Chapter Eight
“You what?” Lord Warwick yelled as he pushed himself up in bed. What was the woman thinking? She could have been caught. Everything might have been ruined.
Amanda flinched as she took a step back. Pulling herself upright, she looked down at him as if he had no right to be upset.
“I said, I searched Lord Hicks’s study.”
“I heard you. What were you thinking?” His body shook with frustration. This woman had risked herself. For what?
Throwing the blankets aside, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Thankfully, Molly had gotten him a nightshift and robe. To hell with propriety, this could not be allowed to continue.
“I was thinking that there are men dying and you said time was of the essence,” Amanda said. “You are not the only one who loves this country. And you don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do.”
Placing her hands on her hips, she stared back at him, daring him to disagree.
“When it comes to this matter I do,” he said as he took a tentative step towards her.
She held his stare for a long moment then sighed heavily. “Don’t you want to know what I discovered?”
“I just want to know if Lord Hicks is aware. If he believes we are onto him I will never trap him.”
She frowned, “No, he is not aware,” she assured him.
His shoulders slumped with relief for a moment. “Well, that is something.”
She shook her head.
He knew that he had not reacted as she had expected. But the thought of her being in danger. Because of him no less, sent a bolt of fear mixed with anger right through him. No, it was unacceptable.
Amanda studied him for a moment then said, “I found a note, a ledger. I think it might be important.”
Warwick froze, “You didn’t remove it. He will know for sure.”
“No, of course not,” she replied.
He nodded. What had she been thinking of? Playing at a spy. Did she think this was a lark? Something to pass her time? “Did you make a copy?” he asked. Perhaps she had discovered something that might help.
She frowned. “No, there wasn’t time. I heard a noise in the hallway. Besides, he didn’t have spare paper available. I will know next time to bring my own.”
Warwick rolled his eyes. There would never be another time. She had risked herself for nothing. Knowing that there was a note in his office that might be helpful was not enough to justify what she had done.
“I can, however, recreate it if you want?” she said, looking at him with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes.
His heart slammed to a halt.
“Here,” she said as she pulled a piece of paper from her lap desk and took it to the side table by the window.
“It was folded like this,” she said, folding the paper long ways. “And two letters followed by a payment or receipt. I assume it was a payment. And then a date.”
Warwick continued to hold his breath. “Do you remember any of the letters?”
She looked up at him and frowned deeply as if he had asked her if the sun would come up in the morning. Of course, she could.
Without saying a word she bent over the paper, dipping her quill into the ink and scratching it across the paper. Lord Warwick continued to remain frozen in place. Afraid that if he moved he might disturb her.
At last, she straightened up and handed him the paper.
He shifted to hold it in the lamplight. Six different two-letter combinations listed twenty-three times down the side. Two of them only once. Others several times. After each one, a three-figure number in pounds and then a date. Each date within the last twelve months.
He studied the list as his heart began to pound in his chest. So much detail. How could she remember all of this after a brief glance,
“Are you sure of this?” he asked without taking his eyes off the paper in his hands.
“Of course I am,” she said with a satisfied smile.
He set the paper down carefully and turned to her. The woman was brilliant and beautiful. He couldn’t believe what she had done. For a year he had hoped to find something like this. And in one night, this woman had moved him a giant step forward.
As he looked at her, something shifted inside of him. The way her eyes sparkled, obviously happy that she had helped. But there was something else. Some unknown mystery that pulled at him. She was like no other woman he had ever known.
Swallowing hard, he continued to stare into her eyes.
“You are truly remarkable Amanda.”
She blushed fiercely but did not look away. Without planning to, his hand lifted to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her breath hitched as she licked her lips while she brought her hand up to reset her spectacles.
I wonder if she has any idea how tempting she was, he wondered to himself as he leaned forward and took her lips with his.
He hadn’t intended this. He would never have placed her in this situation, but his soul had reacted and he moved before he could stop himself.
What surprised him was how gentle her lips tasted. Like honey and a soft summer wind. His next greatest surprise was that she didn’t slap him, didn’t scream and run from him. Instead, she melted into him. Her lips taking from him. Demanding more. Her arms coming up to rest on his chest, not pushing him away but holding him there for her.
Lord Warwick became lost in the heaven that was Amanda Waters. Lost in the enticing scent of lavender and rose. Lost in this new world that he had never suspected existed.
Without thought, as if drawn on its own, his good arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer as his tongue explored her mouth. Tasting, taking.
The woman moaned softly as she too began to explore. Taking, wanting.
Every nerve in his body came alive at the thought of this woman. His hand drifted down to squeeze and once again she moaned. Giving him permission. Telling him that she wanted this as much as he did.
No, he told himself suddenly. This was Amanda. The one woman he could not take advantage of. The one woman that he could not hurt. This was a forever woman.
With a sense of self-control that he had not known he possessed, he pulled back, his insides yelling at him for being an idiot to pass on this opportunity. Every part of him wanted to take her.
Now. Looking down at her, he realized that it was what she wanted as well.
She might not admit it, but the way she looked up at him invited him to take more. Almost begged him to take more.
Gritting his teeth at his foolishness, he stepped back, reaching to grab the bedpost to steady himself. The woman had shaken him to his very core.
A pretty frown broke out on her brow as she tried to understand why he had stepped away. Her lips pursed in confusion. He could read it in her eyes. She was about to ask him why he had stopped.
But, thankfully, she was interrupted by a soft knock at the door.
“Your breakfast, John,” Molly said as she maneuvered her way through the door. The young maid slammed to an immediate halt when she looked up and saw her mistress already there. A deep frown crossed her face as she looked back and forth between them.
Lord Warwick swallowed hard. It was obvious to the maid that something was going on. Amanda’s face had turned as white as the cliffs of Dover and her hand trembled while she tried to put a strand of hair back in place.
“Thank you, Molly, over by the window I think,” Lord Warwick said.
The maid shot him a furious frown as she walked past him, making sure that her path crossed between himself and Amanda. Once she had placed the tray on the table, she turned and studied Amanda.
Lord Warwick smiled to himself. Amanda looked as if she were in shock. As if her world had changed unexpectedly. A sense of pride washed over him. If a woman like Amanda Waters could be impacted by a kiss, then he truly was special.
Finally, Amanda seemed to gather herself. “Yes well… Um… Yes, we will discuss this paper later.” And with that, she fled the room as if it were on fire.
“And other things,” he called after her.
A sense of loss and disappointment filled him. Oh, what would it have been like to share intimacy with Amanda Waters? An experience he would remember for the rest of his life, of that he was sure.
“Your breakfast is getting cold,” Molly said, once again giving him a deep frown. Lord Warwick smiled to himself. So what if the maid saw he was interested in Miss Amanda. Who could blame him?
The woman was beautiful, brave, and very intelligent. Kind and gently, yet willing to risk everything to help others. The perfect woman if you thought of it.
“Thank you, Molly, and I must say I am famished.
The young girl continued to frown, “Yes, well, you finish your food and maybe it will help keep your mind off … other things.”
He laughed. No, that was not going to happen.