“How could you send her there of all places? She is walking into a trap,” Charles shouted.
Thorn and his father came running into the nursery. Thorn rushed to Ivy’s side and pulled her protectively into his arms.
“What is this shouting about?” Thorn questioned Charles.
“She sent Raina to Blackstone’s.”
“Raina? Charles, Raina is not here.” Thorn tried explaining to him
“She was in disguise and had you of all people fooled.”
“Who? How?”
“Raina is Mrs. …,” Charles began.
“Whitlow,” his father finished
Their eyes turned to George in confusion and betrayal. He sighed and made his way over to the rocking chair and sat down. Looking at Ivy, he nodded his head over at Tommy watching them with curiosity.
“Tommy, I heard cook made your favorite cookies today. Why don’t you run along to the kitchen and have her give you your snack?” Ivy suggested.
“Sugar cookies my favorite. I hope she frosted them too.” Tommy ran from the room towards the kitchens.
“How long have you known?” Charles asked his father.
“Last night I walked her back to her room after she sat with you for a spell. I patted her hand, she was not wearing any gloves. Her hands were of a lady in her youth, not those of an aged governess she was portraying. Her eyes held a look of deep sadness and fear. I figured it was her in disguise.”
“Why did you not inform us of this?” Thorn questioned.
“I was trying to protect her and keep her safe. I thought if she knew we guessed who she was, she would flee. But if we pretended that she was fooling us, she could be safe here. We would know where she was and could protect her.
Charles turned away from his father in frustration. He understood why he did what he did, but still it made him angry on not knowing sooner. He could have prevented her from leaving. Now he must figure out a way to rescue her if she did not return. In which, he would have to explain to them Blackstone’s involvement with Shears.
He walked to the window, hoping to see the carriage return her to their safety, but the roadway was empty. It was getting dark. If he left for Blackstone’s now it would look strange that he was following the hired help. Also, it would reveal her cover. Blackstone would discover who she was and wouldn’t think twice on getting rid of that loose end. She was one of the few individuals that could link Blackstone to Shears.
Blackstone was playing a tricky game. He portrayed himself as a strong supporter of the Crown, but in truth he was in line with its number one enemy. He could not let his family know this, it put them into too much danger.
Pulling out his pocket watch he noted the time. He would give her half an hour to return. That gave her plenty of time to deliver the message. He slid the timepiece back into his pocket and turned towards his family.
“Were there any more errands?” Charles asked Ivy.
Ivy shook her head in denial. “I would never have sent her Charles if I had known who she was.”
Charles went over to Ivy and grabbed her hands in his. He squeezed them lightly, “I know Sis, she had us fooled.”
“What is your plan?” Thorn inquired.
“I will give her time to return, if she doesn’t come back soon, I will have to look for her. When she returns, I ask you to give me time alone with her.”
Thorn nodded his head in acceptance.
“I will try to convince her to go to Margate with you. I will need you to watch over her while I finish my business in town.”
“We will take care of her at Thornhill Manor.”
Charles released Ivy’s hands and walked back over to the window. Pulling the shades back he watched as darkness engulfed the sky, casting shadows along the street. His fingers tapped impatiently on the window sill as he waited for her to return.
“Let us finish with our packing dear, we need to leave as soon as she arrives.” Thorn drew Ivy out of the room.
“I am sorry Son.”
“There is nothing to be sorry for Father.”
“If that is the case, then why are you sending her to Thornhill Manor and not to our home.”
“Because I want you to stay at Thornhill too, until I can get the proper security in place.”
“Nonsense, we have adequate security in place at Mallton Manor.”
“Humor me Father, please stay with the Thornhill’s until I can return home.”
The Duke let out a sigh, resigned that it was the least he could do. His son was under tremendous pressure, he did not need to add to it. This way he could spend more time with Ivy and Tommy. The boy made him feel young again. More than that, he made him feel needed.
He rose from his chair, walked over to Charles, and put his hand on his shoulder.
“I am going to the townhome, send word when your Raina has returned. I will be ready to make the journey back home. All will be well my son. Have faith.”
“I am trying Father,” he said as he continued to wait for her return.
Chapter Nine
RAINA LET HERSELF IN through the servant’s entrance. As with the rest of the house it was shrouded in darkness. Hoping the residents were in bed, she had waited in the mews behind the house for a sign they had settled for the night. She had watched while the guards searched the house looking for her. Raina felt awful the Thornhills were objected to that. When the guards had left, she sat in wait. Needing to gather her things and leave as quick as she could, she made her way up the servant’s staircase to her room. Not wanting to awaken anybody, she guided her way through the darkness with the touch of her hands.
When she was first hired on, she did an intense scrutiny of the residence. She found every exit and hiding place she could use, for just these circumstances. As she climbed the stairs, she moved up them zigzagging her way over the creaks she knew they made. When she came to the floor of her room, she opened the door quietly, easing herself onto the landing. As she closed the door behind her, she relaxed when she saw the hallway covered in darkness. There were no lights peeking out from the closed bedroom doors.
