Page 19 of How to Tempt An Earl (Wed Within a Year #2)

‘R oan has crossed the Rubicon. There’s no turning back for him. In truth, I think we’ve got him in a good spot.’ Caine built another sandwich from the tray. ‘Essentially, Casek and Worth’s men are driving him towards us. He cannot turn back now without being captured by them.’ Caine gave a smug smile. ‘He’ll run straight to the end of his line, which is us, and we’ll be waiting. He has to be wondering at this point who is hunting whom.’

Kieran nodded. He’d thought the same a few weeks ago when he and Celeste had first taken to the road. ‘Still, it’s a dangerous game. Celeste must be protected.’

She’d sat beside him through the conversation, listening silently. But he could feel her mind racing with a thousand questions, a thousand debates she was holding with herself. He desperately wanted time alone with her. A chance to peel off her russet silk gown and assure her that this changed nothing, that they’d always known they would have to face down Roan in order to move forward. He wanted to assure her she would be safe, that he would protect her. Roan and his minions could not harm her any more. But the Horseman in him knew that, for those assurances to have value, he had to set his personal desires aside. For the moment, conversations with her had to take second place to conversations with his brothers.

Luce nodded and addressed his response to Celeste, even though it was Kieran who had spoken. ‘Do not worry, Miss Sharpton. If you keep to the house, you will be safe. We’ll set pickets about the estate so that we’re aware of anyone coming onto the grounds, and by morning we’ll have people in the village who can alert us to any new arrivals.’

Kieran managed a laugh. ‘I see Grandfather has taught you well.’ Their grandfather excelled at networks. Even in his home village at Sandmore, he still had local messengers in place who could ride to Sandmore ahead of any new arrivals. Between them, the brothers joked that their grandfather had news before it actually happened.

Luce grinned at the compliment. ‘I think a network is the most crucial part of an operation. You’ve done well too, making connections in such a short time in this part of the world. I can’t set up a network if there’s no one willing to participate, but everyone here likes you. They’ll want to help. You’re part of that too, Miss Sharpton. The staff is loyal to you. You’ve inspired their confidence. I must say, it’s easy to see why. You look stunning tonight.’

Oh, that was too bold, even for Luce. Kieran felt more than a twinge of jealousy. He flashed Luce a strong, brotherly look— stop flirting with her, she’s mine —but it only served to encourage Luce.

‘I am sorry, Miss Sharpton, that the evening has not ended on a high note,’ Luce consoled her. Damn it, but it should be him consoling her, not his brother.

‘Roan is coming for us, and for her.’ Caine shot both of them a withering look that brought them back to business. ‘But the reality is that he is really coming for her. We are merely a bonus for him. Men like us are a constant in his world. He can deal with us whenever he chooses. There is no immediate need. The battle between us and Roan is continuous.’ Caine levelled his piercing gaze at Celeste. ‘But he is keen to get to you. I’d like to know why.’

Kieran felt her tense and watched her hands quietly fist in her silken skirts. He fought the urge to answer for her but she would not appreciate the action even if she understood his motive for it—to protect her. If he were to prove to her that her freedom would not be compromised in a relationship with him, he had to start with things like this.

‘I have a list of names, all of whom are valuable connections to Roan and who were involved in the effort at Wapping. He will not like that information being put into your hands. If you went after those men, it would destabilise his whole network and quite possibly bring down his empire, man by man, without you ever having to destroy Roan himself.’

Without having to kill anyone either, but just take their money and their schemes, Kieran thought. Economic death—a brilliant idea and also a subtle attempt to steer him away from violence as per their conversation yesterday. She was bold to think to manipulate Caine on such short acquaintance. A bolt of admiration shot through him. There were a lot of ways to die besides physically dying—socially, politically or economically—and sometimes those other deaths were worse because one had to live in the aftermath.

Caine was not satisfied with the answer. ‘Roan has to know that information has already been transmitted. He cannot prevent that now. So, why risk coming to England where he could be arrested, tried and found guilty for a variety of crimes, and hung for them?’ Caine crossed a booted leg over one knee, looking large and imposing. ‘I think he is here for you quite specifically. He does not want to let you go. What are you to him? I think there is more that you aren’t telling us.’

