Page 15 of My Gentleman Spy
Will stepped into the room. His nimble fingers closed and locked the door before she had time toblink.
“I wanted to make sure you are alright. That you have everything you need,” he said, refusing to look directly ather.
She stifled a grin. For the first time since she had met him, Will seemed ill at ease. He shuffled his feet and kept his gaze downward toward thefloor.
It was nice to see that he had a vulnerable side. She had had more than her fill of men in recent days who were cocksure about themselves. The chink in his armor made him even more of a hero in hereyes.
“I am fine, thank you Mr. Saunders. More than I expected to be after the events of today,” shereplied.
Will cleared histhroat.
“I must also apologize for the encounter between us in the market square. I had concerns about the crowd, but that does not excuse me for taking such liberties with your person. I should have apologized as soon as we got to the hotel. Please forgive me. I promise it will not happenagain.”
The sting of disappointment pierced her heart. Then reminding herself of where she was and the impossibility of them being anything more than temporary acquaintances, she forced the emotionaway.
Of course, he had regretted kissing her, he was a gentleman. From the little she knew of men, they never kissed gently bred women that way. And from the moment they had first spoken with one another, he had rightly guessed she was from a goodfamily.
“I understand the need for what you did Mr. Saunders. Apology accepted,” shereplied.
They shared an awkward silence for a moment. Will stared once more at the floor, while Hattie picked at her fingernails. The sea water had left the skin of her fingers rough andsplit.
“Is there anything else?” sheasked.
Will's head shotup.
“Yes. Make sure you lock the door after I leave. This is one of only two places in Gibraltar where you can purchase liquor after dark. The downstairs of the hotel tends to get a little rowdy and full of inebriated English sailors later in the evening. I would not want one of them to accidentally stumble into your room. If you have any problems during the night, I shall be right next door. Do not hesitate to call upon me if you soneed.”
“Thank you, I shall make certain the door is locked when you leave,” Hattiereplied.
As soon as Will left, she locked the door. Then after hearing the bellowing of men from down in the street below her window, she dragged the dressing table across the floor and blocked thedoor.
“Better safe than sorry,” she murmured, climbing intobed.
Within minutes Hattie was sound asleep. The long swim in the harbor coupled with the rest of the day’s events had finally caught up with her. If a riot had broken out downstairs, she would surely have slept throughit.
* * *
Back in hisroom Will paced the floor, his mind in a whirl. Had he been suddenly possessed of a kind of madness? Not only had he gone to the room of an unmarried woman, but earlier in the morning, he had kissed that same girl in public. The kiss they had shared was far more passionate than had been dictated by the situation. Worse still, he had enjoyed every second ofit.
He stopped and checked himself. Since Yvette he had not laid hands on a woman. The temptation to take solace in the company of one of Paris' ladies of the night had taken him to the edge more than once. Instead, he had held fast to his grief and guilt, allowing long lonely nights to concentrate hismind.
Yet the first time he had held the girl he knew as Sarah in his arms, he felt the unmistakable stirrings of desire flare. He had wanted her in everyway.
Perhaps today was the day when he would wake from the nightmare of Yvette's death and begin to move forward with his life. It had taken all his resolve to finally leave Paris behind forgood.
He rubbed his hands over his tired, sun brownedface.
“You did a good deed today William of the House of Strathmore, leave it atthat.”
He slowly stripped off his jacket and cravat. The use of a valet was something he had been forced to forgo during his years in France. Having a man servant would have been difficult to explain when he was supposed to be living undercover as a simple shippingclerk.
Making a mental note to call for a bowl of hot water for his razor first thing in the morning, he sauntered over to thewindow.
Out of the window he could see the dark shadow of the giant Rock of Gibraltar. It dominated the landscape. You could not look anywhere without it being in view. The town of Gibraltar itself hugged the narrow strip of coastline to the west of the limestone monolith. It was so unlike anything in his nativeEngland.
He had spent enough years away from home to be comfortable with being in places foreign and unusual. The changing of coins and often illegal crossing of borders was just another of life's challenges he had learned tomeet.
His mastery of the Spanish language was more than fair. He spoke French, the mother tongue of his father, like a native-bornson.
