Page 37 of His Wicked Secret
“Mr. Linley?” Linley glanced around. Audrey sat in a chair by the fire, looking cozy as she read a book. They were in a small drawing room, a private one for members of the family only, but he’d thought it was empty when he’d scouted it earlier.
“My apologies, Miss Sheridan.” He straightened himself and prepared to leave, as if nothing was amiss.
“Oh no, please. I was just going. Dinner will be ready.” Audrey stood, her dark green gown a bold creation of satin and trimmed with Belgian lace. No doubt the earl and his friends were dressed with equal refinement. Fine clothing and pleasant evenings with friends who cared for one another… A flicker of envy darted around inside Linley, but he repressed it, just as he did every emotion. He could never have that kind of life.
He was here to betray the League and their families. It didn’t matter that the Earl of Lonsdale—Charles—had welcomed him and his baby sister, Katherine, into his home. It didn’t matter that he liked his friends and their families just as much, especially Audrey. If he did not do his job, Katherine would be taken from him, and with her the last of his spirit.
Audrey paused in the doorway, her eyes sweeping over him in a cryptic play. She leaned in to whisper, “I know your secret, Tom.”
Terror shot through him, tightening all of his muscles. Part of him screamed to silence her, and he knew half a dozen ways to do it, but he held back. He was to harm no one unless ordered to do so. Tom was just a cog in a greater and more menacing machine, one that was closing in tighter around the League every day, and yet none of them were any the wiser.
“You needn’t worry. I shall not tell a soul. But someday, I hope you will be brave enough to discuss it with me. We all have our secrets.” She patted his cheek, and his heart swelled with affection, then burned with the knowledge of his inevitable betrayal.
Audrey didn’t know his secrets. At least, none of consequence. If she did, this conversation would not have ended so amiably. Perhaps she did suspect that he was a spy, but of a less sinister sort, in the pay of a rival lord keeping tabs on his competition.
Ordinarily he would report this immediately. Even the hint of his position being compromised would be grounds to remove him from the field. But soon Audrey would be put on a path that would lead her away from the safety of her friends and family, even her country, and toward almost certain death. As much as he didn’t want to think about it, the problem would soon correct itself.
Poor naïve fool. You think spying is a game. If only you knew the truth. Nothing is a game when the object is survival.
Once Audrey was gone and he was alone, he sank into a corner of the room, wishing he could vanish. That it could be as if he’d never existed. Tom closed his eyes and embraced the chill of the cold wall.
I have no choice.For Katherine’s sake, I have no choice.
The only thing worse than owing the devil a debt was having it called in.
* * *
It wasa dreadful thing to attend a dinner party looking splendid on the outside yet feeling completely wretched on the inside. Audrey knew she looked magnificent in her green satin gown. The décolletage was low, and the sleeves were short and trimmed with lace. It showed her figure to its best advantage, but she didn’t feel the magic of the dress tonight the way she usually did.
She strode into the hall where the guests had gathered, and all she could think of was being back in the leisure room with her trousers on and…kissing Jonathan.
She relished the look on Jonathan’s face as he entered the hall. She noticed a dark bruise on his chin where she’d hit him earlier. Her heart sank. She’d felt so victorious when she had defended herself, but she had hurt him. She did her best to mask her dismay as Horatia escorted Jonathan over to her.
“You two will be paired this evening. I trust that is all right?” Her older sister’s eyes twinkled with mischief. Audrey was about to protest that her sister had clearly set her up, but Horatia suddenly paled and placed a hand over the swell of her unborn child.
Audrey put an arm around her at the same time Jonathan leaned in, asking if he could help in any way.
“Horatia, you shouldn’t be down here, you ought to be resting if the babe is making a fuss.”
“I agree,” said Jonathan. “Surely we can proceed while you get some rest?”
For a moment the two were united in their desire to aid Horatia, and she couldn’t help but offer him a relieved smile. He returned it with a soft expression that made her heart flutter.
Her sister sighed. “I know. But I cannot stand the idea of confinement. I told Lucian I would not be locked in some dark room until the child was born.”
“Did he want to do that?” Jonathan asked, confused.
“Not in so many words,” Horatia amended. “But it’s what most men demand of their wives. The thought of being trapped, even for a few days, makes me feel delirious. You understand.”
“I do,” Jonathan assured her. “Would you like me to help you sit in the dining hall?”
Horatia waved him away. “No, thank you. Lucian will see to that.” She waited for Lucian to join them, and Lucian nodded his thanks to them for watching out for his wife. He escorted Horatia into the dining room, and the other couples paired up and proceeded after them. Audrey saw Gillian and Lord Pembroke. They were both paired with other partners, yet they could not keep their eyes off one another. Audrey grinned. Her matchmaking efforts were well underway.
Jonathan leaned in to whisper in her ear. “You’re scheming again, aren’t you?”
“If you mean Lord Pembroke and Gillian, then yes. Nothing has changed in that regard.”
“So you see no problem with her being…” He paused, his green eyes dark with sudden shadows. “Being seen aslessbecause of her station?”
