Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

“Nearly. What do I do when I get there because it is too late to go shopping?” Vanessa whispered.

“Just turn the carriage around somewhere and head back.”

“Don’t you want to stop off to stretch your legs a bit?” she asked.

Justin knew it wasn’t wise to spend any time in the town alone with Vanessa.

“No, just keep this carriage moving,” he grunted.

Vanessa sighed when she heard the discontent in his voice.

“I am not grumpy,” he declared flatly before she could speak.

“Tell me something about yourself,” she asked quietly. She doubted he would and waited for his rejection. To her amazement, he began to talk.

“I spent my time in the army. When the time came for me to decide if I wanted to progress up the ranks I decided to do something different.”

“Are your family not affluent?” she asked without thinking.

“Not really. I have made my money myself, from my work with the Star Elite. I have enough to live off and don’t need to worry about money now, which is good.”

Unfortunately, I don’t have much else to show for my life except for a group of criminals behind bars, he mused a little worryingly.

“Who are the Star Elite? Are you all ex-soldiers?” Vanessa asked quietly.

“Some are, some aren’t. We are part of the War Office and have jurisdiction over magistrates and the like. We are called in on investigations like this where magistrates don’t have the time, or manpower, or wherewithal to investigate themselves. Our work is dangerous and involves many weeks away from home. I haven’t been back to my house for at least two months now. Most of our investigations involves undercover work trying to capture criminals in the act,” he informed her.

“Yes, I can see that,” she mused wryly.

“Not usually scrunched up like this, I will grant you,” he admitted.

“Your family must miss you,” she murmured, desperately wishing she had the confidence to ask him what she truly wanted to know.

“I see them when I can. My mother worries, of course, but my father understands that I need to do this kind of work. It is who I am. He would get on well with your father because he too served in the army. I am sure they would have many experiences and stories to discuss,” Justin said, but then winced when he realised how that sounded.

“Father struggles with his memories, Justin. He saw things he refuses to speak about and it sends him into a melancholy that is so dark sometimes he struggles to leave the house,” she said quietly.

“My father used to be like that,” Justin murmured. “It took him a long time to function normally again when he returned home, and still hasn’t returned back to the man he was before he left for war. I don’t think he will be right again. He is at least able to talk about his experiences now, which helps.”

“He must worry about you given your line of work,” she said quietly.

“He understands I need to do this in much the same way that he felt he needed to go to war,” Justin replied honestly. “While he does worry, and so does my mother, they are proud of what I do.”

“So they should be,” Vanessa replied.

Justin smiled even though she couldn’t see him.

“See? We aren’t arguing for once, and I am not grumpy,” he murmured.

“You are really struggling to get over this grumpy business, aren’t you?” she countered, her voice rich with amusement.

Justin grinned, pleased that he could banter with her, and she could give as good as she got.

“I am just aware that we still need to get to know each other, that’s all,” he whispered.

Suddenly, the humour vanished and was replaced with a solemnity that wiped the smiles from their faces and forced them each to retreat to the relative safety of silence.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN