Captain Jack’s Woman / A Gentleman's Honor

by Stephanie Laurens

  “S’been a clearinghouse for years, hereabouts. We show the goods to the old crone who lives in the cottage close by, and she’s always got our cut ready an’ waiting.”

  “The old woman has the money?”

  “Oh, aye. She be a witch, so the money’s safe with her.”

  “How very convenient.” Someone, somewhere, had put considerable effort into organizing the Norfolk smugglers. An unwelcome thought surfaced. “Are there any other gangs operating about here?”

  The large man went by the unenviable name of Noah. “Not on the west here, no. But there’s a gang east of Hunstanton. Big gang, that is. We’ve never come across ’em, though.”

  And I hope you never will, Kit thought. These poor souls were a remarkably simple lot, not given to unnecessary violence, fisherman driven to smuggling in order to feed their families. But somewhere out there lurked real smugglers, the sort who committed the atrocities proclaimed in the handbills. She’d no desire whatever to meet them. Keeping clear of this Hunstanton Gang seemed a good idea.

  Once the lace was stored, she gave orders, crisply and clearly, about how they were to pass the cargo on. She also insisted they operate from the quarries henceforth. “The Revenue men will be suspicious of that stretch of beach, and the cave’s too close. From now on, we’ll work from here.” Kit threw out a hand to indicate their surroundings. They were standing before the dark mouth of the abandoned tunnel in which they’d stashed their goods. “We’ll be safer here. There are places aplenty to hide, and even in broad daylight it’s not easy to follow people through here.” She paused, then paced before them, frowning in concentration. “If you have to go out in your boats to bring in the cargo, then the boats should just land the goods and go directly back to your village. If the rest of you bring ponies, then we can load the goods and transfer them here. When it’s safe, they can go on to Creake.”

  They agreed readily. “This be a dandy place for hiding, right enough.”

  As they stood to leave, Noah noticed the rapier at Kit’s side. “That’s a right pretty toy. Know how to use it?”

  A heartbeat later, he was blinking at the soft shimmer of moonlight on steel, the rapier point at his throat. Swallowing convulsively, his gaze traveled the length of the wicked blade, until, over the top of the ornate guard, he met Kit’s narrowed eyes. She smiled tightly. “Yes.”

  “Oh.” The big man remained perfectly still.

  Kit relaxed and expertly turned the blade and slid it back into the scabbard. “A little conceit of mine.”

  She turned and walked to where Delia waited, ears pricked. Behind her, she sensed the exchanged glances and hid a smug smile. She swung up to the saddle, then looked back at her little band.

  “You know the road home?”

  They nodded. “And we’ll keep a watch for the Revenue, like you said.”

  “Good. We’ll meet here Thursday after moonrise.” Kit wheeled and set her heels to Delia’s sides. “And then we’ll see what comes next.”

  Chapter 5

  “Damn!” George flung his cards down on the rough deal table and glared at Jack. “Nothing’s changed in well-nigh twenty years! You still win.”

  Jack’s white teeth showed in a laughing smile. “Console yourself it’s not the title to your paternal acres that lie under my hand.” He lifted his palm, revealing a pile of woodchips.

  Pushing back his chair, George snorted disgustedly. “As if I’d risk anything of worth against such a dyed-in-the-wool gamester.”

  Jack collected the cards and reshaped the pack, then, elbows on the table, shuffled them back and forth, left hand to right.

  Outside, the east wind howled, whipping leaves and twigs against the shutters. Inside, the lamplight played on Jack’s bent head, exposing the hidden streaks of gold, bright against the duller brown. Aside from the table, the single-room cottage was sparsely furnished, the principal items being a large bed against the opposite wall and an equally large wardrobe beside it. Yet no farmworker would have dreamed of setting foot in the place. The bed was old but of polished oak, as was the wardrobe. The sheets were of linen and the goosefeather quilt simply too luxurious to permit the fiction of this being a humble dwelling. True, the deal table was just that, but smoothed and cleaned and in remarkably good condition. The four chairs scattered about the room were of assorted styles but none bore any relation to the crude seating normally found in fishermen’s abodes.

