by Rebecca King
‘From here it doesn’t look as if anything could possibly go wrong in a sleepy village like that,’ Clarissa muttered. ‘It is hard to believe that a highwayman might live there.’
‘They may not,’ Zach warned. ‘Yes, we followed the trail to Simmerton, but we don’t know if the highwayman was picked up by his colleagues.’
‘Do you think you can find them?’ Clarissa asked.
‘We will eventually. Now that we have secured a place to stay, and have removed the threat to our secrecy, we can focus our attention on finding the blackguards who robbed you,’ Zach murmured. Without thinking, he glanced down at her. ‘They won’t do it to you again.’
Their gazes met. The air between them went still. Neither of them breathed, or spoke, as the tension thickened and became tangible.
Clarissa’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Zach’s head lower toward hers. She couldn’t move as his lips touched hers. At first, she couldn’t quite believe what was happening again. Clarissa knew she should be outraged, and that many young women of her age would have slapped his face for his audacity, but the wayward side of her nature refused to move. She wanted this. It was a new experience, an exciting adventure, even though it was a small journey into unchartered territory. Yes, he had kissed her before, but that had been when they had been engulfed in darkness. Today, the sun was shining and there wasn’t anywhere she could hide. When she opened her eyes, Clarissa could see the fine sweep of his thick lashes, the colour in his cheeks, even the bristles on his stubbled jaw. She willed his eyes to open and meet hers but when they did, he lifted his lips to rest his forehead against hers. Each breath she took came directly out of his lungs she was sure of it. He was so close that they were essentially one person created by the special bond they had. Clarissa expected him to apologise or warn her that she wasn’t to have any expectations of him, but he merely groaned and kissed her again. She clung to his shoulders, but it had nothing to do with keeping her balance on the horse. She did her best to return the embrace, to keep them together for as long as possible.
They both forgot about his colleagues who were racing toward them, until they saw what was happening. With a few shared grins, the men respectfully kept their distance and branched out to search the area and pretend they hadn’t seen anything. While Zach was distracted, he needed someone to watch his back, but by doing that, the men made a grizzly discovery.
It was Duncan’s long, low whistle that made Zach’s head snap up. He blinked as if struggling to snap out of the daze he had been in and stared down at the woman in his arms for a few moments as if he had no idea who she was or how she had gotten there.
‘What’s wrong?’ Clarissa murmured, looking warily up at him.
Zach looked all around but nobody was visible. He tipped his head and listened carefully when another series of whistles were carried toward him on the billowing breeze.
‘Can you get back onto Horace?’ he asked briskly.
‘What happened?’ Clarissa hesitated when she heard the whistles. ‘Who is that?’
‘My colleagues have found something,’ Zach murmured darkly. ‘Hurry. We have to go.’
‘What do those whistles mean?’ Clarissa asked.
‘It means that there is a problem,’ Zach replied. ‘They need everyone who is nearby.’
‘What have they found? Do you think it is a highwayman?’ Clarissa hurriedly mounted Horace and reined him until she was riding alongside Zach.
Zach shook his head but wasted no time heading toward the source of the whistles. He hated to break off their embrace so abruptly, but he knew what that short sequence of whistles truly meant; his colleagues had found a body.
‘Oh, good Lord,’ Clarissa cried when they entered the small group of trees tucked beside a low stone wall just a few meters away from the brow of the hill, and she saw the body the men from the Star Elite were standing over.
‘Do you recognise him?’ Duncan asked of her.
Clarissa looked at Zach, who immediately stepped closer and slid a supportive arm around her waist. She was glad of his strength when she forced herself to take another, longer look at the open-eyed stare of the dead man.
‘I know him,’ Clarissa breathed in shock. ‘I know him. It’s Farmer Martin. He-he owns a farm just outside Simmerton.’
‘Are you sure?’ Zach asked.
She gasped when Duncan eased the frayed ends of the man’s jacket away from his body to reveal a bullet wound in his shoulder. ‘He has been shot. He must have bled a lot given how pale he is.’
