Captive Hearts Read online

  “You’ll need to talk to Talbot about this, Katherine.

  Everything you tell him and the magistrate may help them capture the man or men responsible.” She turned to look over her shoulder at him, her eyes wet with tears, her expression so raw with emotion and vulnerability he fought the urge to reach for her. Her posture, her pointed avoidance of seeking him out for comfort, made it clear she had distanced herself from him again. He didn’t know if it were triggered by their return to Willingham’s, the murder, or something else, but he didn’t like it a damn bit and didn’t intend to endure it.

  He wasn’t going to stand by and allow the open, giving woman he had made love to last night and this morning, to slip away without a fight. As soon as she had

  calmed, he intended for them to talk about the situation.

  “Will you join us, Hannah? You may have something useful to add to what Katherine has to say.”

  “Aye, I will, Captain Hamilton.” The woman nodded.

  “I want to do it now,” Katherine said as she straightened away from Hannah and wiped her eyes with the small handkerchief the maid offered her.

  He grasped her arm and guided her down the entrance hall to Talbot’s study. As concerned about the situation as he was, he had to admire Katherine’s strength and determination. Caroline had been more malleable and less independent. He wondered what his brothers would think of his choice. Regardless of how they had wed, he had made a choice to have her and to keep her. With her headstrong, iron will, things would certainly never be boring between the two of them.

  Matthew gave the door a short, sharp rap. The portal opened almost before his hand had lowered to his side.

  Talbot’s white hair looked mussed, as though he had threaded his fingers through it repeatedly, and his stock hung askew.

  His expression changed from irritation to open relief.

  “Matthew, I am glad you have returned.” He stood back for the three of them to enter the study.

  “Katherine and Hannah have some things to tell you they think may be useful.”

  Talbot turned toward the women. “Please come in and sit down.” He motioned toward the chairs before the fire. He turned to look over his shoulder at a man behind him standing before a large Queen Ann desk. “Lord Harcourt, please join us.”

  The man who stepped forward had a slight, wiry build and moved with bold, confident strides. His light brown hair, brushed straight back from his forehead and tied with a black lace, bared his wide flat cheekbones and pointed chin. His brows, bushy and thick, arched above brown eyes that held a sharp intensity. His other features appeared so exaggerated; his small narrow nose seemed almost an afterthought.

  Talbot quickly made the introductions then said,

  “Lord Harcourt read Katherine’s story and had asked to

  speak with me this morning, but since it is Katherine’s story to tell, I believe he should speak directly to her.”

  “With your permission of course, Mrs. Hamilton,” Lord Harcourt added.

  She settled on the edge of a high-backed chair. “I will do whatever I can to help.”

  Lord Harcourt studied her for a moment. “There has been a rash of similar attacks upon women across the city, Mrs. Hamilton. The general populace is not aware of it because it was feared that it would cause a panic. Your mother was not the first and this young woman here today will not be the last, if he is not captured. You are the only one to survive such an attack. You can identify the killer and that makes you very dangerous to him.”

  “Anyone who has seen the prints is a danger to him now, Lord Harcourt. That is why I have offered a reward for his capture.”

  “But they cannot testify to his actions as you can, Mrs. Hamilton. You must be very careful.”

  “Of course.” She nodded.

  “Lord Willingham has hired some men to protect you and his family. I believe you will be secure here at Willingham’s.”

  She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. ”He strangles women with a blue ribbon. He has brown hair with blond mingled through it, and I believe green eyes.

  He is a big man with large hands. He is handsome, but he has a cruel set to his mouth. He reminds me of someone I have met of late, but I cannot quite identify whom.

  Something about his jaw—” She rubbed her temples. “I only remember parts of the night I was attacked, Lord Harcourt. I remember being on a horse and being shot. I remember my brother’s and father’s faces gleaming white in the lantern light. I remember seeing a light in the distance and I remember the man’s face who tried to strangle me with a thin rope.” She rose to her feet. “I can offer you one of the prints I had made with his likeness.”

