Chasing Eliza by Rebecca King

you really consider that just circumstance too?” She
snorted inelegantly and settled back in her chair, returning to her
whittling of the apple mulch as she stared absently into the
fire.
    “ My father didn’t, and he began to investigate. Before the
month was out, Scraggan had taken over one of the big ships in the
port and had several of the more troublesome fishermen in his
employ. They bullied the smaller fishermen into joining them. Those
who didn’t join lived in fear for their lives. Some disappeared,
leaving their families behind. Some disappeared with their
families. As weeks passed Scraggan’s group became bigger and more
threatening. Before long, someone mentioned to my father that it
wasn’t just goods they were smuggling.” Eliza looked pointedly at
him, watching wariness appear on his face.
    “ You mean spies?” Edward’s voice was hard and uncompromising.
He immediately thought of his brother Dominic, who had been sent to
deal with a ruthless band of smugglers in Norfolk prior to Isobel
being kidnapped.
    Eliza
nodded slowly. “My father began to investigate. There were some in
the village who carried on regardless, keeping a wary eye on
Scraggan while remaining a healthy distance from him. They watched
and reported to my father, but obviously lived in fear of their own
lives.”
    “ Why didn’t your father send you away? He must have known you
were in considerable danger yourselves.”
    “ We were a close knit family. I was eight years when my mother
passed away, leaving myself and Jemima to depend upon my father. He
idolised mother and never seemed to recover from losing her.
Instead he turned his attention to raising us as best he could.”
Eliza saw the scepticism steel over Edward’s face and became
defensive.
    “ It might not be your kind of upbringing, but it was
sufficient for me.” She snapped waspishly, feeling emboldened by
her small display of temper. “When I was old enough I began to look
after the house. Jemima, being older and at the time faster with
her writing, helped my father with his papers.”
    Edward
watched the myriad of emotions flicker across her beautiful face
and felt a keen sting of respect and a small flicker of jealousy
for her ready defence of her family. Undoubtedly it had been tough
for her father to raise two girls alone, especially while carrying
out the duties of a magistrate. But Edward couldn’t accept that the
man had allowed the girls to remain in the middle of such impending
danger.
    Any
daughter of his would have been safely ensconced in the most secure
place he could find and wouldn’t be allowed out until the danger
had passed. The thought of a daughter with amber eyes and long,
dark blond hair floated temptingly in his mind, teasing him with
possibilities.
    “ Jemima knows far more about father’s work than I do.” Eliza
declared softly, watching the flames flicker in the fireplace
blankly.
    “ Do you think that is why Scraggan is after you? To find out
what you both know?” Edward queried.
    “ They knew my father was asking questions. He found something
out and suddenly announced he had to go and see someone in the War
Office.” Eliza shifted uncomfortably in her seat, choosing her
words carefully. “He said he would be back within a
week.”
    “ But he wasn’t.” Edward finished for her flatly, unsurprised
when she shook her head slowly, tears shimmering on her beautiful
lashes.
    “ On the day he was due back, I decided we should have a nice
celebratory supper. I began to walk into the village for some bits
and pieces for a treat. It was such a lovely day, the sun was
shining and despite the blustery winds, it was really quite
pleasant. As I walked down the lane, I came across a group of
horses standing by themselves, saddled but loose in the middle of
the road with no riders.” Her voice became husky with suppressed
emotion as she remembered that fateful morning when her life was
shattered.
    “ I recognised my father’s horse and