“Please do something for me, Thea?”
“Of course, anything,” she whispered as she watched her uncle battle sleep that steadily began to draw him down anyway.
“Stop that butler of mine giving me any more of that stuff.” He nodded to the bottle on the dresser and glanced at Rupert. “I don’t want to be left weak and useless.”
Rupert nodded but didn’t tell the injured man that if anyone got into the house who shouldn’t be there, John would not have the time, much less the opportunity, to get involved.
“Of course, if that’s what you wish,” Thea assured him. She was willing to do anything he asked of her at that moment.
“While you are both here, you are to treat this house as if it was your own. Both of you. I hope that once this blasted laudanum wears off I will be able to get out of this blasted bed, and join you. Meantime, there is much we need to catch up on, Thea.” He couldn’t find the energy to stifle the yawn that escaped and he cast both Thea and Rupert an apologetic glance. “I am sorry, I have done nothing but don’t seem able to do anything but sleep.”
“Sometimes, sleep is the best possible medicine,” Thea replied knowingly. “I will leave you to rest and will pop back in later to check on you. Do you need any medication before I go?” She froze in the act of reaching for the laudanum and winced at the fierce glare John gave her. “I will remove it for you,” she offered instead and gave her uncle a rueful look as she picked the offending bottle off the bedside table and carried it with her to the door.
Both men watched her go for a moment before Rupert turned toward the bed.
“You need to tell her everything as soon as possible,” John urged harshly. He stared Rupert in the eye but was fairly certain the effect was lost given that he was flat on his back and the considerably younger man was hale and hearty. “Don’t let ghosts of the past stop you from settling the future. You need to get matters out into the open with her, and please make sure that Frances doesn’t get wind of this. I don’t want that woman in this house.”
“Do you think it is possible?” Rupert asked with a frown.
“That woman has kept a couple of acquaintances in Town, yes. I don’t know if the gossips have got wind of what has happened to me yet. I have no doubt that if they have, the news will filter down to Frances at some point. If she does appear on the doorstep, don’t allow her to reside here. I don’t want her getting her feet under my table. Send her to a hotel or something.”
Rupert nodded. He was more than happy to protect Thea from the waspish attentions of her mother, even if he had to be rude to the woman to do so. It wasn’t lost to him that John was entrusting him with family business, but was more than happy to take over the helm while the man recovered. “I should hope that you will be up and about by then. Gossip works quickly in these parts, I am sure of it, but not that quickly.”
John merely smiled weakly and gave Rupert a steady stare. “Please settle things between the two of you while you have this chance to do so. Take what happened to me as a warning Rupert, that you should never take anything for granted, especially in your line of work. I don’t know what you feel for my niece, but at least settle the past with her. There are many things you don’t understand.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask ‘like what’ only for John’s lids to close before he could say anything. He turned and caught sight of Thea standing beside the doorway.
“What was that all about?”
“I have several things I need to tell you about, Thea,” Rupert sighed as he made his way toward her. “However, I have a few things I need to do first so, if you are willing, I should like to talk to you over dinner this evening. Given there are just the two of us, let’s eat in the sitting room in front of the fire where we are not likely to be disturbed.”
“That’s fine.” Thea took her leave of him and made her way toward her own room. She was full of questions and very aware that there were a lot of things she didn’t know or understand just yet. She had no idea what Rupert and John had been whispering about but they appeared to be in cahoots about something.
She closed the door to her room and allowed the silence to wash over her. For the first time in three days she felt at peace, and she carefully put her doubts and worries to one side to discuss with Rupert later. Weariness drew her toward the bed and, with a sigh of immense relief, lay down and allowed sleep to claim her.
John waited until he heard the quiet click of the door closing behind them before he opened his eyes. He really was very tired, but not as tired as he had made out to both of them. The doctor had informed him that although he had lost a fair amount of blood, he had narrowly escaped more serious injury. He was very weak but well on the way to recovery. However, he wasn’t averse to feigning illness to gain the opportunity to draw Rupert and Thea together. Guilt still plagued him over his part in what had happened four years ago. He still blamed himself for the distance that remained between the young couple who, if circumstances had been kinder to them, should have been happily married with a family by now.
When he had asked Rupert to go and find her and bring her to his sickbed, he had hoped that they would at least have the opportunity to talk along the way. Unfortunately, he hadn’t reckoned on the speed in which Rupert would get to her and return her to London. They couldn’t have stopped for anything and he was as bemused as he was horrified by it.
Still, Thea’s relaxed behaviour around Rupert assured him that he had made the right decision in bringing them both together again. Now, if only they could set aside their differences and discuss the issues that had driven them apart four years ago, there was still a hope that there could be a happy ending for Rupert and Thea after all.
With a sigh, he mentally ran through his plan and eased himself upright enough so that he could reach the bedside table. He sighed when he found paper but no quill and ink. With a shake of his head he leaned over and yanked the bell pull hard before he lay back down to wait for Argus. Just the small task of tugging on a piece of cord was enough to make him tremble and he cursed bitterly at the ridiculous weakness that plagued him. He wasn’t steady enough now to write, but his butler could.
