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

“You had better wear this,” Will suggested, draping a long cloak over her shoulders which positively engulfed her.

Mallory stared down at the folded edges and realised then just how ridiculous her legs looked in the gentleman’s breeches. With her cheeks aflame, she tugged the voluminous folds of the cloth around her and held them firmly in place with tight fists.

“I hope to God nobody I know sees me wearing these,” she hissed.

“I know you,” Callum offered with a very masculine smirk.

“Shut up.”

Unoffended, Callum laughed and sauntered out of the door. Mallory glared after him and wished the teasing would continue for a while longer because it helped quell her fear of what lay ahead.

“What do I do now?” she asked, somewhat helplessly.

“Now, you are going to hide in the back of the farmer’s cart. He is at the side of the barn delivering the wood. He is one of us, so don’t worry that he is going to realise you are in the back and kick you off his cart. He is going to take you out of here. Do not, no matter what happens, peer out from your hiding place. Stay hidden. Keep the cloak covering you and remain still until he tells you that you are at the farm. He is going to take the cart directly into the barn. Wait there for us to come and fetch you,” Will said.

“It isn’t going to be his farm he takes you to. He is going to go to his friend’s farm about thirteen miles away, so it is going to be a long journey but lie still and wait. The farm is nothing to do with Melrose and is miles away from Melrose House. I doubt Melrose will have any interest in it. We will have men following you just in case, but they will keep their distance. They are there to intercept anybody who tries to stop you. They will leave when you reach your destination and are on the way to Cornwall, and only then,” Sir Hugo warned.

Mallory stared out of the door and watched Callum lead several horses to the front of the barn. She wished she could go out there and talk to him, but now was not the time for conversation. Words were impossible because she couldn’t get them past the huge lump in her throat.

“He will be all right. Callum has been working with the Star Elite for many years. He knows what he is doing. He is one of the most capable men I have ever met. I wouldn’t have sent him into that house to fetch you if I didn’t think he was.”

“He didn’t get into the house. I met him outside.”

Sir Hugo grinned. “I thought you might.”

“How did you get out of that garden that day?” she asked.

Sir Hugo winked at her. “That is something I shall never tell you, my dear. What you need to concern yourself with is getting through the next few hours. We will not be far away. You just cannot talk to us, or the farmer, I am afraid. Stay quiet and keep your eyes and ears open. I will see you in the carriage later.”

Mallory opened her mouth to speak only to find that Sir Hugo was shuffling to the door. As soon as he reached it, he took a breath, adjusted his own false beard, tugged his hat low over his brow, straightened his shoulders, and let himself out of the house. His stride across the barn was in stark contrast to his injuries. It was sure, steady, and full of purpose. Nobody who looked at him would have suspected that it was the same man who had been carried into the house all bloodied and broken several hours earlier. It was only when he reached the horses that Sir Hugo paused and leaned heavily on one. He shrugged off the offer of help from Callum, and eventually made his way into the barn looking drunk rather than injured.

“Do you think he will be all right?” Mallory whispered to Will, who came to watch over her shoulder.

Will pursed his lips. “Put it this way, if Sir Hugo isn’t going to be all right then none of us will be. We will play our part and hope for the best. We know what we are doing. The Star Elite don’t fail very o

ften, but we are not infallible, nobody is. Nobody can promise you anything, I am afraid.”

“Life is temporary, isn’t it?”

“Make the most of it.”

“I would, if I am given the chance to,” Mallory whispered.

“Callum can be reluctant to change life at times. In his job everything he does is questioned, temporary, and subject to change. We can make plans, but they are often changed if something goes wrong. Life is uncertain. I think that it makes most of us want home lives that are a little more predictable. Nobody can live life without security or solidity. Callum will come around to the idea of having a wife. He just needs a little time to get his head around the fact that he has found you.”

“I don’t think marriage is what either of us want,” Mallory protested.

Will lifted his brows at her. “Really? Are you sure about that?”

Before she could reply, Will quietly left the house leaving Mallory to stare out over the yard in quiet contemplation. Her stomach dropped to her toes when her view of Callum was interrupted by the arrival of the cart, the driver of which clambered down and ambled toward the door.

Callum turned to watch the farmer knock on the door. He wished he could go over and talk to her one last time before she left. All he could do was helplessly watch while Mallory shook hands with the farmer and climbed awkwardly into the back of the cart while the farmer climbed onto the high bench seat. Within seconds, the cart had rounded the corner of the house and disappeared.

“She will be all right,” Sir Hugo murmured.

“She was covered well. Did you see? With the false board in front of her nobody would know she is there,” Will added.

“Let’s go,” Callum growled.