To Have A Heart (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 7)

She was so deep in thought she didn’t notice the passage of time as Callum settled the horses. It wasn’t until he extinguished the lantern and came to join her beside the barn door that she snapped out of her musings and turned to look at him.

Rather than urge her into the house, Callum rested his shoulders against the door and allowed the silence to engulf them both.

“He isn’t going to be locked up, is he? Melrose, I mean,” Mallory said quietly.

Callum slowly shook his head but then realised that Mallory probably couldn’t see him. Now that they were alone in the dark, he too felt he could truly be honest with her in a way that he wouldn’t feel inclined to be like should she be able to look him in the eye.

“No. When men like Melrose resort to such violence they rarely allow themselves to be arrested for their crimes. He is more likely than most to fight to the death, and will probably be killed by one of us,” Callum replied.

“I am sorry for what happened to Sir Hugo,” Mallory murmured.

Callum looked sharply at her when he heard the emotion in her voice.

“That wasn’t your fault. Sir Hugo was probably overwhelmed. You saw how many guards Melrose had at his house. Not even Sir Hugo would stand a chance if he was ambushed by several of them.”

Callum’s sharp reply was met with silence.

“Do you know something? I am sorry for what has happened to Sir Hugo but am not surprised. He has always been up to his neck in whatever investigation the men have been involved in. The men, however, have back up. We rarely work alone. Sir Hugo does – a lot. He rarely discusses what he is doing with others. Therefore, nobody knows what in the Hell he gets up to. We are ordered to meet up with our colleagues just so we can prove we are all fine. If we don’t turn up, people come out to find us. Sir Hugo has been going off on his own for a long while now and rarely, if ever, checks in to let anyone know he is all right. Some would say that he has had this coming to him for a long time.”

“He is lucky we went into that tavern. If that man hadn’t told us to go there, we wouldn’t have found him.”

Callum nodded. “He probably wouldn’t have been found until someone from the village went in there, but that building has been abandoned for years so the chances of that happening are remote.”

“He might never have been found,” Mallory murmured with a shudder.

Callum ran a weary hand down his face. He had not had any sleep last night, or food, and was now tired, hungry, and getting cold. He knew that Mallory must feel the same, but for the life of him couldn’t find the will to suggest they go into the house. It was nice to stand outside with her and have a quiet conversation nobody could overhear or interrupt. Out here there was just him, and her, in a place where they could say what they liked how they liked.

It was a time for opening thoughts, feelings, and hearts.

“Why do you think he does it? Does he not have a home life?”

Callum huffed a laugh. “Sir Hugo is a very happily married man. He has several children whom he adores. However, working for the Star Elite becomes a way of life for all the men. I think it is a life that Sir Hugo is unable to walk away from. It is a part of who he is. He is the man who set it up. He was the first soldier to be recalled from France by the War Office. Once in London, he was tasked with rounding up a group of able fighters to help him capture smugglers in Cornwall who were bringing French spies into the country, and so it began. Over the years, more and more men have joined the group, and local teams have been established. The Star Elite is no less precious to Sir Hugo than his own children.”

“He cares enough about it to be prepared to die for it?” Mallory looked sceptically at Callum.

In the gloom, all she could see was the shape of someone who was very tall, and extremely powerful. It was only the knowledge that the sinister presence beside her was Callum that prevented her from running for her life.

“He probably thought he was perfectly safe. Melrose has a lot of men at his disposal, but they are not well trained. Most of them are local thugs who have little intellect. If they are paid, they don’t question their orders. They just want money. We don’t know what happened in the events before Sir Hugo got caught. No matter how well-trained Sir Hugo is, or what ammunition he has on him, he isn’t able to fight twenty or so men single-handed.” Callum sighed. “You saw how many men we cut down in that street, and how many men chased us across those fields.”

“We are lucky we managed to escape,” she agreed.

Callum nodded.

“Do you think that Melrose is miles away?”

“He might be, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be hunted down with a vengeance now. Nobody will get away with trying to murder Sir Hugo. Killing him in the middle of a one-to-one battle is one thing, but to beat him half to death while he is tied up like a goose is another matter entirely.”

“Do you think he was beaten while he was tied?” Mallory had no idea why she asked that question. It seemed terribly ghoulish to want to know, but something compelled her to ask.

“From the marks on his wrists, I think it is entirely possible.”

A lengthy silence settled between them. It was eventually broken by Callum who, for some reason he had yet to understand, sidled closer to her. Even blinded by the night, his hand was inherently able to find hers, as if guided by some invisible force.

“Do you know something, Mallory? For the first time in my entire life I have been struck by the reality of my own mortality. We all faced fear when we entered the battlefields but didn’t have the time to stop and think about how easily we could draw our last breath. We were too engrossed in fighting for our right to life. When that war ended, though, we faced another battle back at home. For most, that battle was readjusting to ordinary life again. For the men from the Star Elite, me, the new battle I faced included going to Cornwall to deal with Cornish smugglers and French spies. In this country, it is difficult to believe that we are truly in danger. In comparison to the dangers we faced in the battlefields men like Melrose are nothing more than ignorant petty criminals. It is only our stubborn resistance that stops the criminals from succeeding. Now, I have to wonder if it is all worth it.”

“Don’t say that,” Mallory cried. “How could you say that? Do you have any idea what it has been like for me? For those other women? Are you saying that Sir Hugo has wasted his life for nothing?”

Callum looked at his boots. “No, of course not.”