What A Rogue Wants (20 page)

He produced a gold coin and held it
out. “If Lady Madelaine should question you…”

“
She won’t. She’s a
prideful one, she is.”

Grey’s gaze strayed to Madelaine. Why
was she shaking her head? With any luck, it wasn’t in answer to
being questioned as to whether she’d met anyone she had a tender
for. He didn’t want to interrupt them, yet he didn’t want Madelaine
to get away before he gained her forgiveness, and he wanted to
greet her father. He refocused on Constance. “But if she
should…”

“
I’ll tell her the truth.
You and I spoke for several hours and that was all. When I left,
you were all merrily drinking.”

Damnation. The truth wouldn’t do at
all. He didn’t want to lie to Madelaine, but the truth made him
look like an ass. “Perhaps you could leave off the part about how
long we spoke, and just say you talked with me for a moment.” He
could explain the drinking away by saying they’d been celebrating
finishing equerry training. Men would be men, after all.

“
Your lady is leaving
you,” Constance said.

Blast. She and her father were indeed
walking away. “Good day,” he called over his shoulder. By the time
he caught up with Madelaine and Lord Stratmore, his head was not
only foggy from last night’s drinks, it was pounding. Curse
Gravenhurst and Pearson.

“
Lady
Madelaine.”

She faced him, her gaze frigid as a
frozen lake. “Lord Grey. What a pleasant surprise. I’d thought
you’d gone along with your friend.”

There was a lot he could say to that,
but not in front of her father. Instead, he smiled, his face tight
with the effort. “As you can see, I haven’t gone anywhere.” He
waited, hoping she would give in and introduce him to her father,
but from her mutinous airs, he suspected death would come quicker
than Madelaine’s caving in would.

Her father coughed and when that
failed to bring her to snuff on proper etiquette, the duke said,
“Who might we have here?”

“
Oh very well.” Madelaine
scowled at Grey. She looked so kissable with her lips pressed
together and her eyes sparkling with irritation. “Father, this is
Lord Grey, the Duke of Ashdon’s son. And, Lord Grey―” Her eyebrows
drew up into a haughty arch. “―this is my father, the Duke of
Stratmore.”

“
A pleasure to see you
again, Duke.”

“
Likewise, Lord Grey. I
didn’t recognize you. You’ve at least doubled your height since
last I met you. And a growth of beard as well.”

“
I’m afraid I don’t recall
the last meeting.”

“
I should think not. It’s
been a good fifteen years. Have you and Madelaine become friends at
Court?”

“
I’d like to think so.”
Grey looked to Madelaine for some slight give in her anger. She
glared in return.

“
We’ve only just recently
sp―sp―spo.” She gave her head a little shake. “
Spoken
.”

“
Madelaine.” Her father
narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”

Grey wanted to intervene on her
behalf, but if Madelaine was anything like he was interference
would only make her discomfort worse.

“
N―noth―nothing,
Father.”

“
You’re stuttering, and we
both know what that means.”

Grey didn’t know what it meant. He
hoped she didn’t stutter when distraught because he’d definitely
feel to blame. It was hard to imagine he could feel worse than he
already did.

“
Please, Father. Not now.
It’s―” she audibly swallowed. “It. Is. Nothing.”

Stratmore’s gaze flicked to Grey.
“Since my daughter refuses to tell me the truth, maybe you will?
What is the meaning of her stuttering lies? What have you done to
her?”

Stuttering lies? So Madelaine
stuttered when she lied? This was a totally different matter. Grey
almost smiled in relief. This could be a true blessing if their
courtship proceeded to marriage. “I’m afraid I’ve attempted to
begin a courtship of your daughter, but I rather botched
it.”

A dark look swept across Stratmore’s
face. Grey stiffened. The man thought Grey meant something
debauched. “Nothing untoward, sir, I assure you. I was to meet her
in my aunt’s apartment last night, with my aunt and sister as
chaperone, but I was detained. She’s quite understandably vexed
with me.”

Grey was going to take a large chance.
He prayed it paid off. He stared into Madelaine’s eyes. “I beg your
forgiveness. It wasn’t as it seemed. After I passed my training, I
was made to join in celebratory drinks that went on for hours.
There was no gentlemanly way to excuse myself without causing
offense. You must believe I would have very much rather been with
you than sit and watch Lord Gravenhurst and the chambermaid flirt
with each other.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Lord
Gravenhurst likes Constