‘But Andrew is in Italy.’
‘Try making your interrogators believe that. By all intents and purposes he is here in England with other priests in hiding.’
‘But he is not. You believe that, don’t you?’
‘What I believe is not important. It’s the law you have to convince, not me. Now come along. We must be well away from here by daybreak. I would be failing in my duty if I let you go after your father, who would have taken you with him if he’d wanted you to go. You’d be caught long before you reached the south coast.’
‘Duty!’ exclaimed Serena in spitting tones of venom. ‘It is not your duty to take me anywhere.’
‘I am making it my duty in the absence of your father. Believe me,’ he growled, ‘I want no encumbrances on my journey—nothing to get in my way until I’ve succeeded in my one objective, which is to clear my name of this dastardly accusation against me. But I’ve said you will go and go you will—like it or not and hate me for it.’
‘Do you expect me to meekly abide by your orders and do your bidding? You are either jesting or insane,’ Serena scoffed.
Kit raised his brow in an arrogant arch. ‘I assure you I am not jesting and I am quite sane. I am deadly serious, and despite my aggressive behaviour towards Blackwell I am not one to mistreat a lady. But if you are going to be troublesome and persist in this foolishness, I shall have no choice but to truss you up and take you with me by force—which will make the journey extremely uncomfortable for you—unless, of course, you abandon your foolish intent to go to Flanders and return to your uncle’s care and protection at Carberry Hall.’
‘And submit myself to the lechery of Thomas Blackwell? Never.’
‘Then what is to be?’ Kit asked, trying to maintain his calm, which was proving extremely difficult in the face of Serena’s anger. ‘Do you accept my proposal? The choice is yours.’
‘Choice? Proposal? Forgive me if I appear to have a queer misunderstanding of words, my lord, but it sounds decidedly like an order to me.’
Serena gave Kit a slanted glower, trying to dominate her fury. Kit was looking down at her in the dim light and his hard gaze neither flinched or wavered. Her eyes blazed defiance and she bestowed on him a look of such ire and burning intensity it should have reduced him to a cinder, but he merely smiled scornfully and infuriatingly into her snapping eyes and shrugged, turning towards his horse.
‘Be reasonable. Calm yourself and make up your mind. The hour grows late and it’s my intention to be well on my way before dawn. It may have slipped your mind, but I, too, have been accused of treason and have a care for my neck. I have no wish to be caught and hanged and my body cut to pieces and spiked on top of every gate in London before I’ve had a chance to clear my name and redeem my honour.’
‘Then leave me.’
Kit’s eyes narrowed dangerously and his face darkened with brooding anger at her continued defiance. When he spoke his voice had an edge of sarcasm. ‘Believe me, madam, I have no wish to saddle myself with a troublesome female. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to send you on your way—be it to Flanders or back to Carberry Hall, for that matter—but should you come to harm I shall have Sir Henry to answer to. Have you any idea where to look for him in Flanders?’ he asked.
Serena threw back her head defiantly. ‘Not exactly, but I will find him. I can ask. I have a tongue in my head.’
‘Aye—and were I a man of sense I would have you permanently clapped in a scold’s bridle to silence it,’ Kit growled.
Affronted by his remark, Serena glowered at him. ‘Oh, you beast.’
Seizing her arms and thrusting his face close to hers, Kit forced her to look at him. ‘To embark on so perilous a journey unprotected, you will fall prey to all manner of dangers from barbarians who set upon lone travellers. If you thought the treatment you received at the hands of Blackwell was harsh, then believe me you can expect far worse. Now get on your horse. We are wasting precious time arguing.’
Kit’s voice bore a tone of command that would tempt obedience from the most reluctant soldier, but from Serena it drew a further outburst of rage. With fists clenched by her sides, she glared at him. ‘You cannot force me to go with you.’
‘Try me,’ he growled. Suddenly he became alert, his eyes drawn to the road down which they had just ridden. Without a word he gathered the horses’ bridles and took her arm, dragging her unceremoniously away from the road and into the dark, enveloping wetness of the trees.
