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Right now, he needed to get out of the house, if only to clear his head for a while. Focusing on following Ben gave him the perfect excuse. He had no doubt the lad was off to Retterton again. Maybe, this time, he would be succesful in following him anywhere other than the tavern. It was odd. Ben went to Retterton, straight to the Dog and Ferret tavern. Once inside, though, he vanished completely. A search of the entire town failed to give any clues as to where the lad had gone. Neither did he ever appear in the tavern.
“It is odd, but I will find you,” Marcus promised as he stomped into the trees.
He could search the house later, once he had cleared his head of the woman and was able to focus on his job properly.
Jess watched him go and heaved a sigh of relief. He was altogether too watchful and had a tendency to linger. It was as though he was waiting for something, or looking for something, and it was unnerving. Without challenging him about it, there was nothing she could do. The man was far too handsome for his own good. It was distracting to be the focus of his rather avid attention. She had found him watching her for far longer than was polite, but had to wonder what he w
as studying. She was neat, tidy, presentable, if a little plain. There was nothing about her appearance that was objectionable. Nor could it attract him in any way. So why did he stare so much?
“How can I object to the man simply wanting to talk to me?” She murmured aloud as she dropped the plates into the bucket for a wash.
She couldn’t. It would be foolish if she did.
It wasn’t that she was averse to having to talk with any of the guests. It was just that she hadn’t stopped to engage anyone in conversation for a very long time, especially someone like Marcus. She had no idea what to say. It wasn’t as if they had anything in common because she knew nothing about him.
“I could ask him why he is here,” she murmured as she watched him disappear after Ben. “Just what are you up to?”
CHAPTER SIX
It galled Marcus to admit it, but he had just lost his target - again. He glared around the silent woods and swore.
You did give him a good head start because you were panting after his sister, you fool, he thought in self-disgust.
Without knowing who Ben’s contacts in the area were, Marcus had no idea which way he should go to try to intercept him. If he followed him all the way to Retterton, the lad would just vanish again, just like he had on every other occasion Marcus had tracked him to the town.
Determined to accomplish one positive thing today, he turned around and made his way back to the boarding house.
“You need to get your mind off the woman, and the family problems, and back onto what you are here for,” he muttered in disgust.
His curse was loud when he remembered that he had yet to write to Barnaby and Sir Hugo. With that in mind, he lengthened his stride, determined to get one task done to help the investigation along a little. Once in the house, though, it quickly became evident that things had changed while he had been away.
“I said, get off me!” Jessica demanded in a voice full of desperation. “How dare you touch me?”
She twisted her head around to get the man’s vile hands off her face. The stench of his foul breath made her stomach churn alarmingly. She tried to step away from him, but the solid bulk of the dresser pressing against her bottom preventing her from moving an inch.
“You should be used to having a man’s hands on you. Someone as pretty as you should be fully aware of what a man wants,” Lloyd drawled, his eyes dipping into the dark hollow of her heaving bosom.
“Get out of this house,” she bit out.
“I am sure you will be more – accommodating,” he drawled, “once your brother has departed.
“Ben is going nowhere. If you hurt him, I swear I shall have you in front of the true law in this county,” she spat. Her eyes narrowed with the ferocity of her fury.
“I am the law in this county,” Lloyd challenged arrogantly.
Carruthers sniggered as he watched.
“Shut up, Carruthers,” Lloyd drawled. The look he threw his colleague made the man take a wary step backward. “Go and stand outside. You don’t need to see this. I won’t be long.”
“You are nothing but a scoundrel. You are more corrupt than anyone in this village,” Jess countered. “Get your hands off me.”
When he merely smiled at her and leaned closer, she kicked his shin at the same time that she bit down on his wrist. She looked up in time to watch in horror as his eyes filled with rage. His hand lifted as though he intended to hit her. She braced herself.
“You heard her,” Marcus warned coldly from the doorway. “Get your damned hands off her now, or I will throw you bodily out of the window. How dare you?”
He held a hand out to Jess, who pushed roughly away from Lloyd and stumbled toward her saviour gratefully. Once she reached him, he slid an arm around her waist and held her against his side. He studied the red marks around her wrists with a scowl and turned accusing eyes on the magistrate.
“Don’t ever forget that someone employed you, Lloyd. You are accountable to them for everything you do – including assault, and attempted rape. They can, and will, see that you are held to account by the law your position in this village requires you to uphold. After what I have seen today, you are no more in a position to uphold any degree of law around these parts as he is,” Marcus said with a derisory nod toward Carruthers. “If you ever come into this house again and threaten this lady without a good reason for doing so, I shall report you to your employers. I will ensure that the force of the law is enforced upon you. From what I have witnessed here, today, your personal interest in this woman is neither welcome nor appropriate. Now get out of this house, and don’t come back.”
