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  “The rats and mice are the least of our worries,” she said, thinking back to the time she once lived with such rodents. Their droppings in the cupboards and the scampering at night beneath the bed she shared with Anita were everyday happenings. She shivered at the thought.

  Suzanna responded. “I would say if anyone knew about such deplorable creatures, it would be you.”

  “Aye, as well as head lice, scabs in my ears, fungus between my toes, and infected eyes. These are only a few of the maladies London’s poorer class endures.”

  “You needn’t be so graphic.”

  “And just because you’ve been brought up to entertain frivolous notions, dispelling a care in the world for anything or anyone else, you needn’t be so bloody snobbish.” The second her harsh words left her mouth, she regretted them. Her attitude was not exactly unified, and wasn’t that what she had asked of Suzanna through this ordeal? She sighed with frustration. “I am sorry for snapping so.”

  “It’s just that I’ve always hated the dark. As a child it frightened me dreadfully,” Suzanna admitted. “And what if we run into that dead priest? Leah did say she once saw him.”

  “If you remember, Leah also said he didn’t hurt her. She actually felt he helped her,” she said reassuringly. “And right now, wouldn’t you agree his ghostly illumination guiding us through this tunnel would be a blessing?”

  Suzanna halted.

  “Why have you stopped?” Riley probed.

  “The toe of my boot hit something. I think it’s a step,” Suzanna said.

  “Can you feel around with your foot?”

  “Aye, I can...I am...and it is a step...it is a step!” Suzanna resounded with joy. “And where there is a staircase, there is an opening.”

  Carefully, holding Nellie between them in the hammock-strung sheet, they climbed the narrow, winding staircase. With each step, Riley prayed her knee would hold, that she not trip, causing them to fall.

  The opening at the top brought them out into another cave, and beyond that loomed an archway leading to the outdoors where the first light of day was just brightening the sky.

  Suzanna hesitated. “I can only imagine what waits for us beyond this point.”

  She took an audible breath. “Since we cannot stay here, I would say we’ll soon find out.” They emerged out into a clearing, the stillness sending an eerie chill down her spine. “The quiet before the storm,” she whispered, as they both plopped down beneath a tree where Rufus sat preening himself like he hadn’t a care in the world. And Riley suspected he hadn’t.

  “Stupid cat,” Suzanna muttered.

  “Aye, well, if not for him we’d have never found passage out of that underground chamber.” She leaned her head back against the huge trunk and closed her burning eyes. Exhaustion set deep into the very core of her being. Nellie stirred beside her, moving to place a paw in her lap. She put a hand atop the dog’s furry white head. “We’re safe now, Nellie girl.”

  “The bloody hell we are,” Suzanna gabbled beneath her breath.

  Opening her eyes, Riley affixed them on a man sitting atop a large, black stallion. Within seconds many horses’ hooves shook the earth, the thundering sound vibrating through her hind-quarters. Rufus hissed and ran up the tree. Nellie growled, and Riley sat forward, drawing the dog protectively to her.

  “Good morning, Miss Flanders,” the man said, removing his hat. He inclined his head politely. “It is a welcomed sight to feast my eyes upon you.”

  She smiled, tears welling in her eyes. “And on you as well, Captain.”

  Simon Cavendish, replacing his hat atop his head, returned the smile. “Rest assured now, ladies. Your allies have arrived.”

  Chapter Twenty

  From the distance where Gabriel stood, both sky and water seemed to meet, their intense blue matching as the first morning sun blazed into the sky, warming the earth. Its reflection glittering upon the water’s majestic curves reminded him of the fire flies he caught as a child. Their sparkle against the night had always amused him. Why was he thinking of childhood fancies when he stood, readying himself for a pending battle? Perhaps it was how all warriors resigned themselves for what came next, thinking back at what once was and holding it dear to the end. And where war resulted, so did death as the two went side by side.

  It would not be long before the fighting would ensue, as those on the steamer had caught sight of the burning cargo. They leapt down ladders to reach the shore and hurried across the land to the burning shipment. There were more than Leah said, more than he could handle. Death was only a leg’s length away. But he was in it now, and there would be no turning back.

