Page 39 of The Miracle of Love
“A good agent must always be prepared,” he said with a laugh and resumed his pacing. This was a habit of his whenever he needed to think. “Caleb and I will arrange for horses to be at the ready.”
“Where will they be? The foreign agents must be keeping an eye on the mews behind Miranda’s house. Would we not be seen riding off?”
“We’ll have to leave them elsewhere. I’ll figure that out with Caleb shortly.”
“But we’d still need to slip away unseen or all is lost.”
“This is why we need to confide the plan to Miranda and others in the family. We cannot do this on our own. As I said, Rafe and Shayne to obtain the fireworks while Caleb and I deal with the horses and other details.”
“What can I do in the meanwhile?”
“Nothing other than staying safe. I’ll have to leave you for a while. You need to be careful while I’m gone. Remain downstairs with the women. Or invite them up here, I don’t care which. I know Auggie, Willow, and Faith will help out,” he said, referring to the wives of his brother and cousins. “Their husbands are going to confide in them anyway, so I might as well include them in our planning.”
“This is how it ought to be between husbands and wives. Couples do not keep secrets from each other in a love marriage.”
“Neither should you ever keep secrets from me, Grace.” He leaned over without thinking and kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t yell at me. I know we are not a couple and I have no intention of speaking of love, but you are mine to protect and I will not shirk my duty.”
But it was more than mere duty that bound him to Grace.
She had an exquisite softness about her.
He could not look at her without wanting to hold her in his arms.
In truth, he wanted more.
These feelings she roused in him were intense and utterly confounding.
He was experienced.
She was naive.
How did she gain such power over him?
He shook his head and proceeded to relate the rest of his plan. “What do you think?” he asked when he finished.
She was not looking at him, but had her slender fingers wrapped around the bedpost and was nibbling her luscious lower lip.
“Grace?”
Her eyes were rounded in dismay.
He knelt beside her. “Is there something about the plan you do not like? The fireworks? They are a necessity. We need the noise and bright bursts of light to distract everyone.”
“No, it is brilliant. A marvelous idea.”
“I hoped it would dazzle you,” he teased, casting her a warm smile to mask his concern. She needed to be ready to participate wholeheartedly or their escape would fail.
A light blush stained her cheeks.
“Is it the masks? The gowns? We are all to wear masks as part of the festivities and you ladies need to wear similar gowns. This is meant to have you blend in and make it harder for those agents to distinguish you from the other blondes.”
“I know. In truth, I find it ironic. We spend fortunes at our modistes in order not to look alike. We pride ourselves on standing out.”
“Yes, well…not tonight. We need to confuse those who are watching us. The gowns do not have to match exactly, just try to wear the same colors. Masks, matching gowns, fireworks, and some of those rockets will be purposely aimed at the foreign agents.”
“That is clever. Do you think it will work?”
“Let’s hope so. They’ll be forced to dive for cover. That’s when you and I make a run for the mews and our waiting horses. The travel pouches will already be attached to the saddles.”
