by Rebecca King
Before Clarence could say anything else, Barnaby suddenly lunged forward and wrenched the gun out of his limp hold.
Clarence was physically trembling with rage as he glared at Luke. “You don’t know what it has been like. I have been dragging around unwanted baggage since the day I met my poor lamented wife. I didn’t want her, or this damned albatross,” he snarled with a nod toward Poppy. “Nor did I want that simple buffoon in the kitchen. Now, to cap it all, I am stuck with a damned mistress I cannot get rid of. Well, it is time I looked after myself.”
“Ha!” Poppy snorted. “That is all you have ever done in life. You are a disgusting specimen of a human being, and I am ashamed to be connected to you. As far as I am concerned, the Star Elite can throw the bloody book at you. I hope you never see daylight.”
Barnaby moved forward. “We work for the War Office. Holding a gun to any of us is enough to put you behind bars for a very long time. Not only that but we are witness to attest that you have attempted to steal money you have admitted wasn’t given to you. Not only that but we know you shouldn’t even be in this house so you are trespassing. Seeing as Luke would never allow you inside you can, and will, be arrested for forcible entry. You can also be arrested for plotting not one but two murders.”
“You have no proof,” Clarence retorted. For the first time since his arrival he looked a little panic stricken as though the reality of his situation had only just started to sink in.
“We all heard you,” Poppy all but shouted.
“Time to go,” Marcus said flatly with a nod toward the back of the house where Henry sat on the floor, bound and ready to go to jail.
“Stay here,” Luke whispered into her ear while Barnaby led Clarence toward the back of the house.
Clarence paused and looked back at her.
Poppy waited; wondering if he would at least say sorry. Instead, he merely curled his lip and turned his back without speaking. She was glad to see the back of him.
Once they were alone, he led her into the front room and drew her into his arms.
“That must have been distressing for you. Are you alright?”
Poppy nodded. “He has been like that for a long time,” she admitted. “When someone behaves like he does you don’t realise how bad his attitude is while you are amongst it. It is only when you have been spoken to kindly by others that you realise just how boorish and insulting his attitude is. As far as I am aware I have never done anything to him to deserve his condescension. His poor attitude toward others is his concern.”
“It isn’t you,” Luke hastened to assure her. “I think he is led by his mistress and their greed. From what Peter has told me, Clarence has always tried to live beyond his means, and has clearly decided to take to a life of crime rather than take up an honest job.”
He hugged her close for several long moments while he waited for the worst of her trembling to ease. When she sighed and settled against him he kissed her. “I think you need to go and see Peter sooner rather than later,” he said softly. “Once you have heard what happened between Clarence and the family you will understand a lot more and not feel so bad. Trust me when I tell you that losing Clarence is no great loss in your life.”
“I know,” she whispered. “Now that he has reappeared, I cannot wait to see the back of him again.” She leaned up and, in what was a very daring move for her, planted a kiss on his smiling lips. “Now if I lost you, however, I should be a very distraught person indeed.”
“You would?” he asked, rather pleased about that.
She nodded slowly, her own lips curving into a smile. “I think it threw him when you told him I was your wife.”
“It threw me a little too,” he acknowledged ruefully. “Not least because I realised then just how much I wanted it to become a reality. I quite like calling you my life.” He kissed her again.
“Quite liked?” she asked with a grin and peppered several kisses along his jaw.
“I want to do it more,” he replied huskily. “So?” he asked when he finally lifted his head.
“So what?” she asked dreamily.
“Shall we?”
“Shall we what?” she whispered, eyeing the curve of his lips wantonly.
He leaned back and gave her a mock frown. “If you can focus for a moment on something other than kissing, I am asking you to marry me.”
“You are?” she murmured.
“I am,” he declared with a nod. “I love you, Poppy Cleghorne, and want you to be by my side forevermore. Will you be my wife?”
“I would love to,” she whispered.
