To Love and Protect Read online

  “You did well, Higgins.”

  “Blackburn is on his way.”

  “Thank you,” Justin walked over and shook the older man’s hand. “I have to get her back.”

  “I know,” Gabriel said, thumping Justin on the shoulder. “Let me tell you what happened.”

  Justin followed Gabriel into the kitchen as if he were the guest rather than the owner. “Your cook was found lying in front of the hearth, his temple bloodied.”

  “How is he?”

  “Headache, but he’ll recover,” a husky, feminine voice answered. Justin’s head snapped up to see Mikala putting some things away. “I doctored him and sent him to bed with word to check him every few hours.”

  “Thank you,” he said sincerely before nodding for Gabriel to continue.

  “Higgins last saw Clarissa in the breakfast room. We’re guessing she came into the kitchen, saw your cook, went to help him, and was abducted.”

  “Do we know if she’s hurt?”

  “No. There was no sign of a struggle, and no one heard or saw anything.”

  “What about the guard stationed at the back?”

  “Dead. It was done swiftly, and the authorities have already come and gone. We didn’t tell them about Clarissa. Merely told them it was a robbery, and he was a footman.”

  “Thank you for that. I would rather handle this than have anyone else involved.”

  “Now, you catch me up to date.”

  “Her step-mother is alive.”

  “Alive?” Mikala finally piped up after having remained silent for the batting back and forth of information and questions.

  “They had someone helping them. It was by mere accident that I happened across a piece of paper this evening at the office. It gave the identity of the woman sent to the morgue. I had read it a hundred times before, but this time it just leaped at me. The document said the victim’s hair color was red.”

  “Lorraine’s hair is definitely not red,” Mikala said.

  “No. It’s black as coal. They paid someone on the inside to help her escape Newgate.”

  “Where could they have taken her?”

  “I don’t know. There is a possibility they took her to her father’s house here.”

  “I don’t think so. Too obvious and too many people around,” Gabriel said. He began speaking again after a pregnant pause, “If I were them, I would take her somewhere secluded where no one would know her. A place people stay far away from.”

  “A place where everyone believes a crazy old witch lives and refuse to come near?” Justin questioned.

  “You tell me.”

  “I know the place, but would they really use it?” he wondered aloud. “They would be taking a risk because that is where we found her father and rescued him.”

  “Do you have any other ideas?”

  “Not one.”

  “Then as soon as Blackburn arrives, we will go. Mikala, you stay here and help prepare for anything. I will try to send word ahead so that you will know.”

  “Just come back to me,” she stood on tiptoe and brushed a kiss on his lips.

  Justin found that he had to look away, because the scene reminded him of what he could lose. He cursed himself for not coming right home after talking with Gertie.

  ***

  The men rode to a local stable after they gathered weapons. They rented the best riders to be had and paid for the board of their horses. Gabe filled Derek in as much as he could, then they rode silently, not needing to say a word. Justin led the way along the same trail that he and Clarissa had taken all those months ago in search of her father.

  Memories that made him ache snuck up on him. They would not be too late. He refused to think that could even be a possibility. When the horses began to tire, they stopped at an inn, exchanged them, and began again. They exchanged animals many more times. Justin felt like they had to be closing in on them. Surely they would have taken a carriage that moved much slower than the powerful animals they rode.

  “Ya really think she’s a witch?” Derek finally asked, breaking the silence and tension.

  “The old woman? If not, she at least knows how to mix herbs. She fed Clarissa’s father some sort of potion. That was what made him so sick for so long. My grandmother had to fight it long and hard.”

  “She’s a witch,” the other men said in unison.

  “We have to get to her before the old woman gets her hands on her.”

  “Clarissa will be fine,” Derek said calmly.

  “I’m going to be a father.” Justin spoke the words for the first time. Before it had always been, the baby, the bairn, or in reference to Clarissa somehow. But when he said it as he just had, it was much more personal. He had to save his wife and unborn child.

  “Oh.”

  “Yes. I can’t let them come to harm.”

  ***

  Clarissa lay very still on the seat across from Lorraine and Franklin in the carriage. The only time she had awakened, Franklin had held her down while Lorraine forced laudanum down her. She fought them, but she could not fight both of them. She slowly began awakening, the rocking of the carriage mimicked that of a boat and made her queasy. Clarissa swallowed convulsively, hoping she did not betray herself to the couple in the carriage. The conveyance rolled to a slow stop before she heard the door open.

  “Grandmother, we’re here,” Lorraine called out. Clarissa’s heart began to race. She knew what the old woman had done to her father. What would she do to her?

  “Come on, I know you’re awake,” Lorraine snarled, clasping Clarissa by her upper arm and sinking her nails in deep. Clarissa refused to cry out in pain and give the woman any more satisfaction. She rose to a sitting position and jerked her arm out of the woman’s grasp.

  “Don’t touch me,” she snarled.

  “My, my. So you do have a temper. I always wondered if something was hidden beneath that simpering sweet surface. You’re also a meddling little bitch. Get out. Franklin, grab her.”

  “My pleasure, love. Come to Uncle Franklin, dear.”

