Gregory, Lisa (52 page)

"Ah,
then it is a load for us?" Matthew said, and, at Katherine's puzzled look,
explained, "Only one of his captains knows of Mr. Mercer's connection with
us. Greatly reduces the risks. Besides, some of his men show a bothersome
tendency toward patriotism."

"I
should hope so," Katherine said, glaring at Mercer as if he were some
loathsome, crawling creature.

"Please,
dear, be a little more forgiving," Matthew said, amused. "He is
helping to save our necks, you know."

Mercer
returned her glare. "And who might you be, Miss High and Mighty?"

"That's
none of your business," Matthew snapped. "She is with me, and that is
all you need to know."

"All
right." Mercer raised his hands pacifically. "I shall tell Josephs.
He will leave at dawn on Tuesday."

"We
shall be there," Matthew promised, and rose. "Very nice to have
finally met you face to face."

"I
wish I could say the same," Mercer said dryly.

Katherine
gave vent to her feelings as soon as they reached the street. "That man—he
is a spider, a gruesome thing that preys on both sides! Traitor to his own
country, and gouges your side with ridiculous prices, no doubt. A snake—that's
what he is."

"Calm
yourself, please. You ought to be grateful to him. Without him, we would be in
a much worse plight."

Katherine
grimaced. "I am not so sure. It is days until Tuesday, and here you and I
will be all that time, just like sitting ducks."

"Well,
frankly, Katherine, we do not have much choice."

"I
know," she said grumpily and fell into a brief silence. Then she began again,
more cheerfully this time, "Well, what are we to do now?"

"Get
a hotel room, I suppose, and hide for a few days." He looked down at her
devilishly. "I think we shall be able to find something to occupy our
time."

Katherine
laughed and blushed and turned to look in a shop window to hide her
awkwardness. "Matthew," she said, stopping dead-still. "Look at
this."

"What?
That hat? Not your style at all."

"No,
silly. See that man in the gray suit? Looking so intently into that
haberdashery? See his reflection in this window?"

"What
about it?"

"Well,
when I stopped and looked in this window, I saw him. He was looking at us, and
when he saw us stop, he whirled and started looking into that window."

Hampton
frowned. "You think he is following us?"

"I
don't know. It's just that he acted so peculiarly."

"Well,
it won't hurt to lose him. Come along."

They
quickened their pace; behind them, the man in the gray suit quickened his. They
made several turns and still he followed. Matthew's frown grew.

"There's
something wrong here," he said. "We better get back to Mercer and
tell him. I think perhaps his office was being watched. It is almost dark now,
so we should be able to lose him. See that alley ahead? When we reach it, turn
into it and run. But don't make a move until we are in it."

"All
right." She tightened for flight and dropped her hands to her sides to
lift her skirts to run when the chance came. As the alley loomed beside them,
Matthew took her hand and hissed, "Now!"

They
tore down the alley, the carpetbag Matthew carried banging awkwardly against
his leg. He dragged her along, twisting and turning down dark streets and
alleys. Katherine concentrated on just running and trusted Matthew to elude
their pursuer. At last he came to a stop and pulled her into a dark doorway.
They waited, trying to catch their breath. There was no sign of the man in the
gray suit.

"Now,
to tell Mercer," Matthew said and started off again.

Mercer
had left the office, but a night watchman was able to give them his address—for
the proper monetary inducement, of course. They quickly caught a cab and gave
the driver the address. Soon they found themselves in a pleasant area of
tree-lined avenues and spacious houses.

The
cab pulled up before a fence-enclosed house, and the two disembarked. Matthew
paid the driver, and as the cab clattered off, they stepped up to the gate, but
Matthew stopped Katherine with a hand on her arm. She looked up, puzzled, then
followed his gaze. The front door of the house had just opened, and a
blue-coated officer stepped out. He was followed by Mercer, who was flanked by
two armed guards. Katherine gasped and turned to Hampton. He nodded grimly.

"He
must be under arrest. Take my arm and let us take a casual stroll down the
street."

Her
heart pounding, Katherine obeyed him. They walked briskly and were soon out of
sight of the house. "Oh, Matthew, what are we to do? If they have arrested
him, they'll stop his ship from sailing. And he will doubtless tell them about
us."

"First
thing is to head for the docks and find the
Sea Nymph.
Perhaps it has
not yet been impounded and, if it hasn't, we can persuade Josephs to sail
immediately. I have dealt with him; I think he will recognize me and believe
our story."

"And
what if it has been impounded?"

"Then
you and I shall flee for the border and try to enter Virginia by land."

"And
get shot by one army or the other, no doubt."

"No
doubt."

It
took them some time to find a cab in this residential district; Katherine felt
they must have walked halfway to the docks before they came upon one. After
they finally got the cab, it did not take them long to reach the docks. Matthew
quickly jumped out, but when Katherine started to follow suit, he stopped her.

"There
may be guards around; there could be trouble. And I don't want you involved in
it. So you stay right here until I come back. And if I don't come back in a
reasonable time, you leave, and head straight back for Boston.
Understand?"

"But,
Matthew—" she began to protest.

"Katherine,
I mean it," he said firmly. "I shall never forgive myself for the
danger I have put you in already, and I refuse to expose you to any more than
is absolutely necessary."

