Captain Jack's Woman (Bastion Club 0.50)

Jack nodded. “Here comes our little troop.” The members of the Hunstanton Gang were gathering. “God only knows how they’ll react when they learn they’ve been doing their bit for Mother England.” With a wry grin, Jack moved forward to take command.

Above him, hidden by a spiky tussock close by the cliff’s edge, Kit frowned. Who was the third man?

She’d had a time following her husband, the short strides of her obedient little mare no match for either Champion or Matthew’s black. The need to wait until they were clear of the stables before entering to saddle her mount had meant she’d left the Castle well behind them. But, courtesy of the moon and the elevation of her husband’s home, she’d seen enough to realize they were making for the cottage. She’d drawn into the trees surrounding it only minutes before Jack had reemerged in his Captain Jack costume. She’d thanked her stars she hadn’t been riding Delia then. Champion had no interest in the chestnut mare; he’d obeyed Jack’s instruction without hesitation. She’d dropped behind again on the ride to the coast, and had had to cast about to find their position on the sands. She’d been surprised to find no one else there.

Then George and his companion had arrived. There was something about the way the unknown man held himself, the way he conversed with Jack and George, that disallowed any idea he was a new recruit for the Gang.

Kit saw Joe split from the knot of men around Jack and head toward the cliffs. Jack’s lookout. There was a small knoll a few feet from the cliff, about fifty yards from where she was crouching. Once on it, Joe would be able to see her clearly. As Joe started up the cliff path, Kit scrambled along the edge until she found a deeply shadowed crevice. There were tussocks growing from the walls every few feet. The area at the bottom looked sandy. With a last glance to where her mare was concealed in a stand of trees, Kit went over the edge.

She dropped to the sand and wiped her hands on her breeches, then slid to the end of the shadows. Glancing left, she saw the run in full swing. Immediately before her were the horses, Champion and three others, tethered under the overhang of the cliff. Beyond them lay a section of dunes, heavily covered with clumps of sea grass. Kit slipped out and around the horses, patting Champion’s great nose on the way. She gained the dunes and worked her way cautiously forward, until she was mere yards from where Jack and George stood, their mysterious visitor between them.

The run was a small one, leaving Jack and George with nothing to do but watch.

Kit glanced back at the cliff. She couldn’t see Joe, but if he came to the cliff’s edge, he’d spot her immediately. Not that she was frightened of being discovered. Jack had drummed into his men’s heads that on no account were they to shoot or knife anybody. The most she had to fear was being locked in her room in Castle Hendon. And learning what Jack would do on finding her in breeches. Kit shook aside the distracting thought and focused on her husband and his associates. Unfortunately, they said nothing.

When the last boat was being unloaded, Jack turned and nodded to Anthony. “Good luck.”

Anthony ducked his head but gave no word in answer. He strode down the beach on the first stage of his journey into danger.

Jack watched him go, watched the boat disappear into the surf to make contact with the ship standing offshore. Then he gave the final orders to clear the beach, sending the cargo on to the old crypt. Both he and George lingered on the sands, strangely tied to the fate of their friend. Matthew ambled the beach before them, patiently waiting.

Behind them, Kit lay burrowed in the sand, thoroughly perplexed. Why “Good luck”? And why was she so sure Jack would have shaken the man’s hand, but had stopped himself from doing so? She’d sensed his intent quite clearly. Yet, from everything she’d been able to see, the man was French.

She bit her lip, then shook her head. She simply could not believe Jack was smuggling spies. Damn the man—why couldn’t he relieve her of this miserable uncertainty? It was all his fault. Her peace of mind was in tatters purely because he had a constitutional objection to being understood!

Suppressing a snort, Kit glanced back over

her shoulder.

And froze.

A few feet away, so close his grey shadow almost touched her, stood the hulking figure of a man. A scream of fright stuck in her throat. Her wide eyes took in a heavy frame and fleshy jowls. The man was staring at Jack and George, still watching the waves some fifteen feet ahead, presenting her with a haughty profile. He was oblivious of her, prone almost at his feet. Moonlight glinted on the long barrels of the pistols he carried.

The man was Lord Belville.

Kit couldn’t breathe.

“We may as well go.”

Jack’s voice cut through the frozen moment. It brought Belville to life. He stepped forward, passing Kit, still lying immobile, to drop the last few feet to the sand. Another step took him clear of the dunes to face Jack and George as they turned toward the horses, Matthew a few steps behind them.

“Not so fast, gentlemen.”

Jack pulled up, startled by the appearance of an armed stranger from dunes he had every right to expect were safe. Where the hell was his lookout?

As if reading his mind, Belville’s lips twisted in an unpleasant smile. “I’m afraid your lookout met with a fatal accident.” He glanced at the fingers of his right hand, closed about a pistol butt. “Slitting a throat is silent, but such a messy business.”

Kit felt her blood run cold. She saw the expression on Jack’s face harden. Oh, God! If she didn’t do something, he would be shot! Pressing her fingers to her lips, she struggled to think.

Thankfully, Belville seemed inclined to conversation. “I must admit that when our courier died in that brawl, we originally believed it simply bad luck. However, when we had no further approaches from our French comrades, when, in fact, they suggested they no longer needed our services, we thought an investigation was in order.” Belville rolled the syllables from his tongue, his genial manner counteracted by the menace of the pistols in his hands. “Perhaps,” he suggested, “given the trouble you’ve put me to, you’d like to explain just who you are and who you’re working for? Before I put a bullet into each of you.”

Kit wished him luck. She couldn’t believe Jack would tell him anything, even under such pressure, but she wasn’t about to wait to find out. She’d remembered Jack’s saddle pistol. Pray God he kept it loaded. As she wriggled back through the dunes, she heard her husband’s voice.

“You’re Lord George Belville, I take it?”

Kit wondered what her erstwhile suitor would make of that. She hurried toward the horses, protected from sight by the dunes.

His gaze steady on Lord Belville’s malevolent eyes, Jack inwardly cursed himself for a fool. He should have taken the time to learn why Kit had wanted to tell him about Belville. She’d been uneasy enough to mention him in the first place. He should have trusted her instinct. Now Joe was dead. And God knew how he, and George and Matthew, were going to get out of this without ending in the same state.