When Serena would have spoken he placed a finger firmly to her lips, urging her to be still and silent. Straining to listen, she heard the distant drumming of horses’ hooves fast approaching. The sound grew more distinct, and peering through the foliage they saw the dark shapes of several horsemen appear and pause at the crossroads, trying to still their restless mounts as they discussed which road to take. Voices became raised and words were whipped on the wind to where they stood, and Serena shuddered when she recognised that of her uncle.
‘To the south,’ he shouted. ‘They can’t be too far ahead. Sir Thomas told us they were heading to the coast.’
‘Aye,’ said another voice. ‘They’ll not escape. With your niece safely returned to you, milord, we’ll have Brodie dispatched to London where his neck will stretch for certain for this night’s work. Sir Thomas was lucky to escape with his life.’
Unconsciously Serena was holding her breath, her eyes wide as she watched the horsemen clatter past in their haste to catch the fleeing couple. Kit cursed softly under his breath and she turned, aware of him standing very close with his hand still gripping her arm.
‘As luck would have it, it would seem your uncle has discovered your disappearance sooner than you hoped. Clearly he went to Dunedin Hall and found Blackwell, who alerted him to your destination. So now what do you say, Mistress Carberry? I fear we are both caught in a trap that is not easily resolved. For obvious reasons you cannot travel south, and to return to Carberry Hall you will be subjecting yourself to the lecherous persecutions of Blackwell.’
‘And by your aggressive and arrogant manner,’ Serena flung at him scathingly, ‘you are beginning to resemble him in many ways. Your tricks and threats may be more subtle than his, but in the end they are the same.’
Kit’s stare was cold and uncompromising, and there was a hard edge to his voice when he spoke. ‘Accuse me so if it satisfies you,’ he said irritably, his lips curling over his white teeth, which gleamed in the darkness, ‘but I have never forced my attentions upon a woman when she has made it plain they are not welcome. I have always considered myself to be a gentleman in my dealings with the opposite sex.’
‘A sentiment held entirely by you,’ Serena mocked.
Kit’s jaw tightened and his features became even harder as he tried to restrain his anger. Never had he met a woman who set him on edge like she did. Her stubborn determination to be as awkward as she possibly could was beginning to aggravate him beyond words. The softer hues of Dorothea’s gentle nature and sweet face were far more favourable in his memory and easier to exist with than this tempestuous, venom-spitting female who would test the patience of a saint.
‘What is it to be?’ Kit damanded, his patience nearing breaking point. ‘Are you to come with me or return to Carberry Hall—which I shall only allow you to do after you have given me your word that that is where you will remain and that you will abandon your foolhardy intention of going to find your father?’
‘What choice do I have?’ Serena flared, snatching her arm from his grasp. Jerking Polly’s bridle from his other hand, she drew her out of the trees into the road. Everything was going wrong and she had the heartbreaking thought that in going north with Lord Brodie she might never see her father or her brothers again. Her throat constricted painfully and she felt the sudden need to cry. But pride forbade her and she swallowed down her tears, turning fiercely to face Lord Brodie when he came to stand beside her.
‘Is this all the thanks I get for offering you my protection
?’ he asked crisply with an arrogant lift to his brow.
Serena’s eyes widened at his audacity. ‘Thanks? You expect me to thank you for preventing me from going to my father? Oh, no, sir. I think not. You’ll get no thanks from me.’
‘Do you give me your word you will not try and escape me?’ Kit asked firmly, approaching her as he would an untamed rabbit that threatened to bolt and scramble down the nearest hole at any minute. ‘Do we have a pact? The journey will be more bearable if you cooperate.’
‘Yes,’ she hissed, glowering at him, her eyes shooting green fire. ‘You have it—at least for the duration of the journey, when I shall then expect you to put me aboard the first available ship for Flanders. But I swear I will give you no peace. You’ll rue the day you forced my hand and issued orders to me.’
Kit raised a mocking brow, meeting her gaze squarely, cynically trying to ignore the protective need she roused in him, a chord no woman had ever touched before. ‘Madam! Is this a declaration of war?’
