He shifted his back against the brickwork and winced at the stiffness in his legs as he studied the little Frenchman. For someone so small he had done an incredible amount of damage to the Star Elite investigation and was by far the most elusive of the French spies. It was a major coup to be able to locate him, especially in the middle of a huge city like London.
He watched the Frenchman put a large black cap on that covered most of his face and leave the yard where the coach was stored. Once the Frenchman was on his way, Rupert kept to the shadows and followed. His eyes constantly searched the surrounding area for anyone who was lurked in the shadows but didn’t break his stride. As he followed Fornier, he tried to keep his mind on the job. On more than one occasion he had to remind himself to walk slower and keep several feet of distance between himself and the Frenchman, but it was difficult given the sense of urgency that plagued his every footstep. The Star Elite were so close now to being able to finish this investigation that they could positively sniff the finishing line, and they were all fuelled with determination to get it over and done with so that they could move on.
Although Thea had only been at Ridings for a few days, she was clearly sick of being stuck indoors all day. He could sympathise, he really could, but struggled to make her understand that her safety was of paramount importance to him. He wanted to take her on a walk around the park, shopping, and to see the River Thames, but the close call they had had earlier that afternoon had been more than enough of a warning that to push his luck now was asking for trouble. There was nothing he would like more than to be able to accompany her around London but, right at that moment he had a job to do and it was at a crucial stage where mistakes would mean fatalities. For the sake of himself, his colleagues, and indeed Thea and John, absolutely nothing could go wrong.
With a sigh, he tugged the collar of his jacket high and ducked his head. The slow, slightly awkward gait he had adopted to go with the workmen’s clothing he wore ensured that anyone he passed never game him a second look.
As he walked, he wondered just what Thea would think if she saw him.
Thea rolled over in bed and sighed. She had read until the early hours and her eyes burned with the need to rest, but sleep still eluded her.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but, in the quiet of the night, her thoughts turned to her walk in the park yesterday afternoon with Rupert. It had been wonderful if slightly risqué, to share such easy familiarity with him. It hadn’t been just the walk that had thrilled her, it had been the simple joy of being able to share a hot chocolate together in front of the fire afterward that had made it altogether more intimate. They had never been able to share anything so special before, and it was something that she stored away in a secret part of her heart to take out and think about whenever she came to miss him. His laughter was infectious; his teasing smile made her smile back, but it was the protective way he always seemed to move to stand beside her, and the gentle yet supportive hand he placed on the small of her back that made her feel as though she was the most precious person in the world.
She glanced sideways at the empty covers and wondered if sleep eluded her because he wasn’t lying beside her but then immediately dismissed the notion as ridiculous. She had spent all of her life sleeping alone. It was foolish to think that the night she had shared his bed; or rather he had shared hers, had been so addictive that she now couldn’t sleep without him. So why couldn’t she sleep? Deep in her heart she knew that it was him she missed. She sighed and rolled over, and spied the lists she had made. He had said that he would take her shopping but hadn’t said when. Although she didn’t mind waiting, she wondered if he would be happy to take another walk in the park across the road and endeavoured to ask him the next time she saw him.
A half an hour passed and she was still staring up at the canopy. Only one thing would help her sleep: warm milk. She shoved the covers off her legs and gathered her shawl around her shoulders. Once in the kitchen she set a pan on the fire to warm and sat in a chair before the huge stove to wait. Her toes curled against the cold stone floor and she tugged her shawl tighter around her shoulders to ward off the chill.
Several minutes later, a slight click from outside drew her attention. She hadn’t bothered to light a candle and sat in the chair before the fire with nothing other than the soft glow of the fire to lift the shadows. It was too dark to see much but she could see outside, and watched in horror as a tall, dark figure crept quietly through the gate. The silence of the night remained unbroken as the figure hurried toward the house and stood beside the back door. Thea briefly contemplated running across the kitchen and bolting the door while screaming for help but she didn’t get the time to draw breath before the figure was entering the kitchen.
She spun this way and that in a desperate search for anything she could use to defend herself and the house. Her eyes landed on a huge cast iron pan on the range and she hurried toward it. Her heart hammered in her throat as she lifted it but it was heavier than she had expected and scraped across the top of the metalwork as she tried to heft it into the air. The noise sounded loud in the silence and was enough to capture the attention of the intruder who swore and lunged toward her.
She didn’t stop to think and swung the pan in a wild arch toward him. Its heavy weight propelled her forward but she achieved what she had set out to do and she felt the heavy pan whack the man on the shoulder. Unfortunately, its heavy weight rebounded off him and dragged her toward the floor. Her scream was cut off by the sooty covered hand that covered her mouth but, to her horror, she couldn’t stop her downward momentum. She could do little other than gasp as the pan was snatched off her and tossed aside, and she was tugged off her feet and onto the floor. The towering presence of the intruder as he rolled over her effectively pinned her to the ground.
