Kat, Incorrigible (23 page)

The burly man’s face flushed brick red. “How the devil do you know my name?”

“That, I’m afraid, is my own concern,” said the highwayman. “Meanwhile …” He turned his head, and his gaze swept the room. “I think I really must keep one of you with me to help maintain order. But which one …”

I jumped up from my chair. “I’ll come!” I said.

“Get down, Kat!” Stepmama hissed, and grabbed my arm. She flung her own fan, stretched wide, across my face to hide me from the highwayman’s gaze. I batted it away with my free hand.

The highwayman met my eyes and laughed. “Very generously done,” he said. “But I think perhaps …” He circled. It looked aimless, but I was suddenly strangely certain that it wasn’t. The way his gaze searched the crowd … He pivoted to point. “There. You, please. Miss Stephenson.”

It took a moment, through my excitement, for the name to penetrate. Then I lurched forward, and Stepmama fell back.

Elissa stepped away from her dancing partner. I could see her pallor from across the room.

“No!” I said. I pulled forward, but Stepmama wouldn’t let go. “Not her!” I yelled. “Don’t make her—”

“It’s all right, Kat,” said Elissa. “Better me than either of my sisters.”

She walked across the dance floor, looking pale and saintly. I glanced around wildly and glimpsed Angeline among the watchers. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she was muttering something. If she planned on any sort of magical attack, I hoped she’d found more useful spells in Mama’s magic books than I ever had.

“Ah, Miss Stephenson. Very brave and kind of you. If you’ll just stand here …” The highwayman gestured for her to stand beside him. He was remarkably fussy about it, adjusting her until she was in just the position he wanted, at a slight angle facing away from him.

Wait
. My eyes focused more sharply. He wasn’t only adjusting her position. He was whispering in her ear as he did it. The rascal! If he was embarrassing her, or making her unhappy …

Elissa blinked rapidly. Her eyes flicked to his face and away. I clenched my hands into fists … then loosened them as I recognized the emotions flitting across her face.

She wasn’t frightened or embarrassed. She was shocked, surprised, relieved … and then absolutely furious in a way I knew only too well. For a moment I was actually tempted to feel sorry for the highwayman. I wondered if she would start lecturing him on his behavior in front of all of us. What a way to spend his
greatest robbery ever—being ranted at about propriety by the one young lady he’d chosen for looking most sweet tempered.

I could have told him a great deal about my angelic-looking oldest sister’s temper. But there wasn’t any time for that now.

She started to speak, then stopped when he whispered something urgently in her ear. Obediently, she pressed her lips together. But I saw the angry flush rising on her cheeks, and I knew he’d hear more about it later … if there was a later.

Someone was moving quietly through the crowd, as stealthily as a wolf stalking his prey. I couldn’t see who it was, but I felt the shift of people around me, making way. Then I felt the sparks brush against my skin.
Sir Neville.

I coughed loudly. The highwayman jerked around, abandoning the whispered argument with my sister. His eyes narrowed, and his right arm swung out, pointing the loaded pistol. “Ah, Sir Neville,” he said. “Have a care, please. I’d prefer not to shoot anyone tonight.”

“I’m sure you would,” Sir Neville growled. “But I will personally make certain you hang for tonight’s work anyway.”

“My, you are bloodthirsty.” The highwayman nodded to someone behind Sir Neville. “But you might be interested to know that I am not the only one aiming a pistol at you just now.”

I swung my head around, along with everyone else in the crowd. But the press of people was too thick for me to see anything.

“My associates are positioned around the room rather carefully,” said the highwayman. “So I’d advise you to restrain yourself. You may distract yourself by planning your revenge, if you’d like.”

“I will,” said Sir Neville, and I believed him.

“In that case, we may begin,” the highwayman said, and beside him, Elissa gave an audible sniff of disapproval.