‘Yes,’ she flared, surreptitiously fixing her eyes on the man she had come to regard as her tormentor. ‘If you like.’
‘Then so be it. You have it.’
Hoisting herself into the saddle with an agility that both astounded and impressed Kit, Serena gritted her teeth and steeled herself for the ride ahead, refusing to betray her trepidation and unaware of the great distance she would have to travel alone with this bullying, arrogant man before they reached their destination.
Climbing on to his horse, with a frown Kit contemplated the vituperative minx he had saddled himself with—she had a waspish tongue that could flay the skin off a man’s back better than any cat. The state his life was in, he had no time for entanglements of any kind—and especially not with Serena Carberry, despite her winsome looks and soft, ripe body that would pleasure a man into eternity, a woman who would rejoice in his weakening and laugh in his face. But then Kit smiled into the dark, intent on teaching this tenacious wench a lesson about men she would not forget in a hurry during the time they would be together.
Touching their heels to their horses, they sped on. The wind had gathered in strength and the rain fell heavier than before, making riding extremely uncomfortable. Serena knew the area well, but as they rode farther north towards Coventry the territory became unfamiliar.
To add to her discomfort the icy rain was relentless and beginning to penetrate her sodden cloak. She was also extremely cold and her healthy young stomach was beginning to growl with hunger. Her hands and feet were numb and aching, and on top of all these discomforts her teeth were beginning to chatter. It was sheer will-power and stubborn pride not to show weakness to Kit that kept her astride her horse. But Kit could see Serena was suffering and that she would rather expire in the saddle than complain. He admired her stubborn courage.
To avoid drawing attention to themselves, they took a route away from the main thoroughfares. It was dawn when they reached the outskirts of Coventry and Kit called a halt to their flight. There were no other patrons at the inn they stopped at, which was mean and shabby and in dire need of a good scrubbing from top to bottom in Serena’s opinion, but it was warm and the food was good, and she attacked it with relish.
‘Am I allowed to ask where you are taking me?’ she asked Kit when they had eaten and sat facing each other beside the fire.
Having removed her boots, Serena sat with her stockinged feet outstretched to the heat of the fire, looking across at Kit petulantly. Everything about him stirred her resentment and she was determined to thwart him at every turn, for only by doing so would she be able to retain her sanity until it was time for them to part.
Steam rose from their sodden cloaks which were draped over an iron guard on either side of the huge fire to dry. Feeling the dampness beginning to leave her bones and a tiredness wrapping itself around her, Serena had not realised until then the depth of her fatigue. She would dearly like to close her eyes and sleep, but Kit’s gaze, which never flinched or wavered from her face, kept her alert.
Feeling relaxed after the meal they had shared—in silence, for Serena had not spoken one word to him since leaving Ripley—Kit relaxed into the corner of the settle. Idly he gazed at her with a good deal of pleasure, for in spite of her man’s garb she was a sight to heat any man’s blood. With her face flushed to a soft pink glow and her eyes two sleepy orbs of emerald green, she was all temptation and he felt the blood pump rapidly through his body. He acknowledged her question with a bland smile, his eyelids dipping languidly over his dark eyes as he continued to study her at length, musing in rueful reflection over their predicament.
‘I told you. We ride north.’
‘How far north?’ she pressed. ‘Nottingham? York?’
‘Much farther than that.’
Lifting her gaze, Serena stared at him in a rising panic. ‘You mean we are to leave England?’ she asked aghast, her eyes pleading to be told she was wrong. ‘Is it your intention for us to go to Scotland?’
‘Edinburgh is to be our destination, but I wish to stop in Northumberland first. If the going doesn’t change for the worse, we should be there in a few days.’
‘If we live that long,’ Serena jibed, her chin rising in a gesture of unswerving tenacity. ‘If we venture from the main routes, there is every danger that we will be set upon and murdered by highwaymen.’
‘And if we don’t stay out of sight there is every possibility that I shall be recognised. Besides, the main routes will be congested. The roads will be so churned up we will be up to our girths in mud, which will hamper our progress.’
