CC stared aghast at Ryan Graves. “Surely you aren’t serious. There must be someone else who can do this…”
“I’m sorry, CC. Both Joshua and I are willing to make the trip,” he replied, gesturing to Joshua Smith and himself, “but you’re the only one who could go in there without drawing attention to yourself.”
She shook her head quickly. “No. I can’t do it, Ryan.”
The rebel leader was stunned by her refusal. “CC, we have to get this money to Lord Kincade. We promised him over a week ago that he would have it soon, and I’m sure he’s wondering at the delay in the initial payment. If I try to deliver it…” Ryan hesitated, glancing poignantly at Joshua. “There’s no telling what might happen.”
“I don’t understand. What could possibly happen if you give it to him?”
Ryan’s expression hardened. “We have it from a reliable source that Lord Kincade’s movements about town are being monitored. We don’t know if he’s aware of the surveillance or not, and we can’t take any chances. The deal is too close to fruition. We have to see it through. It has to be you, CC. You’re the only one who is not regularly known.”
CC vacillated, tormented by the decision she had to make. She did not want to see Noah again, yet if the entire arms deal was to fall through because of her refusal to take the money to him at the inn…she hesitated to answer, knowing that she couldn’t tell them the real reason why.
Joshua Smith sighed in very real exasperation as his gaze rested coldly upon her. “I told you we shouldn’t allow a woman to be included in any of this, disguise or no disguise. This is men’s business, and females shouldn’t have a part in it.”
Joshua’s words stung her pride, as he’d hoped they would, and she stiffened as she answered, “I’ll do it.”
“Thank you, CC.” Ryan slanted Joshua a triumphant look as he handed her the wrapped parcel that contained the first of the two payments they’d agreed upon for the shipment.
“Does Kincade know I’m coming?”
“No. We didn’t even want to risk sending a message.”
“I see.” She frowned slightly at the thought of arriving unannounced. “What if he isn’t at the inn?”
“He should be,” Ryan answered, noting the time, “but if for some reason he isn’t, just keep the package with you until you can make contact with him. Then report back to me to let me know how everything went. I’ll be here until midnight tonight. If you have any problems and don’t get the money to him until tomorrow, you can send word to me at home.”
“Fine.”
“Also, I’ve enclosed a letter with the money explaining the situation to him, so you won’t have to. The less time you spend with him, the better off you’ll be. We don’t want to put you in danger either.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Good. I’ll be expecting to hear from you within the next eighteen hours,” Ryan told her seriously. “And remember, caution is the word of the day. Be as inconspicuous as you can.”
“I’ll be careful,” she promised.
“Good luck.”
Carrying the parcel under her arm as if it were of little importance, CC strode from the room in her practiced boyish style. She left the safety of the Green Dragon and went out into the dark of the early Boston night, all the while pensively wondering who it could be who was so interested in Noah that they would be having him watched.
Joshua looked at Ryan, his expression worried. “Do you think she’ll be all right?”
“I hope so,” Ryan replied tensely. “We have a lot riding on this deal and I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
“Why do you think she refused at first? Do you think she was too afraid?”
Ryan frowned thoughtfully. “No. I think I know CC fairly well and she doesn’t frighten easily. I’m not sure why she didn’t want to have any contact with Kincade. Maybe she thought that he might discover her true identity. After all, he does do some business with her father.”
“That’s true,” Joshua nodded. “But I’m sure she’ll do fine. All she’s got to do is to make sure he gets the package. Minimal contact. Nothing else. It shouldn’t prove too difficult.”
Noah sat in the taproom drinking a mug of ale and listening with little interest to the conversations flowing about him. Though it was early evening, he was already thinking of retiring to his chamber for the night, not so much because he was tired as because he was bored. The day had passed relatively quickly for him as he’d worked with Lyle on board the Lorelei in preparation for the ship’s departure on the short trip to the islands, but now the night stretched out before him in endless monotony. Matt had gone to visit Faith, and he was alone.
