Lucy Lane and the Lieutenant by Helen Dickson

Author:Helen Dickson [Dickson, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-04-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

‘Who was that man?’ Lucy burst out breathlessly, halting beside Nathan.

He arched a dark brow. ‘You don’t need to know that.’ Nathan saw her eyes narrow.

‘There is something, then, something I haven’t been told.’

She tossed her head. Nathan loved it when she did that. He found it endearing and spirited. ‘I didn’t tell you because I wanted to protect you.’

‘Protect me? But I don’t need protecting.’

‘Very well. I had no wish to worry you.’

Her lips tightened to a pale line and he saw her hands clench. He had seen her angry in the past, and a veritable hellcat she could be, but never had her anger been so controlled as now. Controlled, he thought ruefully. She was—they both were—older now.

‘I need to know everything, Nathan, if I am to help you and Katherine. Do you understand? I cannot be caught asleep if there are plans afoot of which I know absolutely nothing. What have I not been told? Was that man a contact? You arranged to meet him here, didn’t you? Tell me. I’ve come too far with you to have the door slammed in my face.’

Nathan stared at her for a long moment. It was plain to see that she was not going to back down. At last, he gave her a grim and barely perceptible nod. ‘Very well. I will tell you. The man you saw is one of the partisans.’

‘He had a fierce look about him.’

‘With good reason. He hates the French with all the passion of his soul. They killed his entire family and he repays them by killing as many as he can find.’

‘You arranged to meet him here, didn’t you, Nathan?’

He nodded, folding his arms across his broad chest. ‘The convent, as you will have observed, is well hidden. Unless you know of its existence it’s an ideal rendezvous—a perfect retreat. The sisters are brave.’

‘I thought nuns were supposed to be impartial.’

‘They are. Like everyone else they want the French out of Portugal.’

‘Why has no one attacked Gameau’s hideout before?’

‘Because the place where they hide is too far from military lines. The partisans move through the mountains a good deal easier than the army. The difficulties would be too great. The partisans and a troop of British soldiers are planning to attack Gameau’s hideout. I want Katherine out of there before it all falls apart. If the deserters get wind of an attack, in all likelihood they’ll kill the hostages and escape into the hills. Wellington is not going to ignore the taking of captives by deserters, in particular women and children. An example has to be set. The partisans know the mountains. If they work together, they can take them.’

‘So we have to get there before they do.’

‘In exchange for information I’ll pass on, they’ve agreed to wait, but not indefinitely. Winter is almost here. It will be more difficult to launch an attack in the snow. What I tell them—such as where the hostages are kept, an approximate number of the deserters and anything I can glean about their weaponry—will be important to them.

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