Her
lips twitched angrily, but she managed to refrain from arguing.

Hampton
gave a low chuckle. "Ah, Katherine, you have learned restraint."

He
vanished into the darkness of the docks. Katherine waited anxiously, her ears
straining to hear any sound. It seemed ages before she finally heard Matthew's
returning footsteps. He was smiling, and she quickly jumped out of the carriage
and paid the driver. Matthew picked up the bag and cheerfully guided her across
the docks.

"I
found it," he said. "There was one Yankee watching it and I crowned
him. Then I went aboard and talked to Josephs. Thank God he believed me and is
even now preparing to sail. Katherine, I think we—"

The
words stopped in his throat as suddenly a soldier loomed up in front of them,
pistol in hand.

"Stop
right there."

"What
the devil!" Matthew snapped, managing to sound like an outraged citizen.

"I
saw you leaving the
Sea Nymph,"
the stranger said accusingly.
"And I just found the guard I was to replace out cold and trussed up in an
alley."

"Guard?"
Matthew asked innocently. "I fail to see what that has to do with us. Nor
do I see why you have been spying on me."

"I
think you see perfectly well. And there's certainly no harm in my taking the
two of you back to headquarters to explain why you are carrying baggage to a
ship that is carrying contraband."

"Contraband!
What nonsense!" Matthew growled.

"Oh,
no, whatever are we to do!" Katherine wailed. "Now Papa will discover
us and send me off to my sister's in the country, and we shall never see each
other again! Oh, Corporal, you don't understand! I have the most terrible,
sternest father, and he won't let me marry Henry. And so we were eloping. Only
you are spoiling it all!" She burst into tears, and the guard looked a
trifle uneasy.

"Now,
miss—" his voice was placating.

"Oh,
I can tell that you are a kind man underneath. Oh, please, please, help
us!" She flung herself upon him in supplication, and with both hands
shoved hard against his gun hand.

Hampton
immediately threw himself upon the luckless soldier and sent him sprawling; the
gun went flying off through the air. Katherine scrambled after it, but when at
last she found it and turned to aim it at the soldier she found that Matthew
had just effectively dispatched him with his fists.

"Oh,
God," she said, and the gun slid from her trembling fingers.

"Quick,
help me tie him," Matthew hissed as he dragged the body into a dark
doorway.

She
followed and knelt beside him, her shaking knees giving way. Hurriedly they
pulled off the man's belt and tied his hands. Matthew tied his feet with his
own belt as Katherine gagged him with her scarf.

"Come
on now, let's go." Matthew pulled her to her feet, grabbed their bag, and
hurried her across the docks to the waiting ship.

Once
on board, Katherine refused to go below. She could not bear to sit in fear in a
cabin, with no idea of what was going on. Instead, she leaned against the
railing, gripping it tightly, scarcely daring to breathe as the ship slowly
edged away from the docks. Quietly, stealthily, they unfurled the sails a
little at a time as the ship drifted out to sea, until at last they were in
full sail. The lights of the city began to dwindle, and now a good breeze
caught their sails and sent the ship skidding across the waves.

"We
are off," Matthew's voice sounded behind her and she jumped. He had been
helping the sailors to slip away from shore.

"Are
we safe?"

"I
think so. Even when they find the guards, I don't think they will give chase. A
half-loaded merchant ship is not that important."

"Matthew."
She leaned against him in relief, and he folded his arms around her.

"My
brave, good girl," he said and kissed the top of her head. He was filled
with tenderness for her as he thought of the way she had risked everything to
help him. Tossing aside pride, country, reputation, she had helped him to escape,
put her very life in danger, while asking nothing in return. When she had saved
him from Perkins, she had not even thought he loved her; in fact, she had
thought he had scorned her. And even now, she had not asked him for any
commitment.

"Katherine,
I love you," he breathed against her ear.

They
made their way down toward their cabin. When they reached it, Katherine began
to dig in their bag, pulling out something she would not let him see.

"I
have been thinking," he began, and she looked at him inquiringly.
"Tomorrow, I think that I shall have Captain Josephs exercise his power
and marry us at sea. Or would you prefer to wait for a proper minister?"

She
stared at him, her eyes shining. "Matthew, do you mean it? You don't have
to, you know; I mean just because I—"

He
laughed. "Do you still not know me enough to know that I would not marry
out of a sense of duty?"

She
laughed, tears sounding in her throat "Oh, Matthew. Yes, I will marry at
sea, or anywhere else you want. I love you."

"Keep
looking at me like that, girl, and I may find myself ripping the clothes off
you—again."

"Oh,
no, you don't. I have a surprise. Turn your back."

He
raised his hands in mock resignation and obeyed. "I thought that you had
lost your girlish modesty."

She
giggled. "Just wait."

He
heard the swish of her petticoats hitting the floor and smiled to himself.

"All
right; you can look now," she said, and he turned. He gasped at the sight
of her, unable to speak.

She
stood clothed in the filmy white nightgown he had bought for her; the soft
material clung to her, revealing every lush line of her body, and the slit
sides teasingly parted over her smooth flesh. He felt a trembling begin within
him.

"Girl,
you are a marvel," he said huskily.

He
crossed the space between them and swung her into his arms. Laughing, she clung
to him as he carried her to the bed.