However, putting that thought aside for now, she still had no intention of standing in the rain watching the man hurt Harper. She had a weapon, and wasn’t afraid to use it if she really had to. The thought of hitting anyone with the stick in her hand made her feel slightly sick, but this was a matter of life and death now.
“Get off him,” she shouted and hefted the cane threateningly.
The attacker immediately froze and turned toward her. It was all the distraction Harper needed to land a solid blow to the man’s jaw. When the attacker rolled over, clutching his jaw, Harper took the opportunity to lunge to his feet, but didn’t get the time to do anything else before the assailant clambered to his feet and began to swing his fists toward him wildly.
Arrabella watched them circle around each other like she had seen Mr Hampton’s dog do once with Miss Penton’s poodle, and shook her head at the foolishness of men. It occurred to her then that she could be standing outside, in the rain, for the rest of the night if someone didn’t do something soon.
Harper had seen enough of his opponent to be certain that the man was from London. The cut of his clothing alone was expensive and definitely not something you could find in even Skipton’s finest establishments. However the fighting, although enthusiastic, was somewhat amateurish. He was fairly certain that his attacker had nothing to do with the case of the French spies the Star Elite had recently rid the country of and was indeed linked to the missing register.
“Before I kick your backside all the way through town; do I know you?” Harper growled. He was cold, tired, and his head hurt like the very Devil himself was pounding on it. He had hoped to get away without being too forceful with the man, especially with Arrabella present, however this could go on all night. When the man merely shook his head, Harper felt his patience snap.
All of his years of experience immediately lurched into life. The thump that followed showered them both in droplets of blood as the man’s nose exploded. Another swift kick to the back of the knee took his assailant down completely. Harper heard Arrabella’s gasp but never took his eyes off his opponent, who appeared dazed and a little confused by what had just happened as he clambered to his feet. However, Harper was a professional man who had learned not to stop until his opponent was down and out for the count. He lifted his foot and placed one heavy boot in the man’s stomach. The man immediately bent over with one arm curled protectively around his midriff.
“Stop digging around in the past, it will only hurt you,” the man growled.
“The only person who is going to get hurt is going to be you. What is the past to you anyway? My business is my business and, unless we are related, it has absolutely nothing to do with you, so keep out of it. You have stolen church property and that is illegal. I will make sure that you are arrested for your crimes if you don’t return it to its rightful owner.”
“Go to hell,” the man growled belligerently.
He threw a disinterested glance at Arrabella before he turned around and stumbled into the darkness. Harper watched him go and turned toward Arrabella. At any other time he would have chased the man down and not stopped until his quarry was rendered useless, but he couldn’t leave Arrabella alone in the middle of the lane. He threw a disgusted glance in the direction the man had disappeared and shook his head.
“Come on,” he growled and grabbed her elbow in a grip that left her with little choice but to follow him.
“What is it? Where are we going?”
“Sshh.”
“Harper,” she whispered minutes later when she caught sight of his quarry. They were following the attacker. “Are you mad? He has just attacked you. Let him go.”
“I need to see where he is staying.” Harper didn’t take his eyes off his quarry.
They followed a circuitous route through the town that was amateurish to say the least. The man made no attempt to circle back and check to see if he had been followed. It made him ludicrously easy to follow and, within minutes, they stood outside the tavern on the far side of town and watched him disappear inside.
“Come on, let’s go,” he whispered and turned in the direction of Hambley Wood. He glanced down at Arrabella and cursed fluidly at what he saw. She had long since stopped shivering and now looked completely miserable, and so bedraggled and forlorn that he longed to sweep her into his arms and carry her all the way home. He drew her as close to his side as possible and cursed himself for not showing her more consideration.
“Are you alright?” he demanded when they were half-way back to Hambley Wood and he couldn’t stand the silence any more.
“I will just be glad to get into my bed tonight.” She had no idea what the time was but felt as though she had been up all night.
“We will be at the vicarage soon and then you can get that hot chocolate.”
“Are you not having some?” She glanced at him and was slightly deflated when he shook his head. “I think that Mrs Able has gone home for the night. If not, she will almost certainly have gone to bed. I don’t think that it will do your reputation any good at all to be alone with me in the vicarage.”
“What about you? I thought you were going to stay for a few days.” She tried desperately to think of something to do, or say, that would keep him with her. It wasn’t that she was afraid for her safety. She had just watched their attacker disappear into his own lodgings above the tavern after all, but she felt incredibly safer having Harper beside her.
He was torn. He wanted to stay with her and would feel safer if he could, but he doubted that Mrs Able had stayed at the vicarage to wait for them to return.
“I am going to head home. Given that the man has been watching us, I need to make sure that my house hasn’t been ransacked in my absence, and I need to get some sleep.”
“You also need your head looking at,” Arrabella sighed as she studied the large dark lump on his temple.
“Is it bleeding again?”
