The Virtuous Assassin (2 page)

This close, he could see that her jawline was a little curved, giving her a slight childlike appearance. Unable to help himself, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, his fingertips brushing the smooth skin of her
temple.

A rose blush coloured her cheek.

He didn’t really know why he’d saved her from the soldiers. She was only a servant—a servant who’d broken the rules. But she’d been so determined to escape, so scared of punishment that he couldn’t have let the soldiers take her. And there was something else about her. Something different. Something desirable.

Josse tilted his head to one side, narrowing his eyes. She
’d been
too
scared if breaking curfew was her only crime. “What were you so afraid of?” Then, almost subconsciously, he lowered his head to brush his lips against her jaw. Cateline’s fear was bringing out the best and worst in him. He had this strange desire to protect her.

Her mouth opened slightly, her jaw relaxing at his touch. He took his victory,
wrapping his arms around her waist and pushing her curves against his body. Her skin was soft and smooth. He trailed kisses down to the end of her chin, pulling it into his mouth. His eyes fluttered closed, and his manhood strained against his breeches.

“
Lord Jocelyn,” someone called, and the door flew open. A soldier hurried inside.

Cateline jumped back. Pushing herself into the farthest corner of his room, she pressed her face into the shadows.

“What?” barked Josse as the real world came flooding back in one heart-wrenching moment.

“
It’s Lord Elric.” The soldier flinched. “He’s been murdered.”

Chapter Two

Lord Jocelyn turned slowly to stare at her across the room. His eyes darkened. “No,” he said, but the word barely penetrated the silence.

“
No!” She shook her head. If only he’d believe in her innocence for a few more moments, she might be able to make her escape. “I didn’t. How could I?” She raised her hands, indicating that she had a slight feminine body and couldn’t possibly kill a man.

Lord Joc
elyn paused, his eyes lingering on her slim frame.

“
Sir?” The soldier took a hesitant step forward. Glancing between them, his hand grasped the hilt of his sword.

Cateline watched the blade come free of the scabbard and swallowed. If the soldier attacked,
she’d have to kill him, and Lord Jocelyn would know for sure she was the assassin. Her heart hammered heavily in her chest.

Why did that matter? He was just a man, and it would be just as easy to kill him. A swift slice across the throat
—his sword even within her arm’s reach—and he’d never rise again. She shuddered involuntary: the idea was repulsive.

It
’s because he’s wounded
, but her skin tingled where his lips had rested only a moment before.

The kiss. It had meant nothing. She
’d only let him touch her because she’d been swept up in the moment. With soldiers outside and a handsome man willing to shield her, she’d lost all sense of reality just for a moment. But she was no coward. If it was a fight they wanted, that’s what she’d give them.

He ran a hand th
rough his hair, setting it further on end. “Call a council of war.”

“
But—” The soldier glanced at Cateline, and she took half a step towards the sword, ready to attack.

Lord Jocelyn growled,
“I’ll deal with her.”

With a bow, the soldier left, snapping the
door closed behind him.

Cateline blinked. Maybe Jocelyn did believe her innocence. Maybe she wouldn
’t have to kill him. But he leapt forward before she could do anything, grabbed her arm, and dragged her to the window.

“
See that?” he asked, pushing the shutters open. “Are you working for the Brickendens?”

She stared down at the sieging army, and shivers ran up her spine. The sun was beginning to rise above the horizon, lighting up the weapons of fifty men camped outside the castle gate and another hundred s
urrounding the curtain wall.

“
Curt no!” She let her disgust guide her words. She would never help the Brickendens. Their leader had killed her father.

Lord Jocelyn tensed.
“And you expect me to believe that? You assassinated Lord Elric. You’re trying to weaken us from the inside so we have to surrender.”

She gave a contemptuous laugh.
“Whereas with Elric alive you were so much better off.”

He released her as though suddenly sickened to be touching a traitor.

“Search his room. You’ll see what I mean.” The chest. There had to be evidence of Elric’s connection with the Brickendens. She’d killed him because he was a spy.

“
I’ve had enough.” He swept up his sword and pointed the tip towards the door. “You’re coming to the council meeting. They’ll decide your punishment.”

Cateline regarded him with what she hoped was cool indifference then swept from the room.

Lord Elric. Dead. And the woman he’d almost seduced. An assassin. It felt as if the whole world was tipping and he was sliding off the edge. God. He’d gone to bed wanting nothing more than a few hours of uninterrupted sleep, and now he had even more trouble on his hands. As if the war didn’t keep him busy enough.

“
Left here.” He touched the tip of his blade to her side, leading her down another corridor. She flinched, glaring at him over her shoulder.

His heart missed a beat. Something deep inside him didn
’t want to hurt her.

She
’s a killer. Nothing special.
Everything that had happened in his room was a lie. She no more wanted him than she wanted to be captured.
Sard
. He’d been so caught up in the moment that his instincts had taken control of his body with no thought to rhyme or reason.

“
Here.” He pushed open a door, and they stepped inside.

The council was already waiting. Ten men sat at a long table.
Almost all of them were his relatives, and at the head was his uncle—Lord Kenrick, ruler of the Gabrie
l
 
estate.

“
So you found the assassin. Well done, Josse.” Kenrick nodded his satisfaction. “The only question remains, what now?”

Cateline glanced at
Josse, but he didn’t turn his head. He wanted nothing more to do with her.

“
Is she valuable?” piped up Josse’s cousin—Frank. “We could strike a deal with the Brickendens for her return.”

“
No!” The word seemed to fly from Cateline’s mouth, and she sounded truly angry. “I’m not a Brickenden. I’m a Crawford.”

“
Don’t lie,” snapped Josse, but his words were drowned by the council’s own outcry.

