by Laura Landon
"Are you ready, Lydia?"
She caught her startled gasp and turned around. Harrison stood in the doorway dressed in his finest. He was such a handsome man that she was confused as to why he hadn’t picked out a wife. It wasn’t for lack of eligible females throwing themselves at him.
"Yes, I was just..."
"I know," he answered when she didn’t finish and she knew he was aware of whom she’d been thinking.
He took one step into the room and stopped. "He’s fine, Liddy."
She put on a bored expression and prayed her brother couldn’t tell how rapidly her heart was beating. "Of course, he is. Why wouldn’t he be?" She brushed at an imaginary wrinkle on her gown. "Have you heard from him?"
"I dropped by the flat where he’s staying to see if he needed anything."
"Did he?"
Harrison shook his head and closed the door behind him. They were alone now and she knew what Harrison was going to say before he started.
"You have to forget him, Liddy."
She put as sincere a smile on her face as she could. "I have. I’m just curious. I wasn’t sure he was ready to be on his own when he left."
Her brother walked across the room and stopped before the blazing fireplace. He braced his outstretched hands against the mantel and stared into the fire. "Chisolmwood came to see me today. He wants to formally announce your engagement." He took a deep breath and turned to face her. "I think that’s wise."
She felt her cheeks warm but refused to back down from her brother’s intense gaze. "We will," she said with a smile on her face. "We just haven’t discussed that. I’m sure that in time—"
"Time isn’t your friend. It won’t change anything."
"I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why do you think I want anything to change?"
He narrowed his gaze. "Gabe will never ask you to marry him. He can’t. Father signed the papers betrothing you to the Marquess of Culbertson. There’s nothing you can do to change that without causing a scandal."
Her heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach. "That was cruel, Harrison."
"I’m sorry. It wasn’t meant to be cruel. I meant it in the kindest way possible."
"Then you don’t need to worry. I don’t want to marry Major Talbot, and he doesn’t want to marry me. He made that quite clear a year ago." She walked toward the door. "Now, if you’re done explaining my duty, I think we’d better go. The Biltmore Ball is guaranteed to be a lavish affair and the crowd will be impossible if we’re late."
Harrison crossed the room and opened the door for her. She silently walked through the foyer to where Hannah and their butler waited with their cloaks. The weather had turned colder this week but it wouldn’t be long until spring.
She pulled her red velvet cloak closer around her neck to ease the heavy weight that pressed down on her. A painful breath stabbed inside her chest. Harrison was right. Thinking about Gabe didn’t help her. In fact, it hurt her.
"Perhaps if Geoffery is there tonight," she said as the carriage rumbled over London’s cobblestone streets, "the subject of our betrothal will come up."
Harrison laughed. "What do you mean, if he’s there? Of course he’ll be there. He always attends the functions at which he knows you’ll be in attendance."
"Unless he’s away on government business," she added, knowing she couldn’t put off giving the marquess an answer any longer. Knowing she didn’t want to.
"Yes, there is that," Harrison said as the carriage came to a stop in front of the Biltmore town house.
Every window was aglow with the brilliant lights from the huge chandeliers that hung from the ceilings in every room. She hoped the festive ambiance would replace the dread she suddenly felt. Why wasn’t she brimming with excitement? Why wasn’t she giddy with anticipation? She would see the marquess again tonight.
She stopped at the top of the stairs and looked around the ballroom. Her gaze focused on Culbertson and her good friend Emmeline, swirling in perfect unity to a waltz the orchestra played.
It was hard to miss him. His tall physique and striking appearance made him stand out in a crowd. Add to that Emmeline’s grace and beauty and only someone blind could overlook them.
She smiled. The marquess held his partner in his arms and looked down into the warm, open smile on her face. Liddy watched for several moments, wishing her heart would race when she looked at her future husband. Wishing she’d feel something other than the unsettled turmoil that had been there since Gabriel had reentered her life.
