The Road to Ruin Read online

  Instead of preventing their disgrace, he had added to it. Rumours of the Butcher had drifted back to his homeland even before John’s murderous rampage. Soldiers whispered to their families that he was a saviour, the last resort when the battle had gone against them in Egypt and the field needed to be levelled back out again. Some of the ton worried that the bloodshed had gone to his head, that these interloper Trelissicks would never easily wear the shoes a dead cousin had vacated. Those were the people who were closer in their character assessment of him.

  He was the assassin who moved about in the night and eliminated enemies in silence, without conscience or regret.

  And while he was killing Bonaparte loyalists, his brother had been killing his father and their good name. Perhaps he should have dragged John with him into the army.

  “Are you going to answer me?”

  He snapped his gaze back to Daniella. He hadn’t even heard her question.

  “Why did you let that woman believe we are lovers? Why not a husband and wife?”

  James didn’t want to consider that too closely, so he went on the attack. “Why did you auction your innocence? You had to know there would be other consequences if your father didn’t succumb and give you your way. What would your brother do? Beat you? Lock you up? Send you away? Perhaps seeing you live secluded as a nun would be preferable to your father than having you back on his ship?”

  She bit her lip and he knew satisfaction. She hadn’t considered that either. Silly girl.

  “Why did your father leave you in England if he no longer sails? Why not settle and let you pick your choice of a husband from a nearby town?”

  “He no longer sails as a pirate. I do believe he makes occasional runs off the coast for provisions but he no longer sails for Spain or anyone else.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “And you still haven’t answered mine. I could have been your niece, your ward, your neighbour, a woman you found on the road. It makes no sense.”

  “It isn’t supposed to make sense. As I said, a different story in every village. It will help us if there is pursuit. In one town they will look for a man with his ward, in the next they are looking for a marquess—my thanks to you for revealing that by the way—and his paramour. In the next they will not know to look for a lord and his servants. It helps to cover our tracks with confusion. I don’t need anyone to catch up with us until we reach Scotland, and nor do you.” It’s why they weren’t taking any direct route, zigzagging slightly from shire to shire but staying close to the coast. “Now, why did you not honour your father’s wishes and simply marry a respectable man, if you won’t tell me why he insisted you do so in London?”

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I believe I shall rest my eyes for a spell.”

  “Eventually you have to tell me the full story, Daniella.”

  “No, I don’t.” She closed her eyes, effectively shutting him out from her thoughts, and leaned her head back against the squabs.

  There had to be more to it than what she told him. What woman after reaching the sparkling beauty of the ton would not want to be a part of it? Some part of his mind whispered that the women of the ton were about as useless as second sons but it was different for men. Women of upper society only had to keep their beauty, have at least two sons and run a household in order to live an easy life. Daniella was lucky her brother had been knighted otherwise she might have wound up cleaning chamber pots.

  Why didn’t she see her father had done her a favour by leaving her in London? That he wanted the best for his only daughter?

  Until James got the whole story, the whys and what ifs would be unsatisfying and as endless as eternity.

  *

  Daniella did her best to pretend to be asleep but the farce was short-lived. When they were only hours from their next stop for the night, the carriage jolted and then shuddered as it came to a sudden stop, the horses whinnying their discontent.

  Trelissick had his head out of the door as he yelled up to the driver’s box. “What is going on? Why have we stopped?”

  It was Hobson who answered. “There’s a tree in the road, and we won’t get past until we shift it.”

  Trelissick snatched his head back into the carriage and closed the door. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Do not move or speak. If anything happens to me, run into the woods and stay hidden. Wait there until Patrick catches up.”

  “Why? What is it?”

  “A fallen tree blocks the road when there has been no storm and no wind? This could be a trap.”

  “By my father?” she asked hopefully.

  “Not by your bloody father,” he hissed. “How would he get ahead of us to set a trap?”

  “Give me a gun then: I can help.”

  “No. You stay here.” He stood and reached under the seat where he sat and pulled out a small pistol. He checked the shot and then stuck it in the back of his trousers, tucking his dark coat back over it before looking at her one last time, his glittering gaze fierce. “Stay.”

  Daniella thought about it for all of three seconds after he left then jumped to her feet in search of another weapon. If it was a trap and there was a group of men with pillage on their minds she would help. She would not cower in the carriage like a lady. She would not run and hide either. If it was her father’s men then Trelissick was likely to get himself killed over her. She could live with a lot of things, bad and terrible, but she would not have his blood on her conscience.

  The murmur of voices soon reached her but she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t Trelissick talking to Hobson. She slowed her efforts in her search for a weapon so the carriage didn’t bounce and give her away.

  The voices were getting closer now but were almost drowned out by the thumping of her heart and the roar of blood in her ears. Were they actually in serious danger? This was not what she wanted. Others should not be physically harmed over her.

  Finally she found a second loaded pistol under a blanket beneath the bench where she had sat. She would have only one shot but would be sure to make it count.

