The Spy Who Loved Her: Once Upon an Accident, Book 3

by Melissa Schroeder

  Good Lord, he wanted her. Not just tonight, and not in the lustful way he had when she had first gotten to London. He loved the way she laughed, the way she softened when she talked about her orphanage, and the way she said his name on a sigh when he leaned in to kiss her.

  “Daniel?”

  Horace’s voice brought him back from his musings.

  “I say, are you all right? You look like you’ve lost something.”

  Daniel shook his head. “No, actually gained something.”

  “Well, I hope this talk helped you.” Horace looked hopeful, as if he would be saving Daniel from a fate worse than death. He could set his old family friend right, but why bother him.

  “You have helped me immensely.”

  “Dinner will be starting soon. We best be getting back.”

  “You go ahead. I will be there in a moment.”

  Horace nodded and slowly walked to the door. Once he was alone, Daniel thought about the ramifications of his feelings. He had not planned on marrying, and part of him still believed that to be the best way to go. But he knew that in the back of his mind, he had been waiting. Waiting for Anna.

  But he was in no position truly. He needed to solve the riddle of the Viper, lest he put her in harm’s way. It was bad enough that she had been seen, that men were now following her. He would not put her in more danger by marrying her.

  That made him all the more determined to find the Viper and be done with it.

  “You say they disappeared together?” the man known as Viper said.

  The stupid footman nodded.

  “What else?”

  “I do know that Lady Anna returned with Lady Joanna.”

  That brought his head around, his sharp gaze studying the footman. “She returned with Lady Joanna? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, sir.” The weasel squeaked out the answer.

  “Are you telling me the woman most think Bridgerton to be courting returned with his paramour?”

  He nodded again.

  He threw the footman some coins and moved toward the windows of his room. “Leave, and if I hear you tell anyone my name, your death will not only happen, it will be slow and painful.”

  There was another squeak, the sound of shuffling feet, and then the door closed behind him. He truly did not know if what he heard was correct, but it sounded about right. Bridgerton had been sniffing around Lady Anna for some days now, and it was apparent he wanted her. But what was Joanna doing? And what little self-respect did Lady Anna have that she would allow Bridgerton’s whore to accompany her back, giving her an alibi? That just did not sound correct. Lady Anna had quite a bit of pride.

  “Jenkins?”

  His valet came into the room.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “I need you to find out what is going on between Lady Joanna and Bridgerton.”

  “I do not need to find out. I know.”

  He glanced at him. “And?”

  “Nothing. They act more like brother and sister at times.”

  “Indeed.”

  “And I do know a lot of those old family retainers are still around. All those old spies who worked for Harold.”

  That gave him pause. “Is there a chance she knew of her husband’s activities?”

  “Not sure about that, sir. The theory was that he married her to have a pretty woman on his arm.”

  He sneered. “He was vain enough for that. I wondered how long it would take my supervisor to kill him.”

  “Sir?”

  “Nothing. Check and see what is going on with Lady Anna and Lady Joanna. To corner Bridgerton, I need to know which of them means more to him.”

  But he was pretty sure he knew which one it was…and it would be his pleasure to kill the little bitch in front of the bastard.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Daniel took a gelding out for a hard ride the next morning. Early. He’d had no sleep thanks to the encounter with Anna. She had been relieved, but he was suffering still. What little time he had slept he had been in the midst of torture. It was all a haze of Anna naked in his arms, in his bed, her long limbs wrapped around him, her breathless sigh echoing in his ears. Then he watched in horror as a faceless man appeared, wrapping his hands around her arms to pull her away from him. No matter how hard he tried to follow, he seemed stuck in that bed, his body unable to move.

  The impotent feeling was something akin to what he’d felt the night before. He had watched from the sidelines as Joanna stayed by Anna’s side, making sure everyone knew it had been them together and not Daniel and Anna. Dammit, he should be happy. He had decided to marry her, but she had told him there was no reason to worry. That marriage would not be needed. He had never thought to marry, especially to a woman who turned him inside out. But there was something in the way she reacted to his suggestion that cut him deep. He was missing something. He knew that without a doubt, but he could not figure out what it was. And he knew that this growing entanglement was going to get worse before it was over. Somehow though, he felt helpless to stop it.

  Shaking his head, he reigned in his mount and turned to go back to the house. He heard the crack a second before his horse reared. He held on, barely. Knowing what he had heard was a shot, he calmed his horse down as much as possible, then goaded him on. Another shot hit a tree behind him, but he did not stop. He had no weapon with him and he was a sitting target if he didn’t get back to the house. Within moments, the house came into view, but he did not slow. He galloped right into the stable area before he slowed down. Both he and gelding were out of breath by the time they arrived. He said nothing to anyone as he returned the horse to the stable.

  He did not slow down to talk to anyone until he got to his room. He sent for Jack immediately.

