Page 18 of A Masked Lady for Mr. Kenworthy
Rupert nodded, looking at Thomas blandly.
“Her being innocent means that she is completely unknown to Lord Turlington,” he said. “Good God! She is our best chance at getting close to him, without him growing suspicious and attempting to flee.”
Thomas continued to stare at his friend in disbelief. How could Rupert even suggest such a thing? Their job was to deal with criminals and protect innocent people, not deliberately and directly endanger them. He was preparing to launch into that precise speech when Lady Faye interrupted him.
“I will do it,” she said with fierce determination.
Her words surprised both Thomas and Rupert. Both men looked at her in utter shock. Thomas was furious with Rupert for ever having such a crazy notion. But for now, he had to try to convince the young woman not to agree to it.
“My lady,” he said, “to do such a thing would be to put yourself in the gravest danger possible. The chances of you being harmed are very high. You must reconsider what you are saying.”
Lady Faye shook her head firmly, setting her jaw.
“My cousin has already held me at gunpoint,” she said. Then, she looked pointedly at Thomas. “And so have you, I might add. And, even if I refuse to do this for you, Mayson will still be giving me orders. So, if I am going to have to do these things anyway, I would rather be doing them for the right side of the law.”
Thomas flushed as he recalled how he had levelled his pistol at the poor young woman. He felt his anger returning at the thought of anyone else doing the same to her. But most of all, he felt himself reluctantly beginning to agree with her. Even if they sent her home without arranging for her to work for them, her cousin would continue to use her as his agent, but for evil, rather than good. Still, Thomas could not quite reconcile the idea of endangering the young lass, especially when he had such a strong attraction to her.
“Are you certain?” Thomas asked hesitantly, praying vainly that she would suddenly change her mind and recant her cooperation with the scheme.
To his dismay, however, Lady Faye nodded.
“I am,” she said. “I would do anything to see an end to this. But more importantly, I would do anything to see that my mother is protected and cared for.”
Thomas stared helplessly at the young woman. He seemed to be the only person in the room who realized just how much danger she would be in. It was one thing for Rupert to expect her to agree to put herself in harm’s way. It was something altogether different for her actually to say she would willingly do it.
Rupert approached him, putting a firm hand on his back.
“Come with me for a moment, Thomas,” he said calmly.
Thomas complied, preparing to launch into a stern lecture the moment they stepped out of the room once again. But before he could, Rupert looked him in the eyes, patting his back.
“I know this is a unique and very unexpected situation,” he said. “And I understand there are risks…”
“Risks?” Thomas interrupted, his voice rising. “She could be killed. That is far more than a mere risk.”
Rupert nodded patiently.
“But we have no other choice,” he continued, as though Thomas had never spoken. “We must have Lady Faye work undercover for us. We need her to do this.”
Thomas shook his head, his disbelief growing exponentially.
“I cannot believe what I am hearing,” he murmured. “Since when do we purposefully endanger innocent lives?”
Rupert sighed.
“It is not ideal, I agree,” he said. “But we must do it for two reasons. Firstly, she could get in very serious trouble with the authorities for everything she has already done, that’s if she does not agree to help us. And secondly, we cannot afford to compromise the mission. Lady Faye is our best chance at ensuring we do not do so.”
Thomas shook his head, unconvinced.
“But is she our only chance?” he asked. “Is there not some other way?”
Rupert furrowed his brow and sighed.
“If everything she has told us is true, then I do not believe there is,” he said. To Thomas’s surprise, his voice had become sad. “At the very least, her cousin knows what she has been up to. And to save his own hide, he might not only put her at risk of greater harm but also jeopardize our mission. And we do not know for certain that Lord Turlington knows nothing of who she is, or what she had been up to. Truthfully, as dangerous as it is, I believe the safest course of action is for Lady Faye to continue as she has been, only under our employ.”
Thomas looked from his partner back at the young woman and then back again. He knew Rupert was right, but that fact did not make him like the idea any better. He truly wished that Lady Faye had rejected the plan. Perhaps Rupert would have eventually dropped the subject, and he and Thomas could come up with another plan after she had been returned home safely. But now, with her willing to participate, that left only Thomas to object. Which meant he would be overruled.
With a defeated sigh, Thomas nodded, his head feeling heavy with reluctance.