“No, but you gave your head a heavy smack when you fell over earlier. You need to get it checked.”
“I am not going to bother Angus now. I will go and see him first thing in the morning.”
He had to admit that it was rather nice to have her fuss over him, and her attentions went some way toward confirming that she was the woman he was meant to be with. It made him feel immensely grateful that it was him who had entered her life and not some dissolute wastrel who would selfishly take whatever he wanted without intention of ever giving anything back.
However, that said, now that he came to think about it what did he have to offer her? She deserved a man who would help her raise the children she deserved; someone who would provide her with a home of her own, security, love and a pair of strong arms to hold her at night. Was that him though? Did he have it in him to settle down and live the life of a family man?
In all fairness, if he didn’t have a clue if he could settle down to the life she deserved, he couldn’t encourage her to have any expectations of him and that meant that he had to tread very carefully when it came to sampling the passion that shimmered between them.
They arrived at the vicarage in absolute silence. In contrast to previous occasions, this time there was no slow amble up the garden path; theirs was more of a determined stride toward warmth and comfort.
“I am going to head home,” Harper whispered once she had the key in the lock.
She paused with her hand on the knob while her mind raced frantically to think of something she could say that would stretch the time out before he left, but there wasn’t anything that sounded plausible.
Harper sensed her reluctance to be separated from him and echoed the sentiment. There was nothing he would have liked more than to follow her inside, lock the door and share the night with her. He could see the unspoken question in her eyes but smiled gently at her. He was fairly sure that she had no idea what she was asking from him. However he couldn’t just walk away from her either.
Their eyes meet and held as he slowly drew her toward him
. “Can I call by to see you tomorrow?” His warm breath whispered gently over her cheek.
“I should like that,” she whispered back. She had a cane in one hand and the door keys in the other and so couldn’t do anything other than stand helplessly while his head lowered. The gentle glide of his lips was now so achingly familiar that she returned his sensual exploration without thinking. The heavy thud of the keys and cane hitting the floor made her jump but she didn’t bother to look at them. Instead, now that her hands were free, she wasted no time in sliding them over his shoulders to clasp together at the back of his neck.
“Arrabella,” Harper growled warningly. He recognised the passion that began to flicker into life between them and knew that it wouldn’t take much from either of them to fan it into a raw flame of desire that neither of them could extinguish. Her lips glistened in the moonlight and were a siren’s call of temptation that no man could resist. With his eyes firmly locked on the gentle curve of her lower lip, Harper took what she offered.
The sipping kisses were not enough and never could be, and soon deepened into desperation to taste and enjoy the full flavour of the woman who had held him captivated since the first moment he had set eyes on her. He had no idea what this meant for either of their futures, and he knew it would be foolish to allow matters to go any further between them for now, especially when so many questions still remained about his past, but he had to deepen their kiss, just for a little while, and savour the delight that was Arrabella.
Eventually, when his body hardened and raw need made his hands tremble, he knew that he had to draw back, before they got to the point of no return. At first she didn’t relinquish her hold on him and he was only able to lift his head. With any other woman he would have been annoyed that she was trying to confine him, but Arrabella was no whingeing, demanding miss. She wanted something she couldn’t put a name to and was trying to show him in the only way she knew. It nearly unmanned him and he bit back a curse at the temptation that was so brazenly before him.
“I should like nothing more than to come inside with you, Arrabella, but it is a step too far. I have only known you for a few days and there are many things that I need to sort out before I can even decide what to do about the future,” he whispered cautiously.
Arrabella felt embarrassment sweep through her and realised that yet again, she was draped around him in the most wanton manner. Horrified, she immediately released her hold on him and stepped back.
“I hope that you don’t think I was asking you, to, well -”
“Of course not, but you know the passion that flares between us. It won’t take much for either of us to get burned by it. I am just saying that I need to settle issues with the past before I can decide on the future and, until then, I am not in a position to offer you anything.”
Shame and humiliation swept through her with such force that she wished that the ground would open up and swallow her. “I don’t believe that I actually offered you anything. It was just a kiss,” she replied defiantly.
Harper felt his temper surge at her denial. The passion was there. He wasn’t the only one who had felt it. The sensual bliss that had shimmered in her eyes was evidence enough to assure him that she would not object if he kissed her and backed her into the house, all the way up the stairs to bed. Rather than argue with her, he did the only thing he could think of. With one hand on either side of her head he drew her toward him at the same time that he dipped his head.
The clash of his lips on hers was more of a sensual branding. She could do nothing more than gasp as he plundered and took everything his body and soul had yearned for. She had little choice but to cling to the lapels of his jacket and allow him to plunder.
All thought left her. Everything within her was tuned to the man who opened her mouth with the sheer pressure of his. Some would have considered the kiss to be an intrusion, but it was too gentle for that. He didn’t tower over her threateningly and didn’t draw her any closer. His hands remained on her face as his head slanted to one side and deepened the kiss. She had little choice but to copy his moments and did so with a raw innocence that made him groan.
