The Queer Principles of Kit Webb - Cat Sebastian Page 0,90

Empty your pockets, sir,” he said to his father.

For a moment he thought his father wouldn’t comply, but then, with a sigh, his father pulled off one of his rings and handed it to Marian. Then he reached inside his coat pocket.

He could see the outline of the book through his father’s coat. And then his father shifted, and he could see a corner of the book visible above the edge of the pocket. He could reach out and take it. And so he did. As his hand darted out, he met his father’s eyes.

The last thing he remembered was the sound of the pistol being fired.

Chapter 42

Later, Kit went over the events of that night again and again, trying to figure out when exactly he ought to have known that something was wrong.

Rob’s absence ought to have tipped him off, of course, but he had been able to explain that away.

The way Percy’s hands shook might have been a clue.

But then everything had gone as planned. Percy spoke his lines, the carriage stopped. The outriders drew their weapons, but none aimed with anything like intent. It was all perfectly typical.

But there had been a woman in the carriage, and that hadn’t been right at all. The duchess was supposed to be in town, and Percy hadn’t mentioned that his father might travel with a mistress.

Before he could make sense of the woman’s presence, a pistol shot rang out, one of the horses startled, and as the coachman tried to get the animals settled, there came the sound of another shot. Then Percy emerged from the carriage, covered in blood.

Kit started for him, but then one of the armed outriders dismounted, aiming a pistol directly at Percy’s head. From where he stood, Kit could see Percy’s eyes, wide and dark.

“Go to the duke!” the outrider shouted to the coachman.

“Stay exactly where you are,” Kit called out. He drew his own weapon. From above, an arrow flew past, missing the outrider’s arm by inches.

Then the woman’s voice sounded, loud and clear above the shouting outriders and whinnying horses. “Get back on your horse, you oaf. You’re of no use to the duke lingering about here. We must get the duke to safety. Drive, Higgins! Fast!” The carriage took off down the road in a cloud of dust and accompanied by the sound of braying horses.

“Where were you hit?” Kit demanded. Percy was walking, at least, so it couldn’t be too bad, but even in the moonlight Kit could see that he was pale. “Hattie!” he called.

“I don’t think I was hit,” Percy said, his voice thin. “I can’t be sure.”

He was in shock, Kit realized. “The lantern, Hattie!”

“I got the book,” Percy said.

“Bugger the book,” Kit snarled. “And bugger all these buttons.” His hands felt all thumbs as he tried to open the blood-soaked waistcoat.

“And I got Marian’s coin purse,” Percy said, with a slightly hysterical laugh.

“And what in hell was she doing there?”

“Kit, I don’t know.”

Hattie had arrived with the lantern by then. “Kit, we have to move him.”

“He’s injured.”

“Getting hanged won’t make him any better. We need to get out of here.”

The girl was right. “Run. Take this.” He took the coin purse from Percy’s hand and thrust it at Hattie in exchange for the lantern. “Run. I’ll take care of him. When you get to London, tell Betty exactly what happened. Do you know how to get back to town?”

She nodded and ran off.

“Kit,” Percy said, looking down at himself and at the blood-soaked clothes that were now illuminated by the lantern. “Damn,” he whispered, and fainted.

“I’ve got you,” Kit said, even though he didn’t have Percy so much as he broke Percy’s fall. “Wake up,” he said, shaking Percy’s shoulders. “Damn you, this is not the time. I’ll bring you—Christ and all the buggering saints, I don’t know where to bring you or how I’m meant to get you there.” He held the lantern up, while patting Percy down with his other hand, trying to find where the blood was coming from.

Finally, he found a tear in the fabric, a hole in the leather breeches the size of his thumb. Percy hissed when Kit touched it, which at least meant he was coming to. Even with the light from the lantern, Kit couldn’t tell how bad a wound he was dealing with, and he didn’t dare waste another minute in this spot when they could be found at any moment. He tore the kerchief from his own