  “Mother o’ God,” Oliver gasped as the band of men coming their way grew in number.

  Yet the younger man stood beside him, loyal and steadfast as he had been throughout this ordeal. Gabriel sent up a silent prayer to the heavens that the two would remain standing after this day ended.

  Then the ground shook. The glorious sound of horses’ hooves growing louder and louder with each second. And bursting upon the scene came the reinforcements they waited for. Their allies swarmed, charging down the hill and heading straight for those men that marched from the steamer. Not expecting such opposition, the enemy was stunned. Many turned and ran back to the docked vessel. Those who chose to stay and fight were sorely outnumbered.

  Ahead of them the clamor heightened with the sounds of men warring, guns blasting, shouting, running, screaming, falling, the earth drinking the blood of those slain.

  “Come,” he said to Oliver. “We must help our men.”

  “If you move one muscle, I will blow her head off,” a voice threatened from behind.

  They turned to find Captain Langley holding Leah in front of him, a gun pointed at her head.

  “Ah, I see you have struck out of nowhere like the poisonous snake that you are,” he said, exchanging venomous glances with the black-guard Sea Patrol officer. The two of them came to the same conclusion without muttering a word. Today one of them would die, and Leah as well, if he made a wrong move.

  The captain’s face was tense, skin flushed. “Down on the ground. Both of you, or I will pull this trigger.”

  Though the morning was cool, hot sweat gathered on the back of Gabriel’s neck and trickled down between his shoulder blades.

  “Don’t do it, sir,” Leah said, raising her glance to meet his, fear dawning in her blue gaze. “Cut ’im down instead.”

  Gabriel set his jaw, muscles throbbing at the temples. He ignored Leah’s words and spoke directly to Langley. “The girl is not a part of this. Let her go.”

  Langley sliced the notion aside with a cutting motion of the gun. “Nay, I’m afraid I can’t oblige with your request.” His next reply was curt. “She’s my passage out of here.”

  He stepped smoothly into the opened area between them. “Then she is no good to you dead.”

  Langley pressed the gun’s barrel to Leah’s temple. “I suggest you keep a prudent distance.”

  “I’m nay afraid o’ leavin’ this world if it means seein’ this prig dead,” Leah beseeched again. “And if ’e’s shootin’ me, ’e can’t be shootin’ ye too, so do what ye need to rid us o’ this rogue and be quick about it.”

  “Silence!” Langley jerked Leah’s frail form hard against him. “Now, both of you, down on the ground,” he demanded again, his quick glance surveying his surroundings, looking for Oliver. He frowned and absently said, “Bloody hell, where’s the boy?”

  “I’m right behind ye, guvnor,” Oliver noted, stabbing Langley in the back before he had a chance to turn around.

  Just as Leah escaped from the enemy’s clutches, Gabriel sprang into action, reaching for a rock and clubbing Langley full in the face. The impact knocked out several of the captain’s front teeth and broke the bridge of his nose. Blood pumped from each orifice as he collapsed to the ground, his gun flying from his hand. But in spite of his wounds, he managed to pull himself to his knees and reach for a knife in h
is jacket pocket, raising it against Gabriel.

  Then a shot rang out, the bullet hitting Langley dead center in the heart. The captain fell forward, dead.

  Gabriel turned to find Leah holding Langley’s gun, arms straight out and locked with her aim. She clutched the gun in a death-grip, her knuckles as white as her face.

  “Is ’e dead? Is ’e dead? Please tell me ’e’s dead!” Leah broke out in hysterical sobs.

  Oliver reached for the young woman, pried the gun from her hands, and embraced her.

  Gabriel felt for a pulse, and when he found none, he faced the younger woman. “He is very much dead, Leah.”

  “And is that the scalawag who threatened your sister?” Simon Cavendish said as he entered the clearing on horseback.

  “One in the same,” he said, glancing up at his friend with relief. “I see you finally made it.”

  “Aye, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Simon pointed out, staring down at Langley. “This is the first good look I’ve had at this revolting man.”

  “There’s two more like ’im,” Oliver said, gesturing to Langley, “tied to trees thirty feet into the woods.”