“
I knew the Crawfords were working with the Brickendens,” shouted Josse’s father.

“
No,” called Frank, “their lord was killed by a Brickenden last season. They wouldn’t side with them.”

“
Quiet.” Kenrick banged his fist against the table, and everyone fell silent. It was an argument the council had every week. Nobody knew where the Crawfords’ alliance lay.

By his side, Cateli
ne shuddered. She was staring at Frank as if he’d just slapped her. “They did . . .” Her voice trailed away, and Josse clenched his hands into fists, resisting the temptation to touch her back in reassurance. “They did kill my father,” she continued. “I’m Lady Cateline Crawford, and my brother now rules our castle-estate. We’re no more friends with the Brickendens than you are.”

Lord Kenrick was shaking his head in disbelief, but Josse
’s stomach did a backflip. Maybe she was telling the truth. He’d heard of a Cateline Crawford before. Her beauty was renowned.
No
,
he stopped that thought.
She was an assassin first and foremost.

“
Can you prove it?” Frank was tapping his leg with excitement as if her presence might actually save them from the siege.

“
Elric was a spy for the Brickendens,” Cateline explained, impatiently brushing a stray hair from her face. “He was working against you, spreading rumours about my family so you wouldn’t trust us.”

“
Really?” Kenrick raised his eyebrows. “You must be desperate to escape if you think we’ll believe that.”

But Josse frowned. Elric had always sided against the Crawfords
—their closest neighbours. Then again, he sighed, so had most of the council, Lord Kenrick and his father included.

“
Search his room. You’ll find the evidence there,” pleaded Cateline, looking from one man to the next. “Please.” She tugged on Josse’s sleeve. “You have to believe me!”

“
We’ve already looked.” Josse’s other uncle spoke up. “There was nothing to suggest he was anyone but who he said he was.”

“
I don’t believe you. Did you search his chest? There must be evidence!” Her hold of his sleeve tensed, and her knuckles whitened.

The warrior inside him stirred, but he wouldn
’t let it protect the murderess again. He stepped to the side, pulling his shirt from her grasp. “I’m sorry.”

She pursed her lips and tilted her chin up, clearly trying to regain a little dignity.
“Fine, but it’s your loss. You can’t win this war. The Brickendens will eventually push through your defences, and everyone in the castle will be killed.” She sniffed loftily. “We could have helped, if only you’d trusted me.”

The council roared indignantly, but Josse ignored them, frowning. At least half of what sh
e said was true. They
would
lose the war—they didn’t have the manpower to fight back. The Brickendens
would
storm the castle, and everyone
would
die. Not just the council, but his mother and sisters, as well as all the servants and tradesmen who’d sought sanctuary within the curtain wall at the first sign of attack.

He might not trust Cateline, but maybe . . . just maybe, she could save them.
“How?” He spoke directly to her, and even though the room was filled with the rumbling of ten disgruntled councilmen, she heard.

“
My brother,” she replied simply. “If you ask, he will come.”

His eyes narrowed.
“Why?”

“
Do you really think that when the Brickendens capture your castle, they’ll leave ours alone? They want to conquer the entire county. With King Richard on crusade in Cyprus and John in power, there’s nothing to stop them.” Her eyes flashed angrily, and he realised they weren’t blue like he’d first supposed but grey, like the colour of the sky right before a storm. “But my brother thinks there’s a way we can stop them. Separated we’re weak, united we’re strong.”

“
Why should we believe you?” asked Kenrick, and Josse jumped. The room had grown quiet again, and everyone was staring at Cateline.

A light blush crept up her neck, but she kept her head held high.
“Why wouldn’t you? I’ve done nothing to harm,” she faulted. “I’m sorry I killed the soldier. But I did what I had to. Elric was a traitor—”

“
You killed a soldier?” Josse looked from Cateline to Lord Kenrick. His uncle nodded, and Josse clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth. Perhaps Elric had deserved to die, but now Cateline had the blood of two men on her hands. His eyes dropped her stained tunic. Not his blood. The blood of other men.

Cateline rubbed her hands down the front of her tunic, trying to brush aw
ay the dried blood. Lord Jocelyn was staring at her chest as though he’d never seen death before.
He’s a warrior
,
she reminded herself.
Death probably comes easy to him.

His gaze rose to her face, and she tried to communicate to him with a look: trust me.

“Fine.” He nodded tersely as though he’d understood, and her heart skipped a beat. “You can take a message to your brother.”

A smile of relief broke across her face.
“All right,” she breathed. None of this was part of her plan. She was supposed to be halfway home by now, but perhaps this way was better. If she hadn’t have been caught, the Gabriels would never have known Elric was a traitor and they most certainly would have lost the siege, leaving the way clear for the Brickendens to attack Crawford Castle.

“
But,” continued Josse, crossing his arms against his broad chest, “I’m going too.”

She opened her mouth. Nothing came out. Her assassin training was shouting that this was a bad idea
—it was going to be hard enough sneaking back past the Brickendens without a knight trailing behind. But another part of her, the part that was all woman, wanted him to come. When his lips had touched her jaw—

Kenrick stood, banging his fist on the table.
“That’s not going to happen. You’re too valuable a warrior to be deserting the castle on a fool’s mission.”

Lord Jocelyn took a step forward.
“We’ve barely enough food to last the month. Soon everyone will begin to starve, then disease will kick in, and we’ll all be dead before we’ve a chance to surrender. This way we at least have a chance. And if not, if she’s lying . . .” He suddenly turned his back on the room, grasping Cateline by the shoulders. “Can you guarantee your brother’s help? Can you guarantee that he will send an army to our defence?”

He was trying to pry hope fr
om her, but it felt as if he was trying to stare into her soul. She turned her head away. “Yes,” she said, forcing the lie from her mouth as quickly as possible.