  “What is going on, my lord?”

  “I think someone just took a shot at me.”

  Jack’s busy grey eyebrows rose. “Are you sure?”

  He told Jack what happened.

  “Aye, that is troubling. Are you going to tell Lady Adelaide?”

  “No. She is beside herself in worry about the Viper. If she hears this, she is likely to order me home. I cannot leave Anna here unprotected.”

  “Aye. I think we could get Lord Simon down here for that.”

  “I thought he was attending things on his estate.”

  “Aye, but Jo has been in contact with him. He could come down in no time at all.”

  It would be smart. His cousin Simon was young, but well trained. And he would guard Anna with his life—that much Daniel was certain of. But the truth of the matter was Daniel could not allow that. He rebelled against the idea of any eligible man to attend to Anna’s safety.

  “No.”

  Jack studied him for a moment then relented.

  “Go to Jo and get her to meet me in the library. I think it should be clear this time of the morning. I need to talk to her.”

  Anna found herself in the library again, this time trying to find something to read. She’d had little to no sleep the night before, the problems of Daniel turning over in her head. She hoped she’d dissuaded him from talking to her mother, but she was not so sure. She knew exactly how her mother would react if Daniel proposed marriage. She closed her eyes for a moment. God, her one dream and nightmare combined in one irritating man. How could she want him so badly, need to feel his touch more so now than before last night?

  Her mother had said nothing to her this morning, so she assumed that Daniel had not talked to her. She had yet to see the man in question this morning and she wanted to make sure that he understood her position. She found a few books and set them on the desk in front of the massive window that looked out onto the front drive. She accidentally hit the bottom book. The tomes toppled to the ground. Anna rolled her eyes and knelt to pick them up. She could not seem to do anything right. Before she could rise, the door opened and she heard footsteps, then Daniel’s voice.

  “I told Jack to be quick about it, but I did not expect him to get you down he
re so quickly.”

  Joanna laughed. “I am an early riser. It is that or I don’t get breakfast in my house.”

  “Indeed.”

  “Now what was so important that you talk to me right now?” Joanna asked.

  The doors shut. “Someone took a shot at me this morning.”

  “Good Lord, Daniel, you have to take this business seriously.”

  “There is not much I can do.” She could hear the shrug in his voice. As if it was no problem that someone had shot at him.

  “If you do not start a real investigation into this Viper, I will tell your mother. The War Department might not care about what you do, but your mother will.”

  “Give it a rest, Jo. I can take care of myself.”

  “You sound a bit too much like your uncle.” The worry in Jo’s voice caused Anna to start worrying herself. She had known Daniel’s uncle died several months earlier, and Joanna was under suspicion by most of the ton for poisoning him.

  “Let it go. I have inquiries out and I will use more precautions from now on.”

  “And Lady Anna? Do you realize that she is now in the sights of the Viper? What will you do about her?”

  She had heard enough. She rose to her feet and asked, “Yes, what about Lady Anna?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Daniel watched in horror as Anna crossed her arms beneath her breasts and glared at him. Every nightmare he had ever imagined had not come close to the one he was living at the moment. In his entire life, he had never made so many mistakes…and definitely not since he’d taken his father’s place. How could he have stepped into the library and started discussing something like this without checking to see if they were alone? He knew why, and she was shooting daggers with her eyes at him right now. Dressed in a light green sprigged dress, with the sunlight shining behind her, she looked like a very grumpy avenging angel.

  He could hear the ticking of the clock, the occasional burst of conversation from the other attendees, the beating of his heart.

  “Are neither of you going to explain?”

  He could feel Jo staring at him, urging him to explain. After last night, it was his place, but he really did not know what to say. All of his worst fears were staring at him right now.

  “I think you misunderstood what we were talking about,” Jo offered.

  “Indeed.”

  Her tone told Daniel she would not believe anything either of them would make up. Her brilliant blue eyes studied him with defiance a lesser man would cower from.

  “Fine. I…I am a spy.”

  She said nothing, her expression now unreadable.

  “The night that you happened upon me—”

  “When you were stabbed?”

  “Yes.”

  He said nothing else, so she said, “Go on.”

  “I was attacked that night. You were seen by the hired assassin.”

  Her face paled at the word assassin, but he could not sugarcoat it for her. She wanted the truth, she would have it.

  “And now I am in the sights of this Viper person?”

  “It seems that you foiled his plans. Which irritates him.”

  “Hmm.”

  She turned to look out at the front drive, but he could feel her moving away from him completely. He’d expected this, but to experience it was another thing. Most of the ton felt he was no better than a Frenchman. Even if what he did saved countless lives, that the Bridgertons had been doing this for centuries, most of his friends would give him the cut direct if they knew what he did.

  “He has sent inquires around the area.”

  She glanced around, alarm clearly written on her face. “The orphanage?”

  “No, they are fine. Everything this man does is personal.”

