Page 27 of Keeping Kate
“Pretty, but no bargain, Miss Katherine. May I call you Katie Hell?”
She paused. “You may call me Miss Hell,” she said haughtily.
He laughed. Kate had not expected that or her reaction to its quiet warmth. She melted inside. She wanted to hear him laugh again. The world had seemed right in those few seconds, and now they had returned to prisoner and custodian.
“Miss Hell. Of Clan MacHellion?”
Now she laughed, could not help herself, shook her head. But she would not make this easy for him. Let him guess.
“Are there many like you, Amazonian Jacobite ladies snatching documents, hefting pistols and poison, and using female wiles on unsuspecting officers?”
She lifted her chin at that. There was little point now in continuing to deny that she was Katie Hell. He had worked that out. By now, he might have sorted out most of it—the laundress, the widow, the old wise woman, the young woman in search of her brother, and the court lady in London—all the roles she had played over the past year. Part of her secret had been revealed by circumstance and in the reports. And Captain Alexander Fraser knew more about her than any other man.
Not only had his kisses captured a little of her heart—he had also seen her in St. James’s Palace. His testimony, if he gave it, would be enough to hang her as a spy. He could place her not just in the military encampment, but near the king—and that was treason. But if she told him her name, he might have enough to hang her kinsmen too.
Lawyers, she thought, scowling.
“Kate,” he prodded.
She turned to watch hills and trees flash by the window. The rain clouds were clearing, and through the indigo darkness she could see the glitter of water beyond lacy trees. As the chaise rushed over the road, Kate shifted in her seat, chains jangling.
“Those irons look beastly uncomfortable,” Fraser said, waggling the key.
She shrugged. The chains were painfully heavy.
“Why did you come to my tent that night?” he asked. “What did you expect to find among my papers?”
Any information she shared could condemn her and her kin. Fraser had shown her some small kindnesses, but she could not trust him.
“What did you think to gain by seducing me? Not that I minded it,” he added.
“What?” She blinked. “Seduce you? I never did.”
“Have you forgotten?” He leaned toward her, his shoulder brushing hers, sending a shiver through her. “We made love that night, or nearly so, if my memory serves. I do recall,” he said, leaning closer, murmuring, “that we shared more than innocent kisses.”
“I recall nothing of the sort.” She lifted her chin.
“Aye? I will not be ungentlemanly, Miss Katie-Katherine-what-you-will, but truth is best here. We both know what happened. You perhaps more than I, thanks to whatever you put in the tea.”
“If you want truth, then you should recall that you seduced me, and not the other way round. I was about to leave the tent as fast as I could, when you—” She stopped, turned her head away, heart pounding.
He had turned the tables on her that night. Katie Hell had fallen, fast and foolishly, for his kisses and caresses. That dreadful mistake had led to her arrest.
“Seduced you? My dear, I was barely conscious after you drugged my tea. But I do remember what we did, or most of it. No, do not look away again. You are no prim lass, if rumor serves. Nor am I prone to bedding laundresses—or ladies of the court.”
“Rumor does not serve. And you are an insufferable cad.”
“That was you, wasn’t it, in London, last March?”
Her heart raced. “I do not know what you mean.”
“Perhaps you will remember soon.” He extended his open hand, the key upon his palm. “Sooner or later, Kate,” he murmured, “you must talk if you want even a chance at freedom. I do not mean freedom from the chains. I mean entirely free.”
She shook her head. “I cannot. I have nothing to say.”
“I believe you know something. Tell me,” he went on. “I promise not to use it against you.”
“I cannot trust you.” Crazily, she wanted to do just that. She wanted to forget all this and lean toward him, feel his arms around her again. But that desire made no sense. The world had gone topsy-turvy. The man had arrested her and had custody of her now. She did not know what he intended. And yet, he made her feel good. Safe.