  “That will not be necessary, Mrs. Hamilton. I already have one.” Lord Harcourt rose to his feet as well.

  “Then if you will excuse me, I would like to go to my room.”

  “Certainly.”

  Hannah rose to follow her and Katherine stopped to turn to the woman. “If there is more that you can tell Lord Harcourt, you must stay, Hannah. I am going up to lie down.”

  Hannah hesitated then lowered herself back into her chair.

  The door closed behind Katherine, but Hannah remained silent for a few moments.

  “What is it you wish to tell us, Hannah?” Matthew prompted the woman when she remained silent.

  “The man is a monster. He tortured Lady Ellen before he killed her. I cleaned and prepared the body m’self. She was cut some across her thighs and belly and the ribbon had dug into her throat so deep I had to have help cutting it free.” She hugged herself and began to rock as tears streamed down her face unheeded. “They’d done other things as well, more than one of ’em.” Overwhelmed, she wept and Matthew laid a comforting hand upon the woman’s shaking shoulders. She gathered herself and wiped her face and blew her nose. “Miss Ellen was so sweet and soft spoken, a real lady, they had no right to shame her so.”

  “We almost lost Miss Kate as well. She’d been shot in the side. She near died from losin’ so much blood. Another coach came up the road and scared him and his men away. That ’twas what saved her from the worst of it.”

  “Who was it that told Katherine she had been molested like her mother, Hannah?” Matthew asked.

  “It had to be Edward—Lord Leighton. Had I known he had claimed such a thing, I’d have spoken with her about it,” Her expression took on a momentary narrow eyed look. “’Twas untrue. Lady Kate wasn’t harmed like that. You know that don’t you, Capt’in Hamilton?”

  “Yes,” Matthew said briefly.

  The woman blinked to clear her vision, and focused on his face. Heat crept upward in his cheeks. It was one thing to make love to one’s wife, quite another to admit as much to your wife’s maid, and to do so with two other men looking on.

  “Why don’t you go upstairs and lie down for a while too, Hannah. I’ll see to anything Katherine might need.” She nodded and stood up. The wrinkles around her

  eyes and mouth appeared to have deepened in just the few moments she had spoken to them. “Thank you, Cap’in Hamilton.” She placed a hand upon his sleeve. “I know Miss Kate will be safe with you.”

  “I’ll do my best to see she is, Hannah.” She nodded and left the room.

  “Tell me about Lord Leighton,” Lord Harcourt said immediately.

  Matthew nodded. “After I have told you about something I saw last night.”

  ****

  Katherine shoved the feather-laden sack into the drawer of a chest inside the dressing room. It had taken her some time to clear away the feathers spilled from the mutilated pillow. She saw no reason for Matthew to experience the same sense of violation and fear she had on discovering it. She shivered as goose bumps crawled across her skin. Knowing the killer had been inside their room made her almost ill with revulsion. She checked the bed for the third time for any further proof he had been here.

  Had they been asleep in the room, there was no doubt in her mind that Matthew and she would be as dead as
the downstairs maid.

  Katherine wanted to wail with grief and guilt at the woman’s death. It was her fault. Had she not persisted with her plans, the woman would still be alive. She would have to learn to live with that. At the moment, she wavered between tears and nausea and a feeling just shy of panic.

  Her continued presence placed Matthew and his family in danger. She couldn’t live with that. She wasn’t willing to lose anyone else she loved to these killers.

  She placed the note she had composed on the bedside table, picked up the small bag she had packed, and left the room. There were no servants about when she went down the back stairs to a hallway just outside the kitchen.

  The side entrance where they had removed the body was just down the hall.

  A man stood outside the door, a musket cradled in the bend of his elbow and a pistol stuck in his belt. She didn’t recognize him though she understood his purpose

  for being there.

  “Where would you be going, girl?” he asked, his green eyes sweeping the plain gray dress beneath her cloak.

