Once Upon a True Love's Kiss

by Julie Johnstone

  After receiving her punch, she sipped it as Hastings stood beside her.

  "Your brother is a wonderful host. I've never been to a ball quite as nice as this."

  "Really? This is merely a country dance compared to the London season. Have you never been to Town during the season?"

  "Oh, yes, yes, of course." He coughed as if he were covering up his embarrassment. "I must say, I think this ball is special because I've met you. This could be the most important event of my life."

  "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

  "Don't you?" Hastings stared down at her. "Must I be blunt?"

  Her stomach sank. This was not going the way she wanted at all. She wasn't making any progress and it seemed all the man wanted to do was act as if he'd fallen in love with her.

  In lieu of answering, she darted her gaze around the room seeking some means of escape. She finally made eye contact with Cassandra who obviously understood her look of desperation because she moved through the crowd directly toward them.

  "I know I've probably spoken too soon but I really admire you and would love to be given permission to court you."

  Augusta stared up at Hastings, trying to hold her face impassive. "You have been too hasty, sir. I barely know you."

  "I understand but we can take it slowly in the actual courtship."

  Before she could think of a response, Cassandra arrived at her side. "Augusta, your brother is asking for you."

  "Please excuse me, Mr. Hastings." Augusta set her punch cup down and turned to move away.

  He took hold of her upper arm. "Please call me Nigel, and come back as soon as you can as I would like to talk some more about this."

  She didn't respond but followed Cassandra over to where Ambrose stood chatting with the local vicar. She stayed there with them for a few minutes and eventually was approached by her next dance partner.

  After several more dances, she found herself beside Myles again.

  Shocked at how grateful she was to see his face, she tried to keep the joy from escaping onto her countenance. It wouldn't do to let him know how attached she'd already become to him. She thought about the irony of Hasting claiming to love her mere minutes ago and how that made her almost physically ill and how much she'd rather have this man she was about to dance with say the same words Hastings had.

  "I believe this one is mine." Myles held his hand out.

  "It is indeed." Augusta smiled at him. She placed her hand in his and it felt right.

  They moved in to the dance and as they executed the steps, Augusta relaxed for the first time since before she danced with Hastings.

  All too soon, their time was over. They stood to the side and she checked her dance card. "I have this one free and then Mr. Hastings again."

  "You look as if you're going to your execution as you say that."

  "It seems like I am. He's not high on my list of people I want to be around."

  "Come out on the terrace for a few moments and get some fresh air."

  "That sounds divine." Augusta followed Myles out the side door. The air was a little cool and she wished she hadn't set her shawl down when the dancing started.

  "Are you cold?" Myles asked.

  "How could you tell?"

  "You shivered just a moment ago."

  "I was regretting leaving my shawl."

  "Would you like me to go fetch it?"

  "No. By the time you got there, I'd have to return to dance with Hastings." Augusta stepped closer to Myles thinking his bulk might block some of the wind from her shoulders.

  "I'm sorry Lancelot and I got you into this. If you want to let it go, we will both understand."

  "No. I'm determined to see it through. Everyone will be returning home soon and if we're not successful by the time the house party is over, I'll accept that I failed. Until then, I'm going forward."

  "Have I told you that you're the bravest woman I've ever met?" Myles smiled down at her.

  "You have now." His words made her heart soar. Maybe he didn't think she was some kind of hoyden after all.

  "In fact, you're probably braver than some men in my regiment."

  "I'm not sure that's a real compliment. I've met some regimental men who are bigger infants than some newborn babes."

  "That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" Myles laughed.

  "Here you are. Have you forgotten about your dance card, Lady Augusta?" Nigel Hastings stepped out on the veranda.

  She shuddered anew at his use of her first name. She'd never given him permission to use it. He'd decided he could on his own after that first request that she'd ignored. It seemed it was becoming a habit with the man to annoy her.

  "I didn't forget our dance, Mr. Hastings. I was just returning to the ballroom." She turned to face him.

  "I asked you to call me Nigel, didn't I?"

  She ignored him and swept past him to reenter the house. Time to get this dance over with. The relief would be palpable since she only owed him this last one.

  Instead of taking to the dance floor, Hastings took her by the hand and walked her around the edges of the ballroom and out the other door.

  "What are you doing?" Augusta became anxious since no one else was in this area of the grounds.

  "Haven't you been wondering why I'm here? Why Margaret invited me?"

  "Margaret? You call my brother's wife, the countess, by her first name?"

  "Yes, I do. I've known her since she was in leading strings so I've been given that privilege."

  "I really think we need to get back to the ball. My brothers will be missing me."

  "I don't think so. Margaret will keep William occupied and they won't even know you're gone."

  "Why would she do such a thing?"

  "Because she wants to assist in making a match between us." His smile was oily and made Augusta's stomach roil.

  "Sir, you have again overstepped your bounds and I'm leaving." She turned to reenter the house.

  He grabbed her upper arm so hard she knew she'd have a bruise within the next ten minutes.

  "Unhand me, sir." Augusta tried to wrench away but Hastings held her firmly.

