Page 88 of A Bluestocking’s Secret Courtship

“And you married my niece.”

Heat licked his face. “No, sir. It was a cover to explain why we were in the mountains.”

If he thought Wedmore’s gaze was cold before, it was glacier now. “You used her to find me.”

“No—” How could he deny it? He was guilty of the charge, but something had changed soon after she came to the villa. He had changed—or he became the man he was before his recruitment into the Regent’s Consul. “She…Your niece is my everything. I love her.”

“If that’s true, you need to tell her.” Wedmore leaned toward him. “Tell her that you’re here to do Farrin’s dirty work.”

A gasp filled the silence. Jonathan whipped his head around to find Evangeline pale-faced and frozen.

Thirty-three

Farrin. The man’s name left her cold; her stomach tumbled.

She glanced between her uncle and Jonathan. Their masks were back in place, but she’d seen the raw threat emanating from her uncle’s eyes—felt the tension like a quake beneath her feet.

Jonathan tried to stand.

“Stop!”

Regent’s man. Dirty work. She needed time to sort the puzzle.

He sank back to the ground, one knee bent with his forearm resting on it. There was nothing dangerous in the way he sat, but his agility had been on display in the fight with Dakan.

“Evangeline,” her uncle said.

“Be quiet.”

He flinched.

Her heart was slamming against her ribs. A Regent’s man… That could only refer to one person, the Prince Regent, now the King. Jonathan was a spy for King George. He had admitted it on the journey into the mountains, but this was so much more. He wasn’t simply an observer.

His fighting skills. How… How had she ignored the evidence staring her in the face? He fought like Uncle Charles.

She backed away, keeping both men in her line of sight as she sat on a boulder. If Jonathan was serving the King and Farrin had sent him after her uncle— She shook her head, mentally clearing her thoughts.

“I want answers. Now.” She crossed her arms to hide her shaking. “What is a Regent’s man, and how do you know Farrin?”

Jonathan’s lips parted, but he didn’t speak.

“Uncle Charles?”

Her uncle leaned toward her. “Evangeline, I need you to be honest. Do you know Farrin?”

“You want me to be honest?” She scoffed. “I may not have sorted this out yet, but you haven’t been truthful yourself.”

“Tell me,” he snapped.

She jumped. He never raised his voice to her or her sisters. It left her feeling off balance.

“N-not personally, no.” She took a deep breath. “But he tried to kill Regina, so I’m pleased we never met.”

Jonathan cursed.

“What happened?” Uncle Charles blurted. “Is she all right?”

“Yes, and she is waiting for us in Athens with her husband, who was Farrin’s prisoner for two years. He wasn’t a good man.” She growled in frustration. “Why am I being interrogated? I’m asking the questions. How do you know Farrin? And I’ll ask you again, what does it mean to be a blasted Regent’s man?”