Page 26 of Lady and the Scamp

“Emily, I wouldn’t have hurt you. I forgot it was in my hand,” Will tried to reassure her.

“I’m not sure that explanation is heartening. It must be in your hand often if you forgot it was there.”

“I think it’s more that I was distracted by your kisses.”

Her blue eyes were still wary. “And why do you have a dagger in your pocket to walk about the gardens of Buckingham Palace?”

“With the recent political climate, one cannot be too careful.”

“Perhaps I should go in. If even the gardens are unsafe.” Her tone implied that it was he making the gardens unsafe, not any interlopers.

“It is late. Shall I escort you?”

She shook her head. “I can find my own way.”

Like a breeze, she was gone. Will would have cursed his clumsiness, but he rather thought he should be glad for the interruption. If they hadn’t been interrupted, he and Emily might have done more than exchange a simple kiss.

Not that there was anything simple about that kiss. When their lips had touched, he’d felt like a gas lamp when the flame is applied. His entire being seemed to burn, and it was still burning for her.

But he couldn’t allow his carnal desires to distract him.

He pulled out his pocket watch and realized he was late leaving for the rendezvous. Will did a quick surveillance of the area to ensure he was alone then slipped out of the gate and made his way toward the cellar Bridget Kelly had written him about.

While he walked, he had ample time to organize his thoughts. No matter how he arranged and rearranged things, Emily Blythe-Coston looked very guilty indeed.

She was the one who had proposed the impromptu ride into Hyde Park where the attempt had been made on the queen’s life.

That and the fact that her late husband had been at odds with the queen on many issues was enough to bring her to the attention of the Foreign Office and launch his surveillance.

Will had hoped to be able to clear her and turn his sights elsewhere quickly, but almost every encounter with her forced him to look at her more closely.

She expressed sympathy for the Irish separatists, even when it had been made clear they were suspected of plotting to kill the queen. She’d challenged Palmerston at dinner and sided against the English landowners and with the Irish peasants. And then tonight, when he’d known there was a clandestine meeting of Innishfree, she’d been alone in the palace gardens. He didn’t believe a lady like her would leave the palace to attend sucha meeting, but couldn’t she be meeting someone to pass along information?

Perhaps she’d met him just before Will had arrived, and she’d kissed Will to distract him so the other man could escape.

Or perhaps Will was reaching, and she’d just needed air—as she’d said. He hadn’t seen anyone with her or anyone slinking away. And he’d been on guard—mostly.

Will didn’t have enough evidence to accuse her of anything, but what he did know did not bode well.

He took to the shadows as he neared the meeting place noted in the letter. It was closer to midnight than he liked, but surely there would still be men and women arriving to the meeting at the last minute. Will watched for a quarter of an hour, changed positions, and watched another fifteen minutes. At half past twelve, he entered the building where Innishfree was meeting. It was dark and quiet, no sound from the cellar. He crept down, a dagger in both hands, and stood outside the closed cellar door. All was dark and silent.

If there had been a meeting tonight, it had not been here.

That meant either Bridget Kelly had decoded the intercepted information incorrectly or someone had sent word to the leaders of Innishfree that meeting wasn’t safe tonight.

Will headed back to the palace with one thought in his mind: Bridget Kelly never made a mistake deciphering codes.

EMILY DID HER BESTto avoid Willoughby Galloway the next two days. Partly, she was embarrassed that she had given into her desires and kissed him. She tried to regret that kiss, but it was difficult when it had been everything she’d thought it would be and more. Emily didn’t think she would have ended the kiss if she hadn’t felt the hilt of the dagger at her back. She would never forget the look of shock in his eyes when she asked him about it.He hadn’t meant to reveal he held it, though she didn’t believe he intended to use it on her.

But why would he have it in the first place? And why would he be clutching it when they had been speaking for several minutes before the kiss?

Something wasn’t right. There was something about Galloway she couldn’t quite understand, and it annoyed her that the mystery of him made him all the more attractive. Her life was not some Gothic romance. She didn’t want to almost fall off a cliff while chasing a mad hero.

But what did she want?

On the third day after the kiss, the queen suggested a picnic in Richmond. The weather was sunny and warm and that morning the sky was blue without a cloud to be seen. As the royal staff loaded coaches and Emily helped the queen dress, she tried to prepare herself for an entire day with Galloway. She wouldn’t be able to escape him in Richmond. The queen had a small cottage on the river there, but other than the small residence, there was nowhere to withdraw.

Thankfully there would be others around, and that was a relief. More and more she was realizing that what she wanted was not only to kiss Galloway again, but for him to take her to bed.

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