The Gentleman Spy: A GuardianWard Historical Romance by Georgina North

Author:Georgina North [North, Georgina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pepperberry Press
Published: 2024-05-08T00:00:00+00:00

19

The easy way Beau had subdued that horrid man was all Emerald could think about on the ride back to Oakmoss. It had been done before she’d had a moment to sort out what was happening, and by a man who did such things as naturally as one might inhale and exhale. Shock, confusion, and disgust at such a violent display were all feelings which should have been roused in the breast of a gently bred female, but Emerald could conjure nothing beyond amazement. With his attention to his dress, impeccably manicured nails, and soft curls arranged with a deft hand, Beau had executed the manoeuvre with exquisite precision and ruthless brutality that surprised her.

She returned directly to the estate at a sedate pace, adjusting her ideas with each slow step. It was Emerald’s grand and faulty hope that by the time the sweep came into view, her mind would have sorted itself into some semblance of tranquillity and even perhaps an answer or two.

After giving a perfunctory smile and a kind word to the stable boy, the butler, and the footman, Emerald found herself at the door to her rooms without really knowing how she’d come to be there.

Her hand settled on the gold knob, the cool metal like ice against her hot palm. She hesitated, her gaze drawn down the corridor towards Beau’s door. There wasn’t a sound on the floor. Even her own breathing had halted, and with a quick look first left then right, Emerald released her hand.

Mindful that she was well on her way to Bedlam, she kept her steps light, but there was nothing to be done about the excessive way her heart thumped in her chest. Raising her hand, she rapped on the door to Beau’s room. She had not expected any response, having left him standing in the road in Ramsgate. Still, she pushed the door open, only a little at first, and whispered into the large room a soft ‘Hello?’ that went unanswered.

Emerald closed the door behind her and wasted no time in making a dash for his writing desk. She did not know precisely what she was looking for, only hoping it would make itself known when her eye landed on it. All she wished for were answers to the questions multiplying in her mind. There was a letter from a cousin and a sheet of paper with the title of a book she’d been speaking of written upon it. There was a volume of poetry that Emerald pushed aside, but a moment later she found her eyes once more resting on the title. Picking it up by the spine, she shook out the pages, the breath in her throat hitching as another letter fell to the desk. A letter signed by Monsieur Allard, but not written in French or English. The words were perhaps Spanish or Portuguese, but as she understood neither, all of it was nonsensical.

The letter was clutched in her hand when she heard Beau’s muffled voice in the hall, and panic seized her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.