That was more than enough. Kieran was not going to sit here and listen to Caine interrogate Celeste about such intimate details. ‘What does it matter why he wants her back? The reasons don’t change the fact that he is coming and this is our chance to put an end to him,’ Kieran retorted sharply. Caine’s gaze drifted between the two of them, landing on him last, considering and fierce. Kieran met the gaze with a challenge in his own. Celeste was his to protect, even if it meant protecting her from his brothers.

Celeste rose and they rose with her. She stifled a yawn that Kieran thought might be feigned. She’d picked up on the tension. ‘It grows early, gentlemen, and you still have much to discuss. Unless my presence is needed, I think I would like to go and sleep while I may.’ She flashed him a final look and he kissed her goodnight with his eyes.

‘I imagine you had a different ending in mind for this evening,’ Caine drawled to Kieran once the door had shut behind her.

‘I did,’ Kieran answered tersely.

One that had involved him and Celeste naked in bed together and her saying the words he sensed she was close to saying: I will stay . He’d exerted considerable persuasive influence to hear those words, a testimony to how much he wanted her to say them. Recent events, however, had likely undone much of that work.

‘She’s a smart girl. She knows when to leave a room,’ Caine persisted.

‘Or when she’s being chased from one. You were interrogating her,’ Kieran accused. ‘And you—’ he pointed a finger at Luce ‘—were flirting with her. One should expect better from his brothers.’

Luce held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘I didn’t realise she was out of bounds. I assumed the fiancée thing was a ruse when your butler mentioned that Lord Wrexham and his fiancée were out for the evening.’

Caine’s sharp eyes were on him. ‘Is that how it is, Kieran? Is she your woman, your fiancée? You clearly have feelings for her and she for you. Has this gone further than an affair on the road?’

So, this was how it would be. If Caine couldn’t interrogate Celeste, he would interrogate him. ‘I would like to make the ruse a reality.’ To confess those words out loud made his hopes all the more real. It was what he hoped for—to live here with Celeste and to build a life at Wrexham—but tonight had shown him the compromises that would come with that dream. What they’d lived these past weeks was a fantasy. Real life would look somewhat different, even if they could come to compromise.

Caine gave his answer thoughtful consideration. ‘You are deciding this on the acquaintance of a few weeks and under the circumstances of a crisis. Do you think that wise?’

‘You knew Lady Mary for less time.’ Kieran dismissed the concern.

‘Yes, but Lady Mary was not the ward of our fiercest enemy. Her father was merely a bad judge of character and invested poorly. I could also argue that I’d at least known of Lady Mary for years, given that she moved in our milieu.’

‘I think marriage and a title have made you a snob, Caine.’

Caine shrugged. ‘That’s a non-responsive argument. I have concerns, Kieran, about her —about where she comes from, why she’s here now. Where does she fit into all of this?’

‘She is a scared young woman fleeing an untenable situation.’ Kieran would share that much. ‘Roan forced her to act as his…hostess.’

‘She’s quite beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off her,’ Luce put in.

‘I noticed,’ Kieran snapped with censure.

Luce leaned forward. ‘Before you get prickly, all I am saying is that she’s the kind of woman a man falls for, fast and hard. She would have been an extremely valuable asset to Roan, sitting at his table, providing a cultivated presence for men who live hard lives. She probably acted on those men like a tonic.’

The reference had Kieran’s thoughts flashing back to Dr Graham’s magical elixir at the fair—a tonic that was designed to be addictive and to bring a client back for more. Celeste had acted as Roan’s tonic in that regard.

Luce continued, ‘She’d smile at them, perhaps touch them on the sleeve, take a walk around the room with them and they’d be spilling their secrets before they knew it.’

Celeste had told him as much, although not in such detail, perhaps to spare her pride or his. It had been difficult for her to talk about her years in Roan’s household.

Caine drummed his fingertips on the arms of the sofa. ‘Have you thought that perhaps she’s still doing that? That she’s Roan’s mole here? That he is letting her lead him to you—to us?’

Kieran felt his temper prick at the suggestion, although he’d thought as much in the earliest days of their association, right up until Ammon Vincent had chased them through the alleys of Soho. That night had changed everything for him.

‘Roan has threatened her, terrified her with the prospect of being turned over to one of his most vile henchmen for the man’s pleasure. If you knew what she’d endured, you would not dare to think such things.’

‘So she says.’ Caine braved the rebuttal.

