Page 72 of The Confessions of a Lady
‘Thank God for that.’ Commissioner Worthington’s lips turned up in a small smile, making him look younger.
Penny must have misheard him. She glanced around the room and saw similar expressions of shock on everyone’s faces.
Except Philippa. Her secret smile matched that of the commissioner’s.
The room exploded in a cacophony of outrage, but before Penny could determine what in the blazes was going on, the door swung open, and Liam stepped inside the library.
18
Liam took in the varied expressions of shock, betrayal, and anger. He formed a quick conclusion. ‘Ah. I see you’ve been talking about me.’ Seeing no one else wore a mask, he gratefully removed his own, placing it on the table near the door. His gaze found Penny. Her opinion was the only one he actually cared about. What the devil had been revealed and consequently, what was she thinking? How much had her anger grown? Because it certainly hadn’t retreated.
‘You bastard,’ Killian growled, his powerful legs bringing him nose to nose with Liam.
Drake flanked his other side. He put a heavy hand on Liam’s shoulder and squeezed hard enough to make Liam flinch. ‘How could you sink so low?’
‘Move aside, gentlemen.’ Hannah’s low voice was calm.
Perhaps Killian’s wife will be reasonable.
Liam looked over Killian’s shoulder and saw her pointing a pistol directly at him.
Perhaps not.
Killian and Drake followed her order, and Millicent shifted closer to Hannah. A throwing knife appeared in her palm. Sheflicked her wrist, the knife spinning up in the air in a series of flashing arcs before it landed with a thwack back in her palm. ‘I think you have some explaining to do, Lord Renquist.’
‘More like confessing,’ Hannah said.
Liam sought out Penny. She stood alone in front of the settee. Somewhere in the darkness behind her, a shimmer of blue silk caught the candlelight. Lady Cavendale had relegated herself to the dimmest corner of the room.Smart woman.
Penny’s lips were pressed tightly together. She had her arms crossed in front of her, a shield protecting her body from his gaze. She wouldn’t look him in the eyes, choosing instead to stare at the floor in front of her feet.
‘Hannah is right. It is time to confess, Liam. Tell everyone what you’ve been up to.’ Philippa strode across the room as stately as any ruling monarch. Walking between Killian and Drake, she took her place next to Liam. ‘I know you wanted to do this alone, but there is strength in numbers.’ She spoke quietly so only he could hear her words.
He stared at her and contemplated the inevitable. Exhaling a long breath, he tipped his chin down in acknowledgement.
Killian and Drake stepped back, joining their wives in the centre of the room. Commissioner Worthington moved behind the settee. Lady Cavendale slinked away from him, further into the shadows, and Penny stayed where she was. Her shoulders thrust back, though her gaze remained on the floor.
Philippa’s presence at his side gave Liam unexpected strength. Tightening his spine to stand tall, he started at the beginning.
‘Killian, Drake, when we returned from the Afghan War, the prime minister approached all three of us to join with him as investigators for the Crown. You both agreed and I declined.’
Killian clenched his jaw. ‘I recall. We never guessed you refused the prime minister’s offer so you could sink to such depths of depravity.’
Liam’s lips twitched and he fought the urge to smile. ‘I don’t think the Queen would appreciate you describing her group as depraved.’
Drake’s blond brows pulled down as his broken face creased into lines of confusion. ‘What the bloody hell does the Queen have to do with any of this?’
‘I didn’t take the prime minister’s offer because I had already accepted another. From the Queen of England.’
Killian’s sharp gaze darted from Liam to Philippa and back again. His wife lowered her pistol.
‘You work for Queen Victoria? You’re on our side?’ She rested the pistol against her skirts, turning to Philippa. ‘And you knew this all along?’
Philippa lifted an elegant shoulder in a gesture betraying no guilt. ‘Yes. She asked me to keep his involvement secret. And I have followed her orders, until now.’
Penny took a halting step forward. ‘I don’t understand.’ Her hazel eyes were wide, her cheeks pale. ‘What are you saying?’
Everyone else in the room disappeared and Liam closed the distance between them. Grasping her cold fingers in his much larger hand, he squeezed gently, willing some of his heat into her. ‘I have been working undercover for the Queen. To infiltrate the Devil’s Sons and find out who their leaders are so we can destroy them from the inside out.’
