Page 71 of Irresistible
“What you’re having is fine,” Lucien said.
Dougal filled a second glass, then turned to hand one to Lucien. “To easy missions.” He lifted his whisky, and Lucien tapped his glass to Dougal’s.
“Easy?” Lucien’s brows rose as he moved to take one of the chairs arranged by the fireplace, which was not currently lit. It had been rather warm today as summer made it known that it wasn’t yet finished.
Sitting opposite his friend, Dougal sipped his drink. “Somewhat. The code Miss Goodfellow had to break was challenging, but she worked it out.”
“Rather quickly too, it seems. What was the result?”
“Can you believe the letters were sexual in nature? They may have made even you blush.”
Lucien gave him a look that clearly indicated that was impossible. “Not state secrets, then?”
Dougal shook his head. “Not even close. There was a stack of them, which was curious. Why wouldn’t they be sending them to France?”
“Because the French are quite capable of shagging without instruction?” Lucien asked.
Dougal couldn’t suppress his laugh. “Here I concluded it was because they weren’t actually spies. Just an exceedingly eccentric couple with an overenthusiasm for sex. They are, in fact, very nice people, if a bit odd. He possesses a weird obsession for French things, but not Napoleon. There was simply no evidence to support them working for France.”
Lucien leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs. “That’s that, I suppose. How was Miss Goodfellow, beyond the code breaking?”
Dozens of words rose in Dougal’s mind and not one of them had a thing to do with her espionage skills. “She acquitted herself well. She did nearly shoot me one day.”
Having just taken a drink of whisky, Lucien sputtered. “What was that?”
“The Chesmores practice shooting every week. They’re breathtakingly accomplished.”
“Oh yes, why would we ever think they were spies?” Lucien murmured ironically.
Dougal shook his head with a faint smile. “Miss Goodfellow wanted to learn to shoot. She is as bad as our hosts were good. After missing the target by a wide margin with my assistance, Chesmore helped her. She startled, and her arm went wild.”
Lucien’s mouth dipped into a deep frown. “This sounds very suspicious to me. The man who was thought to be a spy nearly helped your partner shoot you?”
“I did think that at first, but you must admit that’s a ridiculous way to try to kill someone. Why not poison me? Or take me out on the ocean and throw me overboard? Or shoot me himself by accident?”
“Did you ponder this at length?”
“I often ponder how I might meet my demise, particularly when I am on a mission.” Though he’d never done so and felt a visceral reaction that he couldnotdie as had happened in Dorset. Risk was part of the assignment, and Dougal could no longer accept it, for his life—and death—was no longer just about him. Perhaps it never had been, and that made him feel rather selfish.
Lucien adopted a more serious tone. “What happens now? Will you return to Scotland?”
Dougal hadn’t told him about his father’s illness. “Why would you think that?”
Lucien shrugged. “Since you were called away so soon after Alistair’s death, I thought you might want to go back.”
“I should.” Dougal hadn’t meant to say so, but the burden was weighing on him. And he was thinking about mortality again, due to their discussion. “I’m afraid I must accept that my time with the Foreign Office is extremely limited. Indeed, I haven’t said so, but I’ve completed my final mission.” But not the last investigation. That was still before him, and until he found answers, he wouldn’t go home. Unless, of course, he had to.
Hell, heshouldgo now. What good would it do to delve into what had happened on his other missions?
Because regardless of his future, he still wanted to uncover the truth behind those failures. If someone was causing havoc for a nefarious purpose, he needed to root them out.
Lucien brought up his legs and sat forward in his chair, his dark eyes narrowed with concern. “The last one, truly? I didn’t realize you would leave so soon. Has something happened?”
Dougal exhaled as he glanced toward the cold hearth. “I neglected to tell you that my father is ill. I must prepare to become the earl sooner rather than later.”
“Good Lord, Dougal, why didn’t you say anything? You shouldn’t have come.”
Gripping his glass more tightly, Dougal shot Lucien an irritated look. “It is not for you to say.”
