Chapter 1
contubernal, noun. one who occupies the same tent; a
tent-fellow, comrade. The thought of Percy Prewitt as my
contubernal causes me to break out in hives.
--From the personal dictionary of
Caroline Trent
Hampshire, England
July 3, 1814
Caroline Trent hadn't meant to shoot Percival Prewitt, but
she had, and now he was dead.
Or at least she thought he was dead. There was certainly
enough blood. It was dripping from the walls, it was
splattered on the floor, and the bedclothes were quite
stained beyond redemption. Caroline didn't know very much
about medicine, but she was fairly certain a body couldn't
lose that much blood and still live.
She was in big trouble now.
"Damn," she muttered. Although she was a gentlewoman, she
hadn't always been raised in particularly gentle
circumstances, and her language occasionally left a bit to
be desired.
"You stupid man," she said to the body on the floor. "Why
did you have to lunge at me like that? Why couldn't you
have left well enough alone? I told your father I wasn't
going to marry you. I told him I wouldn't marry you if you
were the last idiot in Britain."
She nearly stamped her foot in frustration. Why was it her
words never came out quite the way she intended them
to? "What I meant to say was that you are an idiot," she
said to Percy, who, not surprisingly, didn't respond, "and
that I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man in
Britain, and-- Oh, blast. What am I doing talking to you,
anyway? You're quite dead."
Caroline groaned. What the devil was she supposed to do
now? Percy's father was due to return in just two short
hours, and it didn't require an Oxford degree to deduce
that Oliver Prewitt would not be pleased to find his son
dead on the floor.
"Bother your father," she ground out. "This is all his
fault, anyway. If he hadn't been so obsessed with catching
you an heiress..."
Oliver Prewitt was Caroline's guardian, or at least he
would be for the next six weeks, until she reached her
twenty-first birthday. She had been counting down the days
until August fourteenth, eighteen hundred and fourteen ever
since August fourteenth, eighteen hundred and thirteen,
when she had turned twenty. Just forty-two days to go.
Forty-two days and she would finally have control of her
life and her fortune. She didn't even want to think about
how much of her inheritance the Prewitts had already run
through.
She tossed her gun onto the bed, planted her hands on her
hips, and stared down at Percy.
And then... his eyes opened.
"Aaaaaaack!" Caroline let out a loud scream, jumped a foot,
and grabbed her gun.
"You b--" Percy started.
"Don't say it," she warned. "I still have a gun."
"You wouldn't use it," he gasped, coughing and clutching at
his bloody shoulder.
"I beg your pardon, but the evidence seems to indicate
otherwise."
Percy's thin lips clamped into a straight line. He swore
viciously, and then lifted his furious gaze to Caroline. "I
told my father I didn't want to marry you," he
hissed. "God! Can you imagine? Having to live with you for
the rest of my life? I should go bloody insane. If you
didn't kill me first, that is."
"If you didn't want to marry me you shouldn't have tried to
force yourself upon me."
He shrugged, then howled when the movement sparked pain in
his shoulder. He looked quite furious as he said, "You've
quite a bit of money, but do you know, I don't think you're
worth it."
"Kindly tell that to your father," Caroline snapped.
"He said he'd disinherit me if I didn't marry you."
"And you couldn't stand up to him for once in your pathetic
life?"
Percy growled at being called pathetic, but in his weakened
condition he couldn't do much about the insult. "I could go
to America," he muttered. "Surely savages have to be a
better option than you."
Caroline ignored him. She and Percy had been at odds since
she had come to live with the Prewitts a year and a half
earlier. Percy was quite under his father's thumb, and the
only time he showed any spirit was when Oliver quit the
house. Unfortunately, his spirit was usually mean and small
and, in Caroline's opinion, rather dull.
"I suppose I'm going to have to save you now," she
grumbled. "You're certainly not worth the gallows."
"You're too kind."
Caroline shook a pillow out of its case, wadded up the
cloth -- the highest quality linen, she noted, probably
purchased with her money -- and pressed it against Percy's
wound. "We have to stop the bleeding," she said.
"It appears to have slowed down," Percy admitted.
"Did the bullet go straight through?"
"I don't know. Hurts like the devil, but I don't know if
it's supposed to hurt more if it goes through or gets stuck
in the muscle."
"I imagine they're both quite painful," Caroline said,
lifting the wadded pillowcase and examining the wound. She
turned him gently and looked at his back. "I think it went
through. You've a hole in the back of your shoulder as
well."
"Trust you to injure me twice."
"You lured me into your room under the pretense of needing
a cup of tea for a head cold," she snapped, "and then you
tried to rape me! What did you expect?"
"Why the hell did you bring a gun?"