  “Cut the shit, Franklin. That’s not why we’re here.”

  “But you said I could,” he whined in protest.

  “I lied. You’re mine, and I’m not sharing you with the likes of her.”

  “But you sleep with all those men.”

  “We have been over this.” Clarissa noticed that Franklin’s grip on her arm had gone noticeably slack. She ripped her arm free and ran for the thickness of the trees where she and Justin had hidden all those months ago to rescue Papa. How had they come full circle? She did not want to go too far into the woods with no weapon, so she tried to stay close to the edge. She heard a snap behind her and whirled around to see if they had caught her. Clarissa missed seeing the fallen log and tripped, hitting her head on a leaf-covered rock.

  When she gained consciousness, she was once more being bounced around. This time her hands and feet were tied and her head throbbed horribly. Lorraine had remnants of tears down her cheeks and Franklin attempted to console her, but she kept pushing him away.

  “I should have left you back there in that cottage rather than grandmother.”

  “She never would have left.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Come off it, Lorraine. You and I both know how stubborn she is. She’s going to die in that cottage. Our best chance is to circle back to London, avoid the main roads, and head for the docks and the fastest ship bound for America. She even told you were they were coming.”

  “We have to meet with our contact.”

  “Our contact is too busy with other things at the moment to meet with us. We have to leave this country before Southerby or Hamilton catches up with us.”

  “You’re right, Franklin, for once. I’m dearly going to miss her.”

  “You are going to miss what she could do for you. Just think of the new life we will be starting. It’s going to be grand.”

  “Of course. I don’t know what came over me. A bit
of sentimentality, perhaps. I do believe our traveling companion has awakened. Hello, my dear. Please join us. How’s your head feeling? That is quite a lump forming,” Lorraine tsked.

  “What are you going to do with me?”

  “That is a very good question, and one we have not quite determined the answer for yet. What do you think we should do with you?” Lorraine chuckled at the mutinous stare Clarissa sent her. “My, my, I do not think your father quite knew his daughter after all. He always described you as loving and quite biddable, but I don’t think that describes you at all, does it? So that brings us back to what should we do with you?”

  Franklin leaned over and whispered in his wife’s ear, a malicious gleam in his eye.

  “You know, darling, I think you might be correct. I thought to leave her tied up and dump her in the Thames, but I do think your idea is much more satisfactory. And if she survives it, she will want to kill herself and chances are Southerby will never want to touch her again,” Lorraine’s cackle filled the interior of the coach.

  Clarissa stared at the ceiling, inwardly cursing herself for so many reasons. She should have sought help when she found Cook. She should have told her father about her concerns. Most of all, she should have told Justin how she felt about him. If there was any way to go back and start over, she would. She would have made certain the wedding fell after Papa’s stipulation. Then Justin would have never had to feel like he was being used to fulfill a contract. She would have told Southerby that she loved him, regardless of how he felt about her. But that was past and they had moved on. Besides she could not go back, and things had spiraled out of her control.

  Somehow, she had to get control back. She refused to die by the hands of these loathsome creatures. Clarissa had other plans, such as to make certain they met their fate.

  ***

  The men rode up to the edge of the woods and tethered their horses to some trees so they could eat and drink from the brook. They unloaded their weapons, and Justin led them through the copse of trees. They walked carefully, trying to be as silent as they possibly could.

  “How many people were here last time?”

  “There were two guards in the back, Lorraine, Franklin, and the old woman.”

  “Who’s the brains?”

  “Lorraine and the old woman. There is only one part of his anatomy that Franklin thinks with and it is definitely not his mind.”

  “All right. It is your future in there. Tell us what to do,” Hawkescliffe ordered.

  A sheen of sweat broke out on Justin’s brow. His future. His life was more accurate. Nothing could happen to Clarissa. Somehow, she had ingratiated herself into every part of his life so very thoroughly that he could not imagine being without her. “Justin,” he felt a firm hand squeeze his shoulder.

  “Right. We need to get Franklin out first. He may not be the brightest of the three, but he is their muscle. Next, the two women. I don’t care how it’s done, it just needs to be done.”

  Justin bent down and adjusted his weapons, as did the other two men. Each had several knives and two pistols. They came upon the little shack and were surprised to see no one about. A sense of unease passed through Justin. The three men walked carefully to the shack and peered inside the window. Justin saw only the old woman in the hut, calmly mixing herbs.

  “Where are they?”

  “Perhaps they took her somewhere else.”

  “If I were a gambler, I would bet that woman knows where.”

  “Let’s make her acquaintance then.”

  Justin went to knock on the door, but before his hand could make contact he heard, “Come in, my lords.”

  He pushed open the door to see the old hag now sitting at the table, stirring something in a cup of hot water. “Where have they taken her?”

  “Taken who?”

  “Don’t play the lunatic with me, madam. You know perfectly well I speak of my wife. Now, where have they taken her?”

  “Water was to be her shroud, but that granddaughter of mine is allowing her man to change her plans. I thought she would be stronger than her mother. Now everything is going to crumble like old rock.”

  “What are you talking about? Water shroud? Are they going to drown her?”