She stared out onto the dance floor and gathered her resolve. She’d survived losing Gabriel before and she could do it again. Her father had exposed Gabriel’s greed and chosen a man of exemplary character when he’d picked the Marquess of Culbertson. No matter what feelings she still harbored for Gabriel, she wouldn’t go against her father’s wishes. Harrison was right. She’d avoided the inevitable long enough.
The orchestra stopped playing and she took Harrison’s arm and walked down the stairs into the ballroom. The minute Culbertson noticed her, he brought Emmeline over to where they stood.
"Lady Lydia. Etherington," he greeted, and Lydia greeted he and Emmeline in return. They talked for several minutes about nothing in particular and when the orchestra struck the chord to begin the next set, he asked her to dance.
He held out his arm and she placed her hand on it, praying she would feel a shiver of excitement when she touched him.
Telling herself it didn’t matter when she didn’t.
CHAPTER 10
The carriage Harrison had sent for him stopped in front of Etherhouse, and Gabriel slid to the edge of the seat. It had been several weeks since he’d left, weeks since he’d seen her. If Harrison’s message hadn’t sounded so damned urgent, he’d have ignored it. He wasn’t ready to see her again. She’d made her feelings obvious the last time he saw her. He could still feel her cold, unresponsive lips beneath his. Still hear the disdain in her voice, the rejection. She wanted nothing to do with him and he vowed to honor her wishes.
He dismounted the carriage and stood for a moment until he could gain his balance. He’d improved a great deal since he’d left Etherhouse, and the intense pain that gripped his knotted muscles when he demanded too much from them wasn’t nearly as severe as it had once been. He was confident the day would come when perhaps he’d even walk without a cane. Never without a limp, but perhaps without a cane. But not yet.
He took his first step then made his way up the walk. An intense wave of unease washed over him as Ruskins opened the door. From the look on his face, something was definitely wrong.
"Good day, Major Talbot." There was a hint of strain in his voice.
"Good day, Ruskins."
The frown didn’t leave Ruskins’ face and as he helped Gabriel off with his cloak, the butler’s usual staid and steady slowness seemed hurried.
"Lord Etherington is waiting for you in the library."
He followed Ruskins to the study door and walked inside.
Harrison stood by the crackling fireplace, his posture unnaturally rigid, his hands clasped behind his back and a deep frown darkening his features.
"Gabe."
He would have brushed aside the worry he felt if the strain in Harrison’s voice hadn’t been so obvious. "Harrison?"
Gabriel noticed his friend’s pale complexion and the dark rings that circled his eyes. Worry and lack of sleep were evident.
"Is something wrong with Lydia?"
Harrison shook his head. "It’s Austin. They have him."
Gabriel’s heart clenched tight in his chest. "Who has him?"
"The French. I just received word from the Ministry of Defense. Of course, officially our government denies they know Austin or that he has any military connection. But at least they were considerate enough to inform me that he’d been captured."
Gabe took a few steps into the room. "Tell me everything you know."
Harrison swiped his fingers through his hair. "I received
a visit from one of the undersecretaries during the night. He wouldn’t tell me why Austin had been sent to France, only that he was there."
Gabriel breathed a heavy sigh. "If Austin is in France, he was sent there to watch Napoleon III."
Harrison’s brows shot upward. "Why do you think that?"
"It’s been rumored for some time now that the emperor has ambitions as great as his uncle."
Harrison released a heavy sigh. "Yes, I’d heard rumblings along those lines but hoped they were unfounded."
"Where is he being held?"
"I’m not sure. All I know is he was last seen in Paris."
Gabriel thought of Austin being held in a French prison. He’d move heaven and earth to save him. That’s what Austin had done for him. "It won’t take me long to locate him."
"No, Gabe. I can’t let you go after him."
"You can’t stop me."
"You’d be arrested before you stepped on French soil."