‘She would not lie to me,’ Kieran snarled, locking eyes with Caine. ‘I saw her freeze. I felt her fear the night Ammon Vincent nearly caught us in Soho. That was not a lie.’ His body tensed for a fight. ‘You can’t have it both ways. A few minutes ago, you were suggesting Roan was hunting her, and now you’re suggesting she’s his tool in his hunt for us.’

‘I am merely posing hypotheses, considering all angles. You’ve been on your own too long without input. You see the world as you are, as opposed to how it is. As a result, you’ve become too defensive to consider any of this objectively.’

Caine was on his feet and Kieran rose to meet him, matching him in height. It had been a long time since he and Caine had gone toe-to-toe in a boxing ring to settle their differences, but he was not above it now.

‘Gentlemen!’ Luce stepped between them; arms stretched out at his sides. ‘Stop this at once. What would Grandfather say if he could see you two squabbling over a woman in the midst of our opportunity to catch Roan? Have you stopped to think how this divisiveness serves Roan? Your quarrelling divides us at a time when we need to stand together. This is how it always happens in the old stories.’ Luce looked between them and gave a sigh when they offered him blank stares. ‘Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships…?’ he explained patiently. ‘Anne Boleyn starts a war between England and the Catholic Church… Shall I go on?’

Caine shook his head and stepped back. ‘No, you’ve made your point. We’ll play it innocent until proven guilty until she demonstrates otherwise.’

‘Thank you,’ Kieran said with severity.

Caine shot Kieran a strong gaze, naked with emotion. ‘Damn it, I am trying to keep you alive.’

Kieran read the pain there and read the unspoken message: because I’ve already lost one brother. I could not stand to lose another. Perhaps Celeste was right. They were all still trying to come to grips with losing Stepan. The tension between them eased slightly. Caine pushed a hand through his hair. Kieran reminded himself his brother was tired, had ridden hard, likely without sleep, and had left his honeymoon and his new bride. All for him, to warn him and to be by his side so that he did not have to face Roan alone.

‘I’m glad you’ve come,’ Kieran offered. ‘Although I am surprised Mary allowed it. Aren’t you supposed to be setting up house at Longstead?’

‘You’re my brother. I will always come as long as there is breath in my body. Mary understood that when we wed.’ But Kieran wondered if perhaps Mary hadn’t expected to have those words put to the test so soon.

‘You’re a good man, Caine. Remind me to thank her when I see her next,’ Kieran said quietly and moved to embrace him. Luce was right: there was no greater treasure than a brother’s love. ‘If you will excuse me now, I am going to go up and make sure Celeste is all right. It is good to have you both here.’ He meant that. He was going to need them in more ways than one to get through whatever came next.

* * *

Celeste was dreading that knock on her door as much as she was hoping, wanting, to see Kieran stride through the connecting door between their chambers. Tonight had been dreadful in its extremes. She’d gone from the euphoria of the ball, of almost convincing herself that she could embrace the new direction Kieran had outlined for them, to the crashing reality that she could not escape her fate and who she was. She didn’t know exactly what that might entail or require, only that some way, somehow, they could do it. Then that had blown away as quickly as it had been built. That was what happened to all houses built of straw—quickly assembled, quickly destroyed. The Horsemen, their business and their suspicions were here in this house, the house that was to have been hers. One should be safe in one’s own house. But Caine Parkhurst had been relentless in making her feel otherwise.

The handle of the door moved and she sat up straighter, steeling herself. ‘Celeste?’ came Kieran’s whisper as he stepped into her room. ‘Are you still up?’

‘Did you think I could sleep with your brothers and their doubts downstairs?’ she said sharply. He needed to know she’d not taken their conjecture lightly. ‘Your youngest brother is a flirt, by the way.’

‘I spoke to him about it. It won’t happen again.’ Kieran gave a soft laugh but she cut it off. There was nothing to laugh about at present.

‘And your other brother—the Marquess? Did you speak with him about his suspicions?’ She needed Kieran to see their arrival in the same dark light she did and to understand that tonight was not an anomaly.

‘I did take him to task for it. He should not have—’

‘Spoken his mind?’ she interrupted. ‘You cannot censor him. Nor should you.’

‘I should when he speaks poorly of the woman I care for, the woman I intend to marry.’ Kieran came towards her but she moved from the chair to the window, dodging him. ‘I will always defend you, Celeste.’

