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Damn it all. Galloway had mentioned Caroline, hadn’t he?Stay way from Lady Staveley. That’s what he’d said back in the study when Marc had first come upon the spymaster. His heart squeezed at the thought of Caroline being in any sort of danger, and if she’d somehow gotten herself mixed up with Galloway then she was most definitely in danger. Damn her, she was too reckless for her own good, even if that was one of the things he lovedabouther.
He stalked toward the man, quite ready to pound the information out of him. “What the devil did you involve her in?” Marc had withstood torture at the hands of the French, but he doubted Galloway had the same fortitude for endurance that he possessed. Though the Under Secretary was always willing to send other men to their deaths, he had the heart of acoward.
“Absolutely nothing.” Galloway held up both of his hands as though to plead his innocence. “LordStaveley was decoding something for me before his untimelydeath,and—”
“Staveley?” Marc scoffed in disbelief. The late Viscount Staveley was a bespectacled scholar who rarely saw the outside of his library, let alone the outside of his own home. He was hardly the sort of operative Galloway would recruit. “What doeshehave to do withanything?”
“The man had a brilliant mind. And he was quite patriotic,unlike—”
“Go bugger off. What danger is Lady Staveley in,Galloway?”
The Under Secretary blew out a breath. “Not to worry, I have a fellow keeping an eye on the viscountess, butifyou—”
“Bullocks.” Galloway wouldn’t guard Caroline out of the goodness of his heart. There was more than he was saying, as per usual. “Don’t forget how well Iknowyou.”
Galloway conceded the point with a nod of his head. “True, my man isalsosearching for Staveley’s code. His lordship left for Derbyshire before sending it tomeand….”
Staveley had died on the way to Prestwick Chase to warn Lady Felicity that her not-so-dead husband had arrived in England. Something Caroline had begged Marc to do. Something Marc had been in the process of negotiating a kiss from the lady in question as payment in order to do so when her husband had come upon them. Never in Marc’s wildest dreams had he imaginedStaveleywould volunteer for the mission himself. He hardly seemed the sort. Though Marc supposed the man’s honorhadbeen questioned, and if Galloway was to be believed, Staveley might have been the heroic sort after all, even if in a veryscholarlyway.
“Well,” Galloway continued, “That piece of information could be extremely helpful in deciphering correspondence for this particular band ofconspirators.”
“You’ve set up a maninher house,” Marc said, knowing he was right. He did, after all, know how Galloway operated. And his operatives were not usually of the honorablevariety.
“If you start chasing her skirts again, it’ll bring undo attention to herladyshipand—”
“And you think I would leave her safety up toyou?” Marc spat. “One would think you’d know me betterthanthat.”
“I remember the young man you once were. The idealisticone.The—”
“That man is dead. You helped kill him,” Marc returned evenly. “I will thank you to see your way out, or I will be happy to toss you out onyourass.”
* * *
Caroline,Viscountess Staveley rested a hand on the library door. David’s domain. Or at least it had been for all the years of their marriage. If she squinted just so, she could still remember how he looked sitting amongst the books he adored. But no matter how much she wished it, David was never coming home. She would never lay eyes on himagain.
It felt so strange being back in London without him. Of course, it had felt strange being at Benton Park without him too. It didn’t matter where she was. Life hadn’t been the same since David’s death. How could it be? She’d known her late-husband more than half her life, and she had no more of an idea about how to go on without him now than she had right after his murder. Hollow. That was the word. She still felthollow.
“Mama!” Rachel, her eldest daughter, called from the corridor. She looked so much like Caroline, as they shared the same features, all except for Rachel’s darker coloring, which she’d inherited from herfather.
Caroline pushed away from the library door and feigned the same smile she’d been feigning for her children the last several months. ‘”Good morning,darling.”
A genuine smile, at least Caroline hoped it was genuine, spread across her daughter’s face. Lovely as Rachel was, she had been difficult of late. “Kitty asked if I wanted to head to Bond Street with her and Mrs. Greywood today.MayI?”
Kitty Greywood was hardly a good influence. The girl was slightly wild, especially the older she got, but David had been an old friend of the girl’s father. She and Rachel had known each other all of their lives. And her daughter did need some normality returned to her life. Still… “Mrs. Greywoodwillbe with you?” she asked. At Rachel’s nod, Caroline continued, “And you’re headed toBond StreetnotCovent Gardenlooking for that masked fellow who throws daggersagain?”
“Mama!” Rachel seemed to sag a bit. “It wasonetime. Last year. I’m certain Kitty has found more interesting things to occupy her timethesedays.”
More interesting?That was a frightening thought. Losing Staveley was one thing, but Caroline could never go on if she lost her children. “Promise me you will not be reckless,Rachel.”
Her daughter’s eyes widened slightly. In years past, recklessness was not something Rachel had ever been accused of, while Caroline herself had been called that most of her life. Though her daughter was certainly coming into her own these days. And without David’s steadying influence, Caroline would have to find a way to be less reckless, herself, and more steady if only for her children’ssakes.
“Rachel,” sheprodded.
“Ipromise.”
Caroline nodded. “Take Nelly with you and be sure to tell Mrs. Greywood hello forme,then.”
“Thank you,” Rachel said quickly before darting back around the corner, leaving Caroline quite alone, standing next to thelibrary.