It was a sniff I knew all too well. Even the highwayman’s confident smile faltered for a moment as he turned to look at her. He looked like a puppy who’d brought her a brand-new bone as a gift, only to be told that it was horrid. I’d seen that expression on another man’s face just two nights ago, when he’d seen Sir Neville escort Elissa into dinner.

And suddenly I knew.

“Oh, my Lord!” I muttered, and fell back into my chair.

“Language, Kat,” Stepmama whispered. She was fanning herself rapidly and taking deep breaths.

I wished I could calm myself as easily. But everything was suddenly much too complicated for me. The idea of a highwayman—even one holding my sister hostage—had been exciting. But this was just ridiculous.

I looked at Sir Neville’s angry face and felt my stomach sink. He obviously hadn’t recognized the voice behind the mask. But somehow, I didn’t think it would make him any
more forgiving when he realized he was facing his own brother.

I couldn’t let him find out. It was bad enough for Elissa to be in love with a penniless younger brother. But for her to have to watch him be captured, arrested, and hanged …

Well, if that happened, I would never persuade her out of her belief in gothic romances. She would be a confirmed tragic heroine for life.

I took a deep breath, yanked my arm free from Stepmama’s grip, and started through the crowd toward Sir Neville.

“Kat!” Stepmama hissed. “Get back here!”

I ignored her. The closer I came to Sir Neville, the stronger the prickles against my skin became. They felt like burning needles, pushing me back, trying to form that choking, helpless feeling in my throat again. It made me want to go back to my seat and fold my hands like a proper young lady, and not even try to avert impending disaster.

I hated that feeling.

I swallowed hard against it and charged onward. I couldn’t push straight through the people in my way, unfortunately; that would have created too much of a commotion. But I squeezed my way through the gaps in the crowd. Sir Neville hadn’t noticed my approach; his scowl was still fixed on the highwayman in the center of the room. His whole body was braced to lunge.
Oh, Lord
, indeed. I hurried up my pace.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the highwayman called. “If you will kindly form two lines …”

The crowd began to separate obediently. Sir Neville tensed. I could see it in his eyes: This was it. His opportunity to attack.

I flung myself forward to get in his way.

And that was when Angeline’s magic took effect.

I smelled the flowery scent in the air before I realized what it meant. Then the gasps I heard made me turn my head, even as I flung myself toward Sir Neville.

I tripped. I didn’t care. Even as I fell to the ground, I kept on staring.

The loaded pistol had lifted directly out of the highwayman’s right hand. It floated in the air just above his head. He lunged for it and missed. It floated an enticing inch higher up. He glanced hastily at the flabbergasted crowd and jumped for it, dropping his empty pistol to reach out with both hands. His fingers brushed the butt of the loaded pistol and fell away without taking hold.

The sound of the crowd changed. A high, nervous titter rang out behind me. The fearful whispering all around turned into a dangerous, low mutter of anticipation. I looked up at Sir Neville’s face and saw fierce satisfaction spread across it.

“You fool, Angeline!” I muttered. Across the crowd, her face was filled with virtuous disinterest. But I wasn’t fooled. That flowery smell was unmistakable.

“Ah … ladies and gentlemen,” the highwayman began.
He licked his lips and made one more lunge for the loaded pistol before giving up on it and crossing his arms defensively. “If you will recall, I am not alone here in this room, and—”

“Indeed you are not,” Sir Neville said, and smiled wolfishly. He began to stroll forward, at a rolling, predatory pace, stalking the highwayman from across the room. “Your associates don’t seem to be in any hurry to rescue you, though, do they?”

“Er—,” the highwayman began. He looked across the room at Sir Neville’s face and thrust Elissa protectively behind his back.

I let out a groan of sheer frustration. Trust Elissa to fall in love with such a fool! Yes, certainly he was being a chivalrous fool—and Sir Neville did look dangerous, it was true—but now the highwayman didn’t have a hostage to guarantee his own protection. Unless …

Aha
. Realization struck me. There was no time to think my plan through. So I just launched myself across the room.

