into the saddle of one of the horses. He had unsaddled the rest of the horses that had now been split between three of the surrounding fields with the saddles hidden beneath an old tree further down the lane. Someone in the local area was going to get a bonus when they noticed, but at least someone was going to get something out of this afternoon’s brush with death.
His Lady Spy (The Star Elite Series) Page 15