  She hesitated only a moment with the valise in her hand. She adopted an accent just shy of the more cultured tones she had learned at her parents heals. “I’ll be leaving here for home. I didn’t sign on to risk my life for a bunch of rich gadders, only to clean for them.” She stepped across the threshold and closed the door behind her.

  “I wouldn’t desert the ship jest yet, love. Ye’d probably be safer here with me outside the door than on the streets.”

  “I won’t be on the streets. I even have me a coach waitin’ at the back gates. You wouldn’t want to walk with me there would you?”

  He looked from right to left then grimaced. “I can’t leave me post, but I’ll watch ye as far as I can.” She flashed him a smile then with a sigh of relief walked down the path she had taken her wedding day.

  With each step she took, she felt the strain of the ties she had made with Matthew and his family pulling at her.

  They would care for Hannah and keep her safe, safer than the woman would ever be with her. She made it to the back gate without meeting another guard and gingerly lifted the latch. Cracking the gate only as wide as she needed, she slipped through.

  She stifled a squeak of fear as a hand came to rest on her shoulder.

  “Sorry, Miss Katherine. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” William took the valise from her.

  “Are the men you have hired at Summerhaven, William?”

  “Yes, I’ve got four waiting for us at the corner. They’ll ride guard.”

  She nodded. “The guns are beneath the seat?”

  “Yes, everything is just as you asked for it to be. Are you sure you want to do this?”

  She swallowed against the knot of tears that lodged in her throat. “There was another murder last night, William. A maid inside the house was killed. I cannot put Matthew and his family in any more danger. I feel as though I no longer have a choice. I have one stop at Fleet

  Street to make and then we can be on our way.” William’s ruddy complexion paled with the news. He took her elbow and escorted her down the street to the coach.

  She eyed the four men who stood guard before the conveyance. They looked tough and hard. Each had a flintlock pistol tucked in the waistband of their breeches and carried a musket.

  She settled into one of the coach seats, and William slammed the door. She felt the sway of the conveyance as the men positioned themselves on the vehicle.

  With a jerk, the coach pulled away. Regret rode her hard with every step the horses took. She had known all along that she would have to say goodbye and that it would be painful to leave him no matter when or how it happened. At least she knew now what it was to be, if not loved, at least wanted. But the knowledge brought her no comfort. She had given herself to a man because she loved him, and he had taken what she had to offer for desire’s sake and nothing more. Matthew might care for her, but caring wasn’t enough. She deserved at least as much as she was willing to give. Didn’t she? Tears blurred her vision.

  If only they had met before she had been ruined, he might have been able to care for her more. Perhaps if they had, had more time, he could have learned to love her.

  Pain settled like a hard lump just beneath her breastbone. Love was like breathing, it just was. It could not be forced, and it could not be denied.

  She supposed she had loved him from that first night when she had backed him into the closet. It had not been him she was afraid of, but herself. And now she was frightened for him. She hoped leading the men away from Willingham’s would be enough. As long as those she loved were safe, she could face whatever she had to.

  ****

  “Continue to purchase the goods we will need for the trip, Carson. I’ll return as quickly as possible from Birmingham.” Matthew fought to keep his voice even, when in truth he wanted to growl the orders at his purser like an angry lion. “Aye, Captain. All will be ready when you return,

  sir.” He nodded. Keep Georgie busy with his studies while I’m gone. We’ve been reading Shakespeare’s sonnets. The book is in his sea chest.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  He drew deep breaths to try to stem the anger that pulsed through him white hot as a star. Once he got his hands on Katherine, she would regret this. Her disappearance had set the entire household at Willingham’s into a panic and given him a host of anxious moments. The desire to be off, to race to her side was so strong he could barely contain himself. The end of the month long deadline he had been given was drawing near.

  His need to delegate authority among his men so that all would be ready on the Caroline for their voyage was the only thing holding him back.

