Fury raged deep within him at his friend’s duplicity. The punch he landed against Noah’s ribs didn’t even wind the man, who merely sucked in a breath and tightened his beefy hold, but Barnaby refused to give up. Even when the edges of Barnaby’s vision began to blur he didn’t surrender. He tried to lift his leg to reach the flick knife tucked inside his boot but Noah’s weight prevented him. Struggling for air, Barnaby felt the room start to fade and knew this was it; the final moments of his life.
Suddenly, he thought of Rose.
Rose.
Barnaby was glad now that his decision to send her away had been the right one. He just regretted not having the strength to say goodbye to her. It had been clear from the hurt on her face when Reg had spoken to her that she was angry with her new lover. Barnaby now regretted that they had to part on less than amicable terms; especially after what they had shared last night.
When he was certain that he was going to lose consciousness, the image of her suddenly swam to the forefront of his mind. Like a guiding angel it gave him the strength to fight harder. In that second, something inside him refuelled a surge of determination that redoubled his strength. His eyes narrowed and turned feral as he glared hatefully up at the man above him. Grabbing hold of Noah’s neck in an identical hold, Barnaby squeezed tightly. So tightly that Noah’s eyes bugged and his face quickly turned puce. Watching Noah’s struggle equal his own, Barnaby continued to clench his fingers until Noah began to gurgle. He watched a thin trail of slobber drip out of the corner of the man’s slack mouth as he fought for life as well. The desperation in Noah’s eyes when he too began to lose consciousness forced the man to loosen his own hold on Barnaby.
When Noah lifted his hand to punch him, Barnaby jabbed two fingers hard into the man’s armpit. Noah immediately dropped his arm and was temporarily distracted enough to give Barnaby the opportunity he needed. With the hand clutching Noah’s wrist, Barnaby crossed his index finger over his middle finger and rammed it straight into Noah’s eye. Noah immediately released Barnaby’s neck so he could clutch his face; his loud screech of protest echoing hauntingly around the room.
Once released, Barnaby vaulted to his feet. Noah was too busy cradling his eye and didn’t see the boot Barnaby slammed hard into the side of the man’s head. The urge to do it again was strong, but Barnaby held back. Noah had a lot of valuable information he could give to the Star Elite. It was important that he was kept alive. With that in mind, Barnaby eased back and allowed Noah to roll into a tight ball of misery, but followed him in case the man tried to run for the door.
“You are a fool Stephenson,” Noah gasped, squinting at him. “You are a fool if you think that I won’t kill you.” With that, Noah bent over at the waist and charged across the room with all the determination of an enraged bull.
Barnaby took several staggering steps backward until he was in line with the small table beside the bed and fumbled behind him for the heavy, ornate candle-stick. Before Noah tackled him, Barnaby lifted the candle-stick high and slammed it down onto the side of Noah’s head.
Noah slumped silently to the ground.
Stepping carefully around him, Barnaby tore strips off the bed sheets and secured the sailor before he patted him down in search of weapons. Once he was sure that Noah was no longer a threat, Barnaby stood over him and studied the man who had changed so much and all for money. He had once considered nobody more reliable in his world than his colleagues. Now, thanks to Noah, he was aware that Sayers had more than one traitor in the Star Elite. They just didn’t know who he was yet, but they were going to find out.
“Who else can’t I trust?” Barnaby whispered.
He almost wished he hadn’t hit Noah so hard so he could ask him, but needed a few minutes by himself to recover and think.
Being double crossed in such a way made Barnaby now start to doubt the choices he had made in his life. While he wouldn’t change a minute of his time with the Star Elite up until now, he was aware that it would be foolish to reject a chance of happiness with the woman who now owned his heart. There could be no question that he would regret it for the rest of his life. While he could never completely walk away from his work, he could find the same kind of balance between work and home that his colleagues had found, couldn’t he? He would need Rose’s help to make the necessary changes of course, but was more than willing to try if it meant spending the rest of his life with a proper home, and wife, and children waiting for him when he returned.
“Damn it, I let her go,” he murmured bleakly. Glaring down at the unconscious man at his feet, he shook his head in disgust. “I have wasted enough time on you.”
Slamming out of the room, he paused long enough to speak to the manager of the hotel who sent several of the burliest footmen to keep guard over the prisoner while someone was sent to fetch the Sherriff.
Scribbling a brief missive to Sir Hugo, Barnaby went in search of the colleagues he knew for definite he could trust.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Rose stared out of the carriage window with her heart in tatters. She had known that Barnaby was meant for his job because he had told her.
After last night, though, she had stupidly expected him to see things in a different way. Oh, she hadn’t expected any declarations of affection or future promises, but she hadn’t expected outright rejection either. He hadn’t even taken just a few moments out of his time to talk to her face-to-face and inform her of his regret about last night.
Had last night not meant anything to him at all?
“Obviously not,” she whispered as she swiped at the tears on her face.
The lush greenery of the landscape swept by the window unseen such was the misery that shrouded her. She was lost to know what to do now. She was at the mercy of the men sitting atop the large and very luxurious carriage and hated it.
If only I had the will, she thought in defeat. I would leave them to go to London on their own. It would serve them right.
Could she do it? Could she leave them and go on her way alone? She instinctively cringed at the thought but was no longer the same person she had been several days ago. Everything had changed in her life – even her. She was positive that if anybody looked too closely they would see the physical changes last night had wrought upon her. It was certainly emblazoned across her soul.
“What I can’t do is spend my life being dragged up and down the country by the Star Elite,” she whispered aloud. She knew she was their albatross, and it was galling that they considered her so much of a burden.
“I need to stop this,” she murmured.
Barnaby had made no bones about the fact that it could be several weeks before she was free to go about her life again, but she could see no reason why speaking to someone in London had to take that long. She could even write down what she had seen and post it to this Sir Hugo person in the War Office so she need never go to London at all.
“I can start to make decisions about my own life and get on with it.”
The more she stared out of the window and thought about it the more attractive that possibility became, especially if it meant that she could sleep in a bed for more than one night, and eventually found somewhere she could call home.