Page 41 of How to Court a Rake
‘Amesbury is in the village. Our man was in the inn when he arrived and he’s got Mary,’ he said grimly.
‘How is that even possible? She’s in her room…’ But even as he said the words he knew they were wrong. Caine sprinted out of the dining room and up the stairs, throwing open Mary’s door. He didn’t need to look about to know the truth. She was gone. The room felt empty. Sterile. Not like the room he’d slept in with her last night. Still, he threw open the wardrobe and pulled open drawers. She’d only taken a few things with her.
Downstairs, he gave the order, ‘Saddle a horse for me.’ Damn, but he wished Argonaut was here instead of in London, getting fat on hay. He needed a sure-footed mount in this weather.
‘Take the coach instead,’ his grandfather countermanded. ‘You want to arrive with your powder and your thoughts dry.’
‘Coach is slower.’ And speed seemed to be the preference of the moment. ‘If he’s managed to get her into a coach and he’s on the road already, it will be difficult to make up time in the rain.’
‘Our man says the London road’s out. No one is going anywhere tonight.’ Grandfather put a firm hand on his arm. ‘Make sure you’re thinking with your head. Amesbury is dangerous. This is about Lady Mary’s safety, but it’s also about something much larger, don’t forget that. I do wish Kieran was here to go with you. Take two of the footmen, they’re trained for emergencies.’ Caine nodded. Of course they were.
It seemed to take an eternity to cover the two miles to the inn. There was too much time for Caine to be with his thoughts. It was a nightmare come to life, the very thing he’d warned his grandfather about earlier today. To be associated with him put one in danger and now the person in danger was Mary.
At the inn, he strode inside and scanned the common room in hopes Amesbury was there, but that hope had been slim. Amesbury wasn’t stupid. If he was stuck here overnight, he’d want to be out of sight in order to minimise the chances of being recognised or Mary being recognised. That meant they were upstairs. In a room. Together. Mary would be terrified, alone with a man she detested, a man who had hit her once before, a man who had bought her, who had no morals, no scruples.
Caine pulled his pistol from his greatcoat and charged up the stairs, ignoring the innkeeper’s shout of outrage. Amesbury would have the best room. That one, at the top of the stairs. ‘Amesbury!’ he yelled, launching a kick at the door that sent it splintering as he crashed through. Inside, his eyes took in the chaos. Mary’s hands were tied to the bedstead, Amesbury in a state of dishabille scrambling for the pistol on the table, but Caine got there first, pistol raised as he stepped between the table and Amesbury, his body shielding Mary should Amesbury pull a knife from a boot.
‘You’ve resorted to tying your women up, I see.’ He gestured with the pistol to the chair set before the fire. ‘Sit down over there, Amesbury, nice and slow—you and I are going to have a talk about your business with Cabot Roan.’
The sight of Amesbury paling was almost worth the trouble. Caine didn’t think he’d ever seen blood drain out of a man’s face so quickly before. ‘Why did you try to sabotage the arms cargo? And before you try to deny it, let me assure you that I know what you attempted in Wapping. I saw the munitions expert who was so desperate to escape us he jumped into the water. I do not believe for a moment it was for the reasons you used to persuade the Earl.’
Amesbury glared. ‘I am not telling you anything. Do you have the balls to make me?’
Caine cocked his pistol. ‘I do and the aim to go with it. I can’t say the same for you. You might have one less ball when we’re through.’ He levelled his pistol. ‘Mary, you may want to look away.’ He wanted answers and he wanted them fast. He wanted to get Mary back to Sandmore, wanted to settle things between them. ‘I will give you until the count of three. One, two.’ The lever pulled back on the pistol.
‘Wait!’ Amesbury was ashen. He crossed his legs. ‘The Ottomans paid us. They couldn’t afford to let such largesse reach the Greeks. That would change the balance of their little war. Roan was playing both parties against each other. When we didn’t get the bid for the munitions, we told the Ottomans about the shipment and the loan. Carys gave us all the information and it was easy to pass it on. Then, the Ottomans hired us to blow up the ship, which suited us fine. We’d get the next contract and in the meanwhile we were being paid by the enemy.’
