Page 10 of Seduced By a Scoundrel

“He…he was of medium height, sir, with dark hair. His clothes were fine, but disheveled.” Artie glanced at Jeremy as if a disheveled appearance was something Jeremy would note as suspicious. “He might have been young, but he’d sort of gone to seed, like,” Artie finished. “I didn’t like him, sir.”

Jeremy’s heart began to thump again. “That sounds like Conroy’s accomplice,” he said, sitting down heavily in one of the chairs. “That sounds precisely like the man who said he’d obtained poison for—” He stopped speaking before he revealed too much to Artie.

“Thank you, Artie, is it?” Talboys said with a surprisingly kind smile for the lad.

“Yes, sir,” Artie said with a bright smile.

“You may go now,” Talboys said, managing to sound as if he was giving Artie a boon while telling him to go away.

“If you need anything, I’ll be downstairs with the others,” Artie said, looking first to Jeremy, then to Talboys. “Anything at all.” His smile grew.

“Cheeky,” Talboys said, sending Artie off with a jerk of his head.

Jeremy didn’t know whether to laugh or scold Talboys for flirting with one of his staff. He didn’t know if he should be jealous.

Talboys walked over to shut the door, then turned back to Jeremy.

“I do not like any of this,” he said, back to being serious. “Something about that description of Conroy’s accomplice seems a bit too familiar.”

“Do you know the man?” Jeremy asked, sitting straighter.

Talboys sauntered back to the table. “I know a great many people in this city, but unless I see the man myself, I wouldn’t be able to say I knew that man in particular.”

“I’ll tell you whatever I can about him,” Jeremy said in a rush. “Artie was right in that he appears to be a young, debauched nobleman. I did not recognize him myself, which felt odd, as I know most of thetonon sight.”

Talboys grunted, then sat and reached for the teapot to pour. “So we’re likely dealing with a desperate nobleman who has not been to London for quite some time and who has a vested interest in assisting Conroy in precipitating the king’s death before the crown princess comes of age.”

“And, it appears, who would stoop to murdering the man who overheard those plans,” Jeremy said, sinking back into his chair. He was too overwhelmed by the possibility that someone wished to do him harm to dwell on the sweetness of Talboys preparing his tea for him when he should have been the one playing host. “I still have no idea what to do,” he added.

“Do as little as possible,” Talboys advised him. “There is no doubt that you are in grave danger. I would advise against letting your staff know it, however.”

“No, no, I would never trouble the boys with something this dire,” Jeremy said. He picked up his teacup and stared at the weak tea it contained. The water definitely hadn’t been hot enough.

“I will do a bit of investigating,” Talboys said after a short pause. “I need to discover how credible the threat against the king is and how far Conroy has gone with his plot. I shall attempt to discover the identity of his accomplice as well.”

“Can I help in any way?” Jeremy asked.

Talboys smiled at him as he took a sip of the terrible tea. “You can keep your lovely self away from harm,” he said. “Stay close to this shop. I’ll find a few trusted men to guard it for you.”

“Thank you,” Jeremy said, letting out a breath. “I shall be forever in your debt.”

“Oh, I’ll find a way for you to repay me,” Talboys said, winking at him before he took another sip of tea.

The comment was wicked, but Jeremy found that he didn’t mind. Talboys was showing himself to be something of a rake and a scoundrel, despite being a police officer, but Jeremy had never felt safer.

Four

It was a calculated risk for Derrek to eschew his responsibilities toward the Metropolitan Police so that he could make a trip out to Windsor the day after being thrown together with Jeremy Wilkes. He was certain his supervisor wouldn’t be pleased, but as he fully intended to leave the Met to go into business for himself at some point, he felt it was worth the inevitable censure.

Wilkes was far more important, as far as he was concerned. Spending just a short amount of time with the man the day before had been a lesson in loveliness. Even when skittish and threatened, Wilkes was the epitome of grace and charm. He’d tried so hard to make Derrek feel at home in his rooms, even though it could be argued that Derrek had pushed his way in like a bull.

Derrek wasn’t too hoity toity to admit that he wanted to push his way in like a bull in other ways where Wilkes was concerned. He was a red-blooded male with an appreciation for other men like him, after all. He didn’t think his hunger for sweet, masculine company was greater than others like him, but he did appreciate a good tupping when he could get it. It had been a while as well. The earliest days of spring had always reminded him of Joseph, as it was the end of February when Joseph had died, so he’d been too melancholy to find himself a companion for the night for a while.

Wilkes made him reconsider all of that. He had Joseph’s gentle nature, so perhaps a night of bedsport with the beleaguered tailor would be more like a tribute to Joseph than a betrayal of him. Then again, Derrek had no desire to mix affections in his mind. Joseph was Joseph and Wilkes was Wilkes.

And besides, he had a mission of dire importance to carry out.

There was nothing untoward at Windsor Castle, as far as he could determine. He had a few friends among the castle’s servants, fellow members of The Brotherhood in particular, who were able to tell him everything he needed to know. He’d even managed to wait in hiding near one of the family dining rooms so that he could observe the king at luncheon. The man was old and infirm, but he didn’t appear in any danger of dying in his soup.

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