She smiled wanly. “She seems to have turned into a sniveling wretch! All right, I shall try to be strong. Go forth, my brave knight, and defend my honor!”
He dropped to one knee and kissed her hand, “I accept your commission, fair lady!” he responded with a smile, a warmth and tenderness in his eyes that fairly undid her.
“Go, before I start bawling!” she said.
He rose, gave her one last lingering kiss, and went.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Downstairs, Emrys removedher ring from the safe where he had stashed it and set off for the house of the Russian ambassador again.
In the vestibule, he ran straight into Pendrell who was just collecting his coat preparatory to leaving.
“Thought you’d left, old man,” he said.
“I took Annis home, but there is something I need to do.” Emrys looked about and lowering his voice he said, “Are Troubridge and Ravenshaw still here?”
“Aye, why?”
“Is Tavistock?”
Pendrell frowned, which accentuated his hawkish features. “Tavistock? Haven’t a clue. Not sure I know who he is.”
Emrys sighed. If Tavistock had already left, this wasn’t going to work. “Can you find the others for me and meet me in the gazebo in the garden in fifteen minutes?”
“Of course. What do I tell them?”
“I need their help, yours too.”
Pendrell raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth for more questions.
“I’ll explain when we meet.”
Pendrell nodded and ambled off. The man seldom moved quickly; he was just too big.
Emrys passed into the ballroom and scanned the room for his quarry. It took him a few minutes, but he finally spotted him dancing with a lady in a purple turban. His fiancée’s duenna. Cecelia, he saw, was also dancing—with Kenrick! Since Kenrick was well over six feet tall and Cecelia Woodrow was quite short, they made an odd-looking couple.
Tavistock, by contrast, was a more appropriate height for such a little woman, being just under six feet, Emrys would guess from this distance, and of medium to slender build. He had dark-brown hair, fashionably cut, and his clothing was in impeccable taste.
Having satisfied himself that Tavistock was still here and showing no signs of leaving yet, he headed out to the gardens and the gazebo. His friends joined him shortly thereafter.
“What’s to do, Emrys. Is Annis all right?” asked Robert.
“Yes, she is fine. Thanks for coming, chaps.”
“No thanks needed,” said Ravenshaw, folding his arms and widening his stance. “What do you require?”
Emrys smiled. These men would die on a hill for him. It gave him a warm feeling in his breast.
“Rob, you’ll know some of this, but I’ll tell the whole story for Deo and Jerome’s benefit. Goes without saying that this is absolutely confidential. It concerns Annis.”
All three looked grave, nodded, and murmured “Of course.”
“Whatever you need, old chap,” said Pendrell gruffly.
“You will all know that Annis was the Laynes’ governess. What you don’t know is that for a number of years she has been terrified out of her wits by a man stalking her.”
Pendrell shifted, his right hand tightening into a fist. Ravenshaw tensed but said nothing. Rob, who already knew this, didn’t react.
