Ratcatcher

He nodded. “Yes.” He was amazed at himself for admitting it so readily. He recalled that she had addressed him by his former rank and wondered what other information the major might have given away.

“Did you kill him?” she asked suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.

Hawkwood collected himself. “Rutherford? No, he’ll live. He might die from embarrassment, but that’s all.”

She considered his answer in silence. He couldn’t tell if she was pleased or disappointed. He decided to match her directness. “So, why did you come?”

She looked across at him, the smile still hovering on her full lips. “You realize, Captain Hawkwood, we’ve yet to be formally introduced. My name is Catherine—”

“I know who you are,” Hawkwood said, before he could stop himself.

Her eyes widened. “And how do you know that, Captain?”

Hawkwood grinned. “The major sent me word.”

She laughed then, the light dancing in her eyes. I could fall for this one, Hawkwood thought, and wondered why, despite her obvious attractions, the possibility disturbed him.

“So,” he repeated, “why did you come?”

Her reply and gaze was as direct as before.

“Why do you think?”

8

Hawkwood lay pressed back against the pillow, his arm around her waist. Her cheek rested on his chest. Her eyes were closed. She was breathing softly. The bed sheets lay in disarray around them. They were both naked.

The carriage had delivered them to a fashionable house on the corner of Portman Square. There were no servants in evidence, other than a maid who had opened the door and curtseyed low before disappearing, at her mistress’s bidding, to her own quarters. Her services, she had been told, would not be required for the rest of the day. The girl had expressed no surprise at Hawkwood’s presence.

Once inside, her first action had been to tend his wound.

She had become aware of his injury when the carriage wheels hit a pothole. The carriage bounced hard on its springs, jolting Hawkwood out of his seat. He had let out an involuntary grunt of pain and pressed his hand to his stomach. Her reaction had been immediate.

“You’re hurt!”

“A scratch. It’s nothing.”

“Let me see.” Before he could stop her, she had pulled his jacket away. “My God! There is blood! You’re wounded!”

“It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“But you need attention! A doctor!”

“The hell I do! I’ll not be prodded and poked by some damned apothecary. Bastards pass on more infections than they cure.”

It occurred to Hawkwood that he should probably have been more mindful of his language, given that he was in the company of a lady and not in some dockside tavern. The amusement playing across her lips, however, hinted that his vocabulary was not her main concern.

“Then you will let me take care of you. No, not another word, Captain,” she cautioned as Hawkwood opened his mouth to protest. “I insist upon it!”

The look in her eyes warned Hawkwood that it would be wiser not to resist.

She had shown him to a couch in the drawing room before removing her cloak and disappearing, returning with a bowl of hot water and bandages.

“Take off your shirt,” she commanded.

Hawkwood hesitated.

“Must I do it for you?” Her eyes flashed. “If you are concerned about my being compromised, there’s no need. My maid is discreet and gone to her room, and there’s no one else to disturb us.” She smiled. “Or is it that you are embarrassed? Surely not? Not my brave captain?”

Hawkwood sighed. “I’m not a captain. I’m not anything. Not any more.”

“But you’re still my hero,” she murmured softly. “Now, take off your shirt.”

She did not look away. Instead her gaze moved frankly over his body, taking in not only the blood-encrusted runnel below his ribs but the older scars that crisscrossed his torso. Her attention was drawn to a crescent of puckered skin etched into the flesh beneath his left arm. Caused by a heavy blade of some kind, she presumed. A circular, discoloured indentation high on his right shoulder suggested a bullet wound, while a thin weal an inch below his left nipple looked as if it might have been made by a knife. It was a body mauled by war and almost twenty years of soldiering.

As with most superficial wounds, the degree of blood was disproportionate to the damage sustained. Nevertheless, despite her gentle ministrations, he was forced to bite his lip more than once as she dabbed away the rind of congealed blood. Once the wound was cleansed, he knew the healing would be quick. As a result, the scarring was likely to be negligible, just another addition to the painful legacies of battle.

By the time she had finished, the water in the bowl had cooled to lukewarm and turned crimson. She reached for the bandages.

“Sit up,” she instructed.

A frisson of pleasure moved through him as he caught the faint scent of her perfume; jasmine, he guessed, with perhaps a hint of wild lemon. He felt her breath, light as a feather on his neck, as she leaned in and wound the bandage around him. For a moment, their eyes met. Her hands stopped moving, her breasts rose and fell invitingly before him.

“I think it’s time,” she whispered.

Hawkwood frowned. “For what?”

Her steady gaze transfixed him. “Your reward.”

She looked down on him through a tangle of lustrous black hair. Her skin was the colour of cinnamon. The dark tips of her breasts brushed his skin. Wordlessly, reaching down between them, her fingers searched for him. Hawkwood felt himself respond. She bent her left knee, straddled him, and gave a small moan of pleasure. All the time her eyes remained open, watching him. Encircling him with her hand, she began to massage him gently.

“I want you,” she breathed.

She released him, lowered her head and kissed his neck, her teeth nipping playfully at his skin. Her tongue flickered along the line of his jugular. Her lips were warm and moist. She moved down his body, nuzzling his chest, kissing his scars. Her hands traced his hips, caressed his thighs. Her head sank lower. Her lips enfolded him and Hawkwood surrendered to the moment.

When she sensed he could hold back no longer, she disengaged her mouth and tongue, raised herself on to her knees and lowered herself carefully. Head thrown back, eyes closed, she began to move urgently against him.

She cried out as she came, the shudders moving through her. Hawkwood held her tightly as she fell across him, trembling like a bird.

He had been unprepared for the aggressive way in which she had taken the initiative, undressing with tantalizing slowness until, clad only in silk stockings, she had opened her legs and spread herself before him. His skin still smarted where her nails had raked his shoulders as he had taken her.

A bright sheen of sweat covered their bodies. A light breeze rippled coolly through the open window, ruffling