After arranging with Culley to take dinner in her room, Amelia had instructed her maid to inform the household that she planned to retire early—if the household even asked. She’d kept to herself all day, which hadn’t been difficult. With Penn gone and, more importantly, due to the reason for his absence, a pall of gloom had settled over the house.

With about an hour until dusk, Amelia stole from the house and made her way to Penn’s lean-to. She’d brought Dyrnwyn with her, and the sword was even heavier than she remembered when she’d picked it up at Oxford. After a few yards, she had to drag it along the ground.

Kersey waited with two horses. At least she thought it was Kersey. The man, dressed in an oversized costume of indeterminate age, hunched at the shoulders and wore a wide-brimmed hat that shaded his face.

As she approached, he looked up, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Then I’ve done well.” He straightened to his full height. “I was just practicing my stoop.”

“Very effective.”

“It changes my height and body shape, while averting my face as well. I didn’t have time to obtain fake facial hair. A gray beard would’ve helped.”

“You put a great deal of thought into this,” she said.

“It’s an important endeavor, and I mean to be successful.” The determination in his tone was evident, and Amelia was glad she’d decided to trust him.

“Should I ask where you obtained the horses?”

“One is mine, of course, and the other I borrowed from an inn near town.” He cocked a brow at her. “Did you think I’d stolen it?”

“No.” Maybe.

His gaze dipped over her. “I didn’t realize you’d be in disguise as well.”

She glanced down at her men’s costume—the one she’d worn when she’d met Penn. She’d brought it along on their journey to London, suspecting it might be useful. “It’s rather difficult to dash about looking for antiquities in a gown.”

His gaze turned apologetic. “I’m afraid I brought a sidesaddle.”

She silently cursed, but offered him a smile. “It’s my fault. I didn’t think to mention what I would be wearing. I’ll manage.”

“And, ah, what are you carrying?”

Unsure of what they might be facing, she’d decided to bring the sword, as well as her pistol, which was tucked into her waistband. “It’s a sword.”

“That’s not just any sword,” he said darkly.

“No, it isn’t. I suspect you recognize it.”

“How did you get it?”

“From Penn. I thought it prudent to bring it along, particularly if it…activates its power for you.” Just saying that made her want to shake her head. She still didn’t quite believe it, and if she were honest with herself, she’d brought it to see if it did in fact flame.

“That was well considered of you,” he said with a nod. “I can attach it to your saddle.”

“Shouldn’t it be on your saddle? And, er, it’s rather heavy.”

He took it from her, lifting it with ease. “Not for me. I’ll put it on mine.” He moved around his horse and fastened it to his saddle. “You have the heart?” he asked.

She patted her chest where she’d hastily stitched a pocket that afternoon. “Let us be on our way.” She placed her hand on the saddle, and he boosted her up. A few minutes later, they were on their way from Hollyhaven.

They arrived at the junction of the Wye and Monnow Rivers with plenty of time to spare before dusk. The Monnow Bridge with its gatehouse loomed over the Monnow River, casting a shadow across the water from the setting sun.

Kersey dismounted, then helped her do the same. “I suspect he won’t be alone.”

“But I’m supposed to be. What if they see you and decide to forgo the meeting entirely?”

“That’s a possibility, but I don’t think that will happen.” He adopted his hunch. “Whoever wrote that note wants the heart. What is more concerning is if there are a large number of them. If that happens, we should leave immediately.”

Her pulse picked up speed, and she nodded as she worked to remain calm. How she wished Penn were here.

The minutes stretched as the sun dipped lower over the horizon until it was nothing but a wash of color to the west. The temperature dropped, and the breeze picked up. Expecting someone to arrive at any moment, Amelia tensed. But no one came. Her tension turned to frustration.

“It’s going to be dark soon,” she said urgently but keeping her voice low.

“I have a lantern,” Kersey said. “I won’t light it quite yet.”

“I don’t like this. What if they plan to accost us in the dark? Maybe we should go.”

Before she could answer, she heard the cock of a pistol and a deep masculine voice that was eerily familiar. “You were supposed to come alone.”

Amelia whipped around to see a man in a hood standing ten yards away. Two large, rough-looking men flanked him. How had the brigands crept up on them so quietly?

“Surely you can’t fault me for bringing a groom.” She worried they would hear the fierce thundering of her heart. For a moment, it was all she could hear as apprehension seized her.

“I suppose not. Do you have the heart?” That voice skipped across her flesh and made the hairs stand on end.

“I do,” she said cautiously. “Do you have the book?”

“I do. Come forward, away from your groom.”

Amelia flicked a glance toward Kersey, who nodded slightly. She took a few tentative steps but stopped when she was still several yards away.

“Closer, please,” the familiar voice urged.