Silently she crept along the hallway to her room. As she opened the door, she slid inside her bedroom. She leaned back against the closed door, shutting her eyes, she breathed a sigh of relief. Opening her eyes, she moved to the wardrobe. She needed to put as much distance between herself and London as soon as possible. Now she was a wanted woman. Needing to change her appearance once more, she had to leave before anyone awoken and they caught her.
Bending over to grab her valise she only encountered emptiness as her hand swept the bottom of the wardrobe. She dropped to her knees as she continued to search the darkness, her hands brushing in between the dresses that hung. Sitting back on her heels she panicked, where was it? Did they figure out who she was?
She searched on her knees, crawling around the wardrobe. Maybe one of the maids had moved it. While she searched on her hands and knees around the floor of the dresser, her body tensed. She became aware that she was not alone in the room. She was off her game. Her instincts did not notice the uninvited guest when she first came into the room.
Reaching into her boot, she drew out her small knife and slid it into the pocket of her dress. She didn’t know who her visitor was, but she wanted to be prepared. In case it was Tommy, she did not want to scare the boy. Drawing herself to her feet, she smoothed out her dress and pretended that she was unware of her visitor. She walked over to the side of the bed to light her lantern.
“Do not light that Raina or shall I say Mrs. Whitlow?” She heard the sarcasm in his voice.
Slowly turning at the sound of his voice, she saw the man who occupied her every thought. He was sitting in the rocking chair, rocking back and forth. The light from the firelight showed her valise resting on his lap. His hand was slid through the handle, with his fingers tapping a tattoo on the bag. Well she found her missing bag at least. To get it from his hands and leave without him following her was going
be another difficult task. This time she didn't think she could accomplish that mission.
She wanted to answer the sarcasm in his voice with her own. But couldn’t.
Raina felt defeated as she sat on the edge of the bed. She didn’t want to fight him. The past few months had taken their toll on her emotions. After what she had been through tonight, she was at her breaking point. But because of tonight, she also realized she wasn’t finished. That was taken out of her hands. Now more than ever, she must run. But this time she was not going to run to her next strategy in destroying Shears but running to save her own life.
She had to disappear and hide where nobody could find her. Charles was another obstacle she had to get through tonight. She has managed to avoid him and get out of his clutches before, so tonight would be no different.
“Are you going somewhere Mallory?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact we are.”
Raina laughed, “We?”
“Yes, you and I are leaving here tonight. Together,” Charles emphasized.
“I am not going anywhere with you,” Raina argued.
“Well you made that possible tonight, didn’t you?”
“I did not cause his death.” Raina defended herself.
“That is not what the authorities think. They even seem to know you are Raina LeClair, not Mrs. Whitlow. How do you think they learned that?”
“He was already dead when I got there.”
Charles watched her. He saw the panic in her eyes. Also, the fear. When he discovered the details on how Blackstone had died, he knew she was not capable of the murder. This had Shears written all over it. It was a perfect way to get rid of two of his loose ends. Only he won’t get rid of this loose end, he would make sure of that.
Charles patted her valise, “I assume that you already have your next disguise ready to go.”
Raina nodded her head. They had her trapped. She had no way out of London, let alone England without his help. She would go along with his plans until she could make her escape. Then she could disappear from England and him, where they would never find her.
As he rose from the chair, Charles walked over and set the valise on the bed next to her. He then returned to sit back in his seat.
“I will give you ten minutes to change and to gather all your belongings. But then it shouldn’t take you that long, considering you already had your luggage ready to run.”
Raina ignored the sarcasm in his words as she opened her valise. She pulled out her disguise and laid the pieces on the bed.
“May I have a few moments of privacy to change?”
“No, you may not. Do you think for one minute I will let you out of my sight?”
“Will you at least be a gentleman and turn around?”
“I ceased being a gentleman to you when you drugged me.”
Raina paled at his words, realizing that he learned it was her who was the tavern wench. If he had knowledge of that disguise, then he probably recognized all the others. If not, it shall be her ace in the hole for a getaway. But if he didn’t know of her different disguises, then it might be easier to get away from him than she thought.
She realized she was sloppy on her Mrs. Whitlow disguise. There were key times she fell out of her role as an old companion. His arrival at the Thornhill’s shook her up more than she thought. It was her own fault she had been discovered. She needed to get her head in the game and focus.
As she turned her back on him she began to disrobe. There was nowhere else to hide. Even though she had been put in the same wing as her employers, she still had a servant’s quarters. She was only on this floor to be near Tommy. There were no dressing screens to change her clothes behind. She would have to change in front of him.
Raina had made her disguises accessible to change swiftly for just these emergencies. Unbuttoning a few buttons to loosen the top of her dress, she pulled the dress up over her head. The garment became caught in the pins holding her wig on her head. As she struggled to undo her dress, she heard chuckling behind her. Gritting her teeth, she disentangled the dress from her hair. With the wig half on, she undid the pins pulling it off her head.
Laying the pins on the table next to the bed, she ran her fingers through her hair. Her fingers massaged her scalp, easing the tightness from having her hair pulled tight all day. She untangled her long black hair with her fingers.