"I always carry a gun," she replied. "I have since... well,
never you mind."
"I wouldn't have gone through with it," he muttered.
"How was I to know that?"
"Well, you know I've never liked you."
Caroline pressed her makeshift bandage up against Percy's
bloody shoulder with perhaps a touch more force than was
necessary. "What I know," she spat out, "is that you and
your father have always quite liked my inheritance."
"I think I dislike you more than I like your inheritance,"
Percy grumbled. "You're too bossy by half, you're not even
pretty, and you've the serpent's own tongue."
Caroline pressed her mouth into a grim line. If she had a
sharp way of speaking, it wasn't her fault. She'd learned
quickly that her wits were her only defense against the
parade of horrible guardians she'd been forced to endure
since her father had died when she was ten. First there was
George Liggett, her father's first cousin, who hadn't been
such a bad sort, but he certainly didn't know what to do
with a small girl. So he'd smiled at her once -- just once,
mind you -- told her he was happy to meet her, and then
tossed her into a country home with a nurse and governess.
And then he proceeded to ignore her.
But George had died, and her guardianship had passed on to
his first cousin, who was no relation of hers or her
father's. Niles Wickham was a mean old miser who'd seen a
ward as a good substitute for a serving girl, and he'd
immediately given her a listof chores longer than her arm.
Caroline had cooked, cleaned, ironed, polished, scrubbed,
and swept. The only thing she hadn't done was sleep.
Niles, however, had choked on a chicken bone, turned quite
purple, and died. The courts were at a bit of a loss as to
what to do with Caroline, who at fifteen seemed too well-
bred and wealthy to toss into an orphanage, so they passed
her guardianship on to Archibald Prewitt, Niles's second
cousin. Archibald had been a lewd man who'd found Caroline
entirely too attractive for her comfort, and it was then
that she began her habit of keeping a weapon on her person
at all times. Archibald had had a weak heart, however, and
so Caroline had only had to live with him for six months
before she attended his funeral and was packed off to live
with his younger brother Albert.
Albert drank too much and used his fists, which resulted in
Caroline's learning how to run fast and hide well.
Archibald may have tried to grope her on every occasion,
but Albert was a mean drunk, and when he struck her, it
hurt. She also became quite adept at smelling spirits from
across a room. Albert never raised a hand against her when
he was sober.
But, unfortunately, Albert was rarely sober, and in one of
his drunken rages he kicked his horse so hard that his
horse kicked him back. Right in the head. By then Caroline
was quite used to moving about, so as soon as the surgeon
pulled the sheet over Albert's face, she packed her bag and
waited for the courts to decide where to send her next.
She soon found herself residing with Albert's younger
brother Oliver and his son, the currently bleeding Percy.
At first Oliver had seemed the best of the bunch, but
Caroline quickly realized that Oliver cared for nothing so
much as money. Once he learned that his ward came with a
rather large portion, he decided that Caroline -- and her
money -- would not escape his grasp. Percy was only a few
years older than Caroline, so Oliver announced that they
would marry. Neither of the prospective couple was pleased
by this plan, and they said so, but Oliver didn't care. He
needled Percy until Percy agreed, and then he set about
convincing Caroline that she ought to become a Prewitt.
"Convincing" entailed screaming at her, slapping her about,
starving her, locking her in her room, and finally,
ordering Percy to get her with child so that she'd have to
marry him.
"I'd rather bring it up a bastard than a Prewitt," Caroline
muttered.
"What was that?" Percy asked. "Nothing."
"You're going to have to leave, you know," he said,
abruptly changing the subject.
"Believe me, that fact is quite clear."
"Father told me that if I don't get you with child, he'll
take care of it himself."
Caroline very nearly threw up. "I beg your pardon?" she
said, her voice uncharacteristically shaky. Even Percy was
preferable to Oliver.
"I don't know where you can go, but you need to disappear
until your twenty-first birthday, which is... when?...
soon, I think"
"Six weeks," Caroline whispered. "Six weeks exactly."
"Can you do it?"
"Hide?"
Percy nodded.
"I'll have to, won't I? I'll need funds, though. I have a
bit of pin money, but I don't have access to my inheritance
until my birthday."
Percy winced as Caroline peeled the cloth away from his
shoulder. "I can give you a little," he said.
"I'll pay you back. With interest."
"Good. You'll have to leave tonight."
Caroline looked around the room. "But the mess... We have
to clean up the blood."
"No, leave it. Better I let you get away because you shot
me than because I simply botched the plan."
"One of these days you're going to have to stand up to your
father."
"It'll be easier with you gone. There is a perfectly nice
girl two towns over I've a mind to court. She's quiet and
biddable, and not nearly as skinny as you."
