Page 32 of The Duke of Aces
Where was Charlotte?
Tom stomped through the foyer of Avondale House. The answer to his quandary as to how best to conduct the mission without him having to share a bed with the enemy had hit him while his coach raced through the deserted streets of London after leaving the Malbury residence.
Tom ducked his head into the drawing room. Empty.
He moved into the music room. Empty.
He didn’t have all day to play hide and go seek with his sister. He strode up to the nearest footman and asked, “Where in the hell is Lady Charlotte?”
“Your Grace, I believe your sister is in her reading…”
He didn’t wait for the footman to finish. Tom swiveled and began to march toward the smallest room in Avondale Manor when a flash of Torrance’s happy staff halted his progress. Urgh. He turned back around, and the footman, hot on his heels, nearly barreled over Tom.
Righting himself, the footman said, “Beg pardon, Your Grace.”
“No, it is I who am sorry. I shouldn’t have barked at you a moment ago.” With a nod, Tom changed directions once more and strode down the hall. He reflected upon the befuddled look on the man’s face. Damn and double damn. He had become the overbearing employer. Damn Torrance and his happy life. But after witnessing it firsthand and remembering that the Avondale staff used to smile when his parents were alive made Tom realize he still had much to learn about being a duke.
Without knocking, Tom strode into his sister’s reading room. Sunshine spilled in through the wall of windows, and he found Charlotte sprawled out on the floor surrounded by maps and books with French titles. He tiptoed around the scattered papers and stopped in front of her. Hands behind his back, Tom peered down at Charlotte, who had yet to acknowledge his arrival. “We are to depart within the hour.”
Rolling over onto her back, the book still in hand, Charlotte peered up at him as she placed the volume over her chest. “Where are we going?”
“France, aboard theQuarter Moon.” Tom was beginning to second guess his plan as he struggled to reconcile the vision of his little sister before him and the female spy that could knock a man out cold.
“Hmm. What about your wish that I remain on home soil while you are on a mission?” Charlotte turned back over and rose to her knees to gather her items from the floor.
His knees cracked as he bent down. “I’ve decided that if you are old enough to marry, you are old enough to accompany me abroad.”
Charlotte stopped stacking her books and stared directly at him. “Tell me the real reason you are allowing me to accompany you.”
Having never lied to his sister in the past, he wasn’t going to start now. “I’m unwilling to employ my usual tactics to extract the intel from Comtesse Du Montford. I need your help.”
“Ahh…so you need my help. Was it that difficult to say? I’ll assist you if you answer my next question. Why are you unwilling to cuckold yet another member of the French aristocracy?”
Tom picked up the discarded books and placed them on the table next to them. “Sister, language.”
Charlotte tilted her head and arched an eyebrow. “Is it perhaps out of loyalty to Isadora?”
Flustered by the truth of his sister’s words, Tom replied, “If you would rather not journey to the Continent with me, simply say so and I shall…”
“No need to concern yourself. I’ve been ready and waiting for you for near on two hours.” Charlotte moved to the door and waited for him to join her. “I’ve already had our trunks sent down to the docks, they should be loaded by now.”
He grinned at her audacity.
“I wanted you to confess to the real reason as to why you are willing to allow me to accompany you…on a ship, no less.”
He hated crossing the channel. It always brought back childhood nightmares of his parents’ last voyage. Tom motioned for her to exit and then followed close behind. “Is it so terrible I wish to spend as much time with you before your debut?”
She twirled around and poked him in the chest. “You’ve not cared an ounce about my pending debut.” Charlotte turned her back to him and strode down the hall as she said, “You can lie to yourself, brother, but I wish you would refrain from attempting to deceive me. You are the only man I trust, and I’d hate for that to change.”
She was right. She kept him honest. He lengthened his stride to catch up and when he did, he admitted, “You are correct. I’m seeking your assistance for some bloody illogical reason… out of a crazed need to be faithful to a woman who won’t even deign to address me by my given name nor agree to a courtship. She’s denied me multiple times, and yet I still can’t stomach the idea of being intimate with another woman.”
“Thank you for sharing your reasoning, brother. And since I adore Isadora and would love it if she were to become my sister, I’m happy to assist.” Charlotte looped her arm through his and led him through Avondale House. “Let’s discuss our strategy. I think we should…”
His sister continued to chatter while Tom came to terms with the truth. He was falling in love with a woman who he had to wager with in order to obtain her consent to escort her to four events. Over the years, he’d grown accustomed to women vying for his attention, and now it seemed the roles were reversed, and he didn’t care for it. If Isadora refused him again upon his return, he’d simply have to find another woman to marry. His stomach knotted. It wouldn’t be simple. And it wasn’t a marriage of convenience that he truly wished for any longer.
Charlotte elbowed him in the ribs. “Do you think my plan would work?”
He hadn’t listened to a word she had uttered or paid attention to the fact that they were already standing in front of his coach. Tom blinked and offered his hand to assist Charlotte up into the awaiting vehicle. “Let’s review your plan once more on our way to meet Captain Bain.”
