by Lauren Smith
Edward hadn’t been a spy for very long. He had been recruited by Avery Russell after the previous spymaster had died, but he knew the look and feel of spies trained by Russell, and Garland was not that.
Avery Russell believed in the purity of their purpose, and he instilled that sense of loyalty to the Crown in his recruits. He was not a man who could be bribed, nor was he a man who would let others use him for their own ends. It was said that the former spymaster had fallen because he had let his private life collide with his work for the Home Office. It seemed Avery was determined not to let that happen to him.
Edward focused back on Garland, who stood, counting the men in the room.
“We have a week before the king addresses the House of Lords,” Garland said.
The woman beside him faced the other rebels, watching them. Her coquettish expression was only there for show, but what a show it was. If Edward hadn’t been good at reading people, he might believe what they wanted him to think, that this woman was Garland’s mistress. But she was so much more than that.
If there was one thing Avery had taught his spies, it was that women could be as dangerous and as effective as men in the world of espionage. Sometimes even more so.
“What exactly is your plan, Garland?” Thistlewood asked. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table as he listened.
“You all know of Guy Fawkes. We spoke of him at the last meeting.” Garland leveled a gaze at the man who had mentioned Fawkes the first time—he had also implied that the plan to destroy the government was doomed to fail.
“Yes, and I assume that you mean to do what he was unable to?”
The room was thick with anticipation as they all waited for Garland’s response.
“Yes.”
“How will you manage this? The grounds are constantly patrolled, as are the tunnels, I’m sure.” Unlike the others, Thistlewood was not afraid to question Garland. Edward kept his mouth shut. Questioning the plans of rebels was the easiest way to expose oneself, so he stayed silent and listened.
Garland began to pace the length of the floor as he spoke. “I have acquired access to the tunnels to and the tunnels beneath Westminster, I have men on the inside who will help us put gunpowder at the four corners of the foundation beneath the room the king will speak in at seven o’clock, and I can time the kegs to blow the moment he begins his speech. Men will need to be there to light the charges.”
“How do you know you won’t be discovered?” someone asked.
Garland smiled. “Unlike Fawkes, I am one of the few who knows of the existence of these particular tunnels. No one will see us. No one will stop us.”
Edward had to school his features into an emotionless expression. He had believed—or rather,hoped—that when Garland had spoken of destroying the government that it had been more of a boast than a full plan of action. But to kill the king and everyone in the House of Lords? Anarchy would ensue. Edward studied the other men in the room, seeing only excitement on their faces. The woman, however, watched him the way a cat would a mouse.
You must be a clever creature, but so am I. He gazed back at her, letting lust fill his eyes. He wanted her to think that his focus on her was for her beauty and no other reason. A moment later, she blinked, surrendering to him in their battle of stares. She turned her focus to another man.
“I know these are trying times for you all. Good men suffer under the yoke of the rich who oppress you. Now is finally the time when you will have your chance to change that. You will each receive instructions the afternoon of the king’s speech. Follow your instructions exactly, and I assure you, we will succeed.”
Edward and the others stood when the meeting came to an end. There was no time to wait. He had to contact Avery. Edward retrieved his hat and coat and slipped on his gloves. His skin prickled as he felt the stare of the woman as he made to leave.
He’d been marked.
She suspected he was not loyal to Thistlewood’s cause. Fear began to eat away at his usual confidence. If she told Garland anything, Edward knew his days—perhaps even his hours—were numbered. He followed the others into the taproom, careful not to rush away. They spoke quaint, false pleasantries in front of the landlord as if they were all old friends simply meeting for dinner and ale. Then one by one, they said their goodbyes and left.
When he was finally able to walk outside, he mounted his horse and rode like the hounds of hell were upon his heels, because something far worse was on the horizon.
Camille waited until the last man left the private dining room before addressing her master.
“It’s him, monsieur. The one who worried me last time.”
Her master reclined in his chair and watched her. “You are certain?” He appeared relaxed, but that was when he was at his most dangerous—when he was still, when he was studying someone.
“Most certain.”
“Then I shall follow him. When I find his den of spies, I will do what is necessary.”
Of that, she had no doubt. Camille saw the shadow of death in his eyes. Death and something else she didn’t quite understand. Remorse? The devil didn’t have remorse, and this man was more devil than anyone she had met.
Letty sipped her wine over dinner to hide her laughter as Angus and Baird teased Adam mercilessly. The two Scotsmen were close to Adam in age, and it was clear that their shared history was long and loving. Letty was full of gratitude for that. Her husband and Caroline deserved such a loving family. It was a pity Scotland was so far away from Chilgrave Castle.
“Ye have to listen to this, Lett.” Angus caught her attention.
“No, no, not another tall tale, Angus,” Adam warned with a chuckle.
Angus winked at Letty. “There’s nothing tall about it. Now, Adam was visiting, along with Caro, who was but a wee bairn back then. Baird and I convinced Adam to ride over to see the MacDougals, a few miles west of here.”
“Oh Christ, no,” Adam groaned.
Angus hushed him. “So he rode over to the MacDougal lands—they have a manor house, ye ken.”