They all looked at the darkened soil around the man, whose entire right side was saturated with blood.
‘He must have made his way here with the intention of finding his way home but bled to death,’ Jarvis reasoned.
‘I doubt someone would have sat him up like this. He had to have sat down once he realised that he couldn’t make it home,’ Duncan said.
Clarissa found her gaze blocked by Greg. ‘Can you see Farmer Martin’s house from up here? Can you point it out to us?’
Clarissa nodded, relieved to be able to think of something other than the body. She was grateful for Zach’s hand holding hers as he tugged her into the field to look around the rolling landscape stretched out beneath them. Immediately, she pointed to the farm Zach had tracked the blood stains to overnight.
‘Are you sure this is Farmer Martin?’ Zach pressed.
‘Yes, I am sure. I know he lives in that farm,’ Clarissa replied firmly.
‘Did you see him last night?’
Clarissa shook her head.
‘He was shot, which means that he had to have been hanging back with the other man who was shot and killed,’ Zach reasoned.
‘He probably didn’t venture near because you would recognise him. With that hat on his face he would be unrecognisable so long as he kept his distance,’ Evan mused, pointing to the wide brimmed hat beside the corpse.
‘I cannot remember because I didn’t get a particularly good look at them. They were in the shadows at the end of the road and I was looking at Toad, their leader,’ Clarissa whispered.
Suddenly, the chill wind seemed to snatch the last of the warmth from her flesh leaving her shivering with a mixture of fear and worry. She instinctively nestled closer to Zach who held her against him for a moment while she collected herself.
‘Does he have a wife? Sons?’
Clarissa shook her head. ‘His wife died several years back. His son died when he was an infant. I have no idea who his friends were.’
‘Do you think there might be someone in the village who does?’ Zach asked. He kept his tone soft and his hold gentle while he questioned her because he knew how upset she was.
In contrast to Clarissa’s distress, Zach and his colleagues were delighted to find the corpse because it had led them to a whole wealth of information that they might not have found had Clarissa not come out riding today.
‘I believe that he spent a lot of time at the tavern,’ Clarissa whispered. ‘A lot of the men in the village go there. He had to have met with at least one of the highwaymen in the tavern. There must be regulars who go there who would be able to tell you who he met.’
Zach’s snort was soft. ‘It might be the regulars who are the highwaymen.’
‘It’s hard to believe that Farmer Martin was one of the men who held us up last night,’ she whispered. ‘Why? Why would he do such a thing?’
‘The highwaymen stop carriages because they are thieves. They don’t care who is inside. I don’t doubt that he recognised you and somehow signalled the leader not to kill you because you were the vicar’s daughter. Not only would the highwaymen have the might of the Star Elite after them, but they would be the scourge of the country even worse than they are now if they killed the daughter of a vicar during one of their ambushes.’
‘You forget that nobody knows about the relationship you have with your father,’ Greg said softly. ‘Nobody needs to know. Maybe Farmer Martin told the highwaymen about you visi
ting your father on a Thursdays. Like you said, it was a weekly journey. If he had been watching the Great North Road, which is visible from his farm albeit at a distance, he would have seen Frederick driving the carriage on a Thursday night.’
‘He targeted us deliberately?’ Clarissa cried.
‘Yes, because he knows that you live at the big house,’ Zach reasoned. ‘Large houses like Bessie’s are usually owned by people with wealth. While you may know that you don’t carry many riches with you, Farmer Martin wouldn’t. He would just assume that you are well off and would have riches on you because you live with your Aunt Bessie. Moreover, he knew when your carriage was passing because he watched you every Thursday.’
Clarissa shook her head in dismay and stared blankly at the farm.
‘Do you see it? Over there by that hedgerow is the Great North Road,’ Zach said pointing to the road in question over her shoulder. ‘Farmer Martin could stand in his upstairs window, or in the hay barn, and watch the road. I doubt he would be able to identify Frederick from that distance, but he could if he stood at the edge of his property, in the hedgerow, and watched the traffic. Frederick wouldn’t think anything about seeing the farmer walking around his field, would he?’
