Mistaken Identity (Saved By Desire 3) (24 page)

“It doesn’t matter what these people think of you. We are not stopping in the village. Let them talk. They don’t know what we know. They have no idea that Sayers has been on their doorstep, and that any one of them could have ended up like Mr Grant, or you. It is better they live in ignorance. They will talk about the fact that Lloyd and Carruthers have been arrested. Their crimes will be documented in the broadsheets when they face trial, and will give the villagers more to discuss. I have no doubt the locals will discuss your house burning down, but will blame it on circumstances, or a strange turn of events nobody can explain. That will be the reason why you have left the area. They will discuss Smithers’ death, and Ben’s association with the strange group of men who appeared in the village for a while, and left when the interim magistrate turned up. There will be whispers; there always is in a place like this. But it doesn’t matter what they think. It is what you
know
that is important.”

“You sound as if you are talking from experience,” she replied.

Marcus smiled at her. “That’s because I am. But, look at it this way. We have rid a small, out-of-the-way village of a crime syndicate, and the ruthless exploits of a corrupt magistrate. We have rid them of a thief in their midst, and a second criminal in the making. Although they have lost a boarding house, they have also gained the ability to go about their business without interference from gangs, death, corruption, or violence. Not only that, but we have given them a heck of a lot to gossip to speculate about for the months and years to come.”

He dropped a loving kiss on her shoulder and placed many tender kisses along her neck until his lips rested teasingly against her ear.

“Ergo, it doesn’t matter how much they gossip, the truth will only be known by a select group of people who will not discuss it once they leave this village. Don’t worry about what the villagers think of you. Don’t worry about where you are going to go next,” he ordered.

“I am worried, Marcus. Where do I go? Can you suggest somewhere?”

Marcus nodded. “You are coming home to Hertfordshire with me. My family are in Barrowby, and will be delighted to meet the woman who has persuaded me to venture into the delights of matrimony.”

Jess froze. Her stomach flipped at the intent look that swept over his features. Gone was the loving softness. In its place was a determination that she had not seen before. The fierce look in his eyes that warned her that he meant what he said, and wouldn’t hear any argument.

“Matrimony?” she whispered. “But we have only known each other for a few weeks. There is so much we need to learn about each other. What if you realise you have made a mistake? What if you regret marrying me?”

“I could never regret anything like that. Not with you. Not after what has happened. When you took me into your home, you gave me a taste of a life that I have not had since the day I left my parent’s home many years ago. For the first time, I looked forward to going home. When I got there, it was nice and warm, and a stunning woman awaited me. I had delicious food, a warm bed, and a large if a little decrepit place I could call home. It was a home, Jess. As bare and as minimal as it was, as questionable as the lodgers in it were, it was still a home. It was your home. It didn’t take long before I knew that wherever you called home had to be my home too. You don’t need to buy anywhere else, Jess. I have more than enough for the both of us. The Star Elite pays good money, mainly because of the dangers we face. However, there is very little opportunity to spend much of it. It has therefore been accumulating in the bank. Money is not an issue. It is a waste to buy yourself a house, especially when I have a perfectly good four bedroomed house set in three acres of grounds, in rural Hertfordshire waiting for you.”

Jess was stunned. She had doubts, of course she did. There was still so much about his life with the Star Elite she had yet to learn, but then doubted she would get to know all of it. If she was honest, she didn’t think she wanted to know about the dark and dangerous side of what he did. The worry would be unbearable.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” he assured her. “So, will you come to Hertfordshire with me?”

She jerked suddenly and leaned back to look at him. “What about Ben?”

Marcus smiled. “It has yet to be made official, but he is the newest member of the Star Elite. The men have sort of adopted him. He has learned a lot while he has been with me. Whatever he doesn’t know, the men will teach him.”

“He has been with you all the time?” she gasped.

Marcus shrugged. “Well, I had to keep him on the straight and narrow somehow. I thought that if he witnessed first-hand how the authorities deal with criminals, and how serious the consequences are when you start to steal, he might just stop.”

She sensed there was something he wasn’t telling her. When he rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, she rolled over to lie alongside him. When he still didn’t tell her, she tugged on his chest hair and grinned when he yelped.

Rubbing at the offending spot, he threw her a warning look. “You will pay for that.”

When he tried to kiss her, she turned her head away.

“You were telling me about Ben,” she prompted.

Marcus stopped kissing his way down to her chest. “Was I?”

“Yes,” she replied pertly. “You were.”

Marcus looked up at her and grinned. “He seemed to thrive on the adventure. I think part of Ben’s problems wasn’t the house he didn’t want to occupy. It wasn’t Smothey, Lloyd’s threats, or the difficult financial situation. He was bored; unequivocally bored out of his skull. He needed something to do; something more challenging than evading Lloyd. When I searched the guests’ bedrooms, he was there with me and showed an incredible logic and foresight that is considerably older than his years. Although he needs some more training, he is the perfect candidate for the Star Elite. He is an ordinary lad who can blend in with people, and is willing to adapt to the challenges life throws at him. That is invaluable to us.”

“What happens to him, though?”

“Well, he will need to go to London at some point, and will meet with everyone’s boss, Sir Hugo. He will then get his papers, and be given a salary, and will return to the group to help with the investigations. He will have accommodation and the money to be able to secure his own house when he is ready. The rest of the men are there to help him should he need it. Meantime if he doesn’t want to purchase a home of his own, he can either have my place in London or can stay with us whenever he needs to take a break from his work.”

“I don’t think he will ever want to come back to village life. Not once he has sampled the freedom of being able to travel about and get paid doing it,” Jess replied musingly.