Letty leaned forward and nodded, propping her chin on her hands as she listened.
“And old MacDougal had a daughter, a pretty lass with red hair like a winter fire.”
“And a temper to match,” Baird added.
Adam reached for his wineglass and downed a large portion of it.
“Every man within twenty miles was in love with Nellie MacDougal, but she had eyes for no man, at least none who wanted her. It was rumored that she loved a man from the Lennox clan, but the Lennoxes and the MacDougals had a feud at the time.” Angus settled into his chair, smugly enjoying the attention. “So I dared Adam to steal a kiss from her—mayhap more, if he could.”
“You know, this really is not the best story for my wife to hear,” Adam warned.
“Do go on, Angus,” Letty encouraged with a grin.
“Well, he rode up to the front door of the MacDougal castle and asked to speak to the fair, fiery Nellie. We all expected him to return home with a black eye or a sore jaw.”
“What happened?”
“He was alone with the lass for nigh on an hour. None of us know what happened, but the next week, Nellie married that Lennox lad, and nine months later the clan feud was ended when their bairn was born. Nellie named the child Adam.” Angus chuckled as Letty stared at him, stunned.
“You mean . . .”
“Aye, lass,” Angus laughed.
Adam drank his wine again and glowered at Angus.
Tyburn cleared his throat. “I think Letty has had enough of yer tales, Angus. The hour is late, and we all ought to be in bed.”
“Agreed.” Baird and his father rose from the table, and then they stared at Angus, who grumbled and stood as well.
“Goodnight, lassie,” Tyburn said to her and nodded at his nephew before Adam and Letty were left alone.
For a long moment, Letty and Adam sat in silence. Then Letty said, “What really happened in that ho
ur you spent alone with Miss MacDougal?”
Her husband took another sip of his wine. “You don’t think that I seduced her and fathered the next laird of the MacDougal clan?”
Letty hesitated, but not because she thought he had. “No, I don’t. It does not seem like something you would do. Not that you aren’t capable of seductions,” she offered. “You’re quite dangerous at it, but I know you. That young woman’s virtue was safe, I am sure of it.”
Adam offered a soft, bittersweet smile. “How well you know me, lady wife. Yes, I went to Nellie’s house that day in order to stop Angus and Baird from teasing me. They can be quite relentless when they set their minds to something.”
“I can see that. Still, they adore you and Caroline,” Letty replied. He needed to know how much he was loved, in case he didn’t feel it clearly himself.
“I forget how blessed I am. Even after all that Caroline and I lost, we are more fortunate than many others.”
“So you went to see Nellie . . . ?” Letty prompted.
“I took tea with her, and we spoke about love, but not in the way she had expected. She had expected me to try to seduce herlike the other young men who lived nearby. Instead, I asked her about where her heart lay. She told me about her young man, and how she was afraid to seek her father’s permission to marry him. I then asked for an audience with her father, the laird himself. He had not been aware of my visit with Nellie.”
“What happened?”
“I told him that she wished to marry the Lennox boy. She was right about him—he wouldn’t allow it. I then explained that his entire household had been aware of my rather lengthy, private meeting with Nellie and that it was in her father’s best interest to approve her marriage to the man she loved or else I might let it slip that I had been with Nellie. Of course, should such a thing happen, I would do the honorable thing and marry her.”
Letty was stunned. Adam had risked marriage to a woman he didn’t love just to help her marry another? “How did you know that he would agree and not actually make you marry her?”
Adam grinned. “Because Scots will always band together against an Englishman, especially one acting as smug and superior as I was that day. MacDougal would rather have his daughter marry a Lennox than a bloody Englishman.”
Letty giggled. “Oh, Adam, how wonderfully clever. You are perfectly splendid.You know that, don’t you?” She got up and came around the table to slide onto his lap.
He held her waist and gazed at her. “You think so?” There was a vulnerability in this powerful, brave man, and she loved that he showed that soft side only to her.
“I do. It makes you rather irresistible.” Letty massaged his shoulders with care.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said.
She leaned in to nuzzle his throat and inhale his scent.“Do what?”
“Treat me as though I might break. I’m not fragile.” He tightened his hold on her waist until that familiar thrill surged through her. She embraced the rising passion inside her.
“I do not think you are fragile,” she promised him as she nibbled on his earlobe. He groaned, the sound momentarily drowning out the crackling fire in the dining room.
“You don’t?” he asked.
Letty smirked at him as she slid off his lap. “In fact, I think you’re quite ready to catch me.” She got up and backed away from him, flirting with a smile as she waited for him to follow.
Adam’s blood sang with desire for his wife. He had been afraid these last two weeks that he had lost something, something that he desperately needed. But now, seeing his wife with hunger and love in her eyes, he wasn’t lost—he wasn’t broken. His wounds had wrecked his confidence, his value in his own eyes, yet here Letty was, showing him that nothing had changed for her. She didn’t see him as weak or damaged. She saw only him. It was a revelation.