“Get off me,” she gasped and opened her mouth to scream only to feel panic swamp her as the sooty hand was replaced with warm lips. At first the familiarity of the kiss didn’t register, it was only when he moaned that she realised this was no ordinary intruder. This was Rupert. Anger replaced the fear and gave her the energy to jerk her head to one side so that she could glare up at him.
“God, Thea, that pan was heavy.”
She lay wide eyed beneath him and struggled to find the Rupert she had come to know and love beneath the heavy disguise. A blink didn’t change him and she yanked one of her wrists out of his firm grip so she could snatch the large hat off his head. Before she could say anything, his hot mouth captured hers and he plundered her senses.
He was exhausted, hungry, dirty, and his shoulder now hurt like the very devil because Thea wielded a mean frying pan but, in that moment, he couldn’t think of anywhere else he would rather be – except in a nice warm bed. When a shiver swept over her he realised that she was lying on a cold stone floor wearing nothing but a thin nightgown. It took every ounce of effort he could afford to release her from his kisses but he levered off her and tugged her to her feet.
“Come on,” he growled and took a moment to remove the hot pan of milk from the fire before he escorted her to the door. He made no attempt to find a cup and merely swept a still dazed Thea off her feet before he stalked through the house toward the bedroom.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Thea sighed and tried desperately to keep hold of her temper. Last night had been wonderful, sublime even. He had deposited her onto the bed in her room as though she were made of the finest porcelain and followed her down with a sensual determination that had been impossible to refuse. This morning she had felt closer to him than ever before. It was the first time ever she had woken up in his arms and loved it. The slumberous look in his eyes as he had smiled sleepily at her had warmed her heart in a way that left her still trembling with what had happened before he had allowed her out of bed.
Now though, the familiar restlessness had returned with a vengeance and this morning refused to be appeased with the pages of a new book. She glared at it in disgust and threw it down
onto the table beside her before she turned her attention to the man who had so easily captured her heart again. If she was honest she strongly suspected that he had held it throughout the last four years, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him that so early in their re-acquaintance.
“Look, Rupert, I have done everything you have asked of me. I have stayed away from the windows and remained inside, but I am not a prisoner. I have done nothing wrong and cannot live like a hermit until the Star Elite capture this Frenchman. There is nothing to say that he is even in the area, let alone interested in what goes on here.”
Rupert sighed deeply. He had known this argument had been brewing and, in all conscience, was struggling to find ways to fight it. She was right; Fornier had not ventured anywhere near since their walk in the park. She couldn’t remain a prisoner at Ridings or she would soon come to hate the place and that wasn’t fair on either her or John. He had seen the same restlessness in her yesterday and had hoped that the sexual trysts they had enjoyed last night would have been enough to leave her in bed for at least the rest of the morning. However he had lost sight of the fact that this was Thea, who had spent much of the last four years predominantly in bed recovering from severe injuries to her legs. He couldn’t blame her for not wanting to be confined to the house again, especially now she was fit and well and excited to see London.
“So where do you want to go?” He mentally ran through the list of things she had drawn up.
“I just wanted to go to the dressmakers to get something more fashionable,” Thea sighed. “I have been living in the country for so long that my wardrobe is rather outdated to say the very least, especially for London. Although I have no plans to go out for the time being, I should like to at least be able to wear more than the three dresses I have brought with me. When I left Leicestershire, I didn’t realise that my movements would be so severely restricted. I need all sorts of things to be able to get by, Rupert.” She fought to keep her voice from rising but could still see lingering doubt on his face, although he had yet to voice any real refusal. Sensing she was at least starting to gain ground she issued him with a stern look. “There is nothing on the list that I would even consider for one second allowing you to purchase for me.”
Rupert smiled and shook his head. “I could arrange for a modiste to come here. At least you could then sit before the fire and enjoy having someone wait on you. There are several excellent ones nearby. I am sure that one of them would be available.”
“I need fripperies, undergarments, and shoes,” she began to pace backward and forward in front of the fire. It did little to ease her frustration but at least it was movement. If she didn’t do something she was going to go stark raving mad. “I need personal items that only a lady should know about and I need to see people. I am starting to feel that I am in prison, Rupert. I refuse to live like this.”
Rupert sighed and studied his feet. He had been going about his work and had left the house on several occasions. He had never stopped to consider what it was like for Thea to have to remain indoors for so long. He knew that he had lost the battle and searched desperately to find some sort of solution that would appease them both but failed miserably. She was right. There were undoubtedly things she needed to get that only ladies should know about. With a sigh of defeat he rubbed a hand down his face and pushed to his feet.
“I need to go and speak to Marcus and see if he can keep watch on the house,” he grumbled and stalked across the room to stand before her. He placed on finger beneath her chin and stared hard into her eyes. “I am going to hail a cab while you get your coat. There is a dress maker I know not far away who will see you without an appointment but I warn you here and now Thea, do you as you are told. If I say it is time to leave, don’t question me, don’t argue and don’t hesitate to do as I tell you to. I don’t know if Fornier is in the area, but if he appears I don’t want you to take any unnecessary risks.”
