He had not planned to touch her and should not have let it get that far.
He had no right to want this or to want her. Not when he could not guarantee her safety. The thought settled heavily, eclipsing all else. Resolve hardened in his chest.
Henry had known the rules of an agent’s world and still had not survived it. The best way to prevent Kate from suffering the same fate was to keep her from knowing the details of his life in the shadows. She would not have to carry the weight of his secrets, feel compelled to help or protect him, or step onto a board where one wrong move could cost her everything. So long as his work as an agent remained hidden, she would have no reason to leave the safety of the life she knew.
There was only one way to accomplish that. He would need to maintain his distance and keep his heart out of the matterentirely. He could not afford to be distracted or to get too close. In a moment of weakness, he might share everything with her. Kate needed to remain untouched by that world.
Before facing her again, he summoned his practiced smile. “Shall we return to the house?” he asked. “I would hate to vex your mother by keeping you out in this weather so long that you catch a chill.”
She hesitated a moment before taking his arm. He guided them back over the frost-laden path, using his frame to block her from the wind. “I do not think there is anything you could do to make Mother angry with you,” Kate said. “But yes, a cup of tea sounds lovely.”
Warmed by the fire and the quiet comfort of tea at Fairhaven Park, James rode Apollo home over the frozen country road beneath a faint canopy of stars.It seemed the special license he had obtained with such certainty would go unused for now, a delay he could ill afford.
Five weeks.
Five weeks of courtship, ballrooms, obligations, and the careful performance of a man with nothing to hide. Five weeks to identify The Sentinel, unmask a treasonous society, and thwart a possible plot against the Crown. And all of it while time slipped steadily through his grasp with no guarantee of success on the other side.
He had dealt with criminals and traitors of the worst sort, but courting Kate would be his most difficult test yet. Never had he been required to guard himself quite so carefully.
Chapter 4
Kate
Afootman loaded Kate’s trunks as she enjoyed the brisk air before facing the cramped carriage ride to London. Despite her mother’s disappointment that there would be no immediate wedding, both her parents had been surprisingly supportive of Kate’s decision to court James before agreeing to marriage.
She fiddled with the drawstrings of her reticule as James approached along the drive atop a tall black stallion, riding with the ease of a man accustomed to hard riding and long days in the saddle. When he caught her watching him, she turned away, pretending to be captivated by the thicket of trees beyond the drive.
Confident, unhurried steps approached from behind, and even if she had not seen him arrive, she would know it was James. His presence reached her, warm and quiet, before the sound of his voice. He was far too close for her peace of mind, and it troubled her how easily he could unbalance her.
A shadow fell across her as his breath brushed her ear. “Those trees are rather fascinating, aren’t they?”
It was impossible to think clearly with him standing just behind her. “I find them interesting,” she said, her tone light. “And far less provoking than other things one might observe.” She gave him a pointed look over her shoulder.
“Interesting, are they? You used to say the same thing about the fencing lessons I took with Hugh,” he said, facing her now. “If memory serves, you didn’t miss a single match.”
James folded his arms across his chest, waiting. His teasing was familiar, but his smile was strained.
“I can assure you, it was only idle curiosity about the sport that compelled my attendance,” she said airily. “Though I was often so bored that I nearly fell asleep.” She feigned a small yawn.
“Is that so?” His head cocked to the side. “Then my memory must be playing tricks on me, because I recall a young lady who leaned forward with interest while watching my bouts, but never did the same with Hugh’s.”
He’d noticed? That was . . . terribly inconvenient. She lifted her chin, unwilling to let him have the last word. “You imagine a great deal.”
“Lately, yes.” He drew the words out, low and deliberate. She forgot to breathe.
Footsteps on the gravel behind them broke the moment. James moved back at the sight of her parents approaching, making the intimate distance they had just shared all too obvious. He offered her his arm, and as they walked toward the carriage, he leaned down, the scent of worn leather and something decidedly masculine filling the air. “Perhaps Hugh and I should have a rematch while we are in London. I am curious to see if I can still hold your attention.”
They reached the carriage before she could respond, and Kate hoped he could not see her flush. James assisted her into the carriage, deft and sure. She folded her hands in her lapto still them. The echo of his touch lingered along her fingers. Through the window, she watched him mount his horse and scan the road ahead.
It was for the best that James rode on horseback with her father. With Mother and the two ladies’ maids filling the carriage, there was no room beside her in any case and no chance of private conversation. Not that she wanted one.
Sitting near him in the confined space would not aid her attempts to keep her childhood infatuation in the past precisely where it belonged. She needed to concentrate on everything that lay ahead. Had she made the right decision in asking James for a courtship instead of refusing him outright? A flicker of doubt stirred and would not be quieted.
As the carriage rumbled down the drive and onto the main road, Kate pulled her new volume of poetry from her reticule. Her plan to spend the journey annotating the newest addition to her collection quickly proved a futile endeavor, however. Instead, she spent the better part of the trip unsuccessfully diverting her mother from wedding gowns and guest lists.
Watching the barren countryside blur past the window while her mother chatted on, Kate reflected on how much had changed since her first Season. Mourning for her grandfather and a subsequent lingering illness had kept her away from Town for two years. Her parents remained unconcerned because her future had long been assumed. For Kate, the dresses and dinner parties that had once excited her no longer held the same allure. Now, weightier concerns crowded her mind, leaving little room for worries over an out-of-fashion gown or a misstep in a dance.
By the time the fading daylight gave way to evening and the carriage wheels finally clattered over cobblestone streets, Kate was thoroughly exhausted. She placed the unopened book back in her reticule and closed it with finality. The thick London air, filled with heavy smoke and fog, perfectly reflected her sourmood as they pulled up to their town house on Brook Street. She was the first one to descend from the carriage and excused herself from dinner, claiming a headache. All she wanted was a moment to herself, away from the disquiet surrounding every interaction with James. A place where no one would mention the wordwedding.
