Of Noble Birth (34 page)

“She told you where I
was?”

“She told me what she
thought had happened to you. She didn’t know exactly where
Gunther’s brothel was, but between her help and a bit of money in
other places, I extracted the information I needed. I’m just glad I
found you in time.” He smoothed the hair back out of her face, and
their eyes met and held for a moment. Nathaniel was tempted to kiss
her; but he doubted he could temper his desire into an expression
of affection appropriate to brother and sister. Tutty was still in
the room, fussing about. He put his hand on Alexandra’s cheek
instead and rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb.

“Richard is back,” he told
her.

She smiled. “Good. Tell
him he owes me. If it weren’t for him I’d never have”—she glanced
at Tutty’s back—”gone to sea.”

He nodded. “The two of you
will have to meet someday.”

“Will we?” Alexandra
studied him.

“I hope so.”

“Is Jake home?” she asked,
using Clifton’s given name so Tutty wouldn’t know who she was
talking about.

“He should be by
now.”

“Have you heard anything
from... his father?”

“No news is good news, as
they say.” He gave her a weak grin.

“Or it’s the calm before
the storm.” Alexandra’s hand found his.

“I have to go.”

“I’m coming with you this
time.” She tried to get up, but Nathaniel pressed her
back.

“You know I can’t take
you.”

“Then why did you
return?”

Her eyes challenged him,
and Nathaniel felt a moment of helplessness. Why indeed? It had
been a foolish concession to his heart, but he wasn’t willing to
explain that. “I don’t know. I’m just glad I did.”

“But I’m feeling better
already.” With a glint of determination sparkling in her eye, she
spoke louder, causing Tutty to turn toward them. “And you promised
Mother you’d never leave me.”

Nathaniel dropped his
voice to a threatening level. “Alexandra, don’t play games. There
is no better place for you right now.”

A sympathetic look crossed
Tutty’s face as the housekeeper went about her business.

“I can’t take her, Tutty,”
Nathaniel explained, stepping away from the bed. “I wish I could,
but I can’t.”

“Of course, Mr. Kent,” she
said, but her expression held a hint of accusation.

Nathaniel turned back to
Alexandra. “If things were different, perhaps...” He shook his
head. “Never mind. I’ll not make empty promises. I have to
go.”

Alexandra’s lids lowered
in defeat, then fluttered open again. “Be careful,” she
whispered.

He nodded, wishing he’d
left before she’d awakened. It was more difficult this way.
Bending, he dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Leave word with the
good doctor as to your whereabouts, will you?”

She nodded.

After saying good-bye to
Mrs. Tuttle, Nathaniel headed out the door. The rain was gone but
the fog persisted, making him damp within minutes. He frowned at
the bothersome weather as he mounted his horse, then tried to turn
his mind to what lay ahead instead of the lovely woman he was
leaving behind.

Soon he would be on the
sea again, where the heavens were clearly visible, stretching
forever above him; where the stars were so bright they looked as
though he could pluck them from the sky. Closing his eyes, he
pictured the serenity of a calm night on the ocean. He could even
feel the gentle rocking of the ship—until his head exploded in pain
as something hit him from behind, and the ground rushed up to meet
him.

When Nathaniel awoke, he
could barely open his eyes for the pounding in his head. He
squinted at first, trying to take in his surroundings.

“I think he’s waking
up.”

The voice, though muted,
had a quality Nathaniel recognized.

“He’s beginning to stir.
Go get my father.”

Where was he? The blurry
images surrounding Nathaniel were unfamiliar. Everything was
strange except for that voice.

“Where am I?” he croaked,
tasting dried blood. He tried to lift himself from the bed on which
he lay, but fell back as a wave of nausea overcame him.

“You’ re where you’ve
always wanted to be, big
brother
,” Lord Clifton responded.
“With your family. Do you find it to your liking?”

A flood of memory engulfed
Nathaniel, and he closed his eyes against it. His half brother had
been there, as well as the duke. He had been surrounded, attacked
from all sides. Though he had fought as best he could without a
weapon—and had taken down more than a few men—he had been too
befuddled
from their initial blow to last
very long, or to escape. There had been too many of
them.

Nathaniel opened his eyes
again to survey the room. While expensively decorated, it was too
lavish for his tastes and rather impersonal. A hotel
perhaps?

“Back with us, eh?” The
voice had changed. This time Nathaniel was sure of the speaker: it
was his father.

“For now,” he managed,
licking his swollen upper lip.

“We were beginning to
wonder if perhaps we had been a little overzealous in apprehending
the thief who has plagued my ships these past months.”

“Zealous
is a good word.” Nathaniel blinked as the man
leaning above him came more clearly into focus. It was indeed
Greystone, his handsome face twisted in a sneer.

“You gave us little
choice, Mr. Kent. Believe me, a few of my men are not as well-off
as you seem to be.”

Nathaniel struggled to
voice some response, but his eyes closed of their own accord,
causing the duke to speak sharply to someone who stood at the
periphery of the room.

“Fetch a glass of water. I
don’t want him lapsing into unconsciousness again.”

It seemed as though an
eternity passed before someone raised Nathaniel’s head and pressed
a glass of water to his lips.