  Jack slapped the pack on the table and, pushing his chair back, stretched his arms above his head.

  Hoofbeats, muffled by the wildness outside, sounded like a ghostly echo. Dragging his gaze from the flames flickering in the stone hearth, George turned to listen, then sent an expectant look Jack’s way.

  Jack’s brows rose fleetingly before his gaze swung to the door. Seconds later, it burst open to reveal a large figure wrapped in heavy frieze, a hat pulled low over his eyes. The figure whirled, slamming the heavy door against the tempest outside.

  The tension in Jack’s long frame eased. He leaned forward, arms on the table. “Welcome back. What did you learn?”

  Matthew’s lined face emerged as the hat hit the table. He shrugged off his coat and set it on a peg beside the door. “Like you thought, there’s another gang.”

  “They’re active?” George drew his chair closer.

  At Jack’s nod, Matthew pulled another chair to the table. “They’re in business, all right. Ran a cargo of brandy last night, somewhere between Hunstanton and Heacham, cool as you please. I heard talk they did that consignment of lace we refused-the run that clashed with that load of spirits we took out Brancaster way.”

  Jack swore. “Damn! I’d hoped that night was all a piece of Tonkin’s delusions.” He turned to George. “When I went into Hunstanton yesterday, Tonkin was full of this gang he’d surprised running some cargo south of Snettisham. Preening that he’d found another gang operating on Osborne’s turf that Osborne hadn’t known about. I spoke to some of Tonkin’s men later. It sounded like they’d seen a fishing boat pull in for a break and Tonkin invented the rest.” Jack grimaced. “Now, it seems otherwise.”

  “Does it matter? If they’re a small operation…” George broke off at Jack’s emphatic nod.

  “It matters. We need this coast tied up. If there’s another gang operating, no matter how small, who’s to tell what cargoes they’ll run?”

  The wind whistled down the narrow chimney and played with the flames licking the logs in the hearth. Abruptly, Jack pushed away from the table. “We’ll have to find out who this lot is.” He looked at Matthew. “Did you get any hints from your contacts?”

  Matthew shook his head. “Not a whiff of a scent.”

  George frowned. “What about Osborne? Why not just get him to clamp down along that stretch?”

  “Because I’ve sent him to clamp down on the beaches between Blakeney and Cromer.” Exasperation colored Jack’s tone. “There’s a small outfit operating around there, but for most of that coast, the silts are so unpredictable no master in his right mind will bring his ship in close. The few reasonable landings are easy to patrol. But I sent Osborne to ensure the job was done. Aside from anything else, it seemed preferable to make certain he wouldn’t get wind of our activities and seek to curtail them. Tonkin, bless his hopeless heart, is so bumblingly inept we stand in no danger from him. Unfortunately, neither does this other gang.”

  “So,” George mused, “Tonkin’s now effectively responsible for the coast from Lynn to Blakeney?”

  Jack nodded.

  “Whoever this other lot are,” said Matthew, “seems like they know the area well. There’s no whispers of pack trains or any such, but they must be moving the goods, same as us.”

  “Who knows?” Jack said. “They might actually be better set up than us. We’re only novices, after all.”

  George turned a jaundiced eye on Jack. “I don’t believe any man in his right mind would call Captain Jack a novice-not at this sort of devilry.”

  A br
oad grin dispelled Jack’s seriousness. “You flatter me, my friend. Now, how are we to meet this mystery gang?”

  “Must we meet them?”

  “How else, oh knowledgeable one, are we to dissuade them from their illegal pursuits?”

  “Dissuade them?”

  Jack’s face hardened. “That-or do Tonkin’s job for him.”

  George looked glum. “I knew I wasn’t going to like this mission.”

  Jack’s chair grated on the floor as he rose. “They’re smugglers, for Christ’s sake.”

  George sighed, dropping his eyes from Jack’s stern grey gaze. “So are we, Jack. So are we.”

  But Jack had stopped listening. Turning to Matthew, he asked, “What cargoes do they usually take?”

  Chapter 6

  A week later, from the cliff top screened by a belt of trees, Kit watched her band beach their boats at much the same spot as on the night she’d first rescued them. This time, there was no Revenue troop about; she’d reconnoitered the cliffs in both directions.