She looked over her shoulder to glare at Charles for laughing at her, she paused, her hands falling from her hair. Her eyes were captured in his gaze, every single one of her thoughts forgotten at his look.
Charles fingers gripped the arm rests tighter. The sight of her was a punch in the gut. She was amazingly gorgeous. He never seen another lady look as incredible as she did at this moment. With her long black hair hanging to the middle of her back, he was lost. He wished it was his hands stroking through her hair.
But it wasn’t only her hair that stopped him from laughing, it was the creamy white skin of her shoulder. It was illuminated in the fire light, begging for his kiss. He could imagine himself kissing the spot where her neck curves into her shoulder. His lips drawing a trail across her body. She stood only in her chemise looking at him with her dark blue eyes turning into midnight at his gaze.
When he saw that she had realized where his thoughts had turned, he rose from the chair and pulled her into his arms.
He lowered his head and ravished her mouth with his, drawing on every emotion he had felt as he waited for her this afternoon. He suffered through too many, to even recognize what he was experiencing any more. All he knew was what he was feeling at this moment. Desire.
He listened to her gasp as he caught her unaware. Stealing this moment, he slid his tongue into her mouth and stroked it alongside hers. Fast, urgent he stroked her tongue.
He pulled her body in closer to his, holding her to him as tight as he could. Charles needed the reassurance she was real and not a figment of his imagination. He had been searching for her for far too long. There were always obstacles in their way, herself the major one.
Pulling his mouth away from her lips, he drew his lips down her neck to the spot he craved to kiss. His tongue slid along the curve, tasting her sweetness. Drawing out the sensation, he blew a soft breath where he had licked. He felt her shiver in his arms.
His lips sunk into the curve, kissing her slowly. His lips blazed a trail of fire from her shoulder to her neck. He could feel the heat coming off her body. Bending backwards, he laid her body across the bed. As he followed down next to her, his mouth never left her body.
Charles untied her chemise when he heard no arguments on his kisses. His lips worked their way from her shoulder to the top of her breasts. He trailed the top of the ribbon across the opening, placing little kisses along the path. Opening the chemise wider, he saw the outline of her breasts. The soft globes begging for his lips.
Lowering his lips to the curve of her breasts he placed featherlight kisses along the slope. Hearing her moan, he repeated on the other breast. Wanting more, he undid the ribbon, pulling her chemise completely open.
Looking up for her reaction. He saw the desire darken her eyes to almost black. When he realized there would be no rejection, he lowered his head to taste the sweet buds that were beckoning to him. Drawing one into his mouth, he savored the sweetness of Raina. Charles moaned as he sucked her nipple between his lips drawing out every drop of honey that was her. When he felt her nipple tighten hard inside his mouth he softly circled his tongue around her bud.
When her hands ran throughout his hair, it was the encouragement he needed. He traced a path across to her other breast with his tongue. Repeating the love on her other breast, his hands roamed the rest of her body. He wanted to touch her everywhere. His hands glided over her curves, pulling her body in closer to him.
No matter how close he drew her in, he needed her closer. He wanted her to be the other half of him. But he couldn’t get enough, he was drowning in the taste and touch of her. Even though he could se
e her touching him and responding to his touch, he knew she was holding herself back from him. While he was pulling her close, she was resisting.
He wanted her completely, he wanted her as undone as he was. For he was. Having her in his arms, kissing her, touching her was unraveling him to no end.
Raina recognized she was losing the last of her control. As hard as she was trying to hold on, she saw herself slipping with every touch and a kiss from him. She lost her senses, except for the sense of feel. She wanted to experience everything where Charles was concerned.
As she sunk her fingers through his thick hair, she held him to her breasts. Her body was on fire while she was with him. His kisses enflaming her more. Every lick of his tongue or nip of his lips, tightened her nipples harder. She arched her body into him, craving more.
When he moved his hand up her legs, underneath her chemise, she had to put a stop to this. It was too dangerous of a game to play with him and Raina knew she would come out the loser.
But when his hand slid between her thighs, coaxing her legs to open wider, Raina knew in her mind she had to end this now. As her thighs parted for him, her body was overruling her mind and wanted to continue to play.
Charles left her breasts and made a path back up to her lips. He slid his tongue across her lips as his fingers caressed her wetness. Raina moaned against his lips.
“Charles, you must stop.”
“Just one touch Raina,” Charles begged.
Raina moaned as his fingers explored. Knowing she must halt this madness.
Charles took the moan as encouragement. Sliding his tongue into her mouth, he kissed her passionately. When she returned his kiss, with the stroke of her tongue. That was all he needed.
He slid his finger inside her. Her wetness coating his finger like honey. Raina pulled her mouth from his, gasping at his touch. Watching her he saw the flame of desire in her eyes turn into the passion he was feeling for her. This feeling went beyond any feeling of craving, but one of a passionate need that only one could fulfill. That was her and no other. He saw in her eyes the same need for him he held for her.
Rescued By the Spy Page 7