“Drink.” The word came as
a command, but it did not need to be repeated. Nathaniel was
parched. He greedily gulped the cool water while trying to
determine how many men were in the room. At some point, he had to
get away.

He counted at least five,
including his father and Clifton. Unfortunately, he was in too much
pain to handle even one.

“How did you find me?” he
asked, becoming lucid again.

The duke laughed. “A
little money in the right places usually provides what I want. Your
crew is not so loyal as you may think.”

Nathaniel knew
differently. He’d trust any one of his men with his life—any one
except... He groaned. “Rat.”

“There’s always a weak
link.” Greystone gave him a dramatic sigh. “Unfortunately, you
found one in my world, as well. Mary. Wasn’t that her
name?”

“What have you done with
her?”

“Thanks to your man,
Richard, she escaped. But I believe he received his just due for
that one.”

Nathaniel nodded,
remembering Richard’s bruised face. So that was the crux of it.
Leave it to him to make light of his bravery.

“Where is my cargo?” the
duke asked.

The marquess’s
hate-contorted face came into view as the two of them waited
anxiously for Nathaniel’s answer.

“I don’t know,” Nathaniel
said with a smile.

“Come now. I’ll find out
eventually, you know. You’re in no condition to refuse
me.”

“You’ll rot in hell before
I tell you anything.”

Nathaniel was unprepared
for the vicious blow Clifton struck him from the other side of the
bed. His head swam. He groaned and struggled against the darkness
that threatened to overtake him again.

“Jake!” the duke bellowed.
“I’ll not have you knock him senseless before I find out what I
want to know. Are you as big a fool as he?”

“But father—” Clifton
protested.

“Leave!”

The marquess shuffled
reluctantly from the room.

When the door closed
behind him, Greystone turned back to Nathaniel.

“You are a stubborn man,”
he said, “but then, so am I. Perhaps you don’t understand the depth
of my power. I am a peer, a cousin to royalty. I help to control
the electoral system, fill the benches in both houses of
Parliament, command the militia, and monopolize the
magistracy.”

“Who gives a damn? You
don’t control me.” Nathaniel’s words were soft, but he had never
meant anything more in his life.

The duke’s jaw clenched.
“My servants would say you have a good deal of
pluck,
but do you truly think you
can withhold anything from me?”

“If you don’t release me,
my first mate will send a message to Chief Commissioner Mayne
informing him about the rifles you tried to sell to the czar. I
think we both know the punishment for treason.”

“You’re joking, of
course.” The duke stared daggers at Nathaniel. “You have no idea
what you’re talking about. How dare you threaten me with such
nonsense.”

“Call it what you will.
I’ve seen the guns with my own eyes, and so will Commissioner
Mayne.”

“There is nothing you can
do to hurt me, you arrogant bastard,” Greystone bellowed, his
nostrils flaring. “I can crush you, put you away until you rot,
until you beg for a morsel of worm-eaten bread. Who do you think
you are?”

“I’m your son.” Nathaniel
said it through clenched teeth, struggling to sit up despite the
two burly fellows who came forward to shove him back. “You deny it
to the world, but we two know the truth.”

Greystone’s face flushed
red. “You have no idea what I have in store for you.”

“Another carriage accident
perhaps?”

“Nothing so short and
sweet. You’ll pay for your insolence. I’ll see to that.” The veins
in the duke’s neck throbbed for a pregnant moment, then he whirled
and left the room.

* * *

A hand covered Alexandra’s
mouth. Coming out of the depths of sleep, she struggled against it,
trying to pry it away so she could scream.

“Alexandra!” Her name came
as a harsh whisper, but she stopped fighting as soon as she
recognized the voice. It was Trenton. He stood above her, his face
shrouded in darkness.

Tentatively pulling away,
he said, “It’s only me.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Where’s
Nathaniel?”

Fear tightened Alexandra’s
chest. Nathaniel had left the day before to meet Trenton and the
others. Why wasn’t he with them?

She started to answer,
then froze as she heard shuffling from above. Tutty’s voice called
down the stairs. “Alexandra, dear? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Mrs. Tuttle.
Just a little restless. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“No, no, don’t worry.”
Alexandra could hear the sleep in her voice. “Just
checking.”

The ceiling creaked as
Mrs. Tuttle made her way back to her bed. Trenton and Alexandra
didn’t speak again until the house fell silent.

“He left yesterday to find
you,” she whispered at last.

“He never arrived.”
Trenton moved away from the side of her bed and crossed to the
window. Moonlight poured into the room as he pulled the drapes back
to gaze outside.

“Where could he be?”
Alexandra heard the tremor in her own voice, and
swallowed.

“Rat disappeared a few
days ago as well,” Trenton explained. “He must have gone to see the
duke.”

Alexandra gasped as her
mind briefly conjured Rat’s face. She remembered Nathaniel’s anger
when the dirty little man had attacked her, and the punishment that
had followed. “What does that mean?”

Trenton glanced back at
her, his profile outlined in silver. “If Nathaniel’s father has
captured him, there’s no telling.”

“Why didn’t Nathaniel stay
with you in the first place?” she asked. “You would all be at sea
by now.”