"I may walk with a limp, but my injuries haven’t affected my thinking, or the connections I have in France."
"But it has affected your mobility, the way you get around. Sending you over to save Austin would only get you killed."
"That’s a risk I’m willing to take."
"Well, I’m not!"
"You have no choice. I have connections in France."
"If you can get to them."
"I will. I’ll go ashore in Le Havre or Rouen and make my way to Paris by land."
"Your limp draws attention to you whether you like it or not. You can’t hide. And you can’t enter France from someplace else. They have every inch of French coastline guarded night and day. You’d never make it past the military."
"Then I’ll sail in under their noses."
"You can’t! I won’t let you!"
"If you didn’t bloody want me to go after Austin, then why the hell did you send for me?"
"Because I need your help. Give me the names of people over there who can go after Austin. Names of people I can trust."
"No one! I’m the only one who can get to Austin. If the country’s as unstable as you say it is, do you really think I’ll give you the names of the agents I know the government is looking for? No. I won’t take such a risk. I’ll go. Or no one will."
Etherington slammed his fist down on the top of the desk. "You can’t do it! Not alone! Not with your injuries! You’d need a diversion. Something or someone who could draw attention away from you!"
"There isn’t anyone who can do that!"
The door opened and both men spun around to where Lydia stood inside the room.
"I can do it."
Gabriel’s heart leaped to his throat. He’d spent every day since he’d left her trying to convince himself he could live the rest of his life without her. Seeing her today undid everything he’d tried to forget - the feel of her in his arms, the way her hair smelled of lilacs and roses, the feel of her lips pressed to his.
Oh, how he missed her.
Harrison stepped around the desk to go near her. "You shouldn’t be here."
Gabriel noticed the red rimming her eyes and the lack of color to her cheeks.
"I can be the diversion. I can help the major get into France without bringing attention to either of us."
"No," Gabriel answered, the thought too ludicrous to entertain.
"Yes, Major."
"No, you can’t," he argued again, only this time he wasn’t the only one to voice his disapproval. Harrison’s negative reply brimmed with determination. It was to Lydia’s credit that she didn’t slink away in fear.
Instead, she lifted her shoulders and faced them. "You have no choice. None of us do. We can’t sit idly by while they have Austin."
Lydia’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. "We don’t know what they’re doing to him." There was a catch in her voice. "He could be starving, or injured. Or...worse."
One errant tear streamed down her cheek. "You asked to see Gabriel because you hoped he could help us. He can. But we have to help him, too, Harrison."
"No," Gabriel said firmly. There was no way he would endanger her. No way he’d put her at risk.
"You don’t have a choice, Major. Neither do you, Harrison."
She looked from one of them to the other and Gabriel saw the depth of her resolve. He’d never been more proud of her than he was at this moment. He’d never been more afraid for her than he was now. What if Harrison actually considered allowing her to help in some way?
But he wouldn’t. Harrison understood how dangerous it would be for her to go to France. He’d never allow Lydia to—
"How do you think you can help, Lydia?" Harrison asked.
Gabriel spun to face Harrison. "You can’t think to consider letting her go to France."
"No, of course not. But I want to hear what she has to say."
"It doesn’t matter what she says. She’s not going to be involved in this."
Lydia cast a quick glance in his direction then let her final gaze rest on Harrison. "Why don’t we all sit down and discuss this calmly. Please."
Harrison breathed an anguished sigh then pointed to a chair. "Gabe?"
He hesitated the longest, knowing that whatever Lydia was about to suggest, it was probably better than anything either of them could come up with on their own. Her brothers had always underestimated her intelligence. He never had. He’d been in awe of it from the day they’d met.
"Now, Lydia," Harrison said, sitting in his chair behind his desk. "What do you see that we’ve missed?"
Gabe’s heart jumped in his throat when she turned her head and looked at him.
"Do you agree that Austin is probably being held in Paris, Major?"