She shook her head, looking out into the night. The moon was bright. It would be good for travelling. ‘You should not have to defend your wife against your brothers. You love them. You should not have to choose between them and me. Defending me will only cause a rift that will grow over time. Do you think this is the only time you’ll have to do that? It won’t be. The echoes of Roan and the echoes of your brother, of that list, will ripple long after this situation is resolved. I will always be Roan’s ward to them, always connected to a dark time in their lives.’

‘Celeste, Caine was out of order. He was tired; he’d come from his honeymoon.’

She whirled from the window. ‘Do not make excuses for him and what he thinks. This is exactly what I’m talking about.’ She would tear him and his brothers apart and she would not be responsible for that. Such a rift would steal Kieran’s happiness.

‘What do you want me to do?’ Kieran held out his hands in a gesture of bewildered helplessness but there was heat and anger in his voice.

‘There is nothing you can do. You can’t change who I am, what I’ve done, who I’ve been with or what they think. But you can accept that I won’t fit here and that all the hopes and dreams we’ve been playing with are just that. It’s time for them to end.’

She drew a shaky breath. ‘I think it is best for all of us if I leave. The Horsemen will keep Roan busy. Roan will believe that I am still with you. It will be enough time for me to slip away to the coast and sail to Dublin and go on from there. I may need passage. I hate to ask—’

‘Stop.’ His tone was thunderous. ‘You are going nowhere. I do not want you out there, alone.’ He randomly flung an arm out towards the window. ‘Knowing that Roan is out there, wanting his best weapon back. He doesn’t care about the list; he cares about you . He needs you to sit at his table and charm his compatriots. I won’t stand for that. You are not his tool.’

She gave him a smug smile. ‘You won’t control me? You won’t act as if you possess me or make decisions for me? You’re acting just like every other man I’ve known.’

His face clouded. That had got to him. ‘The difference is that I love you.’ He growled the words. ‘I want to see you safe.’

Under other circumstances, hearing those three words, I love you , would have meant the earth. But tonight, she simply had to ignore them.

‘Then let me go. I can take care of myself. You take care of Roan so that I can be safe,’ she argued.

Kieran sighed, something in him seeming to stand down from the anger rising between them. ‘It’s late. The night has been full of emotions, both good and bad. We are not thinking plainly. Perhaps we should discuss this in the morning with cooler heads.’

She gave a nod of agreement. ‘Perhaps we should.’ He’d unwittingly given her what she wanted, what she needed—time and space to do what needed to be done. ‘Goodnight, Kieran,’ she said softly for the last time.

‘Goodnight, Celeste. I’ll see you in the morning,’ he said, gently closing the connecting door behind him. A few moments later, she heard his footsteps in the hall, going to check on his brothers no doubt. She was glad they were here for him. He would need them. The morning would break his heart…for now. This was going to end for her the way it had begun: on her own. There was nothing for it.

She pulled her valise out from under the bed and began to pack quickly. She told herself it was because time was of the essence. Kieran would come back upstairs and she feared if she lingered, let the heat of anger cool, she’d change her mind. But leaving was the right choice, the best choice for her and Kieran. She wrapped her mother’s pearls and the miniature in the cotton folds of a spare chemise to keep them safe and tucked them at the bottom of the bag.

She would not come between Kieran and his brothers. He loved them. His family meant everything to him. He’d told her endless stories about them because they were integral to his life, to who he was. He needed them more than he needed her. They would keep him safe and they would get him through whatever heartbreak he might imagine for himself afterwards. And then he’d move on. Just as she was moving on tonight.

She would do her part to keep him safe. Caine had not been wrong about Roan’s incentive to come after her. It had occurred to her that Kieran was only in immediate danger because of her. If she left, she could protect them both. If she was gone, Roan would come after her; she could draw him away. She should have stuck to her original plan. She’d never meant to get involved with a Horseman, or perhaps the reverse was true—she’d never meant to involve a Horseman with her. She’d only meant to warn them and give them a tool in their quest to bring Roan down.

Celeste snapped the valise shut and began to struggle with the laces of her gown. It felt momentous to take it off, the last step in setting aside the life that had been hers for a short while. She changed into her travelling clothes. They were clean but they felt old and worn after a month of wearing fine garments. She lifted her skirt and felt at the hem for the last of the list. She would fulfil her end of the bargain and leave it for him.

