Chapter Twenty-Four
On her way back to the study, Thea was waylaid by her sister.
Emma pulled her into the empty dining room and closed the door. “Have you and Tremont come to an understanding?” she said without preamble.
Thea squirmed. “I can’t talk about it yet.”
“So that’s a yes.”
“I promised Tremont that I wouldn’t say anything until after the Spectre is caught.”
“If he doesn’t want the world to know, then he shouldn’t act as if he has rights over you,” Emma pointed out. “His manner in the study was dashed proprietary, if you ask me.”
“He’s just being protective. He doesn’t want me to get hurt.” Thea bit her lip. “That’s also why he doesn’t want to make an engagement official until the villain is captured. He’s afraid whomever is after him will target me as well.”
“I suppose he gets points for that,” her sister said in grudging tones. “But Thea, are you absolutely certain about your feelings for him? That he is the husband you want?”
Yes, he was—with the exception of his aversion to love. But she wasn’t about to bring up that topic with her overprotective sister.
“I’m certain,” she said.
Emma studied her for a moment. Sighed. “That’s that, then.”
“Would you do me a favor, Em?”
“Yes, dear?”
“I need to speak with Tremont in private, to convince him to let me go with Pandora,” Thea said in a rush. “Her plan to infiltrate the Davenports’ home could provide the key to solving this mystery.”
“I agree. And Tremont’s not the only who needs to be convinced. I have my work cut out for me with His Grace.” Emma huffed out a breath.
“You’ll help me then?”
“If I don’t help you,” her sister said wryly, “you’ll just go about this pell-mell on your own.”
Thea’s cheeks warmed. “Mama and Papa said we must follow our hearts.”
“Well, yours can lead you to the library. I’ll see to it that you and Tremont are undisturbed. Seeing as you’re practically engaged, I suppose I can turn a blind eye for a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” Thea said. “For helping me—and especially for helping Tremont.”
Emma squeezed her hand. “What are sisters for? I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
I hope so, too, she thought.
***
In the library, Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest.
“There’s nothing further to talk about. Pompeia’s plan is rife with danger,” he said.
Had he ever thought of Thea as fragile, weak? Despite her dainty appearance, she faced him like a warrior princess, battle light in her hazel eyes. Just looking at her stirred his blood.
“This is a charity luncheon, for goodness’ sake. Nothing is going to happen to me.”
“Forget it,” he said. “You’re not going.”
Her chin lifted. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
“I can, and I will.”
“We’re not even officially engaged. You have no rights over me.”
“You know damn well that you’re mine.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. Reining in his temper, he said deliberately, “Or have you forgotten the carriage ride and that night in the conservatory? The promise you made to do everything that I ask?” Hunger for her gnawed at him, amplifying his frustration.
Instead of looking flustered, she seemed… impatient.
“In the bedchamber, yes. But you’re not going to dictate everything else in our relationship. If that’s the kind of marriage you’re envisioning, don’t bother to offer for me.”
Ice coated his gut. “Is that a threat?”
“No. It’s a fact.” Her expulsion of breath was slow, deep. “I can’t stand by and do nothing when you’re in danger. Please don’t ask me to.” Her beautiful eyes pleaded with him. “One of your expectations for marriage was trust. That goes both ways.”
“Trust has nothing to do with this,” he said.
Out of nowhere, the dark images assailed him, smoke and fire obscuring his path, black waves churning his gut. A body arching over the cliff, falling, too late to reach…
“Gabriel?”
Her soft voice brought him back.
“Devil take it, I can’t put you at risk.” His fists balled. “If you get hurt because of me…”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me at a society luncheon.” Her gaze searched his. “But this isn’t just about me, is it?”
He said nothing.
“Tell me,” she urged. “I want to know. You can trust me.”
“Marius,” he said finally.
“You’ve mentioned him before.” Her brow furrowed. “He was your fellow agent. The one who was killed?”
“Because of me.” Guilt rushed, dark water under ice. “I got him killed.”
“What happened?” she said softly.
“After the defeat of Bonaparte, Octavian remained obsessed with hunting down French spies, including the Spectre. He was convinced that they could do harm to England still, and he was like mongrel with a bone.” Gabriel’s lips twisted. “Octavian received information that the Spectre had a lair on the coast of Normandy. He sent the Quorum to capture the spymaster. Pompeia didn’t show.”
“So that is why there’s bad blood between the two of you?” Thea said.
He gave a terse nod. “She abandoned us, left us shorthanded on a critical mission. The four of us went in without her. We were ambushed. Marius escaped, but Tiberius, Cicero, and I were captured. Interrogated.” His heart thudded hollowly. “Beaten.”
“Oh, Gabriel.”