  Still she was nervous, twitchy. Since she’d taken over, her band had run five cargoes, all successfully. Her band. At first, the responsibility had scared her. Now, each time they came off safely, she felt a thrill of achievement. But tonight was a special cargo. An agent, Nolan, had met them in Lynn last night. For the first time, she’d joined Noah for the negotiations. Just as well. She’d intervened and driven their price up-because Nolan was in a fix. He had a schooner with twenty bales of lace and no one to bring it in. They were his last resort. She’d already heard of the Revenue raids about Sheringham and, for some reason, the Hunstanton Gang had refused the run. Why, she didn’t know-which was the root cause of her nervousness.

  Everything, however, was going smoothly. The night was dark, the sky deepest purple. Beneath her, Delia peacefully cropped, undisturbed by an owl hooting in the trees behind them.

  Watching the orderly way the men swiftly unloaded the boats, Kit smiled. They were not unintelligent, just unimaginative. Once she showed them a better way of doing things, they caught on quickly.

  Suddenly, Delia’s head came up, ears pricked, muscles tensing. Kit strained her senses to catch what had disturbed the mare. Nothing. Then, far to the left, another owl hooted. Delia sidled. Kit stared at the great black head. Not an owl? She didn’t wait for confirmation. Pulling Delia around, she set the mare onto the path down to the sands.

  In the trees on the cliff top, two riders met a third.

  “Spotted them,” Matthew murmured, as Jack and George came up, walking their horses over the thinly grassed ground. He pointed to where ten ponies were being loaded with the consignment of lace they’d refused. As they looked, a mounted figure all in black broke from the shadow of the cliff and raced across the sands. “Gripes,” muttered Matthew. “What’s that?”

  “A lookout we’ve alerted,” came George’s laconic answer.

  “But where did a smuggler get a horse like that?” Jack watched as horse and rider flew toward the boats, a single entity in effortless motion. “This gang has signed up a little unexpected talent.”

  George nodded. “Do we go down now that they know we’re here?”

  Jack grimaced. “Let’s wait. They might think we’re the Revenue.”

  It appeared he was right. The rider reached the group on the sands. Immediately, their pace increased. Within minutes, the boats pulled out to sea. The rider backed from the ponies as the men tugged straps and girths tight. The black horse danced; the rider scanned the cliffs. He did not look directly their way.

  Squinting, George whispered: “The horse-is it all black?”

  Jack nodded. “Looks like it.” He took up his reins. “They’re heading in. Let’s follow. I’ve a desire to see where they’re stashing their goods.”

  Kit couldn’t get rid of the feeling of being watched. Like Delia, her nerves were at full stretch. She hadn’t explained to Noah why she came bolting out of the dark, urging him on. She’d just issued a warning: “There’s someone out there. I didn’t wait to find out who. Let’s get going.”

  Five minutes later, she and Delia gained the cliff top. She waited until Noah, walking beside the lead pony, crested the cliff, then leaned down to say: “Go east by Cranmer woods, then cut back to the quarries. I’ll scout around to make sure we’re not followed.”

  She wheeled Delia and made off into the surrounding trees. For the next hour, she tracked her own men, sweeping in arcs across their trail. Time and again, Delia skittered. And every time, Kit felt the hair on her nape lift.

  In the end, she realized it was she, the rider, the unknowns were tracking. Abruptly, Kit drew rein. Her followers were mounted, else they wouldn’t have kept up thus far. They weren’t trying to catch them but were following them to their hideout. But they were on Cranmer land and none knew that better than she. Her men would soon be turning north toward the quarries. She, with her unwelcome escort, would continue east.

  Kit patted Delia’s glossy black neck. “We’ll have a run soon, my lady. But first let’s do a little deceiving.”

  They were nearing the village of Great Bircham when Jack realized they’d lost the pack train. He reined in on a crest overlooking a moonlit valley. Somewhere ahead, the rider still ranged. “Damn! He’s moving too fast to be following ponies. We’ve been had.”

  George stopped beside him. “Maybe the ponies were faster through the woods. The rider went slow there.”