“Can I get you another drink, m’lord?” Polly sidled up to his table and brushed slightly against him.
“Yes, Polly, I do believe I’ll have one more.” Noah smiled with cool politeness, taking care that she read no invitation in his expression.
Polly’s expectant look faded as she noted his lack of interest. “I’ll be right back with your ale.”
“Thanks.”
She was as good as her word and he accepted the tankard, tipping her generously as he stood up.
“Should my brother come in in the next hour or so, tell him to come on up to my room, will you, Polly?”
“Yes, Lord Kincade. I’ll tell him,” she promised before she moved away to see to her other customers.
Noah paid little attention to his surroundings as he took up his fresh mug of ale and started upstairs. He did not notice the door to the taproom opening or the youth who slipped undetected inside.
CC’s nerves were stretched taut as she entered the taproom of the Red Lion Inn. Though it was true that she was a bit nervous because this was the first time she’d gone anywhere in her disguise save the meetings and rallies, the real cause of her upset was the prospect of seeing Noah again. She dreaded the moment. Her feelings for him were like a wildfire raging within her soul. She was afraid that if he touched her, all would be lost again, just as it had been in the carriage the other night.
She was surprised when she caught sight of Noah on the staircase. Without drawing attention to herself, she picked up her pace in hopes of catching up with him before he entered his room. Noah was unaware that CC was coming up behind him. When she reached out to grab his arm, he was startled and immediately spun around to see who it was.
“CC!” he croaked in astonishment as he stared down at her in the dim light of the hallway. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Be quiet,” she warned him with a glare as she glanced around to be sure no one else had heard.
Noah realized his mistake in blurting out her name. Shaking off the hold she had on his arm, he snared her wrist and dragged her with him the rest of the way down the hall to his room. As quickly as he could, he unlocked the door and then unceremoniously drew her inside. He released her to close the door behind them and light a lamp.
“You didn’t have to be so rough!” she snapped as she rubbed her wrist.
Noah stood halfway across the room glowering at her as he tried to figure out why she had come. One part of him was ecstatic to see her again, but the other, harder part of him wondered at the reason for her unexpected visit. They had agreed in the carriage to stay away from each other, and yet here she was…
“I thought we’d agreed to avoid each other?” he charged.
“We did, and believe me, this was not my idea,” CC returned, scowling mutinously.
“Then why, my dear Miss Demorest, are you here?” Even while he was taunting her, though, Noah thrilled to her presence. His gaze went over her hungrily, memorizing every detail of her appearance and reviving every memory of her carefully concealed womanly curves.
CC answered in low, nervous tones, “I’m here because Ryan Graves sent me to you.”
Noah’s blood began to race at her words as both passion and fury flamed within him. So Robinson hadn’t been the one directing her at all. It had been Graves all along… Yet, even as he was angry, Noah knew that he wanted her as he’d never wanted another. He stepped closer, looming over CC threateningly.
“Oh, he did, did he?” Noah’s predatory smile revealed his thoughts all too clearly, and CC, feeling nearly overwhelmed by his nearness, took a step back.
“Yes…I have something for you…” she began.
“I’m sure you do.” He reached out for her, but she neatly sidestepped his attempt to touch her.
“Here. Take this so I can go…” Her hands trembled as she held out the parcel.
Noah frowned as he glanced from the package to CC. “What is it?”
“The payment due you from Graves.”
“What? He sent you to me by yourself with all that money?” Noah was enraged that the revolutionary would have sent CC on such a hazardous errand. Didn’t they care that something might have happened to her?
“It was necessary,” she explained.
“Why was it necessary?” he challenged.
“Nothing happened.” CC tried to dismiss his concern.
“You were only lucky,” he scoffed.
“That’s beside the point.”
“Maybe, but you didn’t answer my original question. Why did they feel it was necessary to send you on this trip? Any of the men could have done it.”