"That would be the most likely, yes."
"If you had a way to get into the city, do you have the proper resources – the proper contacts to get him out?"
"Yes, but I can—"
She held up her hand. "I’m not doubting your ability. But don’t you see, the risks are twice as great if you try to accomplish this alone. Austin’s life is too important. Why not work with every advantage we have?"
"Because I don’t want to put you in danger."
"But didn’t you just say you had friends to help you once you reached Paris?"
"Yes."
"Then the greatest chance for failure is before you ever get to them. That is when you will be the most vulnerable."
"I’ll think of something."
"What? A diversion to keep you from being suspect by the French authorities? A cover to get you into the country?"
"Yes."
"I already have a plan."
Her voice contained such confidence that a shiver raced up and down his spine.
"I won’t allow you to be involved."
"I’m already involved, and if there’s something I can do to assure that Austin comes home safely, I’ll do it."
"What are you suggesting, Liddy?" Harrison leaned forward with his arms propped on the top of the desk.
"Let me go with the major."
"No," Gabriel argued.
"Let me pose as the major’s...wife. We could be newlyweds on our honeymoon."
"No!" he said louder.
Harrison rose from his chair and paced the small confines behind his desk. "Do you know what you’re suggesting, Liddy?"
Gabriel couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Even more astounding, he couldn’t believe that Harrison would even listen to such a plan, let alone consider it. Yet he seemed to be doing just that.
"Of course, I do. The major needs to get into France without causing undue suspicion. I hardly look suspicious. As my husband, he’ll hardly be considered a threat. His injury will be to our advantage. I have no doubt we can both pass as a newly married couple visiting France on our honeymoon."
Harrison came around the corner of his desk and stepped close to her. "You couldn’t go without a chaperone."
Gabe threw out his hand in frustration. "Harrison! Think what you’re doing
. You can’t let her go."
Harrison slammed his fist on the corner of the desk. "I can’t let Austin die. And you’re the only one I trust to save him. Which means I’ve got to do everything possible to ensure your successful arrival into Paris."
Harrison turned back to Lydia. "Who would you take with you?"
"I’ll take Hannah. No one would expect a lady to travel without her lady’s maid anyway. And Morgan will go as Major Talbot’s valet. Everything will be quite proper. I won’t be alone."
"What if someone discovers that you’ve gone with the major?"
"You can cover for me here. Say I’m ill, or that I went to the country for a few weeks. With the Marquess of Culbertson away on business, no one will think it odd that I chose this particular time to leave London."
Gabriel closed his eyes and shook his head. He couldn’t believe this was happening.
If he were honest with himself, he had to admit her plan was perfect. He wasn’t strong enough to make his way inland to Paris from the coast. His leg wouldn’t support him that long. And he’d stand out like the proverbial sore thumb if he arrived alone. What use would he be to anyone if he were arrested the minute he stepped foot on French soil?
The disguise of newlyweds was an ideal ruse to get into the country undetected. Once they reached Paris, Jean-Paul would hide them at the inn. Jean-Paul would protect Lydia until Gabriel freed Austin, then Gabriel would bring them both home.
But there was always the chance that something would go wrong. A shiver of dread raced down his spine. He moved his gaze to Harrison, praying he’d see some sign that he realized Liddy’s plan was too dangerous. Instead, Harrison’s tortured look sent a wave of fear rushing through him. "Harrison," he said. "Think what could happen."
"Do you think I don’t know what could happen? I could lose my whole family." Harrison looked as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I’d give everything I own for there to be another way," he whispered.
"There isn’t," Lydia answered for him. "This is the only way."
A smile lit her face and she looked at Gabriel. "Nothing will happen to me, Harrison. Or to Austin. Gabriel will see to it."
A hand gripped his heart and squeezed until the air left his body. There was no doubt he would willingly risk his life to save Austin. But how could he risk Liddy’s? How could he live with himself if something happened to her?
