Page 86 of The Truth Serum
So many things. None of which could be detailed to her now. “I must speak with Lord and Lady Penrose,” he said. He had to get the baron an invitation to their ball or none of this would work. Then Lord Benedict. Then some of the watermen he knew who would help him watch the docks. And… and…
The list of things he had to do was daunting. And that didn’t even include what he’d promised to his publisher.
She must have seen the anxiety on his face because her expression grew gentle.
“Poor Nate,” she said without irony. “I just have to go shopping with Kynthea.”
“And establish Dorothy in your household,” he reminded her. He would need to have a word with Dorothy, making sure the maid understood that she stood to gain a great deal by beingprotective of Becca, and ensuring that she would get a message to him if either of them were in any danger.
“Did you know that Dorothy has older brothers?” he quipped. “Grew up learning how to fight from them.”
Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise, and it took him a moment to realize what he had revealed. He was friendly with Dorothy, enough to know her particulars. And that was rare for a man in another man’s household.
“How the devil do you know that?” Ras asked.
“I’ve been living here for a while. How did younotknow?”
“I—” Ras frowned. He was a duke. It wasn’t typical for him to know the details of his female staff unless something nefarious was going on. “I leave that to my butler.”
Nate nodded. “We chatted when she was setting the fire in my room.” Then he glanced at Becca, seeing her study him closely. “Becca—” he began, but she cut him off.
“Lord Nathaniel has never stood on ceremony.”
Which was a nice way of saying Nate talked with everyone. A charitable man would say that he was approachable. Lord Benedict said that made him the perfect spy. He was not aloof, and servants knew everything.
“Does that bother you?” Nate asked. He knew that it was a lot harder for her to make friends. She’d always been shy.
“No,” she said. “I admire that.”
Good. But as he watched her, doubt kept creeping into his thoughts. Was she really as comfortable as she seemed? Was she saying that just to appease him? He’d learned last night how capable she was at telling Fletcher exactly what he wanted to hear while secretly doing exactly as she wished.
Which put Nate in the unaccustomed position of wondering what she was thinking. He’d built an entire career on his ability to read other people. And if that failed, he usually had access totheir servants. Separate ways of learning whatever needed to be known.
And yet, with Becca, he didn’t know if she was appeasing him or meant what she said.
“Becca—” he began again but was forestalled as she turned to Kynthea.
“Now, I must know everything you plan for your wedding. I’ve never gotten to attend a society wedding. Is it as overwhelming as it seems? Or do you have everything in hand?”
“I have absolutely nothing in hand,” Kynthea laughed. “And I would welcome your assistance.”
And so the conversation went for the rest of the meal. And given everything the women had planned, he would get no more time with Becca this day. Just as well, he thought with a sigh. He had things to do too.
But soon, he would put his heart on the line with her. As soon as everything else was resolved, he would get her to say “yes” to their marriage. Or he would kiss her goodbye before he disappeared back into the war.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rebecca had toface Fletcher at some point. Though she dreaded it, she knew it was inevitable. So she packed up Dorothy and accepted the burly footman that Ras insisted on sending with them “to help carry Dorothy’s valise.”
Dorothy had a small carpetbag, easily carried by any of them, but Rebecca accepted the help anyway. It soothed the duke and reassured Kynthea. It was an illusion. If Fletcher wanted to hurt her, he would find a way that no footman or maid could help her.
So she pressed a kiss to Kynthea’s cheeks, swore she looked forward to their afternoon at the modiste (which was very true), and looked long and hard at Nate.
She believed him now. Everything, without reservation. Their night’s conversation filled her mind with all the wonderful and scary things he had told her. Months and months of hardship, scary midnight rendezvous, and the occasional stretches of safety. All through it, he’d written his stories as a way to keep sane. And she marveled at all he had accomplished when all she’d done was wait on her family and serve her village.
His world was huge compared to hers.
And yet underneath it all, she sensed a growing weariness in him. Or perhaps she sensed her own. They were both due for a change. But what that might look like was anybody’s guess.