Celeste flattened the crinkled paper with her palm and put it on her dressing table. The little vial of perfume beside it tempted her. He’d ordered it just for her, a token of how much he’d noticed about her—right down to her scent. But she resisted. She’d already justified taking the sea-glass necklace and the dagger since they’d been gifts.She would not leave with more than she’d come with. He could not say she’d played him false.

That wouldn’t stop Kieran from being furious, though. She was counting on Caine and Luce to calm him down, to see reason and see that this was for the best; to help him remember that he wasn’t really a marrying man. It was what she’d tell herself too, as many times as it took for her to believe it. She wasn’t a marrying woman. She wanted her freedom. She didn’t want any man to tell her what to do. Celeste took a final look at the room and slipped down the back stairs, into the night with its bright traveller’s moon. If there was one thing she knew, it was how to run.

* * *

The moon was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it offered a natural guide for her. But, in the unlikely event someone was out at this hour, they’d see her. Celeste stumbled over a root sticking up from the ground. Bright as the moon was, it was still hard to see, and hard to make significantly good time.

She stopped to rub her ankle. Especially when one had just spent the evening dancing. Her feet had already put in a good night’s work. Wrexham was two miles away, and there was a small hamlet two miles beyond that. It was the hamlet she was making for. She would not be recognised there. Four miles by dawn…

The undergrowth and grass became too thick for her to navigate and she was forced closer to the road. She looked up into the sky, gauging the time by the position of the moon, but she was no expert. The stars were out tonight in a clear autumn sky. She ought not to have looked. She spotted Scorpio and recalled lying next to Kieran, his long arm pointing out the constellations. She did not need the memory at the moment. It was difficult enough to keep going.

In the dark, second guesses were coming hard and fast. Perhaps she should have waited for morning and discussed this privately with Kieran before leaving. Perhaps they would have found a way through together. Perhaps she should have trusted him to keep her safe. Perhaps she should have given up a little of her independence in exchange for something greater. She told herself that was just her fear talking and that she was doing the right thing. But it didn’t feel right now that she’d set out. She stumbled again and cursed. Four miles felt like an eternity. She was tired, discouraged and footsore.

Close to dawn, the jangle of a horse harness caught her ear, followed by the rumble of coach wheels. Coaching lamps shed a welcome ray of light on the road. Celeste shielded her eyes and turned towards it, her heart leaping with her thoughts. Had Kieran already discovered her gone? Had he come after her? No, it wouldn’t be Kieran. It was coming from the town. Perhaps this was a merchant and his wife on their way home from the assembly. People had stopped dancing at midnight, but many had lingered downstairs, eating a midnight supper and drinking autumn ale.

The coach rolled to a stop beside her and for a moment she felt the universe had given her a sign, some help in her escape. She’d caught rides when she’d run before. Then a man stepped out of the coach—tall, lean, with straight, dark hair. ‘Ah, Celeste, it is you. How fortuitous,’ he said in silken tones.

Roan. Fear spiked and paralysed her. He had found her, completely by chance. Doubt over her decision rocketed through her. She’d thought she had more time. She cast about, but there was nowhere to run to, not in the dark. An outrider had come to stand behind her. She was trapped.

‘I was just on my way to Wrexham Hall. I fancied breakfast with the Horsemen.’ Roan gave a cold laugh. ‘But this will be so much better.’ He held the coach door open. ‘Come in and rest your feet, my dear. Ivan can help you up if you need it.’ The man behind her stepped closer and she had little choice but to get in.

‘Back to the village.’ He called instructions to the driver. ‘We’ll delay our visit to the Hall for a bit. We have work to do.’ Celeste fought back panic. The village wasn’t so very far. Someone might recognise her. She had options but Roan was ruthless.

Roan resumed his one-sided conversation as if they were friends. ‘I did not think to find you so quickly. But I am not surprised you’re out here. You’re good at running, you’re just not very good at not getting caught.’

He gave her a slow perusal. ‘How long do you think it will be before your Horseman notices you’re gone? I suppose it depends,’ he added off-handedly, ‘if he’s sleeping in your bed or not. What are you worth to him, Celeste? As much as you’re worth to me? We’ll find out soon enough.’

She let him talk as recriminations flooded. She was in the hands of the one man she’d sought to avoid, back where she’d started as if she’d never left Brussels. She’d misjudged the situation and now she was going to pay—and Kieran too. This would never have happened if she’d stayed at Wrexham Hall.