Page 17 of A Fearless Heart
Not that he’d have preferred the church. Gabe laughed to himself. He didn’t have the temperament to shepherd souls toward the next world. He was more interested in this one. He supposed that was what first got the attention of the Zodiac. When Gabe was in the army, he took on missions that few other soldiers would touch. They were dirty, sneaky assignments that required a lot of humility and some bending of the usual rules of gentlemanly warfare. But it was for the right reason—ending the war as quickly as possible.
For one such mission, Gabe had to circle around behind the enemy and deliver a message to a French corporal whose loyalty was a bit suspect. Gabe managed the first part perfectly, but when the corporal decided that he didn’t want Gabe to remain alive to report on his conduct…thathad got messy. Afterward, the French army was down a corporal, and Gabe had to leave his favorite knife behind in the corporal’s chest.
He was certain that he’d be disciplined—or worse—when he reported back. Instead, he found himself offered more assignments like it. He learned fast, and by the time he was shipped back home, he had a formidable collection of skills that he couldn’t tell anyone about. That was when he met Julian Neville and the mysterious Miss Chattan. They told him he was perfect for the Zodiac: independent, intelligent, resourceful, and above all, discreet.
For the next several years, Gabe handled countless assignments. Some required him to travel to France, Germany, Portugal…and further. Some were completed without leaving London. Gabe never turned an assignment down, and he never liked the idle time between assignments. He’d found his calling. Anything else felt like a waste.
To be sure, he visited his family and old friends, establishing that he was still around, though not terribly reliable. Gabe liked to spread rumors that he was involved in gambling, loose women, and, most shockingly, trade. It kept questions from his old set to a minimum, and it prevented anyone from trying to match him with an eligible daughter. (Not that it was a big risk, considering that on the marriage mart, third sons were as attractive as three-day-old fish.)
All that left Gabe free to do his real work. He liked the process of the Zodiac’s assignments. No matter how unusual the task, the same general procedure applied. Gather information, assess the situation, find the weaknesses, choose the right moment, and strike. Then he could go back to the Zodiac with his victory. Sometimes it was information like a secret letter or a document. Sometimes it was a report of an unfortunate death. Sometimes it was nothing more than Gabe assuring them that he spoke a certain phrase to a certain person.
But here, at Calderwood, Gabe was distinctly uneasy. He’d arrived at the estate thinking that the lady of the house was directly involved with the poisonings in London. But that was no longer a safe assumption. She never left the estate, and she didn’t have any motive for the killings anyway. Plus, if she were some cold-hearted killer, would she have dragged him off to be patched up following a scuffle with an idiot?
He didn’t like being so unsure of the situation. He wished he could reexamine the dossier Miss Chattan had compiled for him, but of course he’d burned it after he’d read the contents. And yes, he’d dutifully committed everything in it to memory, but perhaps he’d missed some nuance, some fact that would help him now.
“Or there just wasn’t much to find,” he muttered, stalking through the gardens and beyond to the broad lawn that swept out over to the west of the main house. Both Chattan and Julian had been close-lipped about exactly what the previous agent, Pisces, had been doing before he’d been killed—maybe they didn’t even know. Agents were used to having free rein on assignments. Actually, the fact that Aries insisted on regular reports showed how nervous they were about this, willing to risk discovery of the report just so they’d know if their agent was still alive.
Gabe thought that he could actually send off his next report now. He had some positive news to relate, since he’d actually spoken with Lady Arcadia and gained a measure of trust from her…or had he? She acted very oddly at the end of that encounter, as if something forced her to withdraw from the whole conversation. On second thought, maybe he should hold off on that report for a day or two.
Just then, a low, mournful sound drifted over to him. Gabe went still, listening hard. Then the sound came again, and he relaxed. It was a dog howling.
He spun about and headed toward the sound. When Gabe found the old shed that served as the kennel, he stopped as a huge shape emerged from the shadows, accompanied by a low growl.
Gabe exhaled only after he scanned the fence and saw it was secure. Christ, that was a big dog. He’d never seen a wolfhound that big before. With the shaggy gray coat and the shining eyes, this animal would easily be mistaken for a wild creature.
He approached, speaking quietly and calmly as he did. “Hello there, boy. You a hunting dog? Lord Calder’s dog? Getting bored now, I’d guess. I’m Gabe, and I wish I had a treat from the kitchens for you, but I don’t. Don’t know your name either, and oh, Christ, there’s two of you.”
Gabe sucked in a breath as another massive form rose up from the straw bedding in the shed, and padded over to join the first. What the hell did the late Lord Calder hunt? Giants?
Gabe put his hand against the fence, half fearing it would be ripped off. But the first dog just sniffed, and then licked his palm.
“That makes us friends now, yes?” Gabe asked hopefully. The dog’s shoulder hit against the fence, which sagged a bit. “I hope we’re friends.”
“Ah, you found the dogs!”
Gabe turned to see the footman Vernon approaching with a pail.
“One was howling a bit,” Gabe explained. “I was worried it was hurt.”
“Oh, no. Just bored, I’m sure.”
“Why not let them out?”
“And who’ll mind ’em? We’ve all got our work and can’t be letting these lads wander off.”
“I’ll take them,” Gabe volunteered. “I have to walk the grounds anyway. It’s no trouble to take the dogs along.”
“No trouble foryou, maybe,” the footman replied with a laugh. “If you want the job, ask Rundle first. But he’ll say yes.”
“What are their names?”
“That’s Romulus with the red collar, and Remus with the blue. The late lord hunted deer in the forest, or he’d take the dogs with him to other places for a hunting party in the fall. Poor things haven’t been out for more than a half hour at a time since he passed.”
Gabe noticed the pail of kitchen scraps in the footman’s hand. “Here, let me feed them. May as well get them on my side.”
So Gabe fed them, and soon had both of them staring hopefully at him. Then he spied the leather leashes hanging from a wall and decided that there was no time like the present. He’d get Rundle’s approval afterward.
The dogs were ecstatic to be out of the kennel and Gabe strained to keep them from bolting toward the woods. He had to admit that the others were correct. No one at Calderwood that he’d seen so far had the physical strength to control these animals. He pictured the delicate Lady Arcadia doing so, and actually smiled at the image.
