He moved to look out of the window rather than continue to yearn for what he couldn’t have. In the distance the moon glinted off the sea and he realised she had an even better view of the coastline than she had claimed. A clear and unencumbered view. Perhaps she needed spectacles. In spectacles, hair rags and covered in jam, perhaps he stood a better chance? ‘I’m edging closer into their circle. I can feel that. You should probably know I went along with all their bawdy talk.’ It was another apology. Talking about her like an object didn’t sit right and Seb needed to at least clear that part of his conscience.
‘Very wise. They will afford us more privacy if they believe we are indulging our passions.’
Our passions. If only.
‘That’s what I thought. I need to sound like one of them, so if I do say something completely insulting within your earshot, please remember it’s not the real me talking. It’s Millcroft.’ A man he was coming to dislike.
‘No offence will be taken.’ She dropped her bottom unceremoniously to rest on the mattress, blissfully unaware that the sight of her looking so beautiful and tempting was pure torture. ‘Will they tell Westbridge?’
‘As they have all made separate wagers with me as to the speed at which I ruin you, I sincerely doubt it. Penhurst seemed delighted by my shocking morals.’ And more delighted at the prospect of hearing Seb describe every inch of Gem’s naked body. ‘Promise me you will never get caught alone with him.’ Now that the viscount assumed she was game, Seb wouldn’t put it past him to chance his arm.
She shuddered and shook her head. ‘I’ve always avoided being alone with Penhurst and his horrid friends. They all eye me like a cake in a baker’s window. Always have.’ And they would pay for that, too. ‘But let’s not talk about them. After I left you I did a bit of exploring of my own. I had never noticed that the footmen appear to be standing guard. There is one posted on every door to the outside.’
‘Only at night. But then, no smuggler worth his salt would dare to be out during the day.’
‘How did you already know that when this is your first night here?’
Gray had already appraised him of as much and his Invisibles had been watching the house for days.
‘I’m a spy.’
‘You say that a lot, as if it explains your omnipotent knowledge of everything.’
‘If I knew everything, then Penhurst would already be in chains.’ He saw her expression cloud with worry again and wished he hadn’t been so blunt. ‘Try not to fret about Penny. The King’s Elite is run by Lord Fennimore. He is ridiculously well connected and resourceful. I’m sure he will help your friend once this is all over. Perhaps we could set her up with a new identity? A fresh start. One where her horrible husband never existed.’
‘Do you really think he would help?’
Her lovely eyes had brightened. ‘I’m certain of it.’ And now Seb was making promises he couldn’t keep. If the viscountess was complicit in her husband’s treachery then she would have to stand trial, too. His gut told him this was unlikely. Poor Penny mostly resembled a frightened deer around her spouse and Penhurst held all women in little regard so it was doubtful he would confide in one—even if she was his wife. But occasionally people surprised him. The image Penny projected to the world might well be as false as Lord Millcroft’s.
Gem reached out and took his hand, clasping it tightly between both of hers as she stared up at him in grateful adoration, yet oblivious to how much that simple touch was playing havoc with his conscience, his body and his heart. ‘Oh, that would be wonderful, Seb. Thank you.’
Uncomfortable, he gently tugged his hand away and went back to his safe spot by the window. Her touch made him want more than usual and he was still stunned at the power of one kiss. ‘This room sits between the French doors and the side door to the kitchen?’ The only two back entrances on to the garden on the west wing of the house. Both of which were guarded at this time of night. All the routes outside were guarded at night. Getting outside unseen would require some covert manoeuvring.
‘It does. Why?’
‘The dense bit of shrubbery below makes this an ideal escape route to go snooping around after dark.’
‘We are two floors up...do you have wings now, too?’
‘Spies don’t need wings.’
‘Ah.’ She smiled and his foolish heart soared again at the sight, supremely pleased that he had distracted her from her worries. ‘I suppose you are now going to ask if you can borrow my bedchamber from time to time?’
‘Actually, I was going to ask if I could borrow it indefinitely. Your view is perfect and I look out on to the drive.’
‘Won’t my moving arouse Penhurst’s suspicions? Or are you scandalously suggesting we share?’ The purposefully flirtatious look set his cheeks burning and she giggled, then stopped abruptly to stare at him like a specimen. ‘You really are shy, aren’t you? I had wondered if that, too, was a one of the convenient tools in your spying arsenal.’
‘No. It’s all natural.’ Seb found himself shaking his head at his own ineptitude until he plucked up the courage to meet her eyes again. Once he did, bizarrely he felt less awkward and realised he was becoming more at ease in her company than he ever had been with a woman before. But then Gem knew more about him than he allowed most people to know so he supposed it was to be expected. ‘And you wouldn’t have to move. I shall avail myself of your window once a night and climb back in at dawn.’ Where he would have to see her rumpled with sleep. The image of her sprawled across the same mattress she was sat on rooted itself in his mind and refused to leave it, except in his mind the nightgown was gone, her golden hair was fanned out over the pillow and her lips were deliciously swollen again from his kisses. For his own sanity, it was time to leave. ‘Goodnight, Gem. I shall see you tomorrow. For croquet, I believe.’
‘Amongst other things. There will be tennis and bowls, too. Then riding late afternoon. The Penhursts always plan a packed itinerary. Or at least Penny does. He normally sleeps till three afterhisnight before. Keeping busy takes her mind off whatever her foul husband is doing when all the decent people go to bed. I suppose you will be privy to that debauchery, too.’
‘Out of necessity, not choice.’ His fingers grazed the door knob and he had the sudden urge to clarify. ‘I’m afraid you truly did meet the true Seb Leatham at your sister’s house last March. Socially awkward and desperately camouflaging it with hostility, or else he blushes profusely and cannot converse at all. A poultry farmer’s by-blow grandson. A man who prefers to blend into the background or hide in the shadows. An all-round forgettable fellow by and large.’
Her brows furrowed as she scrutinised him again and he let her. Seb understood her trust in him was severely damaged and would take time to rebuild. As a rule, nobody appreciated being lied to. After an eternity she sighed.
‘Believe me, you are hardly forgettable, Seb. I sincerely doubt I shall ever forget you.’
As compliments went, he made the snap decision to take that one at face value and treasure it for ever. Further embellishment would likely ruin it, catastrophically, just as the real reason for her excitement at his kiss had bludgeoned a corner of his heart which would likely never repair. ‘Sleep tight, Gem. Treat yourself to a night off those rags.’
‘And appear tomorrow without my customary ringlets? I’d sooner be seen with jam smeared all over my front.’ The shared laughter felt honest and intimate. If nothing else a tenuous friendship was blossoming between them. One where they could both be themselves. He could be awkward rather than gruff and she could be less than perfect—although still sheer perfection in his eyes. ‘Tell me—if you are going to be around all day for the entertainments, talk bawdy with Penhurst’s cronies all evening and then be out all night doing Lord knows what, when do you plan to sleep?’
‘I’m a spy.’ He found himself grinning as she rolled her eyes. ‘Spies never sleep.