As if by magic, a discrete knock on the door heralded the arrival of his butler, who looked slightly agog at the determination on his master’s face.
“Argus, get the quill and ink and come and sit down for a minute. I have a note that I want you to dispatch as a matter of urgency.” He glared at the butler who stood motionless for a moment. “Now that the blasted laudanum is wearing off, I will warn you that if you give me any of that stuff again I will throw you out on your ear. Meantime, hurry up and get that quill and ink. Oh, and some fruit cake if you have it, I am starving.”
Argus blinked owlishly at him for a moment before he lurched into action and hurried across the room to carry out his orders. He was at the door when John’s next words broke the silence.
“Argus? Under no circumstances do you tell anyone, not even my niece, that I am as well as I am. Do you hear me?” John smiled at the look of confusion on Argus’ face but made no attempt to explain. If Argus did as instructed, phase two of his carefully laid plans would come to fruition too. Satisfied that things were going well, he lay back against the plush pillows to wait.
CHAPTER SIX
“Thea? Are you alright?” Rupert’s husky rumble at her elbow made her jump. She had spent most of the afternoon catching up on her lost sleep and still felt slightly fogged, but that feeling vanished in an instant when she caught sight of Rupert standing tall and resplendent beside her.
Bathed in the soft glow of the candle-light, the rather intimate atmosphere of the small sitting room seemed to thicken around them. Her heart began to hammer in her throat as she looked at him. He cut an elegant figure in his evening jacket, neatly starched cravat and dark breeches, topped by his hessians and she wondered for a moment if she had misheard his earlier suggestion that they should eat in the sitting room.
“I am so
rry, I was just thinking,” she replied softly.
“You were miles away,” Rupert smiled. “Tired still from the journey?”
“I am perfectly rested right now. I was just thinking how unusual it is to be in the centre of such a large city yet not hear a sound.”
“It is because the house is huge and set back from the road,” he explained. Whatever else he had intended to say was interrupted by Argus, who appeared in the doorway to announce that dinner was ready.
“Shall we?” Although the table was a few feet away, he still held out his elbow for her and was pleased when Thea took it and allowed him to seat her.
Earlier, Rupert had asked Argus to ensure that the shutters were closed and the curtains drawn to protect them from prying eyes. Unfortunately, it gave the room an incredibly quiet and intimate feel that seemed to embrace them. It made him feel as though they were the only two people in the world. Now that he came to think about it, the only sounds that could be heard were the distant chinking of the crockery that was being used to prepare their evening meal and the rhythmic tick of the clock on the mantle. It was quiet, and he couldn’t quite decide whether that was a good thing or not.
“Have you been to check on your uncle?”
“Yes, I dropped in on my way down here but he was fast asleep again.” She settled her napkin in her lap and sat back to watch Argus deposit a heavily laden tray on the dresser beside the door. Rupert charged their wine glasses while Argus served the first course while Thea revelled in the attentions of both men.
Once Argus had left, Thea and Rupert ate in companionable silence for several moments. Rupert struggled to find a way of broaching the subjects they needed to discuss. A small part of him warned him that it was too soon in their acquaintance to resurrect the past but they couldn’t move forward until they had answered each other’s questions.
“Tell me something?” Thea requested quietly as soon as their bowls had been emptied.
“Anything. I hope you know that you can discuss anything with me and I shan’t be offended.”
“Who do you think shot Uncle John, and why?”
Rupert pursed his lips and placed his wine back on the table beside her hand. He placed his hand upon hers and gave it a squeeze as he studied her.
“Have you ever heard of the Star Elite?” He was unsurprised when Thea shook her head. She had been in the wilds of Leicestershire and, besides, there were some parties in the upper echelons of Government who had never heard of the secret organisation within the War Office who fought to protect the innocent.
“They are a secret organisation of mainly ex-soldiers who work to protect England’s borders from French spies and the like. They work mainly for the War Office but, now that the war is all but over, are starting to branch out into different areas and tackle more general crimes within society.” Rupert sighed and took a sip of his wine. He knew that it was now or never and motioned for Argus to clear the table.
Once the butler had left to fetch the next course, Rupert leaned forward in his seat. “When I left Bainbridge after the accident, I went slightly off the rails so to speak.” His lips twisted wryly but there was no accusation in his voice, he was merely relaying facts. It felt strange now that he was sitting opposite her that he could look back on that difficult time with a distance that seemed to confirm that he was a different person now.
Thea’s heart began to hammer in her throat and the soup that had tasted wonderful moments earlier now sat heavily in her churning stomach. “Rupert -”
“No, just hear me out, Thea. There is much I need to say, and things that you need to know.”
She had little choice but do as he requested. To refuse to discuss matters with him would get neither of them anywhere.