  “She had brains and beauty, but that man is her weakness. Can’t keep his hands off the women, and now Marie has turned his head as well, luring him to big and better things. Too bad Marie will be his undoing, and my granddaughter’s as well,” the old crone quickly drank the contents of the cup and shortly began seizing and foaming at the mouth.

  “What’s happening to her? Old woman, tell me where my wife is!” Justin shook the woman mercilessly.

  “Southerby, it’s too late,” Gabriel said while Derek pried the old woman from Justin’s unrelenting grasp. Derek carried her to the cot and laid her out. Southerby went on a rampage, tearing up everything he could in the hut. “Are you finished?” Gabriel asked minutes later, his brow cocked.

  “She was my only chance at finding Clare.”

  “She gave you clues,” Derek interjected.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Water shroud. Where would you bury someone in water? Probably happens once a day,” Derek prompted.

  “The Thames.”

  “And where better than to do it?” Derek asked.

  “London. The docks. While escaping.”

  “Now you’re thinking. Let’s go save your wife,” Derek said, clapping the other men on their backs.

  “There are so many docks. I don’t know where to start.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Gabriel interjected as the men once more mounted their horses.

  Justin knew it would be a long shot that they would find her in time. Their mounts were tired, and they would need to change them out just to make it back to London. But the others traveled by carriage and he prayed that the tide would be too low for any ships to leave the docks before they arrived. It just seemed like too much intervening of fate for his liking.

  ***

  The carriage halted and Clarissa could hear the cawing of seagulls and the shouts of loud, boisterous men. Twilight had settled on London, and she tried to push back the curtain with her nose to take a peek at what lie outside.

  “Here, love, let me get that for you,” Franklin said as he pulled back the curtain. “It isn’t as if any of these men would come to your aid anyway,” he laughed.

  Clarissa’s eyes grew large with fright. “What are you going to do me?” she found she couldn’t help the tremor that entered her voice.

  “Franklin, go make the arrangements, and Clarissa and I will have a little mother daughter chat.”

  “Of course, love,” he captured Lorraine’s mouth in a deep kiss that had Clarissa turning her head in embarrassment. He exited the carriage and began walking up and down the docks talking to different men.

  “Now, where were we? Oh, yes. What is to become of dear Lady Clarissa Blackerby? Wait, it is Lady Southerby now, is it not? You see, mother told me that I should drown you and be done with it. While that does take care of the situation, I find that I much prefer it when the job is done for me and publicly, that way there is no question that I will receive the riches from the estate.”

  “Papa isn’t dead.”

  “What? But the herbs…”

  “Almost killed him. But we were able to get him to a healer, whom he is still with at this time. She said your mother is very skilled in the practice of potions. How many other men have you killed? How many daughters has Franklin raped? How many have turned to suicide because they could not face living another day?”

  “Shut up, you little bitch!” Lorraine’s hand flew back and landed a stinging slap on Clarissa’s cheek. Clarissa blinked quickly, righting her vision.

  “What are you going to do, if not drown me?”

  “I’m putting you on a ship bound for the desert. Rumor is some of those sheiks pay quite a lot of money to add a fair English girl to their harem.”

 
“What are you going to do?”

  “Oh, we’ll be on that ship with you. I don’t want anything to go wrong. Then after we see you delivered and auctioned off to the highest bidder, we’ll go on with our lives, living in the luxury that we deserve.”

  “You won’t get very much money for me once we arrive at our destination.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I doubt very much I will even be alive. I get horridly seasick.”

  “I found a ship!” Franklin announced as he threw the door open.

  “Wonderful! When can we board.”

  “Therein lies the rub. Everyone I talked to said we are on extreme low tide. We won’t be able to leave before midmorning and that is assuming that all goes well with the weather.”

  “Damn!”

  “I know, love, but we can only control so much.”

  “Are we allowed to board yet?”

  “Captain says it’s too dark. He wants us to come back in the morning. One more thing, no one would take her on knowing what we have planned. So we are going to have to put her in a bag and gag her.”

  “Franklin, are you out of your mind? How do you get her in the bag, and then how do you explain a body-shaped lump in a bag?”

  “We drug her. The men use pulleys and nets to move the cargo. We just make sure she takes enough laudanum to knock her out until we are out to sea, and then it will be too late for anyone to do anything. As for the men, money will shut them up.”

  “I should have left you behind in that hut and brought grandmother along. You’re an idiot.”

  “Do you have any better ideas, love?”

  “I do,” Clarissa spoke up. “Just let me go. Justin is going to find you anyway.”

  “I don’t think so,” Lorraine answered. “What do we do between now and tomorrow morning?”

  “I have friends,” Franklin smiled wickedly.

  “Oh, do you now?”

  “Still upset about bringing me along?” Franklin preened. “Wait here. I must find Wulfe and ask him if he has a room.”

  “I can’t wait to be done with you,” Lorraine snarled after Franklin had left.

  “Believe me when I say the feeling is mutual,” Clarissa replied. Her cheek still throbbed, but she had not given up hope yet. As long as she remained on English soil, she had hope. The women stared at each other in silence until Franklin returned to the carriage.