Chapter Twenty-One
Allik rose to his feet and looked straight ahead, meeting the eye of his commanding officer. He could see the regret on Andrew Rossingham’s face and knew, even before the other man spoke, that he was not happy about the sentence he was going to pass. Beside Rossingham, William Barron, Earth’s ambassador to Taar-Breck, shuffled papers, clearly no happier about how things had turned out. The only men who appeared satisfied with how the proceedings were going were the members of the High Council who’d joined them via video link. There were two of them, President Hall, the leader of the High Council and his deputy, Sebastian Waring. Allik liked neither of them and trusted them even less.
Andrew Rossingham cleared his throat and began to speak. “The prisoner, having been charged with the heinous crimes of murder and kidnap, as well as theft and the lesser offence of trespass, has pleaded guilty on all counts. Having deliberated long and hard, it is my painful duty to decree that he be sent to the city of New Cambridge where these crimes were committed to face a punishment of the High Council’s choosing. Expulsion from Taar-Breck will be immediate. Do you have anything to say?” Rossingham looked at him and his tone softened. “Allik, do you have anything to say?”
“No, sir,” Allik replied. There seemed little point in making some grand speech now.
He was aware of the sound of the door opening behind him but, assuming it was the guards coming to remove him for transportation to Earth, he didn’t turn around. He noticed the hint of a smile forming on Rossingham’s lips.
“Well, if you have nothing to say, perhaps the young lady does,” Rossingham said and Allik’s heart dropped. “Miss Walton?”
Allik closed his eyes. He hadn’t wanted her here to see him like this.
“Yes, Commander, I do.” Her voice was clear and direct.
Allik knew that tone. He turned and watched as Victoria strode up the aisle toward the front of the room. She looked magnificent, like an angel in her flowing white dress. The first impression she gave off was youth and innocence, but what he saw in her eyes was pure determination. He watched as Caroline Rossingham followed Victoria toward him. While Caroline slipped into a seat, a few rows back, Victoria came and stood right next to him. She placed a hand on his arm and looked up at him. In that moment, he knew what she was going to do. She was not here to plead for leniency for him. She had come to take the blame.
“Sir, she does not speak for me,” Allik said, determined not to let her do this.
“That’s right, Commander, I don’t speak for him. I speak for myself.”
“She has no standing here,” Sebastian Waring protested on the video link. “A woman has no voice.”
“She does in my court,” Andrew set him straight. “What is it you wish to say, Miss Walton?”
Allik shook his head at her but the little minx just winked at him. It was as though she didn’t realize the danger she was in. Either that or she didn’t care. If, by some miracle, they both got out of this situation, he would spank her bottom raw.
* * *
Victoria could feel Allik’s eyes boring into her but she paid no attention to him. It was obvious that he didn’t approve of her being there, but that was tough. She was going nowhere until she had set the record straight. Focusing her attention on the men in front of her, she tried to gauge their mood. William Barron was looking at her with intense interest and Andrew Rossingham wore an expression that seemed designed to put her at ease. With the screen for the video link off to one side, it was easy to ignore President Hall and the odious Sebastian Waring, a man who had always made her skin crawl.
“Go ahead, Miss Walton,” Rossingham said encouragingly.
“I wish to make a confession.”
“No!” Allik cut her off with a shout.
Victoria heard a zapping sound and Allik grimaced. She realized the collar must have hurt him somehow.
“Not another word,” Rossingham warned him. “Or I’ll have you incapacitated. The lady wishes to address us and she will have her say.”
Victoria could practically feel the tension pulsing in Allik’s veins, but he bowed his head to signal his acceptance of the command.
“Carry on, my dear,” Rossingham told Victoria.
“I wish to confess to the crimes with which this man has been charged,” she said. “At least, I wish to confess to some aspects of them.”
She looked over at the video screen with contempt as protests came from President Hall and Sebastian Waring.
“This is ridiculous,” Waring snarled. “The brute confessed and we will have our justice.”
Victoria wondered why they would object so vehemently to her trying to prove Allik’s innocence. For some reason, they must want to get their hands on him. No, she realized, not Allik specifically. They wanted a Taar-Breckian warrior in their custody and their reasons for that could not be good.