  Daniella held her breath and muttered a prayer to whoever listened, that she would be safe, that her father had come to retrieve her at last, and then she swung the carriage door open and jumped to the hard ground.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Well, well, well. What do have here then?”

  James swallowed a groan and slowly edged his way from behind the tree that hid him while he got the number of their foe.

  “Hello, gentlemen. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Daniella’s voice was smooth, in control, melodic. James swallowed another groan. He’d told her to stay put. The vixen listened to no one.

  Between them stood six large men and a good deal of distance if he had to act quickly. James was tall at over six feet but these men would match him in height and weight, he was sure. They were hopelessly outnumbered and now had the added distraction of Daniella to throw into the fight.

  “Might you need some assistance, miss?” One of the tall men took a step towards her and bowed low, the others laughing at his back.

  She held her ground. “Assistance? With what?”

  “We could relieve you of your fine jewels and be on our way. No one comes to harm and everyone is happy. Well, except for you that is, without your fine jewels.”

  James could see her gaze narrow as she pinned the man who spoke with her eyes. “You aren’t my father’s men, are you?”

  “And who might your father be, lass?”

  “Have you heard of Captain Germaine?”

  “The pirate?” This was followed by guffaws of laughter. “I heard he died. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer gentleman really.”

  “He is a privateer, actually, and he isn’t dead. Merely…” she waved her hand “…indisposed.”

  “Well he ain’t here is he, so I’ll be having your jewels.”

  Daniella held her hands out and then pulled the edges of her cloak back to reveal her smo
oth, pale neck. “As you can see, I have no fine jewels.”

  “She took ’em off and ’id them in the carriage,” one man accused with a menacing step towards her.

  Did she not realize they inched closer as she made small talk? Soon they would surround her and she would be at their mercy.

  “You’re welcome to search the carriage.”

  No they bloody weren’t!

  “How is it that a fine lady such as yourself, daughter of a successful pirate perhaps, comes to be on this road all on your own? Where is your husband or maid or whatever?”

  “I’m no fine lady. I already told you, I’m Captain Germaine’s daughter. No jewels, no money, no nothing. As to the whys, I’ve been kidnapped.” Her mouth lifted in a smile. “I’m a hostage, hence nothing fine.”

  The men stopped advancing and laughed so hard one had to bend over at the waist to catch his breath. Daniella tapped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Looks like we got us a cracked one.”

  “I beg your pardon. I’m perfectly sane, thank you very much.”

  “Lass, you can’t kidnap yourself and there isn’t anyone else about.”

  “Are you sure about that?” At her words, chaos erupted. A shot sounded from the opposite side of the road and one of the men went down with a surprised squawk. A little farther down from there, while the men were busy taking shelter, another shot took down another brigand.

  James fired his shot and removed another from the equation. It was only then that he stepped clear of the woods on the road’s side and made his presence known. Now their numbers were even. “We have you surrounded. Give up, go home, live to fight another day.”

  The man who’d addressed Daniella ran to her and threw his arm around her neck, using her as a shield. The way her cloak fanned out meant that James could see nothing behind her, couldn’t tell if the man had a gun or a knife to her back. The other two brigands both trained their guns on him but neither fired. Interesting.

  James called out, “You will have to let her go. She can only make one of us a hostage and she is already mine.”

  “Stop right there or I’ll kill her,” the man shouted back.

  He paused and held out his hands, his heart in his throat. He had to fight to appear calm and keep his fingers straight. She should have stayed in the bloody carriage, then he and his men would have had the thieves circled once they came closer. She put herself in danger unnecessarily. “It really would be terribly inconvenient for me and I don’t take well to inconvenience.”

  The other two brigands leaped out of his way as he finally continued his approach but he was careful not to let either of them behind him. They stood in an awkward diamond shape with Daniella in the middle.

  “You killed my men.”

  James nodded. “When it is kill or be killed, I prefer to make the first move. The tree wasn’t very original, by the way. Had ambush written all over it.”

  The ruffian showed surprise as his gaze flitted from James to the tree and back again.

  “It would have also behooved you to be closer when we stopped rather than coming from…? Where did you come from?” He was dealing with simpletons. He should have known by the fact that only six men thought to hold up a carriage with an unknown number of occupants. If it had been full, they would have been outnumbered and outgunned with the driver and another man up top.

  Hobson was right now waiting for his signal, Willie with him in the dense forest.

  “How about we agree that no one won here today and go our separate ways? We have nothing of value save our lives so why not walk away with them?”

  “You’re lying. Rich nabob like you must have some blunt.”

  James shook his head. “Not a farthing and not a shiny jewel in sight.” He held out his arms again to show that he indeed had nothing on his person. Nothing that showed anyway. Only the signet on his little finger could be seen, and he wasn’t giving that away. His watch was secreted in his pocket and his money was in the carriage. Thank God the men hadn’t searched it when Daniella had invited them to.