He caught her before she could escape out the open doors. No doubt she had hoped to toy with him all the way up the stairs, stringing him along, but he would not wait that long. With one swift move, he swept her against the wall beside the door and pinned her there, a smile playing on his lips as he held her waist. Adam jerked her skirts up, and she gripped his shoulders as he freed himself from his trousers. Then he was inside her, relieved to find her ready for him.
She gasped as he sank deep and their joined bodies made a soft thump against the wall. She curled her legs around his waist as he braced one hand on the wall beside her head. His other hand covered her mouth. Letty gripped his shoulders tight, clinging to him.
She whimpered in protest, but then he began thrusting into her in earnest, and her cries of pleasure were muffled against his hand. They collided together like two burning fuses glowing in the dark as he claimed her there in the dining room. She closed her eyes, and he continued to pump himself into her, each second more exquisite than the last. She arched her back, her inner walls clamping around his shaft as she reached her climax and he followed her in his own pleasure a second later, his body relaxing against Letty’s. They stayed locked together, her legs around his waist for a long moment as they both caught their breath. He removed his hand from her mouth and replaced it with his lips. Her legs started to slide down the backs of his thighs as she relaxed.
She sighed sweetly, and her hands wound into his hair, holding him prisoner for her kiss. God, he had become addicted to this woman in a way he’d never imagined. He wanted to stay inside her forever, to hold her in his arms until they were both old and gray and had lived a full life together. She was his beginning, his end, his everything.
When their mouths broke apart, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you, lady wife.” He stole another kiss as he gently let her legs drop to the ground and withdrew from her body.
“That was magnificent,” she purred as he held her in his arms. “Perhaps you could show me that again in our bedchamber?”
“I would be delighted.” Adam fixed his trousers while she dropped her skirts back into place. Then he escorted Letty upstairs, a foolish grin on his face as he took his wife to bed. A long while later, as he lay half-awake, he realized that he had not thought of John or his desire for vengeance even once in the past several days.
16
Edward Shengoe slid off his horse and handed the reins to a groom waiting outside a townhouse in Grosvenor Square. With a furtive glance, he rushed up the steps into the house. He didn’t bother to knock. This was no normal house, after all. A butler greeted him, and Edward handed the man his hat and coat.
“Evening, Mr. Bradberry.”
“Good evening, Mr. Shengoe.” The butler nodded. “The others are waiting for you in the library.”
“How many are here?” he asked.
“Six, counting you. Mr. Russell has not yet arrived.”
“Good. I will speak to them.” Edward had sent a summons to all of them within minutes of returning home. He had sat down at his desk and written out a codicil to his will before speaking to his butler and housekeeper. It was perhaps a tad pessimistic to plan for so dark a fate, but something about tonight had warned him that darkness was coming, enough to sweep across the land. He had to be ready for whatever came, even his own end.
Edward paused at the doors to the library, holding his breath. The moment he told the others what he knew, it would make the threat that much more real. At last, he squared his shoulders and opened the door. The tall windows of the library, now dark with nightfall, still glowed from the firelight. During the day, the stained glass would send patterns of brilliant colors upon the floor.
One of the five men in the room turned to greet him.“Evening, Shengoe.”
He nodded at the man who’d spoken. “Jackson.” The five men all stood to face him, each close to his own age, and all somber as he began to speak.
“In less than a week’s time, Thistlewood and his men will attempt to blow up the House of Lords while the king delivers his speech.”
“Tell me you’re joking,” one of the men said.
“I wish I was,” Edward sighed. “To make matters worse, I believe that I was markedthis evening.”
“Were you followed?” another asked.
“I could not tell, but it would be safe to assume I was. You are all at risk, and for that I’m sorry. You know now what’s at stake. You had best leave and find safety.”
The men exchanged looks. “If what you say is true, we are needed here. We won’t run.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.” A man’s voice came from behind Edward, and his blood turned to ice. He knew that voice. Garland. “It will make what I must do much easier.”
The tension in the room was thick enough to smother Edward as he slowly turned to face Garland. The man held a pistol. Behind him stood more than half a dozen others. Beyond them, Bradberry’s still body lay on the ground, his blood staining the floor red.
Edward reached for his pistol, tucked in the back of his waistcoat, but Garland had already fired. The report deafened Edward as the pain surged through his shoulder.
The men of the Court of Shadows rushed into action. Edward stumbled out of the way and ducked as Jackson fired over his head. Garland dove to the side, and the bullet felled one of Garland’s men standing right behind him. Edward managed to pull out his pistol and leaned against the wall as he took aim at one of Garland’s men.
It was the end of the Court of Shadows, and Edward was glad Avery was not here. With luck, he would learn the truth in time and stop the fall of Whitehall.
Avery walked up the steps to the townhouse that he’d purchased through an agent in secret, which then had become a refuge for the spies under his command. While he’d kept their missions separate, the men all knew this was a safe spot, a haven to come to when needed.
So when Avery had received the urgent summons from Shengoe, he had known it had to be something terrible. Avery slipped inside the house without knocking and was surprised to find Bradberry wasn’t anywhere near the door. This fact alone instantly put him on guard.