Rescued By A Devil Read online

  Damn you, woman!

  He refused to acknowledge how bloody beautiful she looked in that dress. Her eyes were searching, and he knew she was looking for him and Logan.

  He was going to shake her when he got hold of her.

  In fact, he’d have words with all three of those women when this was done. Swinging his glass back to Logan, he watched as one of his men prepared to push the boat away from the bank. So far, it seemed they’d not seen Beth.

  Pocketing the telescope, he bent at the waist and made his way down to the water to the stern of the boat. He knew the focus of everyone on board was the king’s vessel, which was drawing near. The monarch stood on deck, waving.

  Shaking his head, Nathan reached the boat. Logan stood at the bow with a long-barreled rifle pressed to his thigh.

  “Move us closer,” he heard Logan say. “I will only get one chance.”

  “That Carlow woman is here,” one of his men said.

  “Christ! One of you kill her, and this time don’t fail me!” Logan snarled.

  No time to wait. Nathan slipped into the water just as the boat moved away from the bank. He swam to it and caught the back. Soon he’d pulled himself into the stern. Walking silently down to the bow he reached Logan. Running, he dived at the bastard, catching him around the waist. They both flew overboard.

  Logan fought as Nathan took him under. Wrestling the gun from him, he let him go, and they both came to the surface. A shot whistled past Nathan’s head as he rose.

  “Stop! You’ll shoot me!” Logan spluttered out the order. “Get me out!”

  Nathan lunged at him, punching him hard in the nose before they sank again. They wrestled under the water.

  “Get in here!” Logan roared as they surfaced again.

  “Can’t swim!”

  Nathan heard the roar of voices, likely his brothers. But he had blood in his eyes. This man had hurt Beth, tormented her family, and taken the woman he loved from him for three years. Retribution was his.

  “You bastard!” He grabbed Logan, who had blood pouring from his nose now. “I’m gutting you!”

  Logan, clearly seeing the bloodlust in his eyes, tried to swim away. Nathan followed, grabbing a foot. He hauled him in.

  “Help!” Logan squealed like a piglet.

  “You will die for what you did to her. What you did to all of them!” Nathan wrapped his hands around the man’s neck and squeezed as they went under again.

  Fighting in the water was not without its difficulties.

  “Nathan!” Beth’s scream reached him as he surfaced.

  A small boat was coming toward him, full of Devilles and Beth.

  “Get back to shore!” he roared, holding Logan with one hand while he attempted to stay afloat.

  “Are you all right?” She peered over the side, causing it to rock.

  “Sit down!” Nathan bellowed at her.

  “You!” Gabe roared, “should have followed orders!”

  “And you should not have brought her!” he said, struggling to hold Logan and stay afloat.

  “We’d just left the bank and she jumped in before I could stop her!” Gabe returned. “The woman is not stable, I tell you!”

  Logan jabbed him in the stomach, and he went under again. When he surfaced still holding Logan, Zach was in the water, swimming toward him. Before he could get close, Logan started thrashing like an eel and slid from Nathan’s hands.

  “Where is he?” Zach said, arriving.

  “I don’t know.” Nathan went under to search. When he surfaced, it was in time to see Logan pull himself up on the back of Gabe’s boat.

  “Beth!” he roared, but he was too late, in seconds she was disappearing under the water with Logan.

  “No!” Nathan dived with Zach, and together they searched for her.

  “There!” Gabe pointed as she surfaced to take a breath. Diving again, Nathan kicked and reached out with a hand, catching a handful of material. Gripping it, he pulled her closer.

  Zach arrived and grabbed Logan. He forced his fist into the man’s gut, and Logan released his hold on Beth.

  Nathan quickly swam her to the surface. She gasped in a breath, as did he. Zach’s head appeared beside him.

  “I don’t see Logan.”

  “Hold her,” he rasped, thrusting Beth at his brother. He dived down again. He did so twice more but found no sign of the man.

  “He’s gone,” Nathan said, surfacing for the last time.

  Gabe hauled him on board, and he just had the strength to help him.

  “Breathe slowly, Nathan,” Gabe said.

  He ignored his brother, his eyes turned on Beth.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” His voice was remarkably calm, considering his throat hurt and he was not entirely sure his lungs would work properly again.

  “You promised not to go after him without me,” she said, her teeth chattering.

  “I did not promise.”

  “You bloody well did!” She glared at him. The bruise on her jaw seemed to have almost gone. “I-I woke to find you gone. You left no note.”

  “We had to attempt to stop the King of England from being assassinated; there was no time for a note.” He bit out the word. “And do not swear in public.” He was so tired, it was an effort to glare at her. He had not slept last night and was now feeling the effects.

  “I had a right to be here,” she whispered, looking bedraggled and pathetic.

  “And it is my right to protect you. Last night you were nearly killed, for god’s sake!”

  “Loath as I am to put a halt to this entertaining argument, you may wish to put it to one side for the moment, considering polite society is watching avidly from the bank and we have already provided quite enough amusement for one day,” Gabe said.

  Zach snorted. He’d pulled on his jacket over his wet clothes.

  Nathan snapped his teeth together, and Beth looked away from him, her shoulders shaking with cold.