While a part of her was delighted that Ben had decided to swap onto the right side of the law, and was working to eradicate crime, she worried about his safety. She was a little sad that their old life was now over, but they couldn’t go back. The door to that way of life had been very firmly closed leaving them free to be able to find their own futures.

“I know my future lies with you,” she said aloud.

“Good. I hope so,” Marcus replied as he settled over her. “My mother is going to love you. She just loves a good wedding and will be overjoyed when I am a married man. She will pester you for children, though, I warn you now.”

Marcus laughed when her cheeks began to colour.

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Well, you did say that you needed something to do,” he smiled but then turned serious. “First things first, Jess. While we can leave Smothey to gossip and speculate to their heart’s content, we cannot live together under the same roof in Hertfordshire without being wed. So, I am afraid that I am going to have to insist that we are man and wife sooner rather than later. I am not going to re-join the investigation until you are my wife, and I can leave you safely at home. You can then set about making the changes to the house you need to make to feel comfortable there. You know, decorate and the like.”

Jess laughed. “You have it all planned out, don’t you?”

“Well, I am a man of action,” he replied with a smirk.

“What are you doing?” she demanded huskily when he slid further down on the bed.

“Loving you,” he murmured lovingly. “Don’t you know that sometimes actions speak louder than words?”

The End.

RELEASED JULY 2016

Georgiana Bentley is tired of being a good girl. She is fed up of doing what her parents, and her brothers, have always told her to do. Her life is stifling, and she yearns to be free of it, especially now that her heart is shattered beyond repair.

She had loved Will practically all of her life; ever since he tugged her pigtails when she had been just eight years old. As she had matured into a young woman, her love for him had grown with her. To discover that he is now to be married to someone else leaves her world broken. Determined to save herself the pain of having to attend his wedding, she decides to retire to the country to live with her aunt.

Before she goes, though, she sets about experiencing each of the activities on her list of lifetime achievements, regardless of the consequences. What she doesn’t expect are the surprises it brings her.

Will has never stopped to consider Georgiana as anything other than a rather pesky friend whom he has always bailed out of trouble. When her wayward behaviour scandalises those around her, it is Will who is sent to speak to her. Unfortunately, he is unable to stop her scandalised pursuit of pleasure. Instead, he is left to watch her race headlong into situations no lady should experience, and do everything in his power to limit the damage to her reputation.

What he sees in Georgiana, is an entirely different woman to the one he thought he had known. Georgiana is wild, carefree, funny, charming, and downright beautiful. He is soon left to battle with his own jealousy when a rather determined suitor sets his sights on her.

When the rather determined exploits of the suitor challenges Will’s place in her life, he has to face the horrible prospect of losing her. Is it too late to cancel the wedding, and persuade the woman he really wants to be his wife?

When events surrounding Georgiana turn sinister, Will faces the fight of his life, and it isn’t just to persuade Georgiana to consider him as her future husband.

Their race across the country leaves them facing entirely different futures to the ones they thought they had mapped out – but can they ever be together? Will he be forced to go through with the wedding already planned to someone else? Or will Georgiana’s suitor succeed in ensnaring her first? 

Saved By Desire Series

Book Four

COMING IN AUGUST 2016

When Talia gets robbed of her jewels in the street, she is shocked to find her rescuer is none other than Connor Humphries, the man she had thought she would never see again. Rather than walk away as she knew she should do, she turns to him for protection, especially when they get caught in a passionate embrace by one of London’s most avaricious gossips.

Connor knows his world has changed forever when he sees Talia again. He has always known that losing her was the worst mistake of his entire life. Now that he has found her again he is determined to do whatever is necessary to persuade her to give him another chance.

Unfortunately, his plans are thrown into turmoil when someone gets shot at a ball Talia attends, and she is the one caught holding the gun. Can he trust her to be honest with him? He is convinced she is keeping a secret from him but is unprepared for the truth when she eventually tells him what she has been doing since they were last together.

In a world of shadows and secrets, one thing becomes abundantly clear; the Star Elite are back in London, and even more determined to get their hands on Sayers, the gangster who has evaded them for several long years. Before they can track the man down, though, they first have to discover who is behind the numerous attempts on Connor’s life.

Connor knows Talia is the woman for him but will his desire for the woman of his dreams bring about his ultimate downfall? Or will she really turn out to be his saviour? 

OTHER BOOKS BY REBECCA KING

Further details on all of Rebecca’s books can be found on her website:

Rebeccaking-author.co.uk

SAVED BY DESIRE SERIES

One Penny Surprise – Released March 2016

To Catch a Thief – Released April 2016

Mistaken Identity – OUT NOW

A Scandal Most Daring – Released Early August 2016

OTHER BOOKS

Shattered Dreams

Lies and Misdemeanours

Eloisa’s Adventure

Wishing for Rainbows

Redemption

Devoted To You

Hopeless Heart – RELEASED AUGUST 2016

TIPTON HOLLOW SERIES

Harriett (Tipton Hollow Book 1)

Beatrice (Tipton Hollow Book 2)

Tuppence (Tipton Hollow Book 3) (Coming soon)

Constance (Tipton Hollow Book 4) (Coming soon)

STAR ELITE SERIES

Capturing Sir Dunniciffe (Book 1)

Smuggler’s Glory (Book 2)

His Lady Spy (Book 3)

Lord Melvedere’s Ghost (Book 4)

The Lady Is Innocent (Book 5)

My Lord Deceived (Book 6)

Captive Surrender (Book 7)

Ghost of Christmas Past (Book 8)

THE CAVENDISH MYSTERIES

If You Were Mine (Book 1)

Cinders and Ashes (Book 2)

Chasing Eliza (Book 3)

The Gallows Bride (Book 4)

Lord Cavendish Returns (Book 5)

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Archie and the Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery