considered the discomfiture worth it.
“Good afternoon, Miss Pool. Miss Benbridge.”
They slowed and smiled at the young cobbler who had stepped outside of his shop to greet them. The handsome blond man smiled shyly through his beard and rubbed his palms nervously against his apron.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Field,” Miss Pool greeted with a soft blush on her cheeks that didn’t escape Amelia’s notice.
The two appeared to like each other, with more than casual interest. Curious, Amelia studied them, wondering if she looked so obviously smitten when she crossed paths with Colin. How dreadful if she did, to wear that glowing look of hope and longing in the face of his curtness and obvious distaste for her.
Feeling both morose and embarrassed that she was intruding on an exchange that seemed intimate, she turned her back to the couple…
…and spotted a familiar set of broad shoulders and long legs walking away from her. At Colin’s side was a blond girl who Amelia guessed was close to his age, if the ripe womanly curves were any indication. They were laughing, their eyes bright as they looked at each other. His hand was at her lower back, steering her around a corner so that they disappeared from view.
Unable to resist, Amelia moved forward, her movements jerky. Colin and the buxom girl had looked at each other much as Miss Pool and Mr. Field were. A look filled with promise.
Amelia rounded the same building, her steps slowing as she heard low murmured voices and subdued giggles. She passed barrels and crates, her focus so narrow that when a stray cat leapt to the ground with a meow it frightened her half to death. She fell back against the brick, her hand sheltering her racing heart, her eyes squeezed shut with dread. It was cooler back here, the pass-through shaded from the sun by the building.
She knew she should turn back. Miss Pool wouldn’t be distracted long and then she would worry about her. But Amelia’s heart ignored reason, to no surprise. If the stubborn thing listened at all, it would have ceased pining for Colin months ago.
Taking a deep breath of courage, she pushed off the wall and turned the corner to reach the back of the shop. There she stilled, her breath seized in her lungs, her open parasol first falling to her side and then falling from her fingers to thud on the soft earth.
Colin and his companion were too occupied to note the sound. The pretty blonde was pressed against the rear wall, her head tilted back to invite Colin’s roving mouth, which moved across the swell of flesh exposed by her low bodice. He caged her in, his left arm bearing the weight of his torso, his right hand kneading the full breast the girl thrust wantonly toward him.
Pain stabbed deep into Amelia’s heart, a wound so brutal she moaned with the agony of it. Colin’s head flew up, his eyes widening as he saw her. He straightened instantly, thrusting himself away from the building and the girl he ravished there.
Horrified, Amelia turned and ran the length of the shops, leaving her parasol behind. Her sobs echoed off the rear of the stores, but she heard him calling out to her, regardless. That deep voice, so different from the boy she had known, the tone serrated and pleading as if he cared that he’d broken her.
Which he didn’t, she knew.
She ran faster, the thudding of her panicked boot steps lost in the sound of blood rushing in her ears.
But even running her fastest, she could not outrun the memory of what she had seen.
“Will you please allow me to handle the matter?” Simon murmured, his head next to Maria’s as they both stared out the small traveling coach window.
“No, no,” she insisted, her foot tapping impatiently upon the floorboards. “It will be less messy all around if I do it.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Nonsense,” she scoffed. “If you approach the man, you will end up in fisticuffs, which will draw attention. In order for this to succeed, we will need to depart as quietly as we arrived.”
He sighed audibly and fell back against the squabs with high drama, playing the part of the exasperated male to perfection. Maria laughed, then immediately fell silent as a large form appeared from the mews behind the St. John household. “Is that one of them?” she asked.
Simon looked out the window again. “Yes. But I suggest we wait for one of the smaller ones.”
Maria considered that a moment, admitting to herself that she was quite intimidated by the man’s great size. He was a giant. His long, unkempt hair and black beard only added to the image of a large troll. He walked away from them with a heavy, lumbering stride that she was certain shook the very ground beneath him.
She took a deep breath and thought of her sister. Maria had already questioned all of the men who had been with her the night she failed to retrieve Amelia. Sadly, there was very little useful information to be gained from them. They had been too intent on saving her. Christopher’s men, on the other hand, might have been more inclined to absorb the whole scene. Therefore, she had to question at least one of them. Her sister needed her. Somehow, she would find the strength required to abscond with a behemoth.
Thrusting open the door, Maria stepped down before she could come to her senses. She hurried after the man, calling out for his assistance such as a helpless, needy female would.
The giant paused and turned with a scowl, which quickly turned to masculine appreciation, which in turn immediately grew into wariness as she pulled a pistol from behind her back.
“Hello,” she greeted with a wide smile, aiming for his heart. “I would enjoy your company for a spell.”
His gaze narrowed. “Are ye daft?” he rumbled.
“Please don’t make me shoot you. I will, you know.” She widened her stance in preparation for the resulting kick of the discharging weapon. It was all for show, of course, but he couldn’t know that. “I would deeply regret putting a hole in you, as you helped to save my life recently and I do owe you a great deal for that.”
His eyes widened with recognition, then he cursed under his breath. “They’ll tease me for the rest of my life for this,” he muttered.
“I am sorry about that.”
“No, yer not.” He stomped past her, proving her suspicion about the quaking earth. “Where?”
“My coach is around the corner.”
He reached it and yanked the door open, revealing a wide-eyed Simon.
“Good God!” Simon blinked. “That was too easily done.”
“I’d take ’er over my knee,” the giant rumbled, “but St. John would ’ave my ’ide.” He climbed into the carriage and took up an entire squab, causing the equipage to creak in protest. Crossing his arms, he griped, “Come on, then. Get on with it.”
Maria handed Simon the gun and stepped up unassisted. “Your cooperation is greatly appreciated, Mr.-?”
“Tim.”
“Mr. Tim.”
He glared. “Just Tim.”
She settled on the rear-facing seat next to Simon. She arranged her skirts as the coach lurched into motion and then beamed at her guest. “I hope you like Brighton, Tim.”
“The only thing I’ll like is to know that you torment St. John the same,” he grumbled.
Bending over conspiratorially, she whispered, “I am much worse with him.”
Tim grinned from the depths of his beard. “I like Brighton fine, then.”
The setting sun cast the ocean in a reddish glow that turned the water to molten fire. Hard, heavy waves pounded onto the shore, molding it into shape, the rhythmic roar soothing Christopher as it always had. He stood on the high cliff, his stance wide, his hands clasped at his back. The salty sea breeze gusted against him, chilling his skin and tugging strands of his hair free of the queue that contained them.
Beyond the horizon one of his ships waited, its belly full of spirits and tobacco, rich materials and exotic spices. Once night fell, the vessel would draw closer, searching for the winking light his crew would use to signal them into the proper position.
It was then that his rivals would strike, disrupting the transport of contraband to the shore. Tonight they would receive what they had truly been spoiling for-a fight.
The anticipation for the confrontation ahead thrummed in Christopher’s veins, but he was neither anxious nor eager. This was a necessary task, nothing more.
“We stand at the ready,” said Sam, who took up position beside him.
