Page 70 of The Miracle of Love
Deklan took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “None of us wishes to see you hurt. Anyway, I hope you like our hideout. And I hope my cousins do make use of it at some point in the future. I’m not sure how often I’ll get to enjoy it if Wooton keeps assigning me to the Continent.”
“Generous of you, Deklan,” Donal said. “So we are talking about a summer retreat on the coast? That narrows it down to about a thousand possible locations. But are you sure about keeping Grace out of London? Wooton wants her returned there as soon as possible.”
“He does not get Grace back. I do not trust his motives and cannot risk his trading her to that foreign government even if their crown is returned.”
“I don’t think he would ever sink so low as that,” Donal said. “Lucy would never allow her father to pull such a dirty trick.”
“I’d rather not put him to the test. Grace stays with me until the affair is completely resolved.”
“Got it,” Lorcan said. “I would do the same if Cammy were at risk. So where in Eastbourne specifically do we complete the handoff?”
Deklan gave his cousins the name of a popular tavern. “Then it’s up to you to lose whoever may be following us and get back to London as fast as possible.”
“While you take Grace into hiding at an unknown location,” Lorcan said, cracking a grin. “I bet I can figure it out in under five minutes.”
“Maybe you could, Lor. But don’t try. Wooton will demote the lot of us to filing clerks, he’ll be that angry if he thinks you are abetting my misbehavior.”
“Fine, I’ll let the matter drop. I think you are the only one who ever riles him. Sometimes, I think it is a game the two of you play. With everyone else, he is the Duke of Ice. Nothing shakes his composure. But at the mere mention of your name…” Lorcan emitted a hearty laugh. “They’ll hear Wooton’s angry roar throughout the Home Office when I tell him what you’ve done.”
“It’ll do him good not to get his way. Builds character. Modesty. Humility.” Deklan grinned as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Are we done? Anything else to discuss?”
His cousins rose.
“No, Dek.” Donal gave him a quick hug. “Take care of yourself. I’m sorry you won’t be with us for the holidays.”
Lorcan did the same. “I don’t know who I fear worse when breaking the news, Wooton or Aunt Miranda. She’ll be disappointed to have you miss yet another family holiday.”
Deklan nodded. “I know. I’ll make it up to her…and to Rafe and Sam and my mother. I know I’ve let them down. But they’ll understand.”
He ought to have kept his mouth shut because Grace was fretting again.
Was she worried about his missing Christmas with his family?
Blessed saints.
She wasn’t going to talk him into returning her to London, was she?
Chapter Eleven
While being onthe run from foreign agents and a blisteringly angry Duke of Wooton was not quite the same thing as an enjoyable countryside ride, Grace still felt her spirits lifted to be thundering along the well-traveled roads at full gallop toward Bexhill. She finally felt as though she was doing something helpful for England and her own family.
Deklan, it galled her to admit, was right when he insisted she did not have the coldness of heart or the brute strength to physically fight off enemy agents. But she had been the one to figure out where this elusive crown was buried and it felt good to be able to contribute something toward ending this sad affair.
The further south they rode, the less snow they encountered. By the time they reached Bexhill, there was no trace of a blizzard ever having touched upon the ground. This was likely because they were so close to the water. However, this close to the bay one felt the biting wind with particular intensity, each gust carrying tiny grains of ice which struck her cheeks.
Despite the cold, she wanted to press on. Indeed, she would never stop now, for they could not be far from the house her family had let that long ago summer. “Vixen’s grave,” she whispered, determined to find it even after all this time.
“Grace, how are you doing?” Deklan called, riding beside her and easily keeping pace even though she was an excellent rider and not holding back on her reins.
But she held back now, slowing her horse to a trot because she knew they were close. The landmarks were familiar to her and the turnoff to the manor house had to be coming up soon. “Eager to have this over and done.”
Two days had passed without incident, although sleeping beside Deklan’s sinfully divine body every night was quite the incident in itself. She was inexperienced in the act of love, but certainly not dumb as rocks, and felt the dangerous attraction simmering between them.
Not merely simmering.
They could not be in the same room together without sparks igniting.
Of course, she felt the attraction because she was in love with Deklan.