  Jack shook his head emphatically. Then, as if to confirm his deduction in the most mocking way, the rider appeared, crossing the fields below at full gallop, a streak of black against the silvered green.

  “Christ!” breathed George. “Will you look at that.”

  “I’d rather not look at that,” Jack replied. After three seconds of silence, in which the rider gathered the fluid black into a soaring leap over a pair of hedges, he continued grudingly: “Well, whoever he is, he can ride.”

  “What now?” asked Matthew.

  “We go home and try to figure out another way of contacting this accursed gang.” With that dampening answer, Jack shook his reins and set his grey stallion, Champion, down the ridge.

  Kit raced with the wind, the scenery a blur about her. She took her usual route to Gresham Manor, circling it, then pulling up on a hill overlooking the house to let Delia rest.

  What would Amy say if she went down and threw gravel at her window? Kit grinned. Amy had a streak of conservatism that was quite wide, despite her predeliction for becoming hot and wet for her George.

  Sighing, Kit folded her hands across her pommel, staring at the dreaming countryside. She hadn’t thought of Amy’s disturbing revelations for weeks, not since she’d taken up smuggling. Had excitement filled in that odd gap in her innermost self? After a moment’s consideration, she admitted it had not. Rather, the demands of smuggling had left no time for dwelling on ill-defined regrets. Which was just as well. Shaking the cramps from her shoulders, Kit picked up the reins. It was time for the quarries.

  The trio of riders cantered north in no great hurry. Jack drew rein as they topped a hill and turned to George, who pulled up beside him. Champion’s head came around, but not to look at George, or George’s gelding. The grey stallion shifted, craning his long neck to stare past George. The movement caught Jack’s attention; he followed the horse’s gaze.

  “Hold very still,” he commanded, his voice a bare murmur. Carefully, he turned in the saddle and looked back. The flash of black that had caught Champion’s attention appeared in the fields behind them, this time heading west. Then horse and rider crossed the road, still flying. Jack watched until they disappeared into the trees bordering the next field.

  Only then did he relax his rein and let Champion turn. The horse came about and stared in the direction the unknown rider had taken.

  A grin of diabolical delight spread over Jack’s features. “So that’s it.”

  “What?” asked George. “Was that the rider again? Why aren’t we giving chase?”r />
  “We are.” Jack set Champion back down the road, waiting until George and Matthew caught up before shifting to a canter. “But we mustn’t get too close and warn him. I’ve been wondering what gave us away. I’d wager that black is a mare. Not having been introduced to Champion here, like any other well-bred female, she gets skittish whenever he gets close.”

  “Can Champion lead us to them?”

  “I’ve no idea.” Jack patted the silky grey neck. “But we can’t risk getting too close until the rider dismounts.”

  Kit reached the quarries as the last pony was unloaded. Noah and the others greeted her with relief.

  “Thought as how somethin’ might have come upon you, lad.”

  Feeling thoroughly alive, her blood stirred by her long gallop, Kit swung her leg over Delia’s neck and slid to the ground. “I’m sure we were followed, but I didn’t catch sight of anyone. I went a very long way around, just in case.” She looped Delia’s reins to a wooden strut at the edge of the clearing, well away from the men, who had an almost superstitious fear of the black horse. “What’s the stuff like?” She headed for the tunnel entrance.

  Noah waved to a packet opened on a rock. “First-class stuff, it looks.”

  Kit bent over the lace, resting both palms on the rock to protect against the impulse to draw off her gloves and finger the delicate tracery, a far too feminine gesture. “This is better than that other stuff you ran. What’s the price?”

  The other men sat in the cave entrance, chewing baccy and talking quietly, while she and Noah reviewed their plans.

  What warned her, she never knew. The hairs on her nape lifted. The next instant, she whirled, her rapier singing from its sheath, sweeping in an arc before the three men silently approaching.

  What happened next made her blink. The foremost man-tall, well built, and hatless was her first impression-took one step back and her rapier clashed against solid steel. Kit’s eyes grew round. She swallowed a knot of cold fear at the sight of her elegant blade countered by a longer, infinitely more wicked-looking sword. The two men following the first drew back, leaving a wide area to the fighters.