‘Then why go all that way?’
‘As a precaution.’
‘You must have a lot of courage to take me there. I promise I will be no compliant captive.’
‘You are not my captive.’
‘Are telling me I am free to leave?’
‘At your peril, madam.’
‘Forgive me if I appear a little confused. On one hand I am not your captive—and yet on the other I am. It would seem we are in for a wonderful time,’ Serena responded, her tone heavy with sarcasm.
Kit’s handsome eyebrows gathered together with annoyance. ‘I certainly don’t call it wonderful being arrested, having my property taken from me and my betrothed’s father no longer considering me a suitable husband for his daughter.’
‘Then you should do something about it.’
‘I intend to.’
‘You cannot be in too much of a hurry if you are to hide away in Scotland—to take to the hills like a fox being chased by the pack.’
‘Northumberland, initially,’ Kit corrected.
‘What’s the difference?’ Serena snapped sullenly. ‘It might as well be the outer limits of Mongolia to me.’
‘And it is not in my nature to hide from anything or anyone. I am merely biding my time,’ Kit told her coldly. ‘When the time is right and things have cooled down, and with a little help from Ludovick, who will keep me informed as to what is happening in London, I shall return to England to clear my name.’
Serena glanced at him questioningly. ‘Sir Ludovick knows you are going to Scotland?’
‘Yes.’
‘I see,’ she said, sighing deeply. ‘So I have to endure weeks, if not months, in that godforsaken place until you think the time is right to return. If I request to join my father, what will you say?’
Kit’s stare became glacial, his tone harsh, annoyed with himself for allowing her irritating persistence on this matter to effectively get under his skin. ‘That it is impossible. To consider such a journey unprotected would place you in great peril.’
Kit sounded angry, but Serena detected a note of real concern underlying the rebuke and was confused by it. As she met his eyes, a wry smile curved her lips. ‘And there speaks a man who has travelled and seen much of the world. However, if things should change, is there no port or coastal village where I might obtain a passage on a vessel bound for the Low Countries?’
A corner of Kit’s li
ps lifted roguishly as he pinned his eyes to hers. ‘Northumberland can boast almost forty miles of wonderful coastline, with ports where vessels sail to all parts of the kingdom and the world. But we shall be away from the coastal areas and, with the onset of winter and the threat of snow, it will be a dangerous trek overland to Berwick or one of the other ports. Besides, the North Sea is a challenge to all seamen at this time of year.’ His eyes narrowed and his smile became provoking. ‘So you see, like it or not, we are stuck with each other.’ He frowned suddenly. ‘Have you really no idea where your father might have gone?’
Serena’s eyes clouded. ‘I know where he will most likely be, and I wish with all my heart that it were not so.’ She swallowed, looking down at her hands, knowing her father would have sought the comforts of Mrs Davis, and strongly suspecting her own discomforts would be much harder to bear than his. ‘Please don’t ask me,’ she said quietly.
Kit considered her, observing the despairing look that entered her eyes as she looked away, and he frowned, respecting her request not to pry. But what she left unsaid obviously troubled and pained her greatly.
‘I only hope we arrive at our destination before the snow sets in. It has often been known to last until May,’ he murmured casually, knowing what Serena’s reply would be—amused when it came in an explosion.
Her head snapped up and she stared at him aghast, stung once more into awareness and alarmed by his casual words. ‘May? You mean I will have to remain with you until May?’
To her consternation and irritation Kit laughed outright in the face of her anger, stretching out his long booted legs to the heat of the fire. ‘Maybe you will.’
‘Considering what has befallen you, my lord, you look disgustingly relaxed and at ease,’ she said waspishly, glowering across at him. ‘And where are we to stay when we reach Northumberland? Are we to be alone the whole time?’
‘That troubles you, does it?’ Kit asked calmly, his eyes probing hers, answering her question with another.
‘Of course it troubles me. I have no wish to be alone with you.’
Conspiracy of Hearts Page 12
