A Minor Inconvenience

by Sarah Granger

  “I assure you, I am the only one who can take credit for unmasking you.” Theo’s voice was smooth, almost comforting, and completely compelling. Hugh could not understand how anyone could resist such a tone from him. “Now be a good fellow and allow me one final glass, while you let our poor dull captain here retreat from something of which he knows nothing.”

  “You’re lying,” Courtenay accused, sounding distressed. He began to move his pistol jerkily from Theo to Hugh and back again, but it was never off either of them for more than a second. He steadied his gun in Theo’s direction as he fixed his burning gaze on Hugh, hatred and a sort of wild clarity in it, as if he had finally seen the truth of the matter. “I know it’s you, Fanshawe! Damn you to hell, with your pox-ridden—”

  “The thing is, Courtenay,” Theo said loudly, interrupting him without a second thought, a rash act that made Hugh wonder who was the real lunatic in the room, “that isn’t a double-barrelled pistol and you can’t conceivably reload with any great speed. You have to decide who the bigger threat is here—me, or the crippled captain?”

  Courtenay’s attention focussed entirely on Theo, and Hugh sidled slowly along the wall towards Courtenay, his heart in his mouth for he could scarcely believe Courtenay wouldn’t notice. But Courtenay was too taken up with what Theo had just said, and Hugh saw the instant when he decided on his course, hate and fury twisting his face. Hugh flung himself forward.

  His launch was unbalanced, but there was enough force and weight behind it to send Courtenay crashing to the ground beneath him, the pistol discharging as they went down. Sprawled over Courtenay, Hugh drew back just enough to let loose a roundhouse of a punch to his jaw to subdue him. He then realised Courtenay wasn’t moving, and it had been unnecessary.

  Drawing a breath to steady himself, Hugh looked up, and his heart stopped. Theo was stock still in the middle of the room, his hand pressed to his shoulder, red welling between his fingers.

  “Theo.” Fear and desperation clogged his throat as he scrambled somehow to his feet. “Oh God, Theo!”

  The room whirled around him, and then Theo was suddenly there, steadying him.

  “It’s a scratch, no more,” he said calmly. “How does our friend?”

  Hugh wouldn’t believe him, not till he’d looked properly for himself and seen it was only Theo’s shoulder and that the blood was not running too fast. At least, he didn’t think it was, but perhaps the tightness of the coat Theo wore was preventing it.

  “Let me see,” he demanded.

  “Courtenay first,” Theo said.

  Hugh turned his attention back to Courtenay as Theo crouched down beside him. “Damn me, Hugh, I think you’ve killed him.”

  “What?”

  “Well, he ain’t breathing.” Theo was examining Courtenay. “And that’s a hell of a crack on his skull, I suppose from where he hit the floor. It seems you took him completely by surprise.”

  “He thought my leg rendered me useless.”

  “His mistake,” Theo said. He got to his feet, swaying slightly as he did so, his hand once more pressed to his shoulder.

  “We must see to you,” Hugh insisted. “Coat off.”

  “I might have known.” Theo’s sigh was long-suffering. “You only lured me back here for—ow. For God’s sake, Hugh, have a little care.”

  Between Hugh’s efforts and Theo’s complaints, they managed to remove Theo’s coat to find his diagnosis that he had merely been winged was not too far off.

  “We must get a physician,” Hugh said, unable to take his eyes from the wound, the blood so red and wet on Theo’s skin.

  “For what reason? Look, the ball has gone through, and the bone is sound, and I think I have lost quite enough blood already. I don’t wish for any more to be taken, thank you very much.”

  The aggrieved complaint in Theo’s voice was suddenly the funniest thing Hugh had ever heard. He was still laughing when Theo used his right arm to pull Hugh against his body. He buried his head in Theo’s sound shoulder, where his laughter died and threatened to turn to tears.

  “I nearly killed you, Theo.”

  “But you didn’t. You saved my life, for had he shot without your intervention, it wouldn’t have been my shoulder he hit.”