  Simon confirmed with a nod. “They can join the others we’ve taken prisoner until the Royal Navy arrives.”

  Gabriel put hands on hips. “The Royal Navy, is it?”

  “Aye, thanks to Lord Wellington,” Simon confirmed. “He was once an admiral. He’s taking nay a chance of any of them getting away. These rogues won’t be capable of creating any further ruses.”

  “And where are ye keepin’ the prisoners until the navy arrives, Captain?” Oliver asked.

  Simon smiled. “Why, on their beloved steamer, Oliver, my boy.”

  “Nay, ’e is a man, sir,” Leah corrected, her gaze adoringly locked with Oliver’s.

  Simon cleared his throat. “Well, his auntie might beg to differ that point with you.”

  Oliver’s cheeks reddened. “I say nay to speakin’ further on that matter.”

  Gabriel stifled a smile as he wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his sleeve. “I will leave the transporting of the prisoners and the burying of the dead to your men, Simon.” He arched a brow. “There is a certain lady waiting for me in an underground chamber.”

  “Nay, that’s burnt as well,” Simon informed him.

  Gabriel’s heart thrashed against his ribs, the blood deafening him as it roared through his veins. Could it be true, that while he fought for her freedom, she was dying in a fire? Again had he lost his woman without even having a chance this time to claim her, tell her how he felt? He slumped against a tree, suddenly bone tired and feeling as though he had lived many lifetimes.

  “But bear-up, chap, as I see you must believe the worst by your desolate and pale face,” Simon re-joined, jousting Gabriel from his catacomb of sorrow. “All is not lost. The ladies made their way to safety. I saw them sitting on the hill east of here, resting beneath a large tree. They are dressed in men’s clothing and could use a bath,” he added with a chuckle, “but they’re very much alive.”

  The weariness, so unearthly heavy a second ago, suddenly lifted from his spirit. “Are you certain of this, Captain?”

  “Aye, most certain, Mr. Eagle,” Simon replied. “And they’ve taken down the rest of the Sea Patrol. Lieutenants Beck and Gray perished in the fire.”

  Leah stood, stepping from Oliver’s embrace and wrapping her thin arms around herself. She shivered. “I hope all o’ their souls rot in ’ell.”

  Simon nodded. “We’re of the same mind on that matter.”

  “And my Nellie, my sweet Nellie and little Rufus,” Leah cried. “Were they by any chance with Miss Riley and Lady Wellington as well, sir?”

  Simon frowned. “Nay, miss, nay a soul more caught my eye but the two women, a cantankerous cat, and a dog...a bandaged up, mangy, white, dog. All of them sit there now, as I instructed them, beneath a large tree up on that hill,” he said, pointing east from where they stood.

  Leah’s eyes welled with tears. “Then they live still...they all live and this murderin’ spawn o’ the devil and his men,” she said, glancing with disgust and hatred at Langley, “will not be able to ’urt me, or anyone else, ever again.”

  Gabriel did not stick around to join the conversation further. As fast as his legs could carry him, he made his way to where Riley waited.

  At the top of the hill he spotted her, pacing with a limp beneath the tree.

  “Riley,” he called, waiting for her to turn and face him. In spite of her injured knee, she ran to him, meeting him half way.

  Long, ginger curls spilled from the man’s hat she wore, flowing over her shoulders and waving behind her in the chilled morning breeze. Tears of relief welled in her eyes as he caught her in his embrace, lifting her from the ground with a hand beneath her knees and one on her back. He drew her close, tight against his heart where his beat in unison to hers.

  “I feared for you,” she whispered against his throat, as she buried her face beneath his chin and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I am here now,” he reassured her, his member chafing from the nearness of her...for the want of her.

  Pulling back to look at him, she searched his face. Tears trickled down her soot-stained cheeks, streaking her flesh. “Never worry me so again.”

  His eyes focused on her lips, lush and moist, so near to his own. Did he dare kiss her? Did he have the right?

  And then she decided for him. “I would welcome your kiss,” she boldly stated.

  He arched a brow and smiled, strangely flattered by her declaration. “Then I will not have to steal one of my own?”