‘I wouldn’t either,’ Clarissa conceded. She turned to look at Farmer Martin. ‘I doubt we will ever find out what he did now.’
‘We have work to do. We need to get to that farm and search it,’ Zach told her. He was aware of his colleagues watching him and knew they were wondering why he was telling Clarissa so much, but something compelled Zach to be as honest with her as possible.
‘Well, you will know he was involved if you find our dresses at his farm,’ Clarissa sighed. ‘What do you want to do about him? You have just arrested the local vicar, so you can’t move him to the church crypt.’ She smiled ruefully at Zach who rolled his eyes.
‘I am afraid that Farmer Martin has to just disappear for a while. I know it is gruesome, but we cannot alert anybody to what has happened to him. The highwaymen might try to contact him. I doubt they are aware he is dead yet. We have to make sure that nobody knows what happened so the highwaymen have to look for him.’
‘What if they don’t?’
‘Then we have a tavern owner who knows a lot about Farmer Martin’s drinking friends and is going to tell us everything we need to know.’
Clarissa knew from the tone of Zach’s voice that this was what he excelled in. There was an arrogant confidence in Zach’s tone that almost made her feel sorry for the tavern owner. Almost.
‘Try not to worry, eh? We will find the rest of them. What we do know is that nine highwaymen have now become seven. At least we know now what happened to the one who was injured,’ Zach mused.
‘Leave us to deal with him,’ Greg urged her. ‘You go on home and get some rest.’
‘Can I tell Bessie about him?’ Clarissa asked. It didn’t dawn on her that she asked them rather than made the decision herself.
‘I think she has to be told if only so she can be wary about what she says to the locals the next time she goes out, don’t you? Moreover, I think I need to go and have a word with Frederick about which locals he knows visit the tavern regularly,’ Zach replied.
Clarissa nodded. She was about to return to Horace when Greg’s next question stopped her. ‘Tell me something, miss. Who might be leaving Frederick’s cottage before dawn?’
Clarissa went still. She sucked in a deep breath and flicked a worried look around the men. ‘That is something you need to ask Frederick,’ she muttered awkwardly.
‘But you know who it is,’ Greg pressed. He had to find out not least because he didn’t want the minx playing games with Zach. Already, their closeness and growing attraction was obvious to them all.
‘Yes, I know who it is,’ Clarissa admitted.
‘Is it you?’ Greg demanded.
‘God, no,’ Clarissa huffed.
‘You seemed to get on well with him last night. In fact, there was more of a friendly connection between you than there usually would be between a mistress and a coachman,’ Duncan pressed.
‘I have known Frederick since I was twelve years old. He has worked for Bessie ever since he came out of the army. Of course I speak with him with familiarity. He was the one who taught me to shoot and drive a carriage, albeit far more slowly than I drove it last night. I am not the one who pays his wages. My aunt does.’
‘Is she the one who is sharing his bed?’ Morgan demanded boldly.
Clarissa sucked in a breath. ‘It isn’t my story to tell.’
‘Then we shall ask your aunt,’ Zach murmured.
‘It is for her to tell you things that relate to the house and her personal life. I cannot,’ Clarissa replied awkwardly.
‘Tell me,’ Zach pressed once Clarissa was settled comfortably on Horace and ready to leave.
‘I have told you everything I can.’
‘I need you to trust me, Clarissa,’ Zach pressed.
‘I do trust you, but it isn’t my story to tell. If you want to know you have to speak with Bessie.’
‘But it isn’t you.’
‘It wasn’t me, no,’ Clarissa promised. ‘I wouldn’t allow you to take the liberties you have when I have just left another man’s bed.’
Zach was almost floored by the weight of the relief that coursed through him. He nodded and vaulted onto Zeus before riding alongside her.
