Read Online My Lord Deceived by Rebecca King - Free Book Online Page B

colleagues.
     
    Kat sighed and
stared at the greasy young man who stood before her. Arrogance hung
over him like a cloak. His hawkish features were swathed in a
mixture of condescending malice and ruthlessness that made Kat want
to smack his face. Her fingers curled into her palms and she stared
coldly back at Brian Meldrew, the albatross of the village.
    Nobody liked
him, but nobody could get rid of him either. His mother, poor soul,
appeared to be completely oblivious to just how vile her son really
was. Kat wondered whether she was ignorant of her son’s appalling
reputation, or just chose to ignore the fact that she had made such
a mess of rearing the most obnoxious human being in the entire
county of Cornwall. Unfortunately, Brian wasn’t alone. His
associates, Wally, Robert and Colin, stood only a few feet behind
him and they had equally vile smirks on their faces.
    When she had
returned Molly to her field, she had not noticed that Brian and his
friends had followed her. She was now out in the middle of nowhere,
far away from help. She stood face to face with four of the
village’s most troublesome occupants, with nobody to help her for
miles around.
    “Go away, all
of you,” Kat sighed and gave Molly a gentle pat before she turned
toward the gate only for Brian to jump in her path to stop her from
leaving. Noise from behind warned her that his friends had gathered
around. She wondered where this stand-off was going to take her.
Determined not to give them the satisfaction of knowing they
unnerved her, she fought down the flutter of nerves, squared her
shoulders and hardened the arrogant stare she threw back at
Brian.
    “Oh, the Kat
has claws,” he smirked and grinned at his own inventiveness.
    “God, if that
is as good as you can manage, heaven help us all,” Kat sighed.
Weariness weighed heavily on her shoulders but her day was far from
over yet. She was tired, hungry, and still had to go over to
Dentham House to read to Jonathan’s uncle before her shift at the
tavern started. The last thing she wanted, or needed, was to stand
in the middle of a field being harassed by these wastrels.
    “You would be
wise to curb your smart mouth against me Kat Baird,” Brian snapped.
All trace of mirth abruptly left his face. The cold, hard mask he
now wore made a shiver run down her spine. A flurry of nerves
settled deep into the pit of her stomach and the growing fear that
she was in deep trouble began to make her feel physically sick.
Brian, she could just about fight off, but the three behind her?
She had no chance. The best she could manage was to try to bluff
her way out of the field and run hell for leather for home.
    With a quick
glance down at the ground, a thought began to unfurl in her mind
and a look of malice entered her eyes. Determined not to give in,
she firmed her chin mutinously. She straightened her spine and
stared arrogantly back at Brian.
    “I can
distinctly remember watching your mother change your dirty backside
as a kid, Brian Meldrew, so don’t come that bully-boy rubbish with
me,” she wagged her finger at him in her best motherly manner and
curled her lip. “Take it from me, if you start with me then I shall
take great delight in giving you a lesson that you will never
forget.”
    Her confidence
was boosted by the hesitation that flickered on his face and she
turned around to stare at each young man in turn.
    “It’s about
time you lot got yourselves jobs. Maybe then it will stop you being
the pariah’s of the village. Keep causing trouble and we will all
drive each of you out on your ear,” she snarled. She spun around
and moved until she was nose to nose with Brian. The hesitant step
back he made was all she needed. She was unwilling to relinquish
the upper hand she had won. Her hands landed firmly on her hips and
she stared at each man as though they were nothing more than
naughty little boys. She was rewarded when Wally shuffled
uncomfortably and stared down at his feet as though