  He turned to look at the boat that held Logan’s men, but it was being boarded by Michael and other members of Alexius. Of Logan there was no sign.

  “The riots?” Nathan asked.

  “The ringleaders have been captured, and the mob will disperse, although there may be damage done before that happens,” Gabe said.

  He climbed out when they reached the bank, holding out a hand to Beth; she ignored him and scrambled out unaided, then got tangled in her skirts and fell face-first on the grass.

  He grabbed her and lifted her to her feet. She struggled for release.

  “Be still,” he growled into her ear.

  Dimity and Abby rushed to surround her.

  “Beth, dear Lord, I saw that man take you under,” Dimity cried, hugging her close.

  “I have never been so scared,” Abby added.

  “Hello,” Nathan said. “Brother here, who was also in the water.”

  Abby came to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and held tight.

  “I’m glad you are all right, but you were wrong to leave without telling Beth. She has lived with this; it was her right to be here.”

  “I wanted her safe.”

  She patted his cheek but said nothing more, then went to Zach and hugged him.

  “Your Majesty,” he heard Beth say, then turned to find her sinking into a deep curtsy in her sodden dress with Dimity at her side.

  The king smiled at them, appearing not to notice she was wet and what had happened before he arrived. He then moved on to stand before Nathan, who was wet, angry, and wanted to get Beth alone. Instead, he bowed deeply and kissed the ring held out to him.

  “I serve bene tibi erit,” the monarch said. He then bowed to Nathan and his brothers before walking away.

  “What did he say?” someone asked as the murmurs started.

  Nathan only had one person in his sights, and she was looking at him with hurt angry eyes. That made two of them.

  Squelching to where she stood, he said, “Move,” to Dimity.


  “Nathan, you will behave,” his soon-to-be sister-in-law said.

  “I will deal with you two later.” He pointed rudely to Dimity and Abby. “Right now, I want to speak with Miss Carlow alone.”

  “You’re wet,” Abby snapped, “as is she. And clearly you’re in need of time to find your manners; therefore, you are taking Beth nowhere and yourself home.”

  “Do not get in my way,” he snarled.

  “That will do.” A hand landed on his shoulder, the fingers tightening. “Let’s go,” Michael added.

  Zach moved to one side, and Michael the other. Gabe took Beth, Abby, and Dimity in hand, and they were soon on their way to the carriages.

  “We have created enough of a spectacle for one day,” Michael said. “Move your feet, Nathan.”

  “I care nothing what anyone thinks.” He glared at the back of the woman he loved. Anger, and frustration swamped him. The fear of seeing her plunge into that water was something he wasn’t sure he’d forget. He wanted to talk to her, hold her, and shake her all at once. His brothers were ensuring that was not about to happen.

  “Get in,” Zach demanded as they reached a hackney. “Gabe will take the ladies in our carriage.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” Nathan snapped, looking to where Beth walked with her dress clinging to her lovely body. She had not looked back at him once.

  “You sound like a five-year-old. In fact, Ella is better behaved.”

  “Zach, I care little for the fact society is watching. I will flatten you if you continue to taunt me,” Nathan growled. “Even if I owe you a great deal for coming to my aid today.”

  His brother’s reply was to push him in the back, so he stumbled up the steps into the hackney.

  “No, Nathan,” Michael warned. “He is your brother, and while he can be bloody infuriating, it would not do to kill him. Imagine the mess we’d have getting rid of his body.”

  Zach snorted. Nathan sat and stared out the window. He could add cold to the list of things he was feeling now. He had no outlet for his emotions, except his brothers, so he sat in silence.

  “She is a brave woman,” Michael said softly. “After what she endured, to come to Vauxhall after you would suggest your beloved is a strong young lady.”

  “She nearly drowned,” he growled. “She should have stayed home, not been here or in that boat. Plus, because of her we lost Logan. He is now out there somewhere.”

  “Or dead,” Zach said. “And while I concede her behavior was reckless, maybe if we had brought her with us and kept her under constant surveillance, this would not have unfolded as it had.”

  “She had much invested in this,” Michael added. “Her family have suffered for three years; I doubt I would have sat idly at home waiting for news that my torment is over. And we could do nothing to stop her leaping into the boat as we had left the bank.”

  “Logan could still be a threat to the monarchy,” Nathan said refusing to concede that his brother was right.

  “But he knows we are aware of his identity now, and what he does and is capable of. If he lives, my guess is he will return to Russia,” Michael said.

  “I hope one day to find such a woman,” Zach said.

  Nathan heaved a sigh, his damp clothes making him shiver.

  “I am pleased she turned out to be the woman you always believed her to be, brother,” Zach said softly.

  “Are you going to talk at me until I calm down?” he said, knowing that in fact the anger was already easing.

  “Is it working?” Michael asked.

  “Some.”

  “Excellent.”

  They pulled up behind his family’s carriage. Nathan leapt out and squelched into the townhouse with his brothers on his heels, no longer fatigued.

  “I will have a bath drawn,” Fairfax said, taking in Nathan and Zach’s state.