“I couldn’t stand the thought of going back to Bainbridge when you made it clear that you didn’t want to see me. Not only did I not want father to try to pressure me into another arranged marriage, but I didn’t want your mother constantly harping on and I just couldn’t face the endless questions about you and me, and us. You had made it clear that you never wished to see me again and I just buckled under the pressure of everything. In spite of it all, I really did want to marry you, Thea. I want you to know that.”
Words tumbled through her but she couldn’t put them into any semblance of order. Instead, she did as he had asked her to do and remained quiet while he explained what had happened.
“I refused to return to Bainbridge, and instead bought a commission for the army. I have fought in the war but got injured.” He smiled at her startled gasp. “It wasn’t much but while I was out of action I was ordered to bring some important papers back to London. While I was here I got conscripted into a secret organisation called the Star Elite.”
“Good Lord,” she whispered.
“Quite. I have worked on many investigations since and while I enjoy it, the work is often arduous and dangerous.”
Thea gasped and stared at him in consternation. “You don’t think that the gunman had been aiming at you, do you?” The horror in her voice made him smile in spite of the dangers of the situation.
“I think he might have followed me back here, yes. However,” he lifted a hand and sat back when Argus returned. Silence settled over them while the ever efficient butler carefully served the fish course and poured the wine before he retreated to his position beside the door again.
“If you could give us a few moments, Argus,” Rupert sighed and waited until the butler closed the door behind him to return to the conversation.
“That’s what you do now? Work for the Star Elite?” She couldn’t keep the astonishment out of her voice.
“It is, yes. But it is dangerous and I cannot be certain that I wasn’t followed here and the gunman wasn’t waiting outside for me to leave. Your uncle may have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, Thea. Unfortunately, now that I have been seen here, you and your uncle are at risk because you are now associated with me.”
“Good Lord,” she whispered and winced as she realised that she had already said it.
“Quite,” Rupert smiled but didn’t mention her faux pas. “One of my colleagues from the Star Elite is here to help to protect the house and the people in it. He is doing the rounds right now. I will introduce you to Marcus later but, just in case you meet him before then, he is a tall man with chestnut hair and dark green eyes. He has a cut on his chin just here,” he pointed to a spot right on the edge of his chin. “Don’t ask him how he did it. He gets a little testy when he has to explain that he was bested by a ten year old one dark and stormy night.”
Thea smiled and glanced up at a loud cough that came from the doorway. “He was eleven, it was pitch-black and I had been up all night,” the tall man growled from his position just inside the doorway. He gave Rupert a mock frown before he smiled at Thea.
“Makes all the difference,” Rupert replied blandly and pushed away from the table to make introductions.
Thea smiled when Marcus bowed toward her. “My lady,” he drawled but lost the effect when he grinned and winked at her.
Rupert rolled his eyes. “Just ignore him. We have him around for the laughter.”
“I am going to do my rounds,” Marcus replied and glanced around them. “I heard voices. Any good operative would check them out. Now that I have found you, I shall leave you to your meal.” With that he bowed and vanished as quickly as he had arrived. Thea watched the door close silently beside him and turned to resume her seat.
“He wasn’t what I was expecting.”
Rupert lifted his brows and waited. Thea realised he wanted an explanation and sought to find one without offending him.
“You are strong and carry an air of authority about you that appears stern yet very capable. There is a quiet confidence about you now, as though you are comfortable in your own skin and don’t care what anyone thinks, that wasn’t there when I knew you before. Oh, I know that sounds ridiculous really but, given what you have just said about your work
being dangerous and all, I just thought, well –”
“That we were all dangerous,” he finished gently for her when she lapsed into uncomfortable silence. “We are still men, Thea.”
“I know, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to sound offensive. It is just that what you have said about your work seems to fit who you are now. I don’t mean that in any derogative way,” she said and lapsed into silence.
“You weren’t offensive, Thea. However, the work with the Star Elite is what we do, it is not who we are.”
Thea realised then that there was a lot she didn’t know about this man seated opposite. Once again the questions tumbled through her and she didn’t know which one to ask first.
He seemed to sense her disquiet. “Penny for them,” he murmured softly.
Thea glanced up at him. Their eyes met and held. A wealth of hidden meaning hovered over them but neither were willing to break the moment.
“They aren’t worth that much,” she replied with a sigh. “Can I ask you some questions?”
He mentally cheered, took a sip of his wine and sat back in his chair. “Please do,” he growled huskily, delighted that she was interested in him, and what had happened to him.
“How long have you been with the Star Elite?”
“About three years now all in all,” he replied gently.
The soft smile on his lips made her wonder if he really was reading her mind with those far too probing beautiful green eyes, but she immediately discounted the possibility as ridiculous.
“How long are you going to be in London for?” She had to ask. She wanted to say that she wanted to know for John’s sake, but that would be a lie. Every part of her was locked on his answer and she made no attempt to pick up her knife and fork to eat. Then again, neither did he. He placed his hand over hers as it rested on the table and locked fingers with her.
“I am going to be honest with you, Thea. I am going to stay here for as long as you are here. However, I do have my work with the Star Elite to do. Right now we are tasked with finding out who shot your uncle. We need to establish if the bullet was meant for me.”
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