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the back of his neck stood up, every one of his muscles tensing with awareness. Cautiously he eased away from his wife, simultaneously reaching to the floor and groping for his clothes—never taking his eyes off the bolted door. He found his breeches, jerking them on in a few purposeful tugs, then snatched up his coat, rifling through it until he extracted the pistol he'd concealed within. Slowly, pistol cocked, he prowled toward the thin shaft of light emanating from beneath the closed doorway.
Another creak—only this time closer—right outside the room.
Someone was definitely out there. The question was, who?
Eyes narrowed, Julian reached his destination, his fingers noiselessly slipping the bolt free, then closing around the handle.
In one lightning motion he yanked open the door, grabbing by the throat the dark figure hunched outside. Without pause he slammed down the barrel of his pistol, striking the intruder's wrist and knocking his weapon to the floor.
A muffled cry escaped the man's lips as Julian dragged him into the room.
"All right, you found me," Julian muttered, shoving his victim against the wall. "Now, who are you and what do you want?"
"M-M-Merlin … it's … me," came the choked reply.
Julian's grip loosened and he angled the man's face toward the sliver of light drifting in from the hallway. "Stone?"
A pained nod.
"Well, what do you know." Julian released him, watching in mild amusement as the stout square-faced man struggled to regain his balance. "That was quite a performance. Very different from your customary arrivals. Since when have you resorted to such dramatic entrances?"
"Christ, Julian, I think ye broke somethin'," Stone wheezed, gingerly turning his head from side to side. "Like my neck."
"If I'd broken your neck, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Julian said with light reassurance. Leaning into the hallway, he retrieved Stone's weapon, then eased the door shut as he handed Stone the pistol, barrel down. "Now, would you care to tell me why you're hovering outside my door, coiled to strike like some deranged murderer? Or, for that matter, why you followed my carriage from Devonshire to Somerset—I am correct in assuming that was you?"
"Ye saw me?"
"No. If I had, I would have asked you these questions then, rather than with my hand at your throat. I simply sensed I was being watched."
"Yeah, right—don't ye always." With an acquiescent nod, Stone tucked away his pistol, glancing past Julian into the quiet darkness of the room. "I had to be sure this was yer room. I thought so, but I didn't want any surprises on the other side of the door. I needed to see ye right away. I went straight to Polperro, but ye weren't there. I tracked ye to Devonshire and followed ye from there. I would've stopped yer carriage, but I didn't know how much ye'd told yer…" A pause. "…wife. I didn't want to say more than I should, so I waited until ye stopped for the night. I've been in that hall for hours, waitin' until I couldn't hear yer voices anymore, so I'd know yer bride was asleep."
"Well, his bride is now awake," Aurora announced, marching across the room in a swirl of bedsheets. "As for how much he's told her, the answer is less than nothing. But all that's about to change." Jaw set, she gazed up at Julian, an expectant look in her eyes. "Julian—pardon me, Merlin—I'd appreciate it if you'd introduce me to your friend."
* * *
Chapter 8
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Julian's lips twitched. "Very well, soleil—as you wish." He made a grand sweep with his arm. "Aurora, meet Stone. Stone, meet my less than traditional bride. And forgive her rather scanty attire," he added, drawing the sheets more firmly about Aurora's shoulders. "We weren't expecting company."
"Mr. Stone," Aurora acknowledged, a thousand questions darting across her face. "Are you and my husband well acquainted?"
Stone's gaping expression was almost comical. "Are we…?" He tossed Julian a helpless look. "I … that is…"
"Stone and I go back many years," Julian supplied. "We're business associates. In fact, he's supplied me with any number of crucial business tidbits, which have aided me in determining my best course of action."
"In other words, he's your informant," Aurora replied calmly. "He warns you when it would be ill advised to turn your back."
This time Julian couldn't stifle his grin. "Something like that."
"I see." Aurora turned back to Stone. "And is this one of those times, Mr. Stone?"
Stone continued to gape.
"You can close your mouth, Stone," Julian suggested. "And feel free to answer Aurora's question. She won't relent until you do."
"Right." Stone complied, dragging a sleeve across his forehead and studying Aurora as if she were a foreign object. "Yeah, this is one of those times." With that he glanced at Julian. "Maybe we should talk alone."
