My Lord Deceived by Rebecca King Page A

“We
can’t take it back Kat, we have far too much as it is. What do we
do now? We have nowhere to put it all.”
    “I have found
somewhere new for the time being, so don’t worry too much,” Kat
hastened to assure her. She hated to see her mother so distressed,
and wondered whether this was all getting a bit too much for all of
them. Kat was fed up with having to spend her days running all over
the place and, while they had managed to set up a nice network of
purchasers, none of them ever lost sight of just how precarious
their position was.
    Each time Kat
looked out of her window at Hester’s house, the realisation of just
what they were risking by being involved with the smuggling, was
strong. Luckily, Kat and Agnes had kept a tight hold on the purse
strings and had managed to secrete a growing stash of funds that
would tide them over. Whether it would be enough to keep them going
while they waited for the war to end though, she wasn’t sure. There
was no end of the war in sight and, while the taxes on even the
most basic goods remained exorbitant, they needed the extra
money.
    “Go and get
some rest, I will cover here for a while,” Kat murmured to her
mother. “Take Billy with you.”
    “Oh, Kat, if
you are sure?” Agnes sighed.
    “Go.” Kat’s
order was softened with a smile and she watched her mother bustle
off with Billy in tow. Her eyes landed on another group of excise
men who worked their way through the crowds. It wasn’t unusual for
excise officers to check up on what stall holders were selling, but
the sight of the men in the market, while Harrison scoured the
village, gave her the shivers.
    With a sigh,
Kat turned and smiled at a lady holding out cabbages and completed
the transaction while her attention was firmly locked on one of
their regular customers who stood behind her. A telling look passed
between the women and, when Kat turned to place the dozen apples in
the woman’s basket moments later, nobody noticed the small package
of tea that was secreted at the bottom. Anyone paying attention
would have noticed that the apples cost three times more than they
ordinarily should do, but nobody was that close. A quick hug gave
Kat the opportunity to inform the woman of their problem. She
almost wept with relief when the purchaser, Delores, promised to
take as much of the extra goods as Kat could provide. With a
grateful smile of thanks, Kat accepted the negotiated payment and
watched the woman weave through the crowds.
    A cough at her
elbow drew her attention to the man standing beside her and she
took the carrots off him. For now, one problem was sorted, however
they still had one massive, and very smelly, problem at home to
resolve before they could consider themselves ahead of the
game.
    Jonathan ambled
through the crowd with a scowl. He had absolutely no idea what had
drawn him to come to the market in Tattersnell. He had just
finished meeting his contact with Harper, but had come away empty
handed and more frustrated than ever. There had been no sighting of
Dubois, only rumours, and Jonathan was starting to wonder if they
were on a wild goose chase.
    He had no idea
what had drawn him away from the idea of returning to the peaceful
tranquillity of Dentham Hall. It wasn’t even as though he needed
anything from the market stall holders. He rather suspected that it
wasn’t the goods he had come to inspect, more likely one of the
market traders.
    At the far end
of the square, Billy handed a lady a bushel of vegetables and a
small packet. As the elderly lady hurried off into the crowd, her
place in the queue was immediately taken by another customer who
held out two cabbages. Jonathan dodged around a group of children
and looked up in time to watch Billy hand another lady several
larger packets along with a small mound of vegetables. There was
nothing unusual in the transaction at all, but something within
Jonathan was ringing alarm bells, only he couldn’t understand why.
They were stall