“That’s true, but it doesn’t matter. They sent me and I did it. There’s a letter inside the package that explains everything. Here.” CC held out the money again. “Take this so I can leave. It wouldn’t do for anyone to get suspicious of me.”
As Noah accepted the payment, his hand accidentally touched CC’s and the contact was electric. Their gazes met then, and all thoughts of danger and intrigue were swept from their minds as the memory of their passion for each other surged to the forefront. There was no denying it for either of them. Noah silently placed the parcel on the bedside table before drawing her to him.
CC knew she should run.
“Noah…I have to go… Please, let me…we shouldn’t…” Her protests were feeble, and Noah overruled them with but a single kiss.
She knew she should not allow this to happen, but the touch of his hand and the warmth of his closeness drove all thoughts of flight from her. She loved him and soon he would be gone. There could be no tomorrow for them, but at least she could have tonight…
Hungrily she returned his kiss, her lips parting beneath his, her heart pounding erratically in her breast. She had not thought she would have the opportunity to be with Noah ever again, and yet here they were, locked in each other’s arms, lost in the splendor of their mutual need. It was her longed-for paradise.
She wound her arms around his neck, hugging him to her as she molded herself to his hard-muscled strength. Every fiber of her being longed for oneness with him, and she clung to him, weak with desire.
Noah was enthralled as his mouth sought to press kiss after heated kiss upon her waiting lips. No nectar had ever tasted so sweet or filled him with such rapturous joy. Exhilarated, he felt the need to be joined with her, to clasp her to him and merge their bodies into one perfect unity. His hands moved restlessly to the soft curve of her hips and pressed her full against his throbbing desire. Noah and CC were so absorbed in the excitement of the embrace that they did not hear the door open or close.
Matt had entered the taproom shortly after Noah had headed for his room with CC in pursuit, and Polly had intercepted him at once with Noah’s message to come right up. Matt had hoped to have a long talk with Noah this evening about their plans for the future and so he hurried on upstairs to speak with him. Since Noah was expecting him and the door was unlocked, Matt did not bother to knock but simply opened the door, walked in, and pushed the door shut behind him.
The sight that greeted him shocked and disgusted him. There in the middle of the room stood Noah locked in an embrace with what looked to be a young boy. It was something he had never suspected of his brother, not even in his wildest imaginings, and he could only gape in outrage.
“Noah! Dear God!” His voice was a hoarse croak and he backed toward the door in an effort to escape the tawdry scene.
Reality did not intrude upon CC and Noah until the sound of Matt’s voice so very near and so very filled with loathing pierced their Elysian interlude and shattered the moment of bliss. Jolted out of his reverie, Noah suddenly realized that in his overwhelming need to possess CC again, he’d forgotten the message he’d left for Matthew, and more important, he’d forgotten to lock the door.
“Matt…” Noah’s voice was sharp as he tried to stop his brother from leaving. When CC would have turned to face Matt and relieve Noah of the necessity to explain a most embarrassing situation, Noah held her tightly to him and murmured, “Keep your face averted.”
“I’m leaving…” Matt ground out, his tone terse with condemnation. “I hadn’t meant to intrude. Polly just said that-”
CC could almost feel the violent emotions that were being barely held in check by both brothers, and with a supreme effort she twisted quickly in Noah’s shielding embrace.
“Matthew…wait… It’s all right…really…”
“CC, damn it!” Noah swore. He had wanted to protect her from recognition and yet she had openly and willingly given away her identity.
“CC?”
A kaleidoscope of comical emotions ranging from censure to understanding to humorous crossed Matt’s face as he stared at CC dressed in her boy’s disguise.
“CC…Miss Demorest, I presume.” The jarring tension that had seared him when he’d first entered the room faded quickly away, leaving him feeling slightly foolish, and he grinned in self-derision. “Thank heaven it’s you; I should have remembered…”
“What?” Noah looked questioningly from CC to his brother. “What should you have remembered?”