Who the devil was this? Why did she know him? Fear made her movements slow and unsteady. She took a deep breath and willed herself to relax. She could do this. For the book. For her grandfather. For Penn.

When she was just two yards from the man, she stopped. “Show me the book before I come any closer.”

The man pushed his hood back, and Amelia gasped as recognition slammed into her. “Thaddeus!”

Her husband’s mouth spread into a lazy smile, reminding her of why he’d caught her eye in the first place. He was attractive, though not nearly as handsome as Penn. Where Penn made her heart skip with anticipation, seeing Thaddeus filled her with dread. He’d failed her in every way possible.

“Good evening, Amelia. May I say, the years have been exceptionally kind to you.” His gaze traveled over her slowly, making her skin crawl.

She couldn’t find any words to respond. How was he here? Where had he been? Why had he left? At last, she blurted, “Are you part of the Camelot group?”

Thaddeus took a few steps toward her, his dark eyes narrowing. “You’ve learned quite a bit in my absence.”

Anger finally surpassed her shock. “What should I have done, crawled into a hole and awaited your return?”

“Oh, my dear Amelia, I never planned to return. Surely you must know that?” His condescension cloaked her like a moldy, bug-ridden blanket she longed to cast aside. Just as he’d done to her.

“I’d hoped,” she said. “In fact, I’d rather hoped you were dead.”

He clucked his tongue. “I suppose I deserve that.” He moved even closer, and Amelia took a step back. Her elbow connected with something, and she glanced over her shoulder to see that Kersey had crept up behind her. His proximity made her feel marginally better.

“I can see I made a mistake,” Thaddeus continued. “You are lovelier than I remember. More spirited too.” He tipped his head to the side. “How did that happen?”

“One might argue you didn’t take the time to know me.” That was certainly true. They’d been married less than a year before he’d disappeared.

“And I’m the poorer for it. Ah well, it’s not too late, and you are still my wife.”

Revulsion slithered through her. “In name only.” What did he mean to do? “Show me the book. Let us complete this transaction and go our separate ways.”

“I don’t know,” he drawled slowly. “The law says you are my property. I think perhaps I’d like to have the heart and you.” He took a few more steps, until he could almost reach out and touch her. At this distance, she could see the familiar cleft in his chin, the dark sweep of his lashes, the arrogance in his stare.

Amelia flinched, and Kersey touched her arm reassuringly. “Show me the book.” The words came out as a near growl through her clenched teeth.

Thaddeus expelled a tired breath. “I didn’t actually bring it with me, silly. What I do have are two friends who will ensure you—and the heart—accompany me. Come along, then.” He pivoted slightly as if he simply expected her to join him.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Kersey leaned down and spoke close to her ear. “Pretend to go. I need the distraction.”

When she hesitated, he whispered urgently, “Trust me.”

She had no other choice. The other two men had also advanced, and they each carried a pistol. Wait, she had a pistol too! She brought her hand up and lightly grazed the section of her coat that covered the weapon hidden in her waistband.

“Where would you take me?” she asked.

“To my house.” He chuckled. “Don’t look so surprised. I’m not destitute as I had you believe. The debt was simply a sound reason for leaving. I live just west of Glastonbury. It’s two days’ ride, I’m afraid. But you look well accustomed to riding.” His gaze dropped to her breeches, and his mouth twisted into an appreciative smirk. “We’ll need your horse, however. Groom, fetch her horse.”

Amelia turned her head as Kersey trudged back to the horses. He limped, and his fake hunch was quite pronounced. She wouldn’t have guessed he was a man in his prime.

The horses! More accurately, the sword! Her heart began to beat faster again, but this time with excitement. She needed to give Kersey the distraction he needed.

She closed the gap between herself and her husband. Her stomach turned, but she ignored the reaction. “You have a house?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “Is it large? I had to move in with my grandfather after you left, and that’s where I currently reside. It’s rather dreary.”

A light of anticipation glowed in his eyes, and again, her insides roiled in disgust. “It’s larger and better appointed than the one we shared. There are sheep grazing nearby and a tall, stately oak that provides the best shade on a summer day.” Was he actually gloating about leaving her and finding a better situation? His smugness was intolerable, but she would go along to meet her own ends. “You’ll be quite comfortable there. With me.”

“And the book is there?” she asked sweetly, offering him a smile laced with acid if he cared to look closely enough. Thankfully, the darkness was coming fast.

“Yes.”

“Where’s the heart, love?” he asked, curling his hand around her waist.

She struggled not to pull away. “In my coat.” She slipped her hand inside the new pocket and withdrew the stone.

Kersey walked her horse toward the brigands. Where was the sword? Had he transferred it to her saddle? Amelia wondered what he planned to do. If he could take on the two brigands, Amelia could use her pistol to drive Thaddeus away.