Amesbury rose slowly, hands raised, and stepped towards the table. ‘Now you can put that pistol down, Parkhurst. You have your answer for all the good it will do you. You’ll never be able to prove it.’
‘Does my father know you sold his information to the Ottomans?’ Mary’s voice trembled with anger behind Caine.
‘No, nor does he know about the Ottoman money.’ Amesbury smiled wickedly. ‘He only knows I’m his friend, the one keeping him afloat, and I’ll keep doing it as long as he keeps doing what I say.’ Amesbury lunged then, suddenly, wildly, for Caine, thinking to knock the pistol from his grasp or to grab the other pistol from the table.
Caine didn’t take time to make the distinction. His only thought was for Mary. If Amesbury got his hands on a gun, he would not hesitate to use it against him by threatening to harm Mary. Caine fired. At close range there was no margin of error. Mary screamed, Amesbury crumpled, a stunned look on his face, and then he was gone.
Caine felt the twin emotions of regret and relief. Amesbury could pose no further threat to Mary and yet it was never easy to take a life. He went to Mary and sliced through her bonds, some of that regret fading at the sight of the red marks on her wrists. Amesbury had deliberately tied the ropes far tighter than needed. She fell against him.
He swept her up in his arms and carried her downstairs to the coach. There would be loose ends to wrap up tomorrow, but for the moment all that mattered was holding Mary close, wanting to assure himself she was safe and unhurt as they made the trip back to Sandmore.
‘When I heard he was here and that he had you, I nearly lost my mind with worry. I was afraid I wouldn’t get here in time, that he would hurt you, that he would be gone with you.’ He cupped her face with his hands, wanting her to see him when he said it. ‘But most of all, Mary, I was afraid I wouldn’t get to tell you what I should have told you today when you asked. I love you. There are a lot of reasons I could marry you, but that’s the only one that counts.’
Tears welled up in her eyes. ‘I was afraid, too.’ She swallowed hard. ‘That I wouldn’t get the chance to apologise. Today was upsetting and I let that obscure the importance of what you were willing to do for me. Instead of being angry, I should have been honoured by your proposal. I should not have doubted you or doubted that you were telling me the truth just because I didn’t like hearing it. Amesbury could have taken everything from me tonight if you’d not come. I do not want to ever feel like that again—that everything was over before I’d even begun to live.’
‘Life with a Horseman is dangerous,’ Caine warned.
She shook her head. ‘I think life without a Horseman is even more dangerous.’ She leaned towards him. ‘I wouldn’t want to live without you, Caine. You’ve brought me to life, the real me. I’m alive when I’m with you, everything is vibrant and precious and every minute matters when it’s spent with you.’ She curled her arm about his neck and drew him close. ‘You set me free.’ She pressed her lips to his and his body began to hum with want. ‘So, is that proposal of yours still on the table?’ she murmured against his mouth.
‘Yes.’ He let his tongue tease her bottom lip and she laughed.
‘Yes is supposed to be my line. When do you think we can wed?’
He drew her on to his lap, her hands already working his breeches loose. ‘Well, very soon would be best at this rate.’ Because when a man who thought never to be able to marry decides to wed, he doesn’t want to waste any time.
Epilogue
Caine stood at the front of the little chapel at Sandmore and checked his pocket watch before discreetly tucking it into his waistcoat. In five minutes, he’d be a married man and he was as nervous as hell. Kieran stood beside him. ‘Counting down the last moments of bachelorhood?’ His brother joked.
‘No, counting the moments until I become the happiest man in England.’ Once she was here, he’d relax. Then he’d know it was really happening, that the divine Lady Mary Kimber was going to be his wife—the wild, reckless rake had fallen for theton’s most refined woman and she had fallen for him, against the odds. Love had settled him. Whatever the future held, they would face it together, and it promised to hold quite a bit.