  The ruffian swore a blue streak but his grip on Daniella tightened. She showed no panic at all as she was jostled. Her hands went to her skirts, he assumed to avoid stumbling.

  “Are you all right, m’dear?” he asked her in a low voice.

  “Are we done with this?” came her reply.

  James raised his brows at her but then nodded. “I rather think we are.”

  Out of her dress pocket, Daniella drew a pistol and without a glance behind or any hesitation, tucked the thing close to her side and pulled the trigger.

  The brigand released her with a strangled cry and fell to the ground, his hands immediately going to his abdomen, where her bullet had dug deep.

  James rushed one of the remaining two men just as Daniella launched herself at the other. He lost sight of her but knew Hobson would be only seconds away as he wrestled with his own bandit. He landed a few good punches but this wasn’t his opponent’s first outing. They both went down, James on top with a right hook to the other man’s jaw.

  Ordinarily, his punch should have at least had the man seeing stars but in less than a second, he was on his back while the brute pummelled him. He couldn’t disable the man; he needed his hands to protect his face and head. A glancing blow slipped from his cheekbone to his ear but as the man atop him lost his balance, James flipped him over, took hold of his head and slammed it into the ground. He slammed again and again until the brute’s eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp.

  James was breathing hard, his face hurt, the skin of his knuckles split open; and when he looked up to see where Daniella was, to make sure she was all right, shock hit him harder than any fist could. Hobson had his arms around her and had lifted her right off the ground as he dragged her away from the man in the dirt—the man she had been kicking with the hard toe of her new boot. As soon as she stopped struggling, Hobson put her down but then the crazy girl ran back and landed another kick to the ribs, her skirts held in her hands as she swung her leg with power.

  Astonishment unlike anything he had ever experienced washed over him and he began to laugh. He climbed off the unconscious man and fell to his back still laughing and still fighting to catch his breath.

  He would hate to be on the receiving end of one of those kicks but she hadn’t been lying when she said she could look after herself. The minx looked to be enjoying the fight.

  *

  The sound that brought Daniella back to the present was as unwelcome as it was unsettling.

  “What are you laughing at? I could have been killed,” she shouted.

  Trelissick sat up and stared at her as though two heads had sprouted from her shoulders. “If you had thought your life in danger, why didn’t you stay in the carriage as I instructed?”

  “You left me in there alone. Anything could have happened!”

  “We were watching.” He gestured to Hobson and Willie who were now dragging the bodies from the road. “The only potential danger was these ruffians being actually any good at what they set out to do.”

  “How do you know that?” How could he possibly know what the outcome would have been? She could have been shot, stabbed, raped, all of the above.

  “If these bandits were worth their salt, they would have killed me when I exited the carriage and Hobson as he jumped down and indeed Willie before we even made the fallen tree. It’s what I would have done. Lucky for us they weren’t even close.”

  She raised her hands to her hips. “Have you ever been on the side of the road readying an ambush? How much battle did you actually see?”

  “That—” he pointed to one of the dead men “—is not my first kill.”

  “They don’t call him the Butcher for no reason, lass.” This from Hobson.

  “Yes, why do they call you that?”

  “Never mind that now. We have to get this mess sorted out so we can push on. We’ve lost a lot of time here.” The glare
he threw at Hobson would have killed had it sharp edges.

  Daniella almost smiled. She really was going to get some answers out of Hobson. It was the second time Trelissick’s man had spoken out of turn.

  James had shot that man without regret or compunction. So had she, but many a man had died by her blade. On the open sea it was kill or be killed. There was no friendly wave when one ship passed another. If two got that close, it was because one wanted to board the other. Plain. Simple. Deadly. Now she had to wonder how many men Trelissick had killed in his time in the army. It was far better for her sanity to assume he had been an officer in a tent at a table of maps while others died at his behest. She’d thought he was being defensive when she hurled that accusation at him.

  She turned to ask Hobson more now that Trelissick was on the other side of the road but pain smarted at her side and she staggered. “Ouch.”

  “What is it, lass?” Hobson rushed to her, his hand at her elbow.

  When she peeled her new cloak back, her dress was blackened around the edge of a hole in the fabric. With the excitement of the fight now wearing off, it hurt like the devil and burned like hell.

  “Your pistol must have touched you when it discharged.”

  “It’s nothing, just a scratch.” She waved Hobson away and tried to pull her cloak back but Trelissick had seen the exchange and looked furious as he stomped towards her.

  “Why didn’t you mention the fact that you were hurt?”

  “It’s just a scratch. I’ll be fine. Anyway, you’re hurt too. You just may be bleeding more than me.”

  He raised his hand to his nose and when he pulled it away his fingers were red. “It’s nothing. Lucky punch is all.”

  She raised her brows and snorted in disbelief. He was already bruising.

  “Ladies should not snort, Daniella.”

  “I think I just proved beyond a doubt that I am not a lady; and you are actually hurt.”