Rossingham held a hand up to silence them and, to her surprise, they both quietened.
“You admit to killing the security guard?” Rossingham asked.
“No, sir, only to striking him,” she replied. “He was alive when I left him. Unconscious, certainly, but breathing well enough.”
“How could she know that?” President Hall demanded.
Victoria’s jaw tightened. It irritated her that these men would not address her directly.
“I know,” Victoria said firmly. “He was wounded, but not dead. If he died later, I believe it must have been at somebody else’s hand.”
“She means to suggest that two people attacked the man in the same day?” Waring mocked. “That is ridiculous.”
“Perhaps,” Rossingham responded. “If you would like to produce the body so we might examine it, we may determine the truth. As you know, we have more advanced techniques than are available on Earth. I am sure we will discover exactly how the man died.”
“That will not be possible,” President Hall said.
Victoria could smell a rat and she wondered if the security guard was really dead. After all, they had only the High Council’s word for it that he was and she didn’t trust them.
“Very well, Allik, can you confirm Miss Walton’s statement?”
“Yes, sir. The man was alive when we left him.”
Rossingham conferred with William Barron, the two men speaking so low their voices could not be heard.
“In that case,” Rossingham said, “I have no choice but to accept Miss Walton’s version of events until someone proves otherwise. The crime is therefore assault, and not murder.”
Victoria blew out a breath although she knew the hearing was far from over.
“Now, young lady,” the commander continued, “we need to consider the theft. A sum of one million credits was taken along with an emerald brooch.”
It was impossible for Victoria to stifle a snort of disbelief.
“There was a quarter of that, at most,” she said. “I still have the money and will gladly return it. As for the brooch, it belonged to my mother, not Jonathan, and I am keeping it.”
Beside her, Allik cleared his throat and she understood the warning to moderate her tone.
“With your permission, of course,” Victoria added, doing her best to sound humble.
“Good girl,” Allik muttered under his breath.
Victoria watched as William scribbled something on a piece of paper and passed it to Rossingham. The commander read the note and looked to the other man for confirmation before turning back to Victoria.
“The ambassador informs me that as Miss Walton has a blood tie to the owner of the brooch, it properly belongs to her and not to her stepbrother. Assuming, that is, that it was gifted to your mother?”
“It was,” Victoria confirmed. “It was an anniversary present from my father.”
“Very well.” It was President Hall who spoke. “But there is still the matter of kidnap. One of our finest females was taken and ruined by this man. He is surely guilty of that.”
Victoria looked up at Allik. This was a tricky one and she hadn’t rehearsed an answer before she came in here.
“There was no kidnap,” she said.
“Don’t be ridiculous, woman.” Waring spat. “We have surveillance images. You are clearly bound and gagged. That brute is carrying you over his shoulder.”
“There was no kidnap,” Victoria repeated, her voice loud and clear. “I wished to leave New Cambridge and Allik facilitated that for me. He knew that if we were apprehended before we escaped, I would get into trouble, so he made it look like I was being taken against my will.”
“That is preposterous,” Waring blustered. “How could you have arranged such a thing under your guardian’s watchful eye?”
If she listed all the things she’d got up to while Jonathan was meant to be keeping a check on her behavior they would be there all day. It had not been easy to slip away from him but she had done it over and over again without being caught.
“Under my guardian’s watchful eye, I was a member of the Hyde Ladies’ Circle. I read forbidden texts and educated myself, in defiance of the law,” Victoria said. “Forging a relationship with Allik was no challenge to me.”
She was tempted to reveal that she had lost her virginity long before she met Allik. However, there was still the matter of her punishment to be decided. If she was sent back to face the High Council, she didn’t want to give them anything else to hold against her.
“Well, that leaves the matter of trespass,” Rossingham said. “For that, I believe a fine of one thousand credits would be appropriate. Does everyone agree?”
Victoria could not help but notice that although he’d asked a question, Rossingham seemed to be daring the others to challenge him. There were nods of agreement all around.