He didn’t want her sympathy. Now that he’d reopened the wound, all he wanted was to let the festering drain out. “Things would have been a lot worse for us if Marius hadn’t mounted a rescue. He came back. Risked life and limb to save us.”
“He was a hero,” Thea murmured.
“Yes. He was the true leader of our group, more of a brother to me than my own had ever been. When I joined the Quorum, he showed me the ropes.”
Your temper is a liability, Trajan—unless you learn to harness it. How many times had Marius given him that advice? Gabriel’s throat convulsed as his old friend rose in his mind’s eye: a wiry fellow with sandy hair, pale eyes that had seen the worst of the world yet still looked for the best. Even in him.
“The night of the rescue, Marius broke into the compound and set off explosives. He set us all free, and we fought our way out. Tiberius and Cicero escaped, but I… I was in a blood rage. Even after I thought I killed the Spectre, it wasn’t enough. I wanted all of my enemy dead.”
“You weren’t in your right mind. After being a prisoner,” Thea whispered, “who would be?”
“Marius tried to make me leave. Stayed with me, dragged me out of the burning building,” Gabriel said woodenly. “Outside, the enemy surrounded us, and I don’t remember what happened next. Only that I killed them, all of them. And when I thought to look for Marius… it was too late.
“He was standing at the edge of a cliff. An enemy soldier had cornered him, pointing a pistol at him, and I couldn’t do anything. Couldn’t reach him. I watched him get shot and fall over the precipice.” His fists clenched at his sides. “By the time I’d killed that last bastard, there was no sign of Marius on the rocks below. The waves must have dragged his body out to sea.”
“Oh, my love.” Thea hugged him around the waist.
“Marius died because I lost control over my emotions. I lost my head, and my friend paid the ultimate price for it.” Slowly, his arms went around her, absorbing her warmth, letting her honeysuckle sweetness sustain him through the rest. “Around that time, my brother died, and I inherited the title. I decided to focus on my estate and duty. I wanted to put espionage behind me, to never spill another’s blood again. Octavian was not happy with my decision, but I didn’t give a damn. Our parting was not amicable.”
“God knows you’d given enough to your country.” Thea’s words emerged muffled from against his chest. “And you mustn’t blame yourself for doing your duty as a spy.”
“I murdered men in cold blood,” he said flatly. “You don’t find that abhorrent?”
“I find war abhorrent. I find what it does to good men abhorrent.” The golden warmth in her eyes flowed through him. “But never you, Gabriel.”
He surrounded her face with his palms. “Then don’t put me through hell. If you ever got hurt because of me… it would destroy me, Thea.”
“But the situations aren’t the same. I’m going to a tea party not an enemy stronghold.” She placed her hands over his. “No one is safe while the Spectre is at large. The best way to protect me is to let me help you catch him.”
Christ, she had the grace of a princess—and the brain of a barrister.
“The best way to protect you is to keep you away from harm,” he said.
“What tower do you plan to lock me into, Gabriel? What place do you know of that the Spectre cannot reach? How will you guard me every moment of every day?”
Her words struck a deep chord of truth. Released a resonating fear.
“If you truly want to protect me, then let me go with Pandora and Emma tomorrow to Lady Davenport’s. I promise we’ll be careful… and you can monitor the proceedings if you wish,” she said quickly.
Her logic battled his denial. Was she right? Was allowing her to participate in the investigation the best way to protect her?
His spy’s mind analyzed her plan, broke it down to various angles. If he kept watch during her visit to the Davenports—had all entrances to the townhouse monitored—it was unlikely that anything could happen to her or the other two ladies. It was a luncheon, after all. The presence of the other guests would add a layer of safety.
But he would require more. He looked into Thea’s earnest eyes and came to a decision. He would do everything in his power to keep her safe. Even if it meant trusting in her strength.
“You will have one hour,” he said. “If you’re not out by then, I will go in and drag you out myself.”
“Oh, Gabriel, thank—”
“I will be circling outside in the carriage. I’ll post men at the front and back of the house. If anything so much as feels amiss, I want you to leave immediately.”
“Of course—”
“Finally, you’re not going in unarmed,” he said.
She flung her arms around him. “You won’t regret this, I promise. I’ll carry anything you like. A pistol, knife, explosives—”
“You don’t need an arsenal.” His lips twitched at her crestfallen expression. “Beginners are more likely to hurt themselves with their weapons than their opponents.”
Her brow furrowed. “Then how do you plan to arm me?”
Although it went against his fundamental desire to keep her safe under lock and key, the best protection, he’d concluded, was to teach her how to defend herself. Unbuttoning his jacket, he placed it over the back of the couch.
“I’m going to show you how to fight, princess,” he said.