To her astonishment, Zach slid a hand across the back of her neck and tugged her gently forward to press a lingering kiss to her lips that she felt was part apology and a promise that he believed her. Clarissa was glad that he didn’t press for details because she couldn’t bring herself to betray the people who mattered the most to her. Thankfully, Zach seemed to be able to read her thoughts and accepted her loyalty.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Zach was there to help Clarissa dismount when they reached the stable yard a short while later. At first, she hesitated but had no choice but to slide down. Unsurprisingly, his hands on her waist remained in place once she was before him. He looked down into her eyes as if searching for something.
‘We have to discuss this,’ he murmured, despite them being the only two people outside. ‘I need to try to understand what is going on. You are the very last surprise I expected to appear in my life. While I am not sorry that I have met you, I am not sure where our connection is going to lead us. I am not sure what I have to offer you.’
‘I don’t believe that I asked you to offer me anything,’ Clarissa replied.
‘But you should have expectations of me. I have kissed you, been in your bed chamber. You should expect me to state my intentions at least,’ Zach pressed.
‘If I am honest, I don’t have any expectations of you. I am still struggling to come to terms with what happened the other night. It feels like it happened to someone else. While I don’t regret what happened in my bed chamber, I am not sure what I want. What I don’t want is to just make assumptions about you, about me, about us. My father is good at that and look at how badly he misjudges situations and people,’ Clarissa sighed.
‘You are nothing like your father,’ Zach assured her. ‘He is selfish, arrogant, judgmental. You are nothing of the sort or you wouldn’t have gotten so angry with him. It is clear to me that you are two opposites, like water and stone. It is highly unlikely that you are ever going to see eye-to-eye with him. If you cannot find some middle ground then maintaining your distance from him is the best way forward. It won’t do to look back, or consider any criticism he puts upon you as either fair or accurate. You are not your father.’
‘I have been raised by Bessie for as long as I can remember,’ Clarissa whispered.
Zach nodded.
This time, Clarissa read the message in his eyes. ‘You know I am more like her.’
Zach kept nodding.
‘Stop it,’ she laughed and watched his smile widen.
‘I am not saying it is a bad thing, you understand. I think that now isn’
t the right time for either of us to make any decisions on the future. You have to find some peace in your life and, like you said, come to terms with what happened to you, and I have highwaymen to catch.’
Clarissa felt a deep well of disappointment start to overflow. She knew her emotions were in her eyes when she looked at him but no matter how much she tried she couldn’t restrain it and stop it from being visible. From the moment she had set eyes on Zach she had felt drawn to him, which was odd because she had never felt so compelled to spend time in anybody’s company before.
‘You are leaving soon, aren’t you?’ Clarissa whispered sadly.
‘Only when we can be assured that you are safe,’ Zach promised her. ‘I doubt it will be anytime soon. Now that we know one of the highwaymen are local, we must suspect that there may be more nearby, we just haven’t seen them yet. Now that we know how they operate we have a place to start. It is why we always seem to be playing catch up.’
‘I am sorry about what I said.’ Clarissa visibly winced.
‘You were quite right to say what you did because it is the truth. It is why none of us argued with you. We have always been one step behind the blighters. That was basically the topic of conversation I had with my colleagues just hours before we found you,’ Zach said. ‘We have discovered a lot about them overnight. Now all we have to do is find a way to get one step ahead of them.’
‘And catch them as they are preparing to rob someone else,’ Clarissa finished. ‘Your work is extremely dangerous.’
‘It isn’t for everyone,’ Zach replied. ‘Not all women want a husband who is prepared to go out and put his life in danger to protect the public.’
‘But your cause is just and honest. You are ensuring justice is served. It is something to be proud of,’ Clarissa argued.
‘Yes, but most women want a man who can escort them to places, and wine and dine them. They want a man who is at home to help run the house and raise the children. What they don’t want is someone who is used to traipsing up and down the country at a moment’s notice, and who can disappear for weeks on end.’ He slowly and gently slid a thumb down the smooth paleness of her cheek. Their eyes met.