His body roared to life and, this time, he was the one who was trembling by the time he lifted his head and stared down into her slightly stunned gaze. Rather than break the silence with words, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment while he willed his body to cool.
“I have to go. I am going to see what I can do about finding out about the attacker tonight. Meantime, keep your door locked Arrabella. I think it is safe to say that the register is in the pub with that man, whoever he is. Stay safe, darling. I will be back sometime tomorrow.”
Before Arrabella could nod or say anything, he released her and disappeared into the darkness. The rattle of something rolling across the step drew her attention and she bent down to pick up the cane and keys before she closed the door and locked it. She didn’t glance outside again. If she did, she would have seen the dark shadow standing just beside the huge oak tree at the end of the driveway.
As soon as Harper was assured that she was inside, warm and safe, he broke away from his hiding place and headed toward home. Not that he had any intention of heading off to bed like any good citizen would. He needed to get his gun, something to eat, a change of clothes. Then he was going to get that register.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
When he arrived at his house, he realised that he was not alone. He scowled at the homely glow that lit the windows. Although the curtains had been drawn and the shutters closed, he could hear the low rumble of noise from inside. Whoever had invaded his home had made no attempt to hide their presence, but he didn’t recognise the voices.
Harper frowned and made his way toward the side of the house and the stables. As soon as he saw the three horses lined up side by side he knew exactly had invaded his house, and why. With a curse, he turned on his heel and stalked toward the back door.
“Jesus, you lot don’t know when to stop, do you? First kidnapping, now breaking and entering,” he growled as he stalked into the kitchen and slammed the door closed behind him.
The sight of three huge men gathered around his kitchen table didn’t perturb him; it was the heavy weapons they were busy cleaning that drew his attention. He studied them for several minutes before he lifted his brows and turned to look at the men.
“We heard from your brother that someone attacked you. He has informed us that someone has stolen the register you are after,” Dominic Cavendish declared firmly.
“Your brother, Robert, let us in and said we were to make ourselves at home. He told us you were ill from a head injury because someone had hit you over the head at the church and that you were staying in the vicarage tonight,” Sebastian mumbled around a mouthful of apple.
“My brother has a big mouth on him,” Harper grumbled and wondered whether Robert had told his uninvited guests that he was due to marry Arrabella too. That thought made him frown. When had he ever started to think about marrying Arrabella? It was foolish to consider the future when so much of his past was up in the air yet now that the idea was firmly planted in his brain, he felt strangely reluctant to dislodge it.
Sebastian pushed a chair out beside him and leaned back in his seat to get another goblet. He dropped it onto the table before he filled it with what appeared to be finest French brandy. Harper took a sniff and lifted his brows. This valuable cargo was extremely expensive stuff. He took a sip. The warm amber brew slid down his throat like golden nectar and, for the first time all evening, he began to relax as warmth began to ease his gnawing tension.
“So, I take it the man responsible for this -” he tapped his temple and nodded to Harper, “- is the man who has stolen the register?”
“When did you get in?”
“About an hour and a half ago,” Dominic drawled and watched as Harper began to relax. The man looked tired, battered, bruised and yet was still glowering fiercely. He immediately felt a kinship with his half-brother that he had
only ever felt with Edward and Sebastian before and knew, deep in his gut, that Harper was a Cavendish. Even if he ignored the same broad shoulders Sebastian and Edward had, and the identical height; the way he carried himself was Cavendish through and through.
“We are here to help you find the register,” Edward drawled.
“I know where it is now. I had an altercation earlier with the man who stole it. He is staying at the inn at the far side of Moldton.”
“He is unlikely to be going anywhere in this weather. We will pay him a courtesy visit in the morning and make sure that we don’t leave without the book,” Sebastian declared confidently.
Harper snorted and gave Sebastian a look that warned him that trouble was afoot. “I am not going to wait until morning. I haven’t done the job I have for the last several years to hide away indoors just because of a drop of rain. That man has the information I need. I know where he is now, so I am going to damned well get what I want while I know where to find it. One thing is for certain, I am not coming back until I have found what I am looking for.”
He watched the men look at each other. The silent interplay was something he had only ever witnessed once before, and that had been with the couple who had raised him. He had never seen it between grown men though, especially without the hand signals to go with it.
Sebastian leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “We are coming with you.”
Harper frowned at him. “What if I say no?” He wasn’t quite sure what to make of their somewhat dubious ‘offer’. Somehow, he knew that if he ignored them they would just tag along anyway. The weapons they were busy polishing were already polished to a high shine and extremely expensive. He absolutely refused to admit it, but he was impressed both with their choice of weapon and their determination to help.
“We are coming with you anyway,” Dominic challenged.
“Then let’s go.”
Lord Cavendish Returns Page 17
