(Malloren #7) A Most Unsuitable Man by Jo Beverley

Author:Jo Beverley [Beverley, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-04-25T11:55:16+00:00

Chapter 13

Late that night Fitz walked the grounds of Cheynings, his breath puffing silver, and icy remnants of snow crunching beneath his boots. He needed to check the area before he slept, but he also needed to escape the too-close proximity to Damaris. He’d hoped the winter night air would blow away the nonsense filling his mind.

It wasn’t working.

He’d been aware all day of her attention on him. He’d tried to keep his distance, but she would not be warned away. Not surprising when he kept responding, dammit.

Devil take it, he was thinking about her again, and it was like opening a pot of jam near a wasps’ nest. Now there was nothing else in his mind but buzz. A villain could probably creep up behind him and garotte him with ease.

He’d vastly overestimated his control. That kiss in the Little Library should never have happened; nor should he have invited her to call him Fitz. An evening of lighthearted gambling games had been disastrous. He was besotted with her and impassioned by her—by her quick wits, her forthright manner, her idiotic courage, and her piratical determination to get what she wanted.

If the world were different, he’d kneel at her feet and beg to be hers, but the world was as it was. He was as he was, rightly burdened by his sin.

He looked up at the unhelpful moon in a sky full of mysterious stars. Ash was fascinated by the reality of the planets and stars—where they were, what they were. Fitz preferred them to be a mystery, up who knew how high, a constant reminder that there was indeed more in heaven and earth than the obvious.

They helped clear his mind. For his own sake and Damaris’s, he must go far away. To be free to do that, he must first ensure Ash’s safety, which meant finding any documents relating to Betty Crowley and her child.

All the clues pointed to there having been a secret marriage, and that spelled disaster. No wonder the king was distressed. No wonder some people wanted Ashart dead.

It would be impossible to prove that such a marriage hadn’t happened, so the best solution would be to find the proof that it had. Once found, it could be destroyed, preferably in the king’s presence. It was the only way to end all danger.

He thought Damaris might be putting together the pieces. What keen wits she had….

He blocked that, but not before he remembered her pointing out that anything of importance would be in the dowager’s keeping. She was right.

He smiled at the memory of her suggesting he steal the papers. Piracy must run in the blood.

He sucked in a breath. He mustn’t think of her!

He walked a circuit of the house, making sure his guards were in place. He finally entered the house by a side door, which he locked after himself. The corridor he stood in was pitch-dark, but he knew the house well enough to make his way to the service stairs and back to his room.

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