“CC’s disguise, of course,” Matt answered easily.
“You knew about the disguise?” Noah was astonished.
“Yes, CC and I ran into each other at the meeting at Faneuil Hall and I vowed to keep her secret.” Matt suddenly looked thoughtful. “That explains my knowing, but just how did you find out?”
“He discovered my involvement the night of his first rendezvous with Graves,” CC supplied, moving out of the circle of Noah’s arms the moment he loosened his grip. “You do know about all that, don’t you?”
“Yes, he knows about it,” Noah snapped, suddenly irritated and not quite sure why.
“You’re a member of that group?” Matt was astounded to find out that she belonged to the innermost decision-making group.
“Yes,” she answered with pride. “I have been almost since the beginning.”
Everything quickly came together for Matt now that he better understood the relationship that existed between Noah and CC. No wonder she’d sounded slightly embittered when they’d spoken of Noah the other night. If she cared for him, as she obviously did or she wouldn’t have just been in his arms, his refusal to become involved in the revolutionary movement and his determination to return to England had no doubt hurt her terribly.
“So that’s how you knew so much about-” Matt began, and CC flashed him a warning look.
“Knew so much about what?” Noah demanded, wanting to know everything about Matt and CC’s acquaintance.
“Oh, nothing. Listen, I can speak with you any time, Noah. I’ll just-” He started for the door to allow them time together, but CC spoke up quickly, halting his progress.
“No! I’ll go…I must…” She rushed to the door. “Good-bye, Noah.” Her eyes were filled with sadness as they met his across the room, and without another word she fled the room.
“CC…” Noah started after her, but when he emerged into the hall she had already disappeared down the steps, and he knew it would not do for him to race from the inn in hot pursuit of a messenger boy. Slowly, unaccountably miserable, he turned back inside and closed the door.
“Noah…what was that all about?” Matt was frowning, not understanding CC’s haste to be gone.
“CC was sent by Ryan Graves to deliver the first half of our payment for the arms.” He gestured toward the table, where the money lay untouched.
“Oh.” Matt was disappointed, for he had hoped that there might be more to her visit than that. “I thought she might have had another reason-”
“There was no other reason for her visit, Matt.” Noah cut off his insinuation.
“That’s too bad. CC is a very special woman.” Matt admired her very much, and he let his feelings for her show in his tone. “A man could do far worse.”
“Perhaps.” Noah refused to reveal anything of his feelings for CC, and Matt finally let the matter rest.
As Matt considered the whole scenario for a moment in silence, he thought it odd that a woman had been sent on such a potentially dangerous mission, and he asked, “Why in the world would the leaders send CC to you with the money? Wasn’t that slightly dangerous? One woman…alone…unprotected?”
“I asked her the same thing, and all she would tell me was that there was a letter in the packet that would explain everything.” Noah quickly unwrapped the parcel and, with little interest, set the money aside in favor of the envelope enclosed. “Let’s see here…”
Silently he read the missive, and his jaw tensed in explosive anger. “I don’t believe this…” He looked up at Matt, stunned.
“What?” Matt took the letter.
Lord Kincade-
It has come to our attention that your every move about town is being watched. We have no idea why, but certain precautions must be taken from now on in our dealings, and I will no longer be able to meet with you personally. Please understand, and if you can explain the surveillance, send word.
Graves
“Damn! We’re being watched, Matt…or at least I am,” Noah snarled, striding to the window and staring out at the seemingly deserted street below.
“But why? Who would want to know your movements?”
Noah’s mind was racing, and his expression was etched with anger as he paced furiously about the room. “Who indeed? I have no enemies here. Except for my one brief meeting with Graves and Adams at the Green Dragon Inn some time ago, there’s been no other open contact between us.”
Matt felt the sudden weight of his own actions.
“Noah…” His tone was solemn.
“What?”
“I wonder if it could be because of me.”
