Page 24 of The Truth Serum
“What the hell were you thinking? You were supposed to stay upstairs! Let her ask to see you! Let her choose, instead of being forced into a confrontation.”
He swallowed. “I couldn’t wait.”
“Then you’re a bloody idiot.”
Obviously. But there was another concern. “Did you learn anything? What does Fletcher think?”
Ras shook his head. “That you’re smuggling something to France.”
“What?”
“That’s what he thinks.”
“But why?” Nate fought to keep all his whirling thoughts from his tone. “Was he following me or investigating smuggling?”
Ras frowned. “I’m not sure. He seemed to be saying both.”
“What does he know about the smuggling?”
Ras’s gaze sharpened. “He didn’t elaborate. Why? What do you know about it?”
He threw up his hands in disgust. “Nothing!” That was the damned problem. And now he had to investigate Fletcher. It was possible the man had stumbled upon important information, or maybe, the man was making up idiocy just to make himself look important. That happened more times than not.
Either way, he needed to know the truth.
Meanwhile, Ras took Nate’s arm and gently forced him toward the stairs. Good idea because Nate’s feet were burning.
“I don’t what to think,” Ras was saying. “Fletcher could be deluded or a very skilled liar.”
“Or both,” Nate said, his tone dry. Meanwhile, he had to pause on the steps to let his feet rest a moment. God, it felt like his stockings were soaked with blood, all inside his shoes. Which meant he’d have to buy new ones, and damn it, that was an expense he didn’t want to manage right now. Spying for the government was not as lucrative as he would have liked.
But first things first. “Think back,” Nate said in an undertone. “Tell me the entire conversation word for word.”
*
Kynthea watched themen go, her hands on her hips as she quietly shook her head. Ras had asked her if she was all right. She reassured him that she was fine but then lost his attention as he focused on the drama in front of them.
That was all well and good, but he’d forgotten to ask her if she’d learned anything. He was deep in his whispered conversation with Nate as they headed upstairs, no doubt to assess how much damage the foolish man had done to his feet.
“Send up hot water, cloths, and more of that honey unguent, if you please,” she directed the butler.
“Yes, Miss Petrelli. Right away.”
“Thank you. And…” She sighed. “Try to keep the gossip to the minimum. We don’t know what all that was about, and speculation only makes us appear foolish.”
The man dipped his chin. “I quite agree.”
Of course he did. He was a ducal butler and had likely seen a great deal in his life. In the meantime, she had her own investigation to begin. The men might not have learned anything from Lady Rebecca, but Kynthea was not as blind. Kynthea had seen several abused women in her time. There weren’t any bruises on Lady Rebecca’s body, but the woman was trapped nonetheless. Whether or not the lady wanted to run to Lord Nathaniel was her own business. That was a choice for when she was free.
Escape, however, was an option she needed to be offered now. And Kynthea knew just how to begin the process.
Chapter Seven
Rebecca climbed intothe carriage behind her brother, her hand still stinging from slapping Nate. Whatever had possessed her to do that? All he’d done was take the tear off her cheek. A tear she hadn’t even realized she’d shed.
That hardly merited a slap, and yet she’d felt such a rush of raw fury that she’d lashed out.
And what had he done in response? He hadn’t fought back or even grabbed her wrist. And he’d had every right to contain her, but he hadn’t even been angry.