Caroline immediately pitied the poor girl. "I hope
everything works out for you," she lied.
"No, you don't. But I don't care. Really doesn't matter
what you think, as long as you're gone."
"Do you know, Percy, but that is precisely how I feel about
you?"
Amazingly, Percy smiled, and for the first time in the
eighteen months since Caroline had come to live with the
youngest branch of the Prewitts, she felt a sense of
kinship with this boy who was so nearly her age.
"Where will you go?" he asked.
"Better you don't know. That way your father can't badger
it out of you."
"Good point."
"Besides, I haven't a clue. I haven't any relations, you
know. That is how I ended up here with you. But after ten
years of defending myself against my ever-so-caring
guardians, I should think I should be able to manage in the
outside world for six weeks."
"If any female can do it, it would be you."
Caroline raised her brows. "Why Percy, was that a
compliment? I'm stunned"
"It wasn't even close to being a compliment. What kind of
man would want a woman who could get along quite well
without him?"
"The kind who could get along quite well without his
father" Caroline retorted.
Percy scowled as he flicked his head toward his
bureau. "Open up the top drawer... no, the one on the
right..."
"Percy, these are your undergarments!" Caroline exclaimed,
slamming the drawer shut in disgust. "Do you want me to
lend you money or not? That's where I hide it."
"Well, it stands to reason that no one would want to look
in there," she murmured. "Perhaps if you bathed more
often..."
"God!" he burst out. "I cannot wait until you leave. You,
Caroline Trent, are the devil's own daughter. You are
plague. You are pestilence. You are--"
"Oh, shut up!" She yanked the drawer back open, disgusted
with how much his words stung. She didn't like Percy any
better than he liked her, but who would enjoy being
compared to locusts, gnats, and frogs; the Black Death; and
rivers turning to blood? "Where is the money?" she
demanded.
"In my stocking... no, the black one... no, not that black
one... yes, over there, next to the... yes, that's it."
Caroline found the stocking in question and shook out some
bills and coins. "Good God, Percy, you must have a hundred
pounds here. Where did you get this much?"
"I've been saving for quite some time. And I nick a coin or
two each month from Father's desk. As long as I don't take
too much, he never notices."
Caroline found that hard to believe; Oliver Prewitt was so
obsessed with money it was a wonder his skin hadn't turned
the color of pound notes.
"You can take half of it," Percy said.
"Only half? Don't be stupid, Percy. I need to hide for six
weeks. I may have unexpected expenses."
"I may have unexpected expenses."
"You have a roof over your head!" she burst out.
"I might not once Father discovers I let you get away.."
Caroline had to concede his point. Oliver Prewitt was not
going to be pleased with his only son. She dumped half the
money back into the stocking. "Very well," she said,
stuffing her share into her pocket. "You have the bleeding
under control?"
"You won't be charged with murder, if that's what you're
worried about."
"It may be difficult for you to believe, Percy, but I don't
want you to die. I don't want to marry you, and I certainly
won't be sorry if I never clap eyes on you again, but I
don't want you to die."
Percy looked at her oddly, and for a moment Caroline
thought he was actually going to say something nice (or at
least something as nice as she'd said) in return. But he
just snorted, "You're right. I do find it hard to believe."
At that moment, Caroline decided to dispense with any last
shred of sentimentality she might be feeling and stomped to
the door. Hand on the knob, she said, "I'll see you in six
weeks -- when I come to collect my inheritance."
"And pay me back," he reminded her.
"And pay you back. With interest," she added before he
could.
"Good."
"On the other hand," she said, mostly to herself, "there
might be a way to conduct my affairs without meeting with
the Prewitts again. I could do everything through a
solicitor, and--"
"Even better," Percy interrupted.
Caroline let out a very loud, very irritated exhale and
quit the room. Percy was never going to change. He was
rude, he was selfish, and even if he was marginally nicer
than his father -- well, that still made him a boorish
lout.
She scurried along the dark corridor and up a flight of
stairs to her room. Funny how her guardians always gave her
rooms in the attics. Oliver had been worse than most,
relegating her to a dusty corner with low ceilings and deep
eaves. But if he had meant to break her spirit he had
failed. Caroline loved her cozy room. It was closer to the
sky. She could hear the rain against the ceiling, and she
could watch the tree branches bud in spring. Birds nested
outside her window, and squirrels occasionally ran along
her ledge.
As she threw her most prized belongings into a bag, she
stopped to peer out the window. It had been a cloudless day
and now the sky was remarkably clear. It somehow seemed
fitting that this should be a starry night. Caroline had
few memories of her mother, but she could recall sitting on
her lap outside on summer nights, staring up at the
stars. "Look at that one," Cassandra Trent would
whisper. "I think it's the brightest one in the sky. And
look over there. Can you see the bear?" Their outings had
always ended with Cassandra saying, "Each star is special.