  He swung the leather valise off the bunk and flipped leather saddlebags over his shoulder. “We can share a boat back to shore if you like.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  An icy wind whipped across the deck of the ship as they arrived topside. He ignored the discomfort, eager to get aboard the row boat and be on his way. The sudden appearance of a blond head and billowing cloak at the ship’s railing brought an oath to his lips.

  “Is there a problem, sir,” Carson asked at his side.

  “No,” he said his tone short. “Take these to the boat.

  I’ll be there in a moment.”

  “Yes, sir.” Carson accepted the articles then strode down the deck to the railing. Matthew watched as he tipped his tricorn to Jacqueline then moved on.

  “Hello Matthew,” Jacqueline breathed as she joined him. “Lady Rudman,” He tipped his head to her in greeting.

  Jacqueline’s smile faltered then widened. “How formal you sound,” she said in a cajoling tone as she brushed the tangled blond curls from her forehead where the wind wreaked havoc with them.

  Impatience thrust through his control. “What is it I may do for you Jacqueline?”

  Her green gaze ran down him and she smiled. “I

  learned from an acquaintance that your wife has returned to her home in Birmingham to pack for her journey and thought perhaps you were lonely.” He stared at her for a moment. “What acquaintance?

  When did you learn of it?”

  “I do not mind your knowing who told me. ‘Twas Matilda Herrington. Her husband has investments with the paper, and he mentioned it to her.” He shook his head. “And, how would she have known about Katherine’s trip?”

  “Well, it is to be announced in tomorrow’s paper.” He swore as disbelief and anger ripped through him liked the crest of a wave. Damn the woman, did she not know the danger she was placing herself in?

  “Really, Matthew you were never so rude before.” Jacqueline’s tone drew his attention back to her.

  Tamping down his emotions he said, “I apologize for my language, Jacqueline. I haven’t got time right now to be sociable. I’m on my way to meet my wife at Summerhaven.”

  “Sociable.” She repeated the word, a frown drawing her pale brows together, her eyes narrowing. “Is that how you descr
ibe our past relationship, as sociable

  ?” He mentally girded himself for the battle to come.

  “No, Jacqueline. But from now on, all I’m interested in is a social connection between us, nothing more.” Her lips tightened, her green eyes acquiring the wide-eyed look of a cat getting ready to spit, snarl, and attack. “You are dismissing me, as though I were nothing.”

  “No, Jacqueline. I’m accepting my responsibilities and committing myself to my marriage. That means staying faithful to my wife. It isn’t that difficult to understand. You might want to think about how much you risk every time you act on impulse.” Jacqueline’s cheeks grew a hot, angry red and her mouth went tight. “How dare you call me to task for my behavior. I was not the only one in the bed we shared, Matthew.”

  “No, you weren’t, but that was another time and place when we were both free to pursue other pleasures and entertainments. You are not the only one in your

  marriage bed, Jacqueline. If I were your husband, I wouldn’t wish to share it with another man. Should he find out you are here pursuing me, how do you think he will react?”

  “You would not dare tell him,” she said with a toss of her head.

  He stepped closer to her, his gaze fastening on her face intently. He couldn’t risk being imprisoned again and he wouldn’t. He had too much to lose. “Your visiting me here won’t just affect your marriage. It can affect mine as well. If you persist, I will tell him. Go home. Pursue your husband with as much persistence as you are showing me.” “But…he is old, Matthew,” she almost wailed.

  “You had no problem using your imagination when we were together.” He shrugged.

  Jacqueline’s features settled into sulky lines. She turned on her heel and stomped across the deck to the railing. She flashed him one more look laced with resentment and longing before she backed down the rope ladder.

  “Trouble, Cap’in?” Henry asked as he joined him at the railing.

  He looked out on the water at the rowboat’s progress that bore Jacqueline back to shore. “Should Mrs. Rudman return, deny her access to the Caroline, Henry. She’s no longer welcome on board.”