Capturing Sir Dunnicliffe (The Star Elite Series) Read Online Free Page B

engaging in any skirmishes. He was just going to watch the man come onto English shores, and get some idea of who he was meeting. Once he h ad the information he needed, Hugo was going to follow the man and see where his contacts took him and, more importantly, to whose house. The information would be used by the Star Elite to make sure the man was constantly watched, and everyone who came into contact with him would be duly noted and also followed. In this way, they could follow the chain of people sheltering the smugglers from beginning to end. They could then ensure everyone was brought to justice and all of the foreign spies rounded up and interrogated.
    It seemed that news of Scraggan’s execution a few weeks ago had only just reached the French. According to their informant, the spy master was coming to England to re-establish the links Scraggan had used to transport spies into the country. He was due to arrive tonight.
    Hugo knew that Port Isaac was a small, almost nondescript , Cornish fishing village with very little to offer anyone except a small tavern, but it seemed almost too small to be a reliable landing place. He wondered just how many villagers were involved in the smuggling of spies and goods, given that little could happen in such a small village without someone being aware of it. It didn’t seem probable that spies appeared without a few of the villagers being involved.
    His thoughts immediately turned to the larger fishing port of Padstow further around the coastline, and the ruthless grip Scraggan and his men had once held on the villagers there. He briefly wondered if the same thing, albeit on a smaller scale, was happening in Port Isaac.
    Hugo sighed and leaned against the stone wall of the empty house. Hidden deep in the shadows, he drew his cloak tighter around his legs, partly to stop the thick material flapping and giving his position away, and partly to stop the cold wind sneaking beneath and chilling him even further. The large hood was already partially covering his face, shielding his eyes from the worst of the rain; the thick, black scarf he wore covered his mouth and nose. He had a dagger tucked away in his boot, and a pistol on his hip for added protection. The only people who knew he was there were Pie Masters, one of the best men he had in the Star Elite, and his boss, Lord Montague, who was waiting for news in London.
    Their informant had sugges ted Pie wait beside an old boat house, to one side of the small harbour. Hugo, having never been one to trust even the most reliable sources with his life, had instinctively chosen a different vantage point, and now stood on the opposite side of the harbour watching not only the boat house, but the harbour entrance, as well as the small row of houses lining the port.
    He had been there as soon as dusk had fallen, and was now stiff, cold and thoroughly fed up.
    It seemed strange to be in Cornwall again . He had hoped never to go near the place for a very long time; long enough to forget an intriguing pair of green eyes and a certain witch who seemed to have cast a spell on him. It was the only explanation he could come up with for why he kept thinking about her so much. Whatever he was doing, wherever he was, she always came into his thoughts.
    He tried to blank out the image of her beautiful face, but it swam alluringly before him anyway, teasing his senses with something that he found intensely annoying. He was a man dedicated to his job. His life was spent protecting English shores from foreign enemies. He had no business thinking about women, let alone one particular woman who was only a few miles along the coastline. If his aversion to romantic entanglements wasn’t enough to deter him from thinking about her, the damned beast she called a cat was enough to dampen the interest of even the most ardent admirer – which he was not.
    Her only saving grace was the fact that she was currently in Oxfordshire spending some time with Jemima and