  “Nay, never,” she answered breathlessly. “I vowed to myself, while searching for a way to escape that burning chamber, that if I lived through this ordeal, I would taste your lips. Whether it was for only a moment and just once, I would kiss you.” She moved her lips closer to his. “I want to taste your lips, Gabriel, feel their warmth on mine. Life is too fleeting to be left wondering.”

  “Hush, woman,” he whispered against her mouth before he captured its fullness. There was no turning back. Their closeness was like a drug, lulling his senses into euphoria. His chest tingled against her full breasts hidden from his view beneath the fabric of her shirt, and the thought of their bared splendor drove him insane with passion.

  She heaved a delighted sigh as he deepened the kiss, swelling his loins underneath his breeches, and causing a fervent flutter to rise from the pit of his stomach. When his tongue explored the soft recesses of her mouth, he knew kissing her would always leave him burning with desire, hungry for more of the delicious, heady sensation.

  And he realized he would have to come to grips with the fact that kissing Riley Flanders for only a moment, or just once in his lifetime, was definitely not going to be an option.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Riley rested her bones with Leah in Widow Frumkee’s small, but clean and warm, cottage, sipping a cup of after-dinner tea. The kind, elderly woman, wearing a thick, white bun atop her head, had a smile that brightened her entire round and pink-toned face.

  Elma Frumkee, a longtime resident of Lands End, bestowed a motherly concern for Leah who visited her whenever she could break away from Captain Langley’s clutches. They’d enjoy tea together and shared stories of the widow’s youth and Leah’s happier days.

  “Another one of your secrets, Leah,” Suzanna had quipped sardonically before stepping foot on the Royal Naval ship. It had arrived mid-day, along with another vessel, to barricade the waters and confiscate the ship Langley waited on from the Indies. Lord Wellington was aboard to make sure the smugglers were transported to Newgate Prison and to escort Suzanna home.

  “Aye, I wished for nay a soul to cause the poor woman retribution for knowin’ me,” Leah defended herself one last time against Lady Wellington's snide remarks.

  “Though you have a cutting edge about you, I shall miss you to a degree,” Riley admitted. “And if ever you're in
need, I shall comply my help most readily, my lady.”

  For the most part, in spite of her snobbish exterior, Lady Suzanna Wellington had come through when she was needed most. If not for her assistance, both she and Nellie would be dead now.

  Suzanna smiled. “I will extend the same civility to you, Miss Flanders.”

  Suzanna would not be a woman she would befriend or even ring up for a visit to share an afternoon of tea. But in a pinch they had vowed their assistance to one another, and that wasn't a bad thing.

  And Lord Wellington rewarded Gabriel, Oliver, Simon, and the twenty-man garrison allied with him, a handsome sum.

  The Naval ship sailed at dusk, and since Captain Cavendish felt it was too late and his men too spent to set sail aboard the steamer for London, staying another night at Lands End was decided. Thus lodging was needed for all that remained.

  Elma Frumkee’s offer to share her cottage with Riley and Leah was acknowledged; else the two women would have had to sleep on board the steamer with the men. And since neither of them wished to endure a night of such crude accommodations, Widow Frumkee’s hospitality was accepted. It afforded Riley a chance to nurse her knee, using an herbal poultice the elder woman supplied and swore by.

  Just before the women turned in for the night, Simon stopped by the cottage to inform them of the morrow's departure time.

  Leah announced, “I won't be travelin' with ye, Captain. I can't bring myself to ever board that steamer again.” She shrugged. “Besides I won't leave Nellie and Rufus, and there's nothin' in London for us anyway.”

  Simon arched a brow. “Don't let Oliver hear you say that. He has some notion he's to take care of you, the three of you, from this point on. And since his stomach isn't fond of traveling by way of water, I planned for him to deploy on land with a few of my men. He can help bring the horses back to London.” Simon smirked. “I believe he also wishes to delay facing his auntie.”

  Mrs. Frumkee’s frown was more than a little uneasy. “Nay, it is not appropriate for such a young woman to travel without a chaperone, least she be made to practice for marriage before her journey’s end.”