Just as she’d used it against Penn and Egg. She knew she could shoot if necessary, but could she injure Thaddeus…or worse? More importantly, would she? She’d missed Egg, but she’d realized she’d done so on purpose—she didn’t really want to harm anyone. She wasn’t sure she could. But this was a different matter entirely. There was no way she would accompany Thaddeus anywhere.

She uncurled her fingers to reveal the stone filling her palm. Thaddeus sucked in a breath. “That’s it.” He picked it up, and again, she had to fight to keep herself still. Every instinct she possessed screamed for her to clutch her hand around the heart and train her pistol on her villainous husband.

At that moment, light flooded the area. Kersey had taken the sword from its scabbard, and it glowed with an eerie blue flame. The shouts of the brigands filled the air, and Thaddeus swore.

Amelia lunged for the heart but knocked it from Thaddeus’s hand. She heard a loud clack and looked to the ground. The heart had fallen against another rock and split in two.

“The key!” Thaddeus cried out, dropping to his knees.

Amelia pulled the pistol from her belt and cocked the hammer, aiming the barrel straight at Thaddeus. “Move away from it.”

He turned his head to look up at her. “Bloody hell, Amelia, you aren’t going to shoot me.”

“You don’t know that. Don’t try me.” She curled her lip as power surged through her. “Get away from the heart.” Wait, he’d called it a key? Why?

A loud shriek drew them both to look toward where Kersey fought the two henchmen. One writhed on the ground and the other ran away. Instead of following him, Kersey stalked back toward Amelia. “Does he really not have the book?” he called out.

Amelia looked down at Thaddeus. “If you have the book, give it to me, and we’ll let you go.”

Fear glazed his dark eyes as he looked up at her. “I don’t have it. Let me go, and I’ll get it for you.”

“You think I would trust you?” Amelia sneered.

“I never would’ve taken you for such a heartless bitch.” He reached for the heart then, his fingers scrabbling over the earth.

Apprehension buzzed over her, and she squeezed the trigger. Thaddeus’s sharp cry rent the air. “You shot me!”

Kersey was upon them now, the flaming sword still lighting the way. He scooped up the two halves of the heart and thrust them at Amelia. “Come on!” He ran for her horse, and she followed, the heart clutched in one hand and her spent pistol in the other.

At her horse, she tucked the pieces of the heart back into her coat.

“I’ll take that.” Kersey took her pistol and thrust it into his pocket. Then he boosted her up and took off toward his own horse. “Ride for Hollyhaven as fast as you can!”

Thaddeus had stood and now staggered toward his fallen man.

Amelia guided her horse back the way they’d come. Her mind churned with everything that had just happened. Thaddeus was alive and well and apparently part of the Camelot group. What did that mean? Had he always been a member? Was that why he’d married her? Or had he somehow fallen into that group after meeting her grandfather? Wait, did she think her grandfather was somehow attached to them?

She felt sick. And disappointed. And utterly foolish.

It was several minutes before Kersey rode up alongside her. “I think we can slow down a bit,” he called out.

Amelia eased her mount to a trot and glanced over at him. “They aren’t following us?”

“No. I’m sure they’ve gone to lick their wounds.”

Oh God, she’d shot Thaddeus. She’d all but pushed that from her mind. Now his yelp of pain slammed into her brain, and she saw him recoil and grab his right arm. “I shot him,” she whispered. “Do you think he’s all right?” she asked more loudly.

Kersey shot her a quick look. “Your… Thaddeus or the other fellow?”

“Thaddeus, and I hope he’s suffering. He deserves to.”

“He’s your husband?” At her curt nod, he added, “I take it you’re quite shocked to see him?”

“He abandoned me five years ago.”

“He’s clearly an imbecile.”

“And a member of the Camelot group.” She looked over at him again as they turned onto the road that would take them to Hollyhaven. “Do you know him?”

“I recognized him, but we’d never been introduced. I can tell you he’s one of Foliot’s inner circle,” he said grimly.

The questions crowding her mind grew louder. Had Thaddeus been part of that inner circle when he’d married her? Had her entire marriage been a farce?

She began to understand how Penn might have felt yesterday upon hearing about his father. The feeling that her marriage had been a lie blossomed in her chest and grew outward until she felt as though she might suffocate. To think she’d been used… Well, it didn’t bear thinking.

And yet she couldn’t wipe it from her mind.

* * *

Frustration pitched through Penn as he stalked through the near darkness toward the house from the stable. They hadn’t been able to find the vicar. He’d left the village for some unknown “errand.” It might’ve been unknown to the man’s wife and rector, but it wasn’t to Penn.

Egg had gone off in pursuit while Penn had returned to Hollyhaven. He’d been incredibly torn. While it was vital he stop this vicar from proving Penn’s birthright, it was also imperative he continue his quest with Amelia.

He entered the house through the back and headed straight for the stairs. As soon as he walked into the hall, his parents came from his father’s study.

