Harlequin Historical February 2016, Box Set 1 of 2 by Katy Madison

Author:Katy Madison
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459296114
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

When Richard entered the house later, Marina, busy cooking, acted as if nothing had transpired between them, which left him both relieved and wary. He’d heard tales of savages doing just what she’d described, but the conviction, the belief with which she’d spoken, was what alarmed him. Furthermore, both John and William insisted she hadn’t left the house a second time last night. There was no way she could know what he’d done with Oscar, yet she did.

He couldn’t find an answer of how. Not one that made sense. They were in the midst of eating a breakfast of boiled eggs and porridge when the clatter of horses and wagons had Richard rising from his chair. “Wait here.” His gaze included everyone at the table.

He arrived on the front stoop before the visitors had dismounted. “Don’t bother getting down,” Richard shouted. “You aren’t welcome here.”

“This is official business,” Hickman said, rolling out of the driver’s seat of his carriage. “Where’s the Griggs lad?”

The person who opened and closed the door behind him wasn’t John. Richard reached back and took Marina’s elbow, bringing her forward to stand at his side.

Hickman eyed the action with a lecherous interest that rubbed salt in an open wound.

Richard leveled a glare on the other man that he usually held for dock ruffians up to no good. Hickman was far more wicked than any ragtag thug. It had been impossible to abide the man years ago, and at this moment he wanted to squash him beneath his boot like a bug that had crept upon his ship. Just like insects, Hickman damaged everything he encountered. “What do you want with John?”

“We are here to arrest him,” Hickman said. “For theft. His mother’s body was stolen last night.”

Richard refrained from pulling his lips into a tight smile. He’d relish telling the man the truth, but considering what Hickman and others believed about Marina, the opposite would serve his purpose better. “John never left this house last night. Marina can attest to that.”

Curling his nose, Hickman sneered, “Her word means nothing.”

Hickman’s men were on the road and made no effort to move closer, not even when Richard took a step toward their leader. “It should,” he said. “It means a lot to me.”

Hickman puffed out his chest. “Which also means nothing.” Narrowing his beady eyes, he snapped, “Where is that boy? He’s under arrest.”

“Do you have his mother’s body?” Richard asked. “Proof that John took it?”

“Of course not. It was stolen. No one else would have taken it.”

Holding Marina’s elbow as she stepped off the stoop beside him, Richard allowed a smile to prevail. “Perhaps it wasn’t stolen. Perhaps she awoke, cut herself down and, at this very moment, is hiding in the woods, waiting for the opportunity to repay you for your actions against her.”

The man’s jowls jiggled as Hickman opened and closed his mouth.

He’d clearly hit a nerve, and blood surged through Richard’s veins. He relished taking a stance against opposing forces and

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