  “Well, it’s your own fault for goading him in such a way,” Hugh remembered, suddenly indignant, raising his head to stare accusingly at Theo. “I don’t know why you would do such a hare-brained thing.”

  Theo’s eyes were very steady on Hugh’s, and the expression in them was soft and open. “Do you not?”

  Everything suddenly made sense to Hugh, in a way he could never remember it doing before.

  “Oh,” he said. And then, “Theo.”

  He kissed Theo, who kissed him back, and there was no more need for words between them.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  They had cleared up slightly by the time Murray returned home, singing quietly to himself as he let himself into the chambers. He stood in the doorway to the sitting room, slowly taking in the body upon the floor, the gentleman in his shirt sleeves with a blood-stained bandage made from one of Hugh’s neckcloths wrapped around his shoulder, and his master, who had red smeared down one side of his face where it looked as if a bloody hand had been placed upon his cheek.

  “My sincere apologies for the mess,” Hugh said. “Would you be so kind as to send a message to Horse Guards, asking the duty officer to bring some men with a litter to remove a French spy from my sitting room?”

  “You may add Captain Fanshawe’s compliments to that message,” Theo said.

  It took Murray several attempts before he was able to speak, but the steel in his character showed by the way he did as he was bid without asking a single question.

  “I take it you’ll come back to Albany once we’re done here,” Theo determined as Murray withdrew.

  “It would be more pleasant, certainly,” Hugh agreed, his eyes on Courtenay’s corpse. “I didn’t mean to kill him, you know.”

  “I didn’t imagine you did. It’s probably for the best. There’ll be no trial for the family to suffer, and he’s been a fugitive long enough for the French to have closed down all his contacts, so we’d have learned nothing of value from him.”

  “Why do you think he did it, spying on his own country?”

  “Who knows?” Theo asked. “Hatred, money, love—any one of those and a thousand more reasons.”

  It still made no sense to Hugh as he poured them both another brandy. Despite Theo’s insistence he was unhurt—it was, he said, scarcely the first bullet hole he’d suffered—he was paler than usual and Hugh was determined that the next morning Theo would see a physician, no matter what protestations he might make.

  When the duty officer and escort arrived, Theo was short-tempered enough with them that even the incredulous Guards officer did not dare say too much once Theo had identified himself and Captain Fanshawe.

  “We shall see Dalrymple tomorrow,” Theo concluded in dismissal, tossing back the last of his drink. “For now, I have had quite enough of this tedious business and wish for nothing more than to be in my bed.”

  Hugh managed, quite creditably he felt, not to blush at the statement. He held the door for the two soldiers who were removing Courtenay’s body, and suddenly realised he recognised one of them—he was the soldier who had been on sentry duty when he’d visited Theo, what felt like a hundred years ago. Now, as then, he looked as if he’d not long woken from a nap, appeared not to recognise either Hugh or Theo, and betrayed not the slightest curiosity in why he had been called upon to remove a dead body from a gentleman’s lodgings. Hugh shook his head slightly and wondered just what the army was coming to.

  …

  “This is not precisely how I imagined our reunion going,” Theo said, as he lay in bed, his arms around Hugh.

  That reminded Hugh. “I still have
your ring.” He sat up, intending to fetch it immediately from his pocket.

  “If you attempt to leave this bed, Hugh, I will not be held responsible for my actions. It has been a long evening, following on the heels of an even longer day, and all I want is you, here, naked, and for the love of God, not running about fetching rings. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir,” Hugh responded, settling back down in the bed. “Your soldiers must run in fear of you, Colonel Lindsay.”

  “I would hope so,” Theo remarked, as he pulled Hugh close against him once more. Hugh had brought with him some of the laudanum he kept for when his leg was very bad, and although Theo had pulled a face, he had agreed to swallow a dose. Since then, he had become drowsy and reluctant to let go of Hugh. “You do know, don’t you?” he asked Hugh.

  “Know what?”

