Read Online Crossed Bones by Jane Johnson - Free Book Online Page A

lady, sirrah!’
    The cousins sprang apart guiltily. The red-haired man stood there, a long clay pipe in one hand, a leather pouch in the other. He tamped a quantity of the contents of the pouch into the bowl of the pipe and surveyed it with interest while Rob and Cat looked on in silence. Then Rob bowed. ‘I beg pardon, sir. This is my cousin Catherine.’
    ‘Is she really?’ Sir John Killigrew looked Cat slowly up and down in blatant assessment. ‘And that gives you the right to affront her, does it?’
    ‘No, sir. But – ’
    ‘Don’t “but” me, boy!’ Killigrew yelled suddenly. ‘Get out of here and leave the poor girl alone. I shall report your behaviour to Sir Arthur. Now, go!’
    Rob glanced back at Cat in case she might speak up for him, but she was carefully studying her feet, for once uncharacteristically quiet. Then he stalked angrily away across the courtyard.
    ‘Are you all right?’ Sir John asked. ‘He has not hurt you, your… cousin?’
    Cat gave him her best smile. ‘Thank you, sir, no, not at all. Rob was merely attempting to teach me some manners.’
    ‘You seem to me to be a most mannerly young woman, Catherine – Catherine, what? I must know the name of the lady I have rescued.’ He took a step closer and gave her a long, slow grin, fox-like. There were deep crinkles around his bright blue eyes; he was older than she had first thought.
    ‘Tregenna, sir.’
    ‘Catherine Tregenna. A pretty name for a pretty girl.’
    Cat bit the inside of her cheek to stop the laughter that threatened to escape. ‘Thank you, sir.’
    He stowed the pipe away, unsmoked, and took her by the hand. She could feel the hard calluses on his fingers and remembered how they said that as a smuggler he had rowed his own boat. Unwisely, she said as much.
    Killigrew roared with laughter. ‘Are you fond of smugglers and thieves, then, Mistress Catherine? Do you dream of wild adventures in your narrow maiden’s bed?’
    Cat tried to withdraw her hand. ‘No, sir,’ she answered; but her high colour told another tale.
    He grasped it tighter. ‘I do believe our discussions are likely to take longer than expected and that I shall be staying the night at Kenegie,’ he said smoothly. ‘I hope I may have the chance to become better acquainted with you, Catherine Tregenna. Here is a little promissory note for you that I shall make good on later.’ And before she could begin to protest, he caught her to him and pressed his full red mouth upon hers. The fume of wine engulfed her as his tongue tried to force a passage between her lips. Cat squirmed and struggled, to no avail. His right arm imprisoned her, twisting her arms behind her back; his left hand clasped itself around her breast and squeezed hard. No one had ever touched her in such a way before, and for a moment she thought she might faint. She kicked out, but he was wearing sturdy leather boots, and her assault on his ankles had no effect other than to make him clasp her closer still. She felt his laugh rumble through the bones of her chest; her resistance seemed to add savour to the situation.
    Salvation came in a most unlikely form.
    A harsh voice broke the spell. ‘He carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman riding a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns!’
    Nell Chigwine stood at the threshold of the courtyard door, pitcher under her arm, her other hand outstretched, finger pointing in accusation at the sinning pair before her.
    Surprised by this bizarre interruption, Sir John Killigrew stepped away from his prey. ‘Away with you, you whey-faced creature! Go share your mad words with the pigs and hens, who will certainly appreciate them more than I!’ And away he strode, without even a glance back at Catherine, who now crumpled to her knees in the courtyard, heedless of the dirt and dust.
    But Nell had no interest in the nobleman: all her scorn was directed at Cat. She put the