“Elissa!” I shrieked, at the top of my lungs. “I’ll rescue you!”

I made out her horrified face behind the highwayman’s shoulder. Then I rolled straight into both of them, nearly knocking them over. I steadied myself on the shoulder of the highwayman’s black cloak.

“Go!” I urged Elissa, and shoved her aside. She stumbled back. I fell against the highwayman’s side.

“Oh!” I cried out to the watching crowd. I flung a hand up to my brow for proper dramatic emphasis. “Oh! He has a knife! Please don’t hurt me, sir! I beg you!”

The highwayman swallowed. “Miss Katherine,” he whispered in my ear. “I hardly—”

“Play along, you fool!” I hissed through my teeth. I kept my expression as tragic as any gothic heroine’s, for the sake of the horrified crowd around us. I whispered, “Do you want to get out of here, or do you want your brother to expose you right now in front of everyone?”

The highwayman gave a jerk of surprise against my back. “How did you—?”

“Quickly!” I hissed. Sir Neville wasn’t alone now. A group of other men had stepped away from the crowd to join him, including Frederick Carlyle, who looked surprisingly dangerous with a scowl on his handsome face.

The highwayman stiffened his shoulders, put one hand behind my back, and swept his cloak out commandingly. “Stand back!” he bellowed to Sir Neville and all the other men. “If you don’t want to see her hurt.”

Stepmama let out a scream and fainted. I was so pleased, I could have hugged her. A crowd of older women fluttered to her side, trying to revive her. It was almost as much diversion as we needed.

“Clear a path!” the highwayman barked. “I’ll let the girl go only after you’ve let me past and safely to my horse.”

Elissa let out a small, choked sound behind us. I peeked
past the highwayman’s shoulder and saw her face nearly purple with emotion. She sat on the floor staring at us.

Don’t worry,
I mouthed to her.

The blur of emotions on her face resolved into sheer exasperation. There was no chance at all that I would escape a lecture later, even if I did save the day.

But we weren’t free yet.

“Step aside, I said!” the highwayman called. “Or I’ll—”

“Ouch!” I shrieked, and jumped as if I’d felt the point of a knife. Gasps sounded in the crowd.

Sir Neville started forward. Frederick Carlyle flung out an arm to hold him back.

“No,” he said. “Let them past. It’s too dangerous to interfere now.” He turned to meet the highwayman’s gaze full-on. His dark blue eyes looked colder than I’d ever seen them. “But if you don’t let her go the very moment you’re free …”

“Oh, I shall,” said the highwayman, more quickly than he should have. “Don’t worry about that!”

I gritted my teeth and restrained myself from rolling my eyes. Instead I just squirmed as if I felt the knife still against me. “Please!” I said. “Do hurry, before he hurts me!”

Something glinted in the corner of my vision. I turned to look. It was Mr. Gregson’s spectacles, catching the light from the chandeliers. Mr. Gregson himself was watching me with what looked alarmingly like full understanding in his eyes … and a fair share of amusement, too. I bit my lip and looked away quickly.

Just in time. The flowery smell suddenly got stronger. I saw Angeline’s lips moving in a silent whisper. I
felt
her spell arrowing toward us across the room. I could almost see it when I squinted, glimmering in the corner of my eyes, coming to pull apart everything I’d worked for.

I couldn’t bear it. It was too much, too idiotic of her when I’d worked so hard, and with so little help from my co-conspirators. I could feel the pressure mounting in my head, until I could have exploded with sheer frustration. Then I recognized the arrogant satisfaction in Angeline’s face—
saving Kat from herself, as usual
—and I broke.

“No!”
I shouted.

Pressure rocked through the air and shattered in a silent boom. I staggered. Something clattered behind me. Angeline fell back and was caught by her neighbors, who bent over her solicitously. My head was clear and ringing. Sir Neville was suddenly staring only at me.

The flowery scent was gone from the air. Angeline’s magical attack had disappeared.