  "It's time you learned your place and exactly who is in charge here." He increased the pressure on her arm until she though he would break it into two pieces. He dragged her a few steps away from the door.

  "This is my father's estate and I can tell you right now if you don't let me go, one of my brothers will be challenging you to a duel."

  Leering down at her, he said, "Would that be the dashing Lancelot?"

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "I found something interesting today when you left our ride so abruptly. Ambrose showed me around and included the folly on his tour. Imagine my shock when I saw someone looking out the turret window?"

  Augusta gasped in horror.

  "Ah, yes, my dear. I have the treacherous man in my control now and so you're going to do exactly as I direct if you want him to survive." Hastings pulled her further away from the house.

  "He's not treacherous. I have no idea what you mean or what you want here."

  "I hate to have to be the one to tell you but your brother is a double agent. He's a French spy."

  "He is no such thing. You have no idea what you're talking about." Even though she was dressed as a lady, Augusta had no compunction about kicking the man in the shin. Her mind was in a whirl as to how she would free Lance from this man's clutches. How had Lance been so careless as to be caught?

  "I do indeed know of whence I speak." Hastings snatched her arm so hard, it almost came out of the socket. "I suggest you stop behaving as if you have no manners. When we are married, I will beat you into submission and there will be no more saucy comments from you like there were today when I stopped your horse from running away with you. You will respect me as your husband and behave in a gentile manner."

  "I am not going to marry you. You need to get that in your mind. There will be no marriage and you will not touch me." With that, she wre
nched herself away from him with all her might and turned to run to the manor.

  Before she got far, he bent and took hold of her leg, knocking her to the ground. She lost her breath when she hit the grass full force.

  Hastings nudged her with the toe of his boot and just as she finally got some air back in her lungs and opened her mouth to scream for help, he leaned down and slapped his hand over her lips. "I wouldn't raise the alarm quite yet, my betrothed, for you see, if you give me away, Lancelot Covington will pay with his life."

  She narrowed her eyes at him but didn't attempt to speak.

  "If I remove my hand, are you going to call for assistance?"

  What choice did she have? Augusta shook her head.

  When he moved his hand, she said, "You're despicable. You don't even know me. Why in the world would you want to marry a woman who abhors you?"

  He jerked her to her feet. "I confess, my dear, that was not part of the plan when I arrived but once I met you, it seemed imperative that I have you. You need to be tamed and I am exactly the man to do so."

  "You'll never get away with this. As soon as Lance is free, I'll tell everyone what kind of person you are."

  "Come along." Hastings pulled her deeper into the grounds. "Sadly, when you fell, you ruined your gown. It's a good thing I was here to rescue you. Once I leave you with your traitor brother, I'll return to the ball to let William and Margaret know you needed to return to your chambers since the fall bruised your delicate limbs. They won't come to check on you since your maid will have given you a sleeping draught."

  Augusta hobbled alongside him since she'd lost one of her shoes when she went to the ground. "You are an evil, evil man."

  "Not really, but I'm in a bind and have no choice but to protect myself." He stopped and jerked her to his chest. His breath in her face was fetid but she didn't turn her head. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of thinking she was afraid of him.

  "What did you do?"

  "I've made some money and if I did so in a way that some might consider treasonous, no one would dare accuse the son-in-law of the Duke of Huntington, would they?"

  "So, you admit you're the spy and not my brother?"

  "Wouldn't you like that, my sweet? No. I admit to nothing." Hastings shook her. "Come. The hour grows late and I must return to the ball."

  He continued to drag her across the grounds and toward the folly. Trying to stop herself from going mad at the dread in her heart of being left in that dark place again, she focused on how she could get someone to assist her without alerting Hastings. Her missing shoe gave her an idea.

  As they moved along, she kicked off the other one and a little bit later, she surreptitiously removed her hair ribbon and tossed it to the ground, hoping he wouldn't notice. She couldn't think of anything else to drop but since the dollhouse was close now, maybe someone would realize that was where she was.

  As they arrived at the door, she remembered the knife she'd tucked away.

  Milady and Her Spy: Chapter Six

  MYLES FRANTICALLY SEARCHED THE DANCE FLOOR for Augusta and Hastings. Where had they gone? One moment, he saw the back of her head and the next she'd disappeared. She was short but Hastings was tall. Myles couldn't believe he'd lost them.

  He found Ambrose and asked him if he'd seen Augusta but he hadn't. Next, Myles located Cassandra drinking some punch and speaking to William's wife. When he inquired about Augusta and Hastings, he paid particular attention to Margaret's face. She may have denied knowing where they were but she definitely knew something. In his time as a spy during this war, he'd learned a lot about reading people's mannerisms and this lady was not being truthful at all.

  "How about we go and talk to your husband, Countess? I think he'd be interested to know you've allowed someone of the caliber of Nigel Hastings to abscond with your sister-in-law and have no concern at all about her well-being."

  "How dare you, sir. I am offended that you think I would put Augusta in danger." She turned and walked away.

