A Secret Code by Jacki Delecki

Author:Jacki Delecki
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Doe Bay Publishing LLC
Published: 2021-02-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Reggie took the stairs two at a time to Lady Henrietta’s drawing room. The intense physical movement helped to reduce his fury to simple screaming frustration. Maintaining his composure and not giving Lewis any clue about his reaction to Joie being near Benning had depleted his restraint.

Last night’s annoyance from the ball coupled with Joie’s trip to the library with Benning pushed him right to the edge of his well-honed control.

He didn’t wait to be announced but thrust the door open well ahead of the footman-soldier.

Reggie halted mid-step. Aunt Euphemia was sitting next to Joie on the settee. Her signature turban was festooned with a bird’s nest. Could the day get any worse? Lord Rathbourne’s aunt was crafty and didn’t miss anything.

“Oh my, Talley. You’ve been spending too much time with my nephew. You’ve acquired the same thunderous scowl.” The older woman patted her lips with her napkin. “Don’t you agree, Henrietta?”

Lady Henrietta laughed. “My goodness, you might be right. Will you join us for tea? Or did you come to ask if Miss James would like to accompany you in the garden? You appear to have something important you wish to say to her.”

Reggie’s hands clenched at his side. Both Aunt Euphemia, a former agent during the French Revolution, and Lady Henrietta assumed that his black mood was due to Joie’s success last night rather than the danger she had placed herself in.

Why should he be jealous that Joie had the entire male population at her feet? Though he was man enough to admit they were right. He was jealous after hearing of all the men seeking Joie at the park and after watching her the previous night in other men’s arms. But he refused to give voice to the niggling fear that Joie would change her mind about marrying him.

“Miss James, I’m surprised that you aren’t exhausted after the ball and the demands of dancing the entire night.” He wished he could now reclaim his words. He had been happy that her reentry into society was celebrated and that she wasn’t shunned.

Aunt Euphemia muffled her snort behind her napkin.

“I don’t find myself tired at all. I had the most stimulating morning with Uncle Charles.”

Reggie controlled his need to mention the danger or all the men in the park with an attentive audience.

“Miss James has been wonderful with Uncle Charles today. Seeing what Miss James’s attention has done for him has been enlightening. My poor uncle needs more company and lively conversation. He was alert and engaged in ways I haven’t seen for months. I’m happy that Miss James accompanied my uncle to the library today,” Lady Henrietta said.

Inexplicably, Charles had days when he was brilliant and able to attend to his work, and other days when he floated in his memories. It had been agreed to limit his interactions to family and a tight circle of acquaintances to prevent him from sharing the secrets of the clandestine work he and his family did.

Why didn’t the intelligent women

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