Luke placed a very loving kiss on her lips. “I know we have only known each other for a matter of a few weeks but this attraction between us is something I have never felt before toward anyone. It is so strong that you are in my every waking thought. You are the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. It is fair to say that I am not a quiet man; I am not an ordinary calm and gentle man, but I will do my very best to ensure that you are treated with the love and respect you deserve, and given the life and luxuries someone who holds my heart should have. While my work with the Star Elite, taking people like Clarence off the streets, will mean that I am not at home as often as most men, I shall endeavour to return home to you at every available opportunity.”
“I should like that, very much,” she whispered. In spite of her best efforts not to cry, tears began to fall anyway. He captured one with the back of his finger and held it aloft.
“Happy ones I hope?”
She nodded. “There is one thing I should like to make clear right here and now though,” she breathed.
“Oh?” He lifted a brow and waited. He saw the hidden humour in her eyes and loved this new mischievous side to her.
“I am glad I was in the park that day, and you came to my rescue. One thing I shall never be angry at Clarence for is sending me to that meeting. I am sorry that a man had to die, but that day changed my life in a way that I know it can never be changed back from. After today, I am glad of that. I don’t know what the future holds and, if I am honest, the thought of your placing yourself in danger every day fills me with horror but it is only because I love you. If anything happened to you I know that a large part of me would die to.”
In spite of their short acquaintance she knew, deep in her heart, that this was the truth. There were many things she knew she had to learn about him, but the man before her now had proven himself to be honest, caring and lovingly supportive in the most wonderful of ways. She knew that whatever choices she made in life, as long as she had Luke by her side she would be content, happy, and as blessed as anyone could be.
“Together forever?” he whispered, kissing her neck.
“Together forever,” she whispered, and drew him down for a very thorough and extremely daring kiss.
The End.
TO CATCH A THIEF
COMING IN APRIL 2016
When Jeb receives a note from his father summoning him home urgently, family duty forces him to leave his investigations for the Star Elite and head back to rural Hertfordshire. What he doesn’t expect to find in the sleepy village of his youth is a thief, a murderer, and the most strangely intriguing woman he has ever set eyes on.
Sophia has a lot to be afraid of. Unsure who she can trust she is forced to take drastic action to prevent her aunt, and herself, being carted off to jail. Unfortunately, she is caught in a rather compromising situation by a rather too handsome for his own good stranger who, together with his father, pose a serious threat to her future.
Drawn together through the deceit of others, Sophia and Jeb are forced to confront not only the desire that throws their lives into turmoil, but the doubts and suspicions that surround them.
Can a future ever be theirs when lies begin to unravel, and a killer is revealed in their midst? Or will Jeb’s work for the Star Elite, work that he thought he had left behind in London, lead to a new set of dangers that threaten both of their
lives?
OTHER BOOKS BY REBECCA KING
Further details on all of Rebecca’s books can be found on her website:
Rebeccaking-author.co.uk
Shattered Dreams
Lies and Misdemeanours
Eloisa’s Adventure
Wishing for Rainbows
Redemption
TIPTON HOLLOW SERIES
Harriett (Tipton Hollow Book 1)
Beatrice (Tipton Hollow Book 2)
Tuppence (Tipton Hollow Book 3) (Coming soon)
Constance (Tipton Hollow Book 4) (Coming soon)
STAR ELITE SERIES
Capturing Sir Dunniciffe (Book 1)
Smuggler’s Glory (Book 2)
His Lady Spy (Book 3)
Lord Melvedere’s Ghost (Book 4)
The Lady Is Innocent (Book 5)
My Lord Deceived (Book 6)
Captive Surrender (Book 7)
Ghost of Christmas Past (Book 8)
THE CAVENDISH MYSTERIES
If You Were Mine (Book 1)
Cinders and Ashes (Book 2)
Chasing Eliza (Book 3)
The Gallows Bride (Book 4)
Lord Cavendish Returns (Book 5)
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Archie and the Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery
