Page 40 of Snowbound with the Scoundrel
Lady Helmsley surged to her feet.“I have had enough of these dismissive comments toward my niece!I, for one, care very much whether she lives or dies, and as her husband, you should too.”
“Indeed,” the earl said darkly.“You will probably say it is none of my affair.But this is not the way a gentleman speaks to his wife.”
Oliver Baxter was clever enough to recognize defeat when he saw it.“I apologize, my lord.The stress of today’s events has put me in an ill humor.”He sketched a brief bow, then headed for the connecting door to the bedchamber.“If you will excuse me, I will take some time to consider how I wish to proceed.”
After that, Lady Helmsley announced that she would sit with Rosalind for a time.Maintaining the guise of poachers being their primary suspects, they determined that Lord Helmsley would question the servants to see if anyone knew how the rifle had gone missing.
And Clarissa headed out toward the orangery to confer with Rupert.
Chapter18
Rupert’s heart was still pounding when he heard the orangery door open.Maybe he was still worked up over the near miss in the woods.Rupert wasn’t really the feats-of-derring-do sort of agent.He was more of a pretend-to-be-drunk-and-make-good-use-of-your-ears sort of agent.Then, he wrote everything up and sent it to the Home Office.
Or rather, his partner wrote it up and sent it to the Home Office.Which was the other possible explanation for his racing heart—that Clarissa had figured out that his excuse about forgetting his spectacles was just that.
An excuse.
Well, it was time to take his lumps.He hurried to the front of the orangery, where he found Clarissa shutting the door.
“Are we alone?”she asked.
“We are,” he confirmed.“What happened?”
She filled him in on her conversation in the Baxters’ sitting room.“He is torn between hiding in his rooms for the remainder of the house party and coming outside, trying to draw the assassin out so he can bring matters to a head.”She peered up at him.“You have more experience than I do as an agent.I would be curious to hear your opinion on the matter.”
“Do I?”Rupert asked.“I’ve only been at it a couple of years.”
Clarissa gave a startled laugh.“I’ve been at it less than that.”Her eyes grew guarded.“This is my second mission.”
“Truly?”Rupert asked, genuinely surprised.“I never would’ve known.”
Clarissa’s lips tightened as if she was unsure whether she believed him.“You don’t have to say that to make me feel better.”
“No, really.You were fantastic.You saved them from that falling rock, for one.But when we had to search the woods, you were so confident!You looked just like an old hand.”
“Do you mean that?”she asked, her guard abruptly falling away.“Oliver Baxter has been treating me like I’m worthless.”
Rupert waved a hand.“I wouldn’t put too much stock in anything Baxter says.You’ve seen the way he treats his wife.”
“Yes!”Clarissa stepped forward, her eyes bright with annoyance.“The thought flashed through my mind that, had I not been tasked with protecting him, I’d be tempted to strangle him myself.”
Rupert laughed.“He seems like a miserable sort of fellow, to say nothing of a self-righteous prick.”
“I agree wholeheartedly.”Clarissa snorted.“I was so excited about this assignment, because I admire many of his political positions.But suffice it to say, meeting him in the flesh has been quite the disappointment.”
“Did he suspect anything with the way I tackled him just before the gun went off?”
Clarissa shook her head.“He did not.Speaking of a job well done, thank God you had the wherewithal to pretend to trip.”Her eyes grew rueful.“I was frozen with fear.Had you not acted, I would have stood there and watched him get shot.”
That was nice.That was very nice of her, considering what a slapdash effort it had been.“It wasn’t much.Tripping was all I could come up with in the moment.”
“Considering Oliver Baxter isn’t dead, I would say you couldn’t have done any better,” Clarissa said firmly.
Rupert rubbed the back of his head.“Aww, that’s kind of you.Really kind.”
She laughed.“I am not known for being kind.I have a reputation for being too plainspoken by half.”She poked him in the arm.“But it happens to be true.”
Rupert was fairly certain he was blushing.“Oh, gosh.Oh, golly.”
