John began to pull away from her, but Cate gripped his arm.
“You knew?” he said. Guilt rushed through her, but Cate did not release his arm. After all, she had known when she’d heard it in the ballroom and how furious, given his role in the navy, he would be that smuggling was happening so close to him.
“I overheard some of the women talking tonight about the free-traders.”
“Smugglers.”
“Yes,” she said. “Whatever you might call them.”
“This is my job—if my employer—” John lowered his head, so their faces were only inches apart. “Did you lie to me?”
“No,” she hissed, aware that she could not raise her voice. “I would never lie to you. I only found out this very night—that is why I was so nervous when we were dancing. I had just overheard the women discussing it. The Pinhayers, they called them.”
John scoffed, shifting his stance and attempting to ease back so he could see how many men had passed over them. “What else did they say?”
Cate frowned. The conversation had been jumbled, caught when she had been gathering her gloves and a glass of punch. Mrs. Raleigh had been far more focused on leaving Lyme Regis come January and seemed to give very little respect to what she was interrupting. It was Miss Guthrie and Mrs. Olwen who’d been thick as thieves discussing the ‘free-traders.’
“There was a female smuggler mentioned,” John cut in, “I wonder who that is. That is unusual. Perhaps it’s a code.”
“It sounded as if she was the ringleader,” Cate said, pulling his attention back to her.
“Why?” His stare was all-consuming. Cate wished she had not been distracted earlier.
“Miss Guthrie…that is—the ladies I overheard stated that the leader was a woman. They didn’t know who it was, though.”
John was still frowning as he dwelled on her words. Cate assumed he was digesting the information, but as he spoke, she realized her error. He was thinking of something else entirely. “I don’t have any weapons on me.”
“No.” She let out an uneasy laugh and lifted her arms to wrap them around her body. It was not just the cold she was now aware of, but the increasing dread of what her husband might donext. “I don’t think they are normally worn to festivities. Unless I missed an important new ruling from Society.”
Cate had tried to joke, and in response, John gave her a grim smile, as if he were not entirely listening.
“You mean to go and confront them?”
“I can hardly do anything else.”
“But you have no weapons—”
John glanced around himself as Cate spoke. Then he crouched and lifted a large rock, tossing it as he got to his feet once more. “This will do. At least I can take out someone with a good blow to the head.”
“You cannot confront an entire—”
“What else would you have me do? How else could I look at my captain—how would I be able to address Montacute unless I did my duty and stopped them?”
“You would not be able to do it. They’ll kill you.” Panic rattled Cate’s bones now. He was so different from the mild-mannered man she’d seen before. During their honeymoon, she’d unraveled his heart. She discovered his consideration and humor, not to mention the bright gleam in his eyes whenever she joked. She adored his affection for his family. He had been so kind to her when she’d had her monthly courses, and she couldn’t forget the effort he’d made to find her favorite honeyed cakes. She had not wed such a man only to lose him. She held him tightly. She might never know if they could build a life together. Horror of horrors, she could be returned to her father. Not when she had been falling in love with the man who had saved her. “They will kill you.”
“It is known about town that I am a lieutenant in the navy,” John insisted. He rested his free hand over her fingers. “It is my duty to act. Someone amongst that number might know the consequences of killing a man of my position.”
“They will not care.”
“I—” For the first time, Cate was relieved to hear a note of doubt enter his voice. He recognized the danger that not only he but also she might be in. “You have spent some time with Misses Fossey. You have met their mamma. They are good people. Go to them directly. Tell them I have sent you there…”
“No!” Cate cried. “I will not, if you go down—if you go after those men, I will come with you. You will not fight them alone.”
“I forbid it.” For the first time, John looked so angry that she could almost see the red in his cheeks. Despite this, she did not fear him. She was more afraid of what he might risk in the name of honor and his position.
“You cannot stop me,” she declared, hoping that she would not need to prove her point by following him.
“Can you fight? Or use a weapon?”
