Page 23 of A Season for Smugglers (Deception and Discipline 3)

Evie had also been posing as a maid at multiple households throughout the Season, something her uncle and cousins were still unaware of, as far as Lily knew, though they’d known Evie was somewhere in London. Lily knew Elijah had been searching for her unsuccessfully.

“If we must.” Elijah’s tone was dour, and he gave her a sidelong glance. “It seems impossible to keep you ladies out of it at this point.”

“We have contributed greatly,” Lily pointed out. “At least half of what you learned has been due toourefforts.”

He sighed, which was not the same as acknowledging her point, but Lily decided to count it as a win. At some point, the Stuarts would have to learn to let Evie be Evie. She was never going to fit into the mold of a polite young debutante.

“Do you know what is going on between my cousin and Anthony Browne?” Elijah’s question surprised Lily.

“Something is going on between them?” She looked, and yes, Captain Browne’s attention was on Evie whenever she was not looking at him. More interestingly, Evie’s eyes wandered his way whenever he was not looking at her.

That was enough to pique Lily’s curiosity. Maybe it was not such a bad thing that they would be staying in London for a while longer, even though she’d been yearning for the countryside.

“Something definitely is.” Going by Elijah’s expression, he was not happy but was not sure what to do about it. Well, this should be interesting.

ChapterEleven

Nathan

“Welcome to Talbot House.” Nathan led Lily into the foyer of the house. She blinked, looking around and appearing suitably impressed, as far as he could tell. She was hard to read, other than noting she seemed nervous. “This is Connor and Mrs. Potts. They run the household.”

“Mrs. Jones,” Connor murmured with a bow.

“Ma’am.” Mrs. Potts bobbed a curtsy and beamed at Lily. She’d been a mainstay in the household since Nathan was a small child and had watched out for both him and Sebastian after his mother died and his father’s vices began to rule him. Nathan had not realized how happy she would be to see him marry, regardless of the circumstances. “We would like to be the first of the household to wish you happy.”

He should probably warn Sebastian in case this started to give her ideas, though she would not be returning to the manor with him. She would have to wait until Sebastian came to London, so his brother had some time to prepare.

“Thank you, and thank you for the warm welcome,” Lily said with a smile.

“It would have been a better one, but we did not have much time to prepare.” The look Mrs. Potts gave Nathan made it clear where she placed the blame, although he was not sure what she thought he could have done differently to change his circumstances. Still, he knew better than to argue with her. “Let me show you to your room, so you can make yourself comfortable before supper.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Potts.” Lily released Nathan’s arm and stepped forward.

He had to make an effort not to show his disappointment. It made sense to have Mrs. Potts show her around. Likely, it would make her more comfortable. His new bride tried to hide it, but she was clearly nervous. Nathan could only assume her anxiety was over the upcoming evening and the wifely duties she would be expected to perform.

For his part, he was very much looking forward to that part of being married. His fantasies of leading her innocent body down the path to his preferred perversions and depravities had taken hold of his imagination and would not let go. Tonight, he would keep things straightforward, as she had no experience at all, but eventually…

Wandering down the hall to the library, Nathan headed for his thinking chair. This time, it was not because he wanted to fantasize more about his wife. Now that she was under his roof, he did not need to fantasize. He could indulge in the reality soon enough.

No, he needed to think about the revelations from the brunch, the thoughts he had not been able to dwell on while in the middle of social surrounds. Most notably, he needed to think over how the traitor’s tactics had drastically escalated between the Stuarts’ wedding and today’s event.

He settled into his chair, leaning back and closing his eyes so he could concentrate.

The scandal that had precipitated the Stuarts’ wedding had been well thought out and well-executed. The traitor had shown their hand more than once. Setting up the former Miss Pennyworth for a scandalous situation, using a note it appeared Elijah’s younger brother had written, just as Joseph was about to propose to someone else.

It could have been the scandal of the Season had Elijah not been present and immediately stepped in to marry Miss Pennyworth. Although once she was Lady Stuart, it had not ended there. The two of them had chased down the threads from the scandal until they’d found the man who had given her the note.

Unfortunately, he’d been beaten to death not long afterward, so no further answers were forthcoming from that quarter.

So, what had precipitated these assassination attempts? Something they had discovered? Something they were close to discovering? And why had Miss Davies been kidnapped instead of killed?

Not Miss Davies. Lily. Your wife now.

The more Nathan thought about it, the more he realized the only possible conclusion was either she was in league with them, or there was something the traitor wanted to know from her. Which meant she was likely still in danger.

Good thing I’m planning to keep her close.

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