Chasing The Heiress by Rachael Miles

Author:Rachael Miles
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2016-05-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

“Porter and I turned the poachers over to your brother’s men four miles away, then we returned by the back way.” Fletcher watched the house over Colin’s shoulder as he spoke.

“That was wise, but it shouldn’t make any difference. The porter makes regular trips through town. No one would find it unusual to see him in town, even not on his regular day.” Colin placed his hand on Fletcher’s shoulder. “And the men?”

“Tied up tight and covered with hay. No one saw them.” Fletcher held out a note. “Walgrave sent a message saying that they would be dealt with. What does that mean?”

Colin read the note himself. “Apparently, the Home Office will determine whether the men are poachers with incredibly bad luck or part of the plot against William. Either way, we don’t want to ask questions.”

“What do you think of Miss Lucy? That was some fine shooting,” Fletcher mused. “Some of the best I’ve ever seen.”

“Yes.” For the first time it gave him pause. She had used her skills to protect him and Bobby—this was the second time she had saved his life. He knew he should be suspicious, but he needed, wanted, to trust that she was what she said . . . an officer’s daughter fallen on hard times.

But he’d have to remember her skill with the weapon, and he’d have to learn what other skills she might have.

* * *

“Are you as good with a pistol as with a rifle?”

He walked around the gun room, touching the various weapons in the room absently.

“Yes. Why?”

“You learned that in the camp?”

She looked at him quizzically, but not suspiciously. “Were there no families in your regiment?”

“No.” He told himself it wasn’t a lie. His regiment had been tasked with missions on which no families would have been allowed. “I’m surprised I never heard of you, a girl sharpshooter in Wellington’s army.”

“I was not a member of Wellington’s army, and I was a well-kept secret.”

She answered easily, perhaps because she was speaking of a past that seemed far away. She walked to the wall and tested several rapiers. The way she held the blade suggested experience.

“Did they teach you to fence?” With Aidan’s connections, he could readily check her story, if he needed to.

“Fencing requires no bullets, so it was a good defense. And it required agility, not necessarily strength.”

“Are you as good as you are with a gun?”

“You won’t believe me if I tell you,” she averred, teasing him.

“You could show me.”

She laughed. “I suppose I could. But you must make it worth my while.”

“A bet?”

“One that makes it worth winning.” She smiled as she turned to the wall once more, picking up swords and testing their weight and balance. He watched as she pushed the tip of the blade into the floor. She let it bend into a half-circle, then released the pressure to feel it spring back straight. She discarded several, not liking the temper of the blades.

“But, my lady, you are certain to lose.”

“Ah, such confidence.

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