  “But if anything happened to the orphanage…” She swallowed and closed her eyes. “I just could not bear it.”

  Joanna glanced at him, but he said nothing. With a sigh, the older woman said, “You need not worry. Daniel has made sure it is well protected.”

  Anna nodded, then turned away again.

  “You think there might have been a problem here. You were shot at?”

  “It was nothing—”

  “Tell me everything.”

  Her voice told him she would accept nothing less than the entire story. He exchanged a glance with Jo, who shrugged.

  “I was out riding.”

  “You did not get hurt?” Her voice held not emotion.

  “No.”

  “When did you hear about the Viper person asking about me?”

  He hesitated, then said, “Two days after the attack.”

  A beat of silence filled the room. “I see.”

  It was then that he realized the timing would look suspicious to her. He wanted to deny it, but would she believe him? When she turned around, her face still held no expression, her eyes colder than the north wind. Of course, she would not. The level of deception was enough to make any good woman ready to kill.

  “Are you going to tell anyone?”

  She frowned. “No. Telling someone would expose you. Why on earth would I do that?”

  She said it with such disbelief that he had to fight the need to laugh, but he knew she would take it the wrong way.

  “I understand you might be upset.”

  “Upset? Upset is too minimal of a word to describe what I feel at the moment.”

  He stepped toward her but she held up her hand to stop him. The gesture stabbed at his heart. She could not bear to even look at him.

  “Don’t. I need time to think about this.”

  He wanted to demand an answer, beg her forgiveness. It was too soon for that. “Of course.”

  He continued to stare at her, not knowing what else to say.

  Jo cleared her throat. “Daniel, why don’t you talk to Jack? You need to send a note to Simon to let him know what is going on.”

  He didn’t want to leave, but Jo had left him with no choice. Granted, leaving was probably a better idea than standing there staring at her like a simpleton.

  “Anna…”

  “I said I needed time to think about it. Please at least give me that courtesy.”

  He nodded once and then left the room. The moment he stepped outside the library, Jack appeared by his right elbow.

  “All well, my lord?”

  “Yes.” He sighed. “I mean no. We have been found out by Lady Anna.”

  When the old retainer said nothing, he looked at him. The smile he offered puzzled Daniel.

  “What are you grinning at?”

  “I told you that she was a sharp one.”

  “Indeed. My worry is now if she will reveal us.”

  “Oh, no worries in that quarter, my lord. She’s a good one. She will keep all your secrets.”

  “Hmm, well I cannot worry about that right now. I need you to contact Lord Simon. Let him know what happened today. But make sure he knows that we do not need him here yet. I just want him to know what has been happening.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Without any other comments, Jack left him. Daniel needed to get out, do some riding, but he knew that was out of the question now. One of the people attending the house party was a killer. Probably not the Viper, but someone he’d sent. Which would be easy to do. When the bastard had targeted Daniel’s father, he’d had many destitute aristocracy help him in his quest. It wasn’t that hard to find someone who had moneylenders knocking at their door.

  He climbed the steps trying to think of everyone in attendance. He could get the list from Greenwood, but that would definitely draw attention to them. And who was to say that the older or younger Greenwood wasn’t the one who was indebted to the Viper.

  He was more worried about Anna. The question was whether she would forgive him or not? He remembered the pain in her eyes, the coldness of her voice… If she did forgive him, it would not be any time soon.

  Anna said nothing for a few minutes. Truly, she could not think of anything to say. She was still tr
ying to comprehend everything that had just come to light.

  “Will you truly not tell anyone?”

  Jo’s voice held a hint of worry. Anna could understand, but it did not mean she was happy about it.

  “You do not know me well, so I will allow for that. I will never tell anyone what any of you do. I am presuming you are one of them?”

  She nodded.

  “I would never put any of you, especially Daniel, in harm’s way.”

  “Thank you.”

  She turned around and looked out at the drive once again. It seemed so pleasant, such a brilliant, beautiful day. But at the moment, she felt cold. She could not seem to warm herself. As the silence stretched, she could feel the tension rise. It was not coming from her. She was frozen. But rather the fear was pouring off Lady Joanna in waves.

  “I gave you my word. I will not expose you.”

  “I believe you.”

  Anna turned and looked at the older woman. What would make a woman such as her become entangled in such a mess?

  “I married into it.”

  Anna flushed and looked away. Lady Joanna laughed but there was little joy in it.

  “No. I do not mind.”

  Anna looked back to her again. “I just do not understand. Why would you put yourself in jeopardy? You could marry again, have children.”

  The smile she offered seemed a little sad. “No. That is not for me. I…tried for years with my late husband. It was not to be.”

  “You know, according to my sister-in-law, it is sometimes the man’s fault.”

  “I dare say most problems that arise are men’s fault. But in this case it is not. Harold had children with his first and second wives. We were not so lucky.”