He was deep in thought when he heard his chamber door open. In stepped the source of his frustration. She should have been nervous, but the way she carried herself told him of the strength she had.
“Jacob…” she started as she sashayed toward him.
Jacob watched as she seductively walked to him. He was in awe and knew that’s what his face betrayed. His thoughts and emotions were visible. He could no longer disguise them.
“Yes, love,” he said as she looked up at him.
“I know you thought I imagined the people in the library earlier. I don’t know how to make you believe me.”
“I talked with your brother-in-law, my dear. He made sure to explain the way you and your sister are. I didn’t grow up with other Rakes, except for my father, and he was rarely around when I was home on holiday. I don’t remember much of the training. I vaguely remembered you from that time in my life.” He hoped beyond hope that he could have a second chance to tell her that he believed her.
“Then will you believe me when I tell you that I am sure I knew one of those voices? I am quite positive that I have heard his voice before. I cannot place it, however. If only I wasn’t the only person in the library at the time,” She moved closer to him and snuggled against his broad, muscular chest.
“If you were to hear his voice again, would you be able to identify it?”
“Of course! Unless, of course, it was disguised in the library. Which is possible since he was whispering.”
Jacob bent down and kissed the top of her head in a brotherly fashion—or, at least, he hoped it came across that way. Instead, she pushed herself closer to him. He couldn’t help but put his arms around her and hold her closer to him, knowing that she was searching for protection in his arms.
“Minerva, you know you shouldn’t be in my room. I don’t want to ruin your reputation, my dear.”
“But, Jacob, I don’t care about my reputation. I want to be close to you. I know the repercussions of doing this, especially if the servants talk. Jacob, I know you don’t love me, but I don’t care.”
Jacob was unclear about what she was after, other than the obvious. If it was sex she was after, he could give her that. He could offer her carte blanche, but he was no fool. She would not accept that offer, of that he was sure. Only a seasoned paramour would accept such an impersonal relationship.
“What is it you want, lass?”
“I want you,” she replied.
Jacob didn’t know how he wanted to respond to her. He knew he needed more than her just wanting him. He wanted her heart, above all.
“I want you, too, but we have some work to do before we can commit to each other. I want you to want me with every fiber of your being. I want you to want my heart and soul. Until then, we need to stop this charade that we are living.” Jacob combed his fingers through his hair. They needed to finish this job before he could pursue any further relationship with the one woman who could break his focus…the one woman he loved without reservation.
“Jacob, I understand. I will back off a bit. For now.” With that, Minerva walked out of the room, down the hall, and into her room. She had more important things to concern herself with. One of them being the question of why someone would want to harm her sister or her husband. Links were missing. Holes in the story. It would be beneficial to get the archived London Times. But the only place to get those was in London. She would have to sneak out. Luckily, there was an elm tree not far from her window. The only thing this plan would require was the assistance of a stable hand. She couldn’t take a horse without it alerting Marcus.
Minerva, after taking a refreshing nap, heard the gong that signaled that dinner was being served. She quickly freshened up her hair and changed her gown. As she rushed down the stairs to the waiting room, she saw something out of place. Someone was hiding behind a potted plant in the front hall. She stopped as she comprehended what she saw. She turned back around, sauntered up to the plant, and looked behind it. How could someone not be there? That’s when she became sure that there were secret passageways throughout the house. Maybe the duke didn’t know of their existence.
Her plan changed in a matter of moments. She started back to the waiting room to join the rest of the guests for dinner. She would ask Marcus for the original drawings of the house. Maybe they would show the passageways that she was sure were there. It was the only way someone could enter and exit the house without being seen.
As dinner progressed and the conversation slowly died, Minerva tried her luck. She looked over to Marcus. “Your Grace, do you happen to have the original drawings for this house? Something has come to my attention recently, and I would like to test my theory.”
“What do you have in mind?” Marcus asked.
“I believe there might be some secret passageways within the walls of this house. That is the only way to explain what I saw in the library and the front hall.”
“What did you see in the front hall?” Marcus said as he jumped out of his chair and pounded his fists onto the table.
“A man was hiding behind the potted plant in the hall. When I turned back around, the man was gone, not a sign of him anywhere. I wasn’t having a delusion, Marcus. He was real. I stared him in the eye.”
“That’s it! Where are the guards?” Marcus barked at his butler.
“I am unaware of where they may be, Your Grace. All members of the household staff are accounted for. No one is new within the ranks either,” said the stately man as his eyes roamed across the room and stopped on Minerva. She gasped and knew at that moment that she was the sister who had seen him in the hall.
“Are you sure about that? Because it seems two individuals within our walls don’t belong here. This house is locked down due to the threat to those within our families. If you have information to share, please do so, Jenkins!” Marcus bellowed at his butler.