“Oh, but -” Thea gasped, however Rupert didn’t wait to hear what she said and stalked out of the door with determined strides. Sensing only a partial victory, she frowned at the empty doorway for a moment before the heady scent of freedom propelled her into action. She met him by the front door minutes later. The dark scowl on his face warned her that he was far from happy with the situation but knew there was little he could do about it.
“Sir?” Argus called as he hurried toward him. “A gentleman dropped by and left you this.”
“Did he leave a calling card?”
Argus shook his head. “He said that you need to read it and he would see you later to discuss it at the usual time and in the same place as before.”
Rupert scowled at the butler for a moment before he took the note and shoved it into his pocket.
“Thank you, Rupert,” Thea sighed once they were in the carriage and on their way. “I know that you are not happy about this but there is nothing going to go wrong, you’ll see.”
Rupert studied her for several minutes and remained quiet. He was damned well positive that nothing was going to wrong. He had his loaded gun on his hip, a knife in his boot and nothing and nobody was going to go anywhere near Thea, except for the modiste and only then she was going to hold nothing but a piece of chalk.
Once the carriage was weaving its way across London, Rupert removed the note from his pocket and opened it. His curse broke the silence of the gloomy interior as he read the contents before stuffing the note out of sight. Bitter frustration swept through him. If only Argus had given him the note several minutes earlier.
He studied the joy on Thea’s face which was for once without frowns or shadows, and knew deep in his heart that he couldn’t order the carriage to turn around and head back to Ridings. Thea wasn’t the nagging type, but she would be sad and restless again and he couldn’t bear to see her like that. Now that they were in the carriage and on their way he had to let her pay a visit to the modiste. He knew of one that sat hidden in the far corner of a small mews that was discrete but also very fashionable.
How he was supposed to be at the modiste with Thea though, and over at the docks to help close down a gang of thieves and pick-pockets at the same time heaven only knew.
“Penny for them?” Thea said quietly. She hated to see the dark, almost forbidding, expression on his face and wondered if he was grumpy because he had been forced to give way and allow her out of the house.
“Things are changing quickly with the investigation, Thea. This is a note from my boss asking for my assistance across town. I can hardly refuse.”
“He is your boss. If you are needed, that’s fine. I am going to be perfectly alright at the modiste, you’ll see.”
“God I hate this,” Rupert growled, and shook his head as he stared at the floor. He hated the thought of dropping her off and leaving her even for a second, but had little choice without dashing her excitement.
“I am a grown up, Rupert, and perfectly capable of going to the modiste by myself. Besides, I don’t think that the Frenchman you are after is going to be all that bothered with me when he has the Star Elite breathing down his neck.”
Rupert sighed and knew she was right but his gut instinct was screaming at him that he should not leave her alone. Unfortunately, Marcus had just finished his overnight watch and, although he had agreed to keep watch over the house while Rupert was gone, would need sleep as soon as he had finished helping Rupert with the gang. Everyone else was off doing other investigative work and, even if he could find them, they were already committed elsewhere and wouldn’t want to spend the afternoon at the dressmakers.
“You don’t have to babysit me, Rupert, I am a grown up. I am sure that I can manage to find my own way home,” she persisted, hating him to feel obligated to look after her.
“It is my responsibility now Thea.”
“I am not your responsibility.”
“You are now, especially after last night,” he sighed and moved across the carriage to sit beside her. Her hand felt small and delicate against
his large, work-roughened palm and he cradled the fragile bones tenderly for several moments. “I am afraid that after last night you and your welfare are very much my concern now.”
“Last night was -” What was it? Was it a one night stand again? Tender? Intimate? Wonderful? She wasn’t quite sure what to call it and began to wish that she hadn’t spoken.
“Last night was perfect, and something we are going to do as often as possible just as soon as my work with the Star Elite is done,” he warned her.
Thea felt her cheeks flood with colour and she shifted uncomfortably against the wild thrill of pleasure that rushed back as she remembered what they had shared last night.
“We need to talk about last night, Thea, and what this means to us.”
“I don’t see that it has to change anything between us.”
“Of course it does. How can I let you walk away now?”
Her stomach flipped at the calm determination on his face but she was slightly stunned at his declaration.
“I can’t really walk, it is more of a hobble,” she replied wryly and sat back warily when he immediately leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees.
“They don’t bother me, Thea; the scars. They are a memory of a time when I should have stayed and fought for what I wanted, and didn’t. I am still not certain whether I would have preferred to change any of the last four years, I will be honest with you. My life now has got purpose, drive and has made me realise just how precious some aspects of life really are. You, more than anyone, should know not to take anything to granted, not even your health. I have seen death and destruction the likes of which no man should ever witness and I have killed and maimed in my fight for survival but, throughout all of that, I have witnessed acts of human kindness, benevolence and sacrifice that has left me questioning my own beliefs about everything. I thought I didn’t want hearth and home, marriage, and any degree of commitment to anyone, but I am sick of spending my nights out in the cold, where it is dark and danger lurks in every corner. I want something solid to go home to and that something solid for me is you.”
Ghost of Christmas Past Page 14