“Well, in that case, the charges against Allik Loarn are dealt with.” Rossingham looked to his guard. “Release him from those ridiculous fetters.”
Seeing the chains being removed from Allik’s wrists and ankles sent a wave of relief through Victoria. The moment the collar was taken from his neck, she leapt into his arms.
“You beautiful, brave fool,” he whispered in her ear.
“Now, there is the matter of punishment for Miss Walton who has admitted to assault and theft.”
Allik released Victoria from his embrace and she turned back to Rossingham, ready to face whatever came her way.
Predictably, President Hall demanded she be returned to New Cambridge. “We want her back here,” Hall said. “Her crimes were committed here. As a citizen of Earth, she must be judged by the High Council.”
Victoria blanched at the thought. She had known they would request it but, still, hearing the words made her realize it could actually happen. Behind her she could hear Caroline Rossingham coughing delicately and she remembered what she had told her.
“Commander,” Victoria said, “with respect, I wish to draw your attention to the Preservation of Civil Society Act of 2317, Article 5, Subsection 181.”
“I believe you mean Article 6.” William Barron spoke up. “Which gives your husband the right to see to your correction.”
“He’s not her husband,” Waring said with contempt. “There has been no ceremony.”
That was true, Victoria had to concede, but things were different on Taar-Breck. Surely, to all intents and purposes, Allik was her husband?
“We have been living together as man and wife,” Allik said. “I have claimed her as my mate. She belongs to me.”
“Well,” Andrew Rossingham said. “There you have it. I see no alternative but to turn the lady over to the custody of her mate. Do you agree, Ambassador?”
“That would seem appropriate,” William said, turning to look at President Hall. “We wouldn’t want to be seen to interfere with the natural order of things. A man should be able to assume responsibility for his bride’s discipline.”
“She is not his bride,” Waring protested.
Victoria could see that Rossingham’s patience was wearing thin.
“If it eases your mind, Lord Waring, I will see to it that they perform the marriage rites at the earliest opportunity,” Rossingham said in an irritable tone. “This hearing is over.”
Rossingham got to his feet as the video link was abruptly cut off. “Allik, you are free to go and I leave Miss Walton’s correction to you.”
“Thank you, sir,” Allik said with obvious delight.
“Miss Walton.” Rossingham looked to her. “Welcome to Taar-Breck. I know my wife is looking forward to renewing your friendship, heaven help us all.”
He gave an exaggerated roll of the eyes and then looked past Victoria to where his wife was sitting.
“Caroline, a word,” he said sternly.
As Caroline walked past, she reached out and gave Victoria a quick pat on the shoulder. There was a spring in her step so if she was in for a spanking, it was clear she didn’t mind. Victoria watched as her friend followed her husband out of the room, then sank down onto a chair. She couldn’t help feeling a little shell-shocked at all that had happened. If things had not gone her way, she might have been sent back to New Cambridge. Worse still, she might have lost Allik. Lost in her thoughts, she almost forgot that William Barron was still in the room until he approached her.
“I want to thank you both,” he said, “for saving my brother’s child.”
“How is she?” Victoria asked.
“Noisy, messy, beautiful,” William said. “I just wish…”
He didn’t need to finish the sentence for Victoria to know that he wanted Elizabeth by his side. There was such sadness in his eyes that she couldn’t help getting to her feet and pulling him into an embrace. She heard Allik growl next to her and shot him a reproachful look. It was only a friendly hug, for goodness’ sake. William pulled back from her, gave them both a grateful nod and walked away.
“We should find someone to take us home,” Allik said.
“No need, I have a vehicle,” Victoria replied. Allik arched an eyebrow. “Taryn lent me his.”
“He loves that cruiser. How on Earth did you persuade him to let you have it?”
“It didn’t take much.” Victoria’s eyes glinted mischievously. “Just a quick blowjob.”
As Allik’s brow furrowed, she winked at him. Before she knew what was happening, she was swept up into the air and thrown over his shoulder.
“You are in for such a spanking, young lady.”
“Oh, Allik,” Victoria sighed as she settled against him, feeling content to be right where she belonged. “I do hope so.”