Page 35 of The Miracle of Love
The perfection of it jolted him.
Deklan had never felt anything like this before.
She surely belonged to him.
Did it work both ways?
Belonging to each other?
This was bad.
They reached the staircase landing, and he paused beside a window shaped in an octagon. “Stand back a little, Grace. Don’t let them see you.”
He positioned her out of their line of sight and then pointed to a bench beside a hedgerow in the garden square around which the houses on this street were built. “See those two men seated on the bench facing us? Those are agents of the foreign royal house.”
He then pointed to the neighbor’s wall. “Two more are behind that stone wall. Those men are hired by the opposition faction.”
She looked up at him, her eyes big and questioning. “How can you see through a stone wall? Anyway, wouldn’t they be noticed by the neighbor’s footmen and chased off?”
“I noticed them this morning and again when our carriage drew up in front of Miranda’s house. To answer your question, I cannot see through walls. And yes, they would be noticed by the neighbor’s staff.” He continued to peer out the window as he spoke, keeping his arm loosely around her waist in a gesture that was possessive as much as it was protective. “But Miranda’s neighbors are not at home for Christmas. Lord and Lady Barrett left yesterday morning to spend the month in Oxford with their children and have closed up the house.”
“All their servants are gone?”
He nodded. “Those not taken with them have been given the month off, all but an old, doddering butler left here as caretaker. Ineffectual, obviously. His eyesight is failing, and he can hardly see beyond his nose. His hearing is poor as well.”
“How do you know this?”
“It is my job to know all that is going on around us.”
His gaze remained on the men outside. There had to be more than four of them. Likely more were positioned by the rear of the house. He needed to scout the area as soon as darkness fell, which it did rather early at this time of year.
“Deklan, how do you know which side these agents represent?”
“As I said, it is my business to assess these things. It is not hard to do once you know what to look for. Their clothes alone often give away who hired them. The expressions on their faces are another hint. Their boldness or lack of it.”
He drew her slightly behind him.
“Is there something else going on out there? Why are you peering out so intently? And you just nudged me behind you.”
“No obvious threat, Grace. I’m just trying to plan our escape without any of the villains noticing. Since you insist on our going to Bexhill instead of letting the Crown’s men attend to it, it falls on me to safely get you away from here.”
She sighed. “You are peeved.”
“Not with you. None of this is your fault, and you are doing your best to help us find that stolen crown.” His gaze fixed on her lovely mouth now pursed while she was lost in thought. “I’ve seen all I need to see.”
He drew her away from the window, but they had taken only a few steps down the hall before she stopped him.
“Wait, I have another question to ask you. Why are the men behind the hedgerows and the men behind the stone wall not going after each other? Would they not want to get each other out of the way before they come for me?”
“They will once the time is right.”
“And when is that?”
“When they manage to separate you from me. Four of them tried it unsuccessfully a short while ago, and more will attempt to grab you again tonight. I’m just sorry Wooton did not have our own agents positioned at your home to bring those two surviving louts in for questioning.”
“Should we have held them there until Crown agents arrived?”
“No, getting you to safety was the priority. They are mere underlings and would not have given us much information of use. I can guess most of it, anyway.”