  He thought about simply finding Beth, then realized a bath and clean clothes would be a better option. Anger still simmered in his belly. Anger and fear.

  He wasn’t sure he could cope with this love business, the feeling of having his heart stabbed repeatedly when the source of your love was endangered.

  After he had bathed and dressed, he went to find her.

  “She is in Abby’s room.” Gabe met him in the hallway. “She said she’s changing and then wants to have the carriage take her and her mother home.”

  “I will see her home.”

  “I’m sorry she was endangered today, Nathan. My thought was only to reach you, and when she refused to get out of the boat, I had no time to argue with her.”

  “I know she can be fierce when she believes it is required, Gabe. I do not blame you.” He gripped his brother’s hand.

  “I like this new Miss Carlow,” he said. “She will not make your life easy, methinks.” His brother smiled.

  Nathan left, shaking his head, and was soon knocking on Beth’s door. When she didn’t answer, he entered.

  “I did not ask you to enter.”

  “Yet here I am.”

  She sat in a chair by the fire drying her hair. She wore one of Abby’s day dresses of lemon and cream muslin, and no longer resembled a wet rodent.

  “I did what I thought was best to keep you safe, Beth.”

  “You promised to not leave the house without telling me.” Her tone was cool, and she refused to look at him. There was no resemblance to the woman he’d made love to last night.

  “I didn’t, actually; I evaded the truth.”

  “It is one and the same.” She leaned closer, and the fire shot gold sparks through her hair where it hung in a long satin fall.

  “You should not have come to Vauxhall, so we are both disappointed in each other.”

  “I am leaving,” she said, rising.

  “No.” He stepped in front of her. “You are not going anywhere.”

  “We are angry with each other. It is best I go.”

  “Do you believe we will not argue when we are married, Beth?”

  Her eyes shot to his, then away. He saw the flare of hope.

  “Do you also believe that because I am angry with you, I no longer love and wish to have you as my wife?”

  “Do you?”

  “More than I have wanted anything in my life before.” He slid an arm around her back and pulled her close. “I love you. Nothing you do or say would ever change that, Beth.”

  The starch went from her spine, and she softened against him.

  “So many things have happened. I fear everything became a tangled mess inside my head.”

  “An apt description, my love.”

  “I could not cope were we to part again, Nathan, and yet surely we must when the actions of my family are revealed. My father and I—”

  “Will you trust my brothers and me to deal with this, my sweet?”

  “But how will you deal with it? My father willingly sold English secrets to the Russians.”

  He cupped her cheeks. “Your father is a sick man and made a foolish error in judgement many years ago, and you were forced to do what you did to ensure your family’s safety. We will put this to the king.”

  “I feel ill at the thought,” she whispered.

  “We will get through this together.” Nathan kissed her softly.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  He held her hand as they walked into the building. Her gloved fingers felt right inside his. Small, yet strong.

  Tomorrow they would leave for Gabe’s estate to celebrate his marriage to Dimity, but today the king was hosting a function in his honor, to thank Nathan for his actions that day at Vauxhall. Beth also was being acknowledged for her part in the events.

  She’d been horrified when the Deville brothers had fabricated the part she played, turning what she’d done into the honorable actions of a woman desperate to save her king and family. It had helped secure both her and her father a pardon, for which Beth had been so relieved when he’d told her, she’d sobbed hysterically.

  “I’m not entirely sure if m
y last meal will stay inside my stomach, Nathan.”

  “That would certainly make an entrance.” He leaned down to kiss her cheek.

  She was beautiful in pale gold satin, her hair in a mass of golden curls on her head, small diamonds sparkling around her neck.

  Beth was no longer the sweet and malleable Miss Carlow. She now met him head-on and stood at his side. She challenged and teased him. He sometimes wondered if his heart was big enough to hold the love he felt for her now.

  “I wonder if there will be someone at the end of that aisle ready to clap me in irons and drag me away to Newgate.” Beth was still nervous her exploits as a thief would come back to haunt her even after the pardon.

  “I will be sure to bring you peppermint sticks should your incarceration happen,” Nathan said, looking down at her, his eyes going to the valley between her breasts encased in the palest gold silk.

  “Are you looking at my breasts?” she queried as they started up the steps past the liveried servants and huge, impressive columns dominating the entrance.

  “Of course. They are, after all, splendid.”

  Her giggle touched that place inside him he’d thought dead. She lit him from the inside, and he wasn’t entirely sure this desperate need he had for her would ever wane.

  “Chin up now, my sweet. One slip, and we will be drawing room discussion for months to come.”

  “Nathan?” she whispered as they entered the long room and took their first step onto the red carpet. Both sides were lined with members of London society, all eyes on them.

  “Bethany,” he replied.

  “I need you to know that I only lived a half life without you.”

  “And you needed to tell me this right now?”

  “For so long I could not say or do what I wished. Now if I feel something needs to be said, I want to say it.”

  He stopped, then turned to face her. Sliding an arm around her waist, he eased her into his body. Leaning down, he kissed her softly.

  “I lived a half life without you also,” he whispered against her soft lips.

  Her smile would light a dark room.

  Taking her hand, he slipped her fingers through his and began the walk down the carpet.