Page 39 of Snowbound with the Scoundrel
“Well, it’s a lucky thing they missed, isn’t it?”Rupert asked, looking unconcerned.“Say, it’s awfully cold out here for Miss Weatherby.Shall we head back inside?”
“Let’s,” the earl said tightly.
They trudged back to the house three abreast.Once inside, Lord Helmsley peered at Rupert, no doubt wondering how to get rid of him.
Rupert made it easy for him.“After all that, I fancy a hot drink.Would anyone like to join me?”
“Thank you,” Clarissa said, “but I think I’ll go up to my room and change out of these wet boots.”
“Ah.Jolly good.”Rupert bowed over her hand.As he straightened, he whispered, “Meet me in the orangery.”
Clarissa gave the tiniest nod, then turned to follow the earl up the stairs.On the landing, they encountered Lady Emily, who seemed either unaware or unconcerned that someone had attempted to kill a member of their party.“Look what I found, Miss Weatherby—mistletoe!”She gave a bright laugh.“You’d best keep your wits about you, for your many suitors will be contriving to catch you beneath one of my kissing boughs.”
Clarissa smiled weakly in return.As if she had time to worry about suitors right now, with a murderer on the loose!
Although… She glanced over her shoulder.Rupert had finished passing his hat and gloves off to a footman.Catching her eye, he nodded once before heading off to find the hot drink he had mentioned.
It was the strangest thing, but “You go right.I’ll go left” suddenly seemed like the most romantic words in the English language.Rupert hadn’t dismissed her.He hadn’t treated her like some silly girl.
He had treated her like hispartner.
Suddenly, that seemed more important than the fact that he apparently could not read.
The earl led her to the Baxters’ suite, where Lady Helmsley was also waiting.Clarissa informed everyone of what she had found in the woods.She made no mention of Rupert, and if Oliver Baxter found it a strange coincidence that Rupert had tackled him just before the shot was fired, he said nothing about it.
“At this point,” Clarissa concluded, “the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the would-be assassin is residing within the castle.”
Rosalind Baxter made a bleak sound.
Lady Helmsley pressed her niece’s hand.“I think you should both keep to your rooms until the threat has been eliminated.”
From his vantage point standing next to the window, Oliver Baxter narrowed his eyes.“Whatever became of this experienced agent the Home Office was sending?”
It was on the tip of Clarissa’s tongue to say,He saved your life not half an hour ago.
But, for whatever reason, Rupert preferred to remain incognito.Although she still didn’t understand why, he was her partner, and she was not about to betray him.
“I do not know,” Clarissa replied.“It would appear that they have been detained.”
Oliver snorted.“Perfect.If we had a more competent protector, I would suggest we venture forth and try to draw the villain out.But, as we are left to the dubious protection of England’s most renowned wallflower—”
“We both owe our lives to Miss Weatherby!”Rosalind snapped.
Oliver glowered at his wife.“I would seem to owe my life to dumb luck.”He laughed.“Unless you’re suggesting that Rupert Dupree is a highly trained government agent.”
Rosalind was having none of it.“We would have already been dead.That rock would have crushed us were it not for Miss Weatherby’s quick thinking.You know nothing of her career and experience.It is unfair of you to disparage her simply because she is a woman.”
“I appreciate that, Mrs.Baxter,” Clarissa said.“As for Mr.Dupree, he insisted on searching the woods with me while everyone else took shelter inside the castle.I thought it the act of a true gentleman.”
Oliver Baxter’s nostrils flared.No doubt he did not care for the implicit comparison—that Rupert had stayed to help while he fled inside, not even pausing to ensure the safety of his wife.
But before he could speak, Lord Helmsley said, “Yes, Rupert has always been a fine young man, and I will not hear anyone speak against him underneath my roof.”
A sulky frown settled over Oliver’s face, but he wasn’t about to gainsay the earl.Instead, he glared at his wife.“Easy enough for you to be grateful.You’re not going to be confined to this room, waiting for Miss Weatherby to sort this out.”
Rosalind looked bewildered.“I will certainly be confined to this room.I intend to practice the utmost caution.”
Her husband rolled his eyes.“You might as well go out.It’s not as if anyone cares whether you live or die.”