Noah frowned at the thought. As much as he didn’t want to lay that guilt on Matthew, it fit. Matt had argued with Winthrop, Matt had been seeing Faith regularly, Matt had attended the meetings at Faneuil Hall, and he was definitely involved in the growing unrest.
“Damn!” he swore, his once-softening feelings toward Matt’s relationship with Faith suddenly hardening. If anything happened to his arms deal…“I told you not to get involved with the rebels! I warned you about what could happen, but you refused to listen! And now…”
“Noah, I-”
“Stay away from Faith and stay away from the meetings!” He was livid that his plans might be ruined.
“Faith and I are going to be married shortly, in case you’ve forgotten, and I will not let anything interfere with that.”
“Not even the possibility that you might be jeopardizing our entire future?” Noah countered.
“We can protect ourselves now that we know about the surveillance.”
“It’s not that simple, Matthew.”
Matt was not about to give quarter. “Noah, it most certainly is. So far we’ve done nothing that could be considered illegal. I’ve attended a few public meetings. So what? There’s no way they could have any proof that we’re involved in any wrongdoing. The only way they could prove anything would be to get hold of the Pride’s manifests and make a connection between the payment you just received and the rebels taking delivery of the arms.”
“Maybe so, but we can’t be sure. Until we are, I want you to steer clear of anything controversial,” he ordered.
Matt’s eyes were aglow with an inner fire as he glared at his brother. “Noah, I will do nothing to endanger your plans, but you cannot ask me to stay away from the woman I love.”
“I most certainly can if our lives depend on it!”
“Then I’m afraid there can be only one solution.” Matt stiffened as he prepared to do the one thing he’d never wanted to do. “I will move out of the inn tonight and sever our relationship. You should then be freed from any further surveillance.”
“What?” His statement caught Noah totally off guard. “You can’t mean that.”
“I do,” he answered grimly. “You’re forcing me to choose, Noah, and there can be only one choice.”
“I didn’t mean that you would have to give up Faith permanently,” he argued.
“I don’t have the control over my emotions that you do. I can’t turn them off and on at will. I love her. She deserves my protection, and I intend to give it to her. If it means sacrificing everything else in my life to be with her…then I’ll do it.”
Noah was stunned. Matt loved Faith so much that he was willing to give up everything for her. Everything.
CC glimmered unbidden into his thoughts, and he compared what he felt for her to what Matt professed to feel for Faith. The result was total confusion, and he got a grip on his own runaway thoughts only by telling himself that his relationship with CC was far different from what Matt and Faith shared. There was no future for CC and him. Attracted as she might be to him physically, she hated him now just as much as she had in the beginning. She didn’t love him. No words of love had ever been spoken between them. What they’d shared had been lust.
Matt took Noah’s silence to mean that there was no need for further discussion between them, that he was willing to make the break for the sake of the shipment and the profit to be made.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll see to packing my things.”
“Matt…” Noah started to protest, but it was too late. Matt had already gone from the room. Noah followed him and knocked loudly on his door. “Matt! We need to talk more about this.”
The door was pulled almost violently open and Matt stood there, tall and proud before him. “There’s nothing more to say, Noah. Not really. You have your priorities, and I have mine. I will be very careful from now on, and I will make certain that my activities are never connected to yours.”
“Where will you go? What are you going to do?”
“What am I going to do?” Matt smiled faintly. “I’m going to marry Faith and live happily ever after. You might do well to ask yourself the same questions.”
“What do you mean? I know what I’m about.”
“Are you still so sure, Noah? Are you still so positive that your future is in England?”
“Of course!” he replied a bit too quickly.
“What about CC?”
“What about her?”
Matt shrugged, suddenly weary of trying to convince Noah to see things more clearly. “I’d better finish my packing. I’ll be in touch, and if you should need to get a message to me, leave word at Faith’s.”
