Moreton's Kingdom by Jean S. Macleod Read Free Book Online Page B

the most foolish thing imaginable, leaving Sandy asleep in the car and locking the back door but not her own. It had been such a short distance to the kiosk, not much more than half a mile, but in the space of time it had taken her to reach the box and run back Sandy had disappeared.
    Why had she felt impelled to run? Even before she had reached the lay-by there had been a sense of panic in her, the need to protect a little boy with curly fair hair and amazingly blue eyes who had put a small, trusting hand in her own and gone with her willingly into this absurd adventure.
    Angry with herself and her mechanical ignorance, she explored the engine again, although with little real hope, her head under the bonnet as she checked water and oil, which was something she did know about. Then, shattering the silence, she heard the sound she had been waiting for. A car was approaching along the road ahead of her. Help was at hand.
    Even before the Rover swung into the lay-by she knew who her rescuer must be.
    ‘Having trouble?’
    Charles Moreton had caught up with her.
    ‘So it was you?’ Katherine glared at him angrily. ‘What have you done with him?’ She searched the back of the grey car. ‘You took Sandy, didn’t you? You’ve—kidnapped him!’
    Charles looked slightly amused.
    ‘It’s a strong word to use, but yes, I’ve taken him,’ he agreed. ‘If you’re concerned about his safety, however, you needn’t worry,’ he added. ‘He’s in good hands.’
    ‘Yours, I suppose you mean?’ she challenged. ‘But that isn’t quite good enough. I promised to look after him, to—to protect him.’
    ‘You weren’t exactly doing that when you left him alone in a parked car with a door open,’ he pointed out, the smile fading from his eyes.
    Katherine took a step towards him.
    ‘What have you done with him?’ Her voice was not quite steady, although it was absurd to suppose that he had harmed his own child. ‘Where have you taken him?’
    ‘He’s in safe keeping not more than a mile away.’
    ‘I demand to know where!’ She stamped her foot. ‘You’re not to be trusted.’
    His eyes were ice-cold as he gazed back at her and there was a cruel twist to his mouth as he said:
    ‘I suppose Coralie told you that.’
    ‘She did, and I think it must be true. You’ve been following me for two days ever since we left London, and in the end you took Sandy without a word.’
    The hard mouth looked even harder as he continued to gaze at her.
    ‘Has it never occurred to you that you might be equally suspect where I’m concerned?’ he asked. ‘Up until two days ago we’d never met, and then I discover you’re aiding and abetting Coralie in one of her wilder schemes.’
    ‘I was helping her to protect her child,’ Katherine cried defensively. ‘There can be no harm in that when she was at her wits’ end, not knowing what to do.’
    ‘You’re painting me a picture of a Coralie I’ve never seen,’ he assured her cynically. ‘How well do you really know her?’
    ‘Well enough to imagine how she must feel,’ Katherine declared. ‘I know how much she must hate the idea of parting with her child.’
    ‘Where is she now?’ he demanded as if he hadn’t heard her defence of Sandy’s mother.
    ‘I don’t know.’ It was a lame sort of admission even if it was the truth.
    ‘You can’t hope to protect her by lying.’ He took her by the arm, his fingers sinking into her flesh as he sought to detain her.
    ‘I’m not lying!’ Katherine cried. ‘I phoned her from the Lake District last night and again this morning—’
    ‘And?’ he prompted, still holding her.
    ‘There was no reply.’
    ‘That hardly surprises me,’ he said dryly.
    She shook herself free.
    ‘I’m not going to discuss Coralie,’ she declared, ‘but I think I sympathise with her now, more than ever. You’re completely ruthless,’ she accused. ‘The man in authority, no doubt, in your own environment, but you have no right to take