The butler stood tall, bowed, and left the room. Marcus hadn’t caught the look that the butler and Minerva had exchanged.
* * *
Minerva glanced down at her hands, which were shaking uncontrollably. She knew what she needed to do tonight. She had to get out of this house. She made the mistake of looking at Jacob. He noticed her nervousness and raised an eyebrow at her. She gave him a sheepish look and quickly excused herself from the table.
She didn’t realize that Jacob had excused himself within moments of her hasty departure from dinner.
“Minerva, what was that about? I won’t take anything but the truth from you this time.”
“Jacob, this is something I have to do myself. I will not tell you a thing until I figure out what I saw. Just leave me alone…please.”
She turned away from him and took a single step before she felt his arms wrap around her waist. She allowed him to pull her flush against his muscular frame. She felt his breath near her ear.
“Min, I know you saw something. I also know that you are going to be doing something extremely dangerous. You need to have someone with you. We do not want you to be kidnapped or killed for this mission. I don’t want that. I need you to be here with me.” His voice was filled with emotion.
“I need to do this myself. I do not need a man to protect me. I have been protecting myself ever since my parents died. I would just like for you to leave me alone.” She was mildly annoyed by his persistence.
“Min, I won’t allow this. I will tell Marcus and Juliana about this. Please, don’t make me do that.”
“You don’t have a say about what I choose to do with myself, darling. Just leave me be…” she said as she gathered her strength to carry herself out of his arms.
She stepped away from him and up the stairs to her room.
* * *
Jacob stood where Minerva left him. He squared his shoulders and silently followed her up the stairs. Something wasn’t as it should be. Minerva had a secret and it had something to do with the butler. Something about this situation had him feeling nervous. He didn’t feel like this often. In fact, th
e last time was on the continent.
Five years earlier
Jacob was one of the few members of the Rakes that the prince regent trusted to do the most difficult missions. Marcus and Aaron weren’t as proficient in the languages they needed to master these missions. They were all trained in different skills. His skill was languages. He was well versed in French, Russian, Latin, Greek, Gaelic, and several other lesser-known languages.
This mission was to infiltrate the enemy’s front lines. Jacob, proficient in French, was sent to gain information on the French movement in Brussels leading up to what would be called the Battle of Waterloo. He was to take one of the younger and more inexperienced members of the Rakes with him to train. Everything had been prepared for and both men were as ready for the coming ordeal as they could be.
Jacob knew in his heart that this mission would fail. There were too many unknowns. Even though he had reservations about the mission, he did not go to his commanding officer with his doubts. He had always done his duty and he would not back off now.
It was a rainy spring day when his ship sailed from Dover to Calais. MacTavish, the younger and more inexperienced man, made sure their papers were in order. It never occurred to Jacob that MacTavish was a double agent. It never once crossed his mind. Jacob had been meticulously trained to pick a traitor out of a crowd of loyalists.
Jacob felt restlessness throughout the trip to Calais. He didn’t know what, let alone who, he was up against. It wasn’t until they had docked in the harbor that he had any inclination that something was seriously wrong.
He walked the gangplank from the ship’s starboard deck to the dock while noticing the bayonets pointed at him. He looked from the bayonets to his comrade, who had a pistol pointed at his head.
Jacob had been had. His intuition had abandoned him. His friends and colleagues were still in Dover, waiting for his word to make the voyage to the French coast. They would not get that message because Jacob would be in the Bastille, the great fortress that housed all political prisoners.
* * *
Jacob, reeling from his past, followed Minerva at a distance, determined to keep his past from invading his present. His intuition told him that he needed to follow her, and so he would. As he rounded the stairwell into the hall where the bedroom suites were located, he lost track of her. Almost overwhelmed by anxiety, he had never once lost someone that he was tracking—and it irritated him. He turned back to his friend’s study to see if there were any secret passageways within the house. He had been at home here at one time— playing in the hallways, discovering new places to hide from the horribly ugly nannies and nurses. He knew the house intimately. Marcus should know about any secret hallways or staircases. Oddly, Marcus knew nothing about such things.
The door to the study was open when he passed by it. A branch of candles was lit, and he noticed someone searching through the Duke’s papers. He opened the door slightly more and felt the blow to his head just as his vision went black.
* * *
On his way back toward the main stairs, Marcus passed his study. The room was dark as it should be, but the door was open a crack. Something wasn’t right. He eased the door open part of the way and heard a moan from within. Something was blocking the door.
The moan sounded again, and Marcus heard rustling from just inside the door. He pushed the door open, now easily opening it the entire way. Gingerly, he walked into the room, unprepared to see Jacob holding a handkerchief to his head.
“Jacob, did a door slam in your face?”
“No, some fucking bastard hit me with something hard. Your door was ajar, so I went to investigate. Someone had been searching through your papers. I thought it was you, at first. That was the last thing I remember,” Jacob hissed.
