A Lady's Temptation by Tracey Devlyn

Author:Tracey Devlyn [Devlyn, Tracey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TDC Creations

Twenty-Two

With one hand anchored on his hip and the other clutched around a near-empty glass, Sebastian paused in the midst of the sunken garden. Where was that blasted bench?

He squinted into the darkness, twisting this way, then that way. No bench. He took another lurching step, his body listing to the left.

If only this bloody garden would stop moving.

The widow was to blame for his current predicament. Had she not harangued him with question after question, he was certain they would be more agreeably engaged.

In his bed. Naked and sweaty.

Not in a garden cracking his shins on every earthenware container he owned.

He tipped back the rest of his brandy, and this time the amber liquid slid down his throat like liquid silk. His gaze settled on the second floor, on the long balcony framing two sets of double doors. To the right, the countess’s bedchamber sat in forbidding darkness, its occupant fast asleep, making his current state all the more laughable.

For nearly two hours, he had tried to find surcease from the image of the McCarthy girl lying in a vat of mud, her mouth agape and her eyes deadened.

He had seen death many times and in various forms. Men, women, sick, poor, elderly, young—no one was immune, all could be sacrificed. Children were the worst, though. Their innocence made them easy targets. Their defenses laughable to predators.

He lifted his glass for another healthy swallow, only to be met with a single drop. He eased his arm back down, the empty glass dangling from his fingertips. Unbidden, his gaze rose to the countess’s chamber again. How he wished he could have confided in her. His jaw actually hurt from the strain of keeping his tongue behind his teeth.

One detailed explanation would have been enough to set her mind at ease until the Nexus located Ashcroft’s killer. One detailed explanation would have removed the wariness from her eyes and kept her in his bed. One detailed explanation would have exposed an organization whose success depended entirely upon its anonymity.

He rubbed his aching temples, hating his role as chief of the Nexus in a way he never had before. He lifted his glass again and remembered it was empty. Time for a refill.

Shuffling his feet, he made his way up the four steps that led down to his favorite section of the garden. Once there, he could see well enough that he did not have to walk like an old man anymore, although his balance continued to favor one side of his body.

He entered through his study door, banging his shoulder into the frame. Someone cursed at the opposite end of the room. Instinct took over. He dropped into a crouch, away from the open door.

His rapid change in position made his head spin, and he took precious seconds to shake off his alcohol-induced fog. Once he regained a modicum of clarity, he peered hard into the gloom, searching for shifting shadows and subtle sprays of light. But all remained eerily still. Too still.

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