“We saw you ride to the stable,” his father said cautiously. “I was hoping you would look more at ease.”

“I was hoping I’d feel more at ease. Pardon me, I need to speak with Amelia.”

He started up the stairs and heard his mother say, “She’s already retired for the evening.”

Penn wasn’t about to let that stop him, and right now, he didn’t give a damn if his parents knew it. He needed to see her, to bury his hurt and disappointment in her embrace.

He arrived at her chamber and rapped on the door. When no answer was forthcoming, he knocked a bit harder. Still nothing. Was she really asleep?

He’d just take a peek… Easing the door open, he stepped inside. Light from behind him splashed into the chamber, and he could see the bed was devoid of her presence. As was the rest of the room. What the hell was going on?

He closed the door and ran back downstairs. His parents were no longer in the hall, but the door to Father’s study was open. Penn crossed to it with long strides and went inside. His father stood near the table, his mother caressing his arm. They both looked at him at the same time, and both immediately registered his annoyance.

“Where is she?”

Mother stopped stroking his father’s arm. “What do you mean?”

“Amelia is not in her chamber. You said she retired early.”

“That’s what her maid reported,” Mother said, her voice edged with concern. She looked up at Father, who shook his head.

“I don’t know where she could be, Penn.”

Penn swore under his breath. Why would she leave? And if she hadn’t left, where was she?

“Should we search the house?” Mother asked.

“Yes, let’s.” Father took charge, leaving the study.

Penn overheard him giving instructions to Thomas. Weariness stole over Penn, along with a stinging sensation of defeat. Where was she?

A moment later, voices in the hall shook him from his stupor.

“She’s here,” Father called just before Amelia stepped into the study. Her cheeks were dark pink, her hair mussed as she removed her men’s hat with its wide brim. She wore the costume he’d met her in. Why?

Gideon came in behind her. He was also garbed strangely. His clothing was old and too large. And he carried Dyrnwyn.

“How the hell did you get that?” Penn demanded.

“I gave it to him,” Amelia said. “We needed it.”

“Why?” Penn’s gaze strayed to Gideon, anxiety tumbling through him. Why were they together?

“I think I’ll let her tell the story.” Gideon set the sword atop the long worktable, then shrugged out of his oversized coat and draped it across the back of a chair. He sat down and looked from Penn to Amelia and back again, his demeanor reflecting none of the tension Penn felt.

Penn turned his gaze to Amelia and registered the apprehension he’d missed a moment ago. He was a self-involved ass. In two steps, he was in front of her, taking her hands in his. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “Yes. I received a…note this morning with my breakfast. A boy delivered it to the kitchen and asked that it be given to me.”

Penn didn’t like the sound of this, particularly knowing the end result of this note somehow involved Amelia looking upset and Gideon wielding the flaming sword.

Amelia’s gaze softened as she looked at him. “You’d already left; otherwise, I would’ve told you about it. Despite the note warning me not to.”

Anger—directed at himself—rose in his throat. He should’ve been here with her. “Where is this bloody note?”

She let go of his hand and pulled a small piece of parchment from her coat. He took it and quickly read the lines.

When he looked back at her, he couldn’t keep the incredulity from his tone. “You went to meet this blackguard?”

“Not alone,” she said with a defensive edge. “Kersey came with me.”

Penn’s father broke in, looking toward Gideon, “When did you arrive?”

“This morning. I met Mrs. Forrest outside, and she shared the note with me.” He turned his head to Penn. “She would have shared it with you, I assure you.”

Penn reined in his temper—he wasn’t typically an angry sort. He was levelheaded and composed. It took quite a bit to ruffle him. Apparently, this was precisely that. He took a deep breath and looked intently at Amelia. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

“Yes.”

“Did you get the book?” A bead of anticipation worked its way up Penn’s spine. To have the book…

Her brow creased. “No.”

His anticipation crumbled away like a dried-up biscuit. “The heart?”

“I still have it.” She pulled it from her coat and winced as she transferred it to his palm. “We dropped it.”

He looked at the two pieces and felt only a mild disappointment. “Good thing it’s not the real one.”

Her lips curled into a faint smile. “I thought you might say that.”

“Who wrote the note?” Penn asked, already thinking how he might find the villain and ensure he never bothered Amelia again. In fact, why had this person sent her the note? They’d clearly known she—along with him—was in possession of the heart, which meant they’d been followed from Oxford.

Amelia exchanged a quick look with Gideon. Something was off…

Gideon stood and stepped toward Penn. “Real heart or not, that stone is more than what you thought.”

Penn looked down at the two pieces and moved his fingers, turning the stone in his palm. He lifted his gaze to Gideon and then Amelia. “What do you mean?”

It was Amelia who answered. “Apparently, it’s a key.”