“You didn’t see who it was that was looking through my papers and documents? I don’t know what they would be looking for. I don’t keep any of my State papers here. They are all…damn!” shouted Marcus, as he ran from the room.
Marcus ran up the stairs two at a time, hoping to catch Juliana before he had to mount a horse and endure the long ride into London. He opened the door to their suite. He found Juliana curled up on the large feather bed. He bent over and kissed her gently on the forehead.
“Darling, I have to go to London right away. My mother is at risk. Jacob was rendered unconscious because he witnessed someone rifling through my papers. All my important papers are at the London townhouse, and my mother is currently residing there. I am worried about her. So, I need to make the trip.”
Marcus went on at a whisper, “I would take you with me, but I don’t think it would be counterproductive. I will leave you here under guard. You will have your sister with you, but I need to get to London expediently.”
“Are they the papers you need to solve this case?”
“They are, my darling. I pray that I’m not too late.” He knew that she would understand. Well, he hoped she would understand. He melted inside when he heard her speak.
“Be careful, my love. I will be here when you return,” she said as she reached up to kiss him.
Marcus kissed his wife with all of the feelings he possessed and then forced himself away too soon. Walking to the door, he strode with purpose to the stables, mounted his horse, and rode to London as if the hounds of hell were after him.
London—Two days later
Marcus strolled through his Mayfair mansion searching for his mother, who was supposedly at home to guests. He was unable to find her in any of the sitting rooms or even the enormous library situated at the back of the house. He climbed the massive staircase to the family rooms. It was there, in her private sitting room, that he found his erstwhile mother. It was obvious that she wasn’t expecting him. The hilt of the knife she’d hidden under her foot and out of the sight of those who weren’t keen observers, was a testament to the fact that he was not expected to make an appearance.
“Darling, I wasn’t expecting you. Where’s your dear wife?” his mother asked from her seat.
“She is at the country house with her sister and Jacob. We have heard the news of an accident in Scotland. Aaron is on his way there as we speak. We fear that whoever attacked our contact in Scotland is after you since you are the only surviving member of the Rakes. You need to join us at the Abbey.”
“Darling, why do you think I am armed? I have been warned that someone was after me, and I will not make it worse for you by joining you and your wife at the Abbey. It is too dangerous. I am safe here with the servants. They have been through this before. Trust me in this…please.”
Marcus heard the tension in his mother’s speech. He knew better than to argue with the woman. He knew when it was time to concede. He had lived with her most of his life.
“Very well, then, Mother. I will grant you this, for now. But, if there is something you cannot handle, please send a messenger for me right away,” Marcus replied.
“Son, we have this handled. I will explain once this is all over and our lives go back to normal,” Bethany said as her son made to depart.
“You have some explaining to do, but I will let this go for the time being. I need to go back to the Abbey and check on Juliana, Minerva, and Jacob. Write and let me know what is going on in town. That would relieve most of my anxiety about not bringing you with me,” Marcus said from the doorway.
“Marcus, dear, come and give your mama a kiss before you leave,” Bethany said as Marcus was preparing to walk out of the room.
Marcus sauntered over to his mother and planted a chaste kiss on her cheek. His mother grabbed his head and brought him closer to her.
“Don’t look now but someone is watching us from across the park. I am surprised you did not notice. If I leave the house, the man will tail me. I’m safer here, inside the house, than I would be traveling with you. I will not have your death on my conscience. Or that of your beautiful bride. Get back to them. I will write to you every day if need be,” she whispered to Marcus.
Marcus no
dded, strode through the door, and stomped down the stairs. He did not know what was going on with his mother and hoped she would explain in one of her letters. The need to return to Juliana stopped him once again from climbing the stairs and talking with his mother about his questions.
* * *
Juliana looked forward to the return of her husband. Strange things had been happening at the Grange since he left for London. Her sister had disappeared, and search parties had come back with nothing. Jacob was going insane without news of her sister. Repeated break-ins had happened inside the house. Each one was in the study or the library. No one knew how the thief got in and out of the house without alerting the household. Nothing was ever deemed missing. Everything had been cataloged and mapped to make sure that all were accounted for. Juliana and Jacob knew that what the thief was after was not at the Abbey. Everyone, including the servants, knew that the Duke’s personal papers were not housed at the Abbey. No one, except for Jacob, knew where the Duke kept his personal documents. The fact that Juliana was not yet privy to the location of the documents meant that she was of no use to whoever had been sneaking in and out of the house.
With all the unrest in the house, it was hard for Juliana not to feel anxious about the return of her husband. The knot in her stomach was her constant friend. The sickness that came upon her during the day didn’t worry her, and she attributed it to worrying about everything going on around her.
The knock on her bedchamber door pulled her out of her daydreams.
A Rake for Juliana Page 12