  “What you said in the hack, about my reasons for what I did. I behaved very badly towards you, Hugh, for I should never have allowed the two things to become mixed, but you must know that my feelings for you were never in doubt.”

  Hugh swallowed at Theo’s words. He had come to realise, after it was all over with Courtenay, what feelings Theo was speaking of. In the light of that, he’d thought he accepted that Theo hadn’t cared for him at the start, so long as he did now. Hearing this from Theo set something loose in him he had not realised was still wound tight.

  “I know that now,” he said after a moment, and his voice was slightly thick. “I did not mean it when I called it a wretched business between us. It is—you are—beyond everything.” He wondered for an instant if he had said too much, but that slight anxiety faded as Theo’s arms tightened around him in response and he pressed a kiss against Hugh’s temple.

  “How is your leg after tonight?” Theo asked after a while.

  “Surprisingly well.” Hugh was sure it would have its revenge tomorrow for the rough and tumble, but for now it was not troubling him.

  “Horse Guards will welcome you back with open arms after this,” Theo said, and yawned.

  “Perhaps.”

  Theo pulled away slightly so he could look at Hugh. “What do you mean, perhaps?”

  Hugh shrugged. His idea had begun as little more than a passing thought earlier in the day, yet he had found himself strangely reluctant to let it go. “I had thought perhaps I might sell out and study Medical Gymnastics under Dr Ling,” he said, and his cheeks heated slightly at voicing out loud such a foolish idea. “He’s opening an institute for study in Sweden, you know.”

  “Oh, Hugh,” Theo said, a laugh in his voice, and Hugh steeled himself for mockery. It didn’t come. “How is it that you surprise me so often?” Theo asked, and he sounded somehow delighted. “You always take the least expected way, don’t you?”

  “I don’t know about that,” Hugh said, “but it interests me, and there are others coming back from the Peninsula who are injured. What you are able to do helps more than anything ever has.”

  Theo fixed him with a stern look. “You do know that not all of what I do with you is incorporated under Medical Gymnastics, don’t you? I am not having you—”

  “Of course I know,” Hugh cut across him indignantly. “Contrary to popular belief—”

  “You are not completely stupid,” Theo finished for him. “I know. And just so you are aware, I have never once thought that you were. Except perhaps just now when you would have left this bed. Or when you went running around the dark walks—”

  “Enough,” Hugh commanded, and kissed Theo, as well as he could through the smiles they both wore. And then Hugh moved tight against Theo, so he could feel the warmth of his body, the steady beat of his heart and the way Theo’s breathing slowly deepened as he fell into sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The bells pealed triumphantly from the tower of St George’s Church as Major James Fanshawe emerged into Hanover Square with his wife by his side. The new Mrs Fanshawe was behaving with perfect propriety, though there was a delighted and slightly shy smile in her eyes if anyone cared to look closely enough. James, on the other hand, was overcome by excitement and joy, enthusiastically shaking the hands not only of their guests but also of any passersby who had stopped to see who it was being married. The service had been James through and through—he’d been quite unable to wait for the Rector to finish speaking before announcing to all and sundry his intention to look after Miss Drury until the day he died. And dash it, probably beyond, if he had anything to say in the matter.

  Once the wedding breakfast was over and the dancing had begun, Hugh stood quietly with Theo. He’d done his duty by being James’s groomsman, and it meant a great deal to him that James had asked. Now he was content to enjoy a well-deserved glass of hock before slipping away to Albany and Theo’s bed. He wished for nothing more than to be tangled up naked with Theo, pressing slow kisses against every part of Theo’s body, with nothing and no one to interrupt them.

  He had just conveyed those thoughts to Theo, whose immediate response had been to put down his glass on the nearest surface in preparation for a swift departure, when Hugh heard his name uttered in disgusted tones.

  “Damn it, Hugh, can you not keep Mama under control?”

  Hugh turned to find George approaching, his handsome face marred by a scowl. “She is insistent upon me being at home this afternoon to receive some fellow, Esdale or something like that. She appears to think the country governs itself and does not understand the importance of the work I have to do, nor the consequences should I be prevented from doing so.”