Did you know that? I know that sometimes they all look the
same, but each one is special and different, just like you.
You are the most special little girl in the whole world.
Don't ever forget that."
Caroline had been too young to realize that Cassandra was
dying, but now she cherished her mother's final gift, for
no matter how bleak or desolate she felt -- and the last
ten years of her life had given her many reasons to feel
bleak and desolate -- Caroline had only to look up at the
sky to give her a measure of the peace. If a star twinkled,
she felt safe and warm. Maybe not as safe and warm as that
long-ago toddler on her mother's lap, but at least the
stars gave her hope. They endured, and so could she.
She gave her room a final inspection to make certain she
hadn't left anything behind, tossed a few tallow candles
into her bag in case she needed them, and dashed out. The
house was quiet; all the servants had been given the night
off, presumably so there would be no witnesses when Percy
attacked her. Trust Oliver to think ahead. Caroline was
only surprised that he hadn't tried this tactic sooner. He
must have originally thought that he could get her to marry
Percy without resorting to rape. Now that her twenty-first
birthday was approaching, he was growing desperate.
And so was Caroline. If she had to marry Percy, she'd die.
She didn't care how melodramatic she sounded. The only
thing worse than the thought of seeing him every day for
the rest of her life was having to listen to him every day
for the rest of her life. It was a terrifying prospect,
that.
She was making her way through the hall toward the front
door when she noticed Oliver's new candelabra sitting
majestically on the side table. He'd been crowing about the
piece all week. Sterling silver, he'd said. The finest
craftsmanship. Caroline growled. Oliver hadn't been able to
afford sterling silver candelabras before he'd been
appointed her guardian.
It was ironic, really. She'd have been happy to share her
fortune -- give it away, even -- if she'd found a home with
a family who loved her and cared for her. Someone who saw
in her something more than a workhorse with a bank account.
Impulsively, Caroline yanked the beeswax candles out of the
candelabra and replaced them with the tallow ones in her
bag. If she needed to light a candle on her travels, she
wanted the sweet-smelling beeswax Oliver reserved for
himself.
She ran outside, mumbling a short thanks for the warm
weather. "It's a bloody good thing Percy didn't decide to
attack me in the winter," she muttered, striding down the
drive. She would have preferred to ride -- anything that
would get her out of Hampshire faster -- but Oliver only
kept two horses, and they were currently attached to his
carriage, which he'd taken with him to his weekly game of
cards at the squire's house.
Caroline tried to look at the bright side and reminded
herself that she could hide more easily on foot. She'd be
slower, though, and if she ran into footpads...
She shuddered. A woman alone was very conspicuous. And her
light brown hair seemed to catch all of the moonlight, even
with most of it stuffed into a bonnet. She'd have been
smart to dress up like a boy, but she hadn't had enough
time. Perhaps she should follow the coast to the nearest
busy harbor. It wasn't that far. She'd be able to travel
faster by sea, take herself far enough away from so that
Oliver couldn't find her within six weeks.
Yes, it would have to be the coast. But she couldn't travel
via the main roads. Someone was bound to see her. She
turned south and began to cut through a field. It was only
fifteen miles to Portsmouth. If she walked quickly and
through the night, she could be there by morning. Then she
could book passage on a ship -- something that would take
her to another part of England. Caroline didn't want to
leave the country, not when she needed to claim her
inheritance in six short weeks.
The grass was soft and dry, and the trees shielded her from
the view of the main road. There wasn't much traffic this
time of night, but one couldn't be too careful. She moved
swiftly, the only sound her footfall as her boots met the
earth. Until...
What was that?
Caroline whirled around but saw nothing. Her heart raced.
She could have sworn she'd heard something. "It was just a
hedgehog," she whispered to herself. "Or perhaps a hare."
But she didn't see any animals, and she didn't feel
reassured.
"Just keep moving," she told herself. "You must get to
Portsmouth by morning." She resumed her trek, walking so
fast now that her breath began to come faster and faster.
And then...
She whirled around again, her hand instinctively reaching
for her gun. This time she'd definitely heard something. "I
know you're out there," she said with a defiance she didn't
quite feel. "Show your face or remain a coward."
There was a rustling noise, and then a man emerged from the
trees. He was dressed completely in black, from his shirt
to his boots -- even his hair was black. He was tall, and
his shoulders were broad, and he was quite the most
dangerous-looking man Caroline had ever seen.
And he had a gun pointed straight at her heart.