  Myles followed her. "I'm not going to give up. I'm going to find Lady Augusta and then I'm going to your husband and I don't care what kind of scandal attaches itself to your name, I will tell the whole ton about your behavior."

  Margaret whirled around. "My behavior, sir? You're the one following me and accusing me of something of which I know not. I suggest you look to yourself first for causing scandal."

  "If you know anything about Hastings, you'd best reveal it now. Why did you invite him here? We've all heard how you and he were childhood friends but why is he here now?"

  "He said he wanted to meet Augusta and he was very interested in spending some time with Lancelot, so I invited him. It was my understanding that William and Ambrose's brother would be here and I can tell you that when he failed to appear, Nigel was quite put out. He's spent most all of the time here on the estate trying to locate Lancelot as he believes him to be hiding here somewhere." Margaret giggled. "That sounds odd, doesn't it?"

  Alarmed to hear Hastings had been nosing around the estate, Myles had a moment of panic. He realized now that their ruse hadn't worked. Hastings had somehow come here with full knowledge that Lance was investigating him. Which meant he'd surmised Augusta's part in this. Panic hit him square in the chest. Hastings had Augusta and Myles knew exactly where the blackguard would've had taken her.

  He took off at a run, not caring what the people in the ballroom might think. On the back lawn, he tripped over something, leaned down and his heart seized when he realized it was a lady's slipper. He held on to it, stood and increased his speed. Terrified that he might be too late to stop whatever Hastings had planned, Myles kept moving, not taking time to make a plan.

  When he found the second shoe and then shortly thereafter, the hair ribbon, he wanted to scream in frustration, but he was also proud of Augusta for thinking of ways to mark their trail while she had to be under great duress. He hadn't forgotten the story about the folly and why she would no longer go inside.

  Realizing he was praying as he ran, Myles eventually had to stop to catch his breath. He had to have his wits about him and not go in blindly. He paced a few yards from the dollhouse and tried to formulate some kind of tactic.

  Deciding he had to go inside and take his chances on surprising them, Myles silently made his way to the front door and leaned against the wall with his ear near the closest window. There was no sound from inside.

  In his gut, he knew Hastings would've taken his hostages up into the turret. It would be the most easily defended position in the building and the decision Myles himself would've made.

  Taking a deep breath and easing the door open, Myles slid inside soundlessly. Acclimating his eyes to the darkness, he waited a few seconds before inching over to that claustrophobic staircase and standing near the bottom riser.

  He had a moment of doubt since it was eerily silent. If the three of them were upstairs, they weren't making a sound. Wondering how that could be unless Hastings had killed them, Myles stepped onto the first step. Luckily, it didn't creak but the fourth one did. Stopping his forward movement for a few moments, he listened to see if there would be a reaction.

  When there was none, his heart rate increased even more than it already was beating. It was hitting his chest wall so hard, he was sure it could be heard all the way to the manor house. Why was it so quiet up there? Were they long gone? Or were they dead?

  Stunned at how much he wanted to fall apart at the thought of either Augusta or Lancelot being deceased, Myles thrust that thought to the back of his mind and kept creeping up the staircase.

  When he got to the top, he hesitated again and strained his ears for any sound of life in the room. Hearing none, he put his hand behind his back and stepped around the curve of the staircase.

  "Hello, Myles Cuthbert. I'm glad you finally decided to join us. Catching two spies in one night will surely win me a commendation from Fouché, don't you think?"

  AUGUSTA HAD BEEN JUST about to make her move with
the knife when they heard someone outside the dollhouse. She was afraid to try anything with someone out there since she might be putting another person in danger. It was all she could do not to cry as it was. Being back in that place where she'd been abused and seeing Lancelot trussed up and shoved into the inglenook of the fireplace—it was all she could do not to vomit.

  She couldn't catch her breath from the moment they entered the folly. Even as Hastings shoved her up the staircase, she knew she had the knife but she was too paralyzed to act. Now here they all were and Hastings had just practically confessed to being a French spy—wait, he had confessed— after all, Fouché was Napoleon's Minister of Police, wasn't he? Why would he be giving a British subject a commendation if he weren't a spy?

  Frustrated at herself for not slitting his throat when she might have had the chance, Augusta looked over at Myles as he tried to evade Hastings' sword which he'd apparently hidden here. Hastings hadn't been able to resist bragging once he'd secured her wrists to the table and gagged her with his handkerchief.

  He explained how he surprised Lancelot when he entered with the sword and how easy it had been to tie him up and shove him in the fireplace. Tears came to her eyes but she sniffed them back. She wouldn't give Hastings the satisfaction of seeing her weep.

  He still held the sword and was now pointing it at Myles. How they'd ended up here like this was beyond Augusta's comprehension. Weren't they supposed to be the ones to capture Hastings? If it weren't so tragic, she would be laughing over the irony.

  "Come on in and join us, Cuthbert." Hastings ushered him in with a swish of the sword.

  "I think not. It's time for you to give up. It's over. You can't escape England."

  "Oh but you see, I won't need to. I'm going to marry The Lady Augusta. No one will accuse me of treason."

  "I'm accusing you. Right here, right now."