  “I could speak to her, certainly,” Hugh agreed. “Yet I believe you will find it to your advantage to meet Lord Esdale. Unless I am very much mistaken, should you do so you will find one rather hefty charge upon your purse soon removed.”

  “Speak plainly, Hugh—you do rattle on in the most ridiculous way sometimes.”

  Hugh sighed. “Sophia.”

  George’s eyes widened as the meaning of Hugh’s words struck him. “You mean… Damn it, Hugh, that’s the best news I’ve had all day. Not that I object in the least to looking after Sophia,” he added swiftly, “yet you would not believe the number of visits she makes to milliners and mantua-makers and all that fuss and nonsense.”

  Having viewed the very many outfits resulting from those visits, Hugh actually could believe it, but he forbore to mention that to George. Instead he introduced him to Theo, who had been standing quietly by, observing George.

  “Oh, so you’re the—” George started, before turning on Hugh. “Damn it, Hugh, what were you thinking? There’s nothing in the least havey-cavey about this fellow. Even you should have seen that and not raised suspicions about him in such a way.”

  Before Hugh could give voice to the indignation swelling in his breast, Theo stepped in. “Captain Fanshawe quite properly alerted the authorities to the unacceptable security at Horse Guards,” he said, and if not for the fact this was George, Hugh might almost think Theo was rebuking him. “He is also responsible for the removal of a French spy who had eluded all others. Instead of scolding him, my lord, you should be thanking him on behalf of the country and parliament.”

  George’s colour had risen alarmingly throughout this statement. “Yes, well,” he muttered, turning away. Then he hesitated, before turning back and looking at Hugh. “You did well, Hugh,” he said grudgingly. With less reservation in his voice he added, “I’m glad you weren’t hurt when subduing that fellow, you know.”

  “Thank you, George,” Hugh said. As he watched his eldest brother walk away, he wondered when the world had shifted upside down.

  “Hugh!”

  Theo sighed as they turned to find James bearing down upon them. “Are we never to leave?” he asked Hugh quietly. “I have plans for you, Captain Fanshawe, and you may believe me when I say, most emphatically, they do not involve your family.”

  Hugh’s cheeks heated slightly at Theo’s w
ords, but he greeted James with suitable congratulations and allowed himself to be pulled into a hug while James spoke enthusiastically of the new Mrs Fanshawe’s charms and how he was the luckiest fellow alive. “And I should make a push now, if I were you, Hugh, because otherwise you will lose Lady Emily, whom I invited precisely so you could press your suit. I would see you as happy as I am.”

  Startled, Hugh looked past James to see Emily talking to the Rector of St George’s, and there was something in her face he had not seen for the last four years. He was still reeling from that surprise when James spoke again. “You are quite the talk of the town you know, Hugh, milling down that Frenchman in such a way. It was most well done, but I had not thought it possible for you with your difficulty.”

  Hugh decided not to point out that Courtenay had been as English as James was and focused instead on the latter part of his statement. “I suppose it is, after all, a very minor inconvenience.”

  “True, true,” James said, his attention turning to Theo. He grabbed Theo’s hand and pumped it vigorously. “I admit, sir, I was most relieved to hear you were not a spy after all. Capital news.”

  “Thank you, Major.” Theo’s voice was dry, but Hugh knew him well enough to hear the suppressed laughter deep within it. “I believe your bride is searching for you.”

  James’s head shot round. On seeing Elinor looking in his direction, he disappeared at high speed.

  “Dear God, Hugh. How is it that your brothers are so—so—”

  Words like handsome and clever and charming rose to Hugh’s lips in order to complete Theo’s sentence, but he had the strangest feeling that was not what Theo meant.

  “Exhausting,” Theo finished eventually. “Lord Fanshawe is like the rooster who is convinced he causes the sun to rise with his crowing, and Major Fanshawe reminds me of a large dog which has been allowed into the dining room when there is food upon the table. I can see why Wellington gave him leave as he prepared to make his next move.”