With that Matt slowly closed the door, and Noah stood silently in the hall, lost deep in his thoughts.
CC nimbly climbed the tree’s supportive branches and with amazing agility levered herself into her bedroom through the unlocked window. As quickly as she could, she stripped off her disguise and hid it in the armoire before donning her dressing gown and sitting down at the dressing table to brush out her tangled locks.
She had thought that she would be calmer by the time she reached home, but even after stopping long enough to report back to Ryan, her emotions were still reeling from her contact with Noah. Though the memory of what had almost happened between them sent chills of excitement up her spine, she thanked heaven that Matthew had shown up when he had. If they hadn’t been interrupted, they no doubt would have made love, and CC knew that she could never let that happen again.
Drained by the strain of the night, she didn’t even bother to put on a gown, but curled up on the bed just as she was. Sighing, she hugged a pillow near and pulled the counterpane over her for warmth. Gradually she grew warm and the tension eased from her. In that last half-awake, half-asleep moment when her defenses were totally down just before sleep claimed her, CC whispered his name with the softness of a sigh. “Noah.”
Noah was awake. Try as he might, sleep would not come, and so he stood now at the window in the concealing darkness of his room, staring out at the star-studded night sky. The evening had been a total disaster. His unexpected encounter with CC, the discovery that they were being watched, and his subsequent fight with Matthew had left his nerves raw and on edge.
Noah bitterly resented Matt’s timing in walking in when he had, for he had been on fire with the need to make love to CC again. She was gone now, perhaps this time for good. Even though he knew that his desire for her had not lessened, his body still burned with passion for her and he was helpless to do anything about it. He could not go to her and seek her out, for he felt without a doubt that she would refuse his advances. With the heat of his loins throbbing in an almost painful reminder of the sweetness of her body curved so perfectly to his, he made his way back to the bed and lay down, trying to turn his thoughts to other things…to Matthew…
Matthew. A lurching emptiness filled him at the memory of his brother’s steely determination. He knew it had been pushing to ask him to stay away from Faith and the rebels for a time, but wasn’t the ultimate success of their venture worth the sacrifice? Even as Noah thought the question, he knew what Matt’s answer to it would be. There was no sacrifice too great for love. None.
Miserably, Noah closed his eyes and rested a forearm across his brow as he gave a low, defeated laugh. He had thought love was his purpose in restoring the Kincade name. He had grown up being tutored in the importance of family history and family traditions. He had been indoctrinated with the importance of carrying on the Kincade name, of maintaining the many estates and houses and, above all, of doing nothing that would detract from the honor of the Kincade family. He had been taught that his pride in being a Kincade went before all else.
His entire life until just recently had been directed by those teachings. Then the changes had come-first with his father’s death and then the discovery of his father’s betrayal of all that Noah had been told was important. The losses had been so vast that they had raped the Kincade fortunes and rendered the heirs near paupers. Noah, trapped by the cruel twist of fate that had stripped him of everything else, was left with only his pride intact. It was that pride that drove him on, relentlessly, to reclaim all that had been lost.
Still, as he lay alone in the silent blackness of his rented chamber, Noah could not help but wonder at the price he was going to have to pay to achieve the goal he had set for himself. His pride had already cost him Matthew, and he wondered if the final end would be worth it. He might very well restore the Kincade name, honor, and riches, but when he finally did, would anyone care?
The thought echoed hollowly through him, and he muttered a curse into the darkness. It had to be worth it. Just because his father had been weak didn’t mean that he was. He would not deviate from the course he’d set for himself. He would do what he set out to do. He would concentrate on business and rebuild it all. But even as he vowed to himself again to continue, his fervor was gone; instead, suddenly, it all seemed an uphill battle with little real reward at the end.
Troubled, Noah sighed deeply, seeking sleep but knowing that his thoughts were too confused to court real rest this night. When at long last sleep finally did come, he dreamed of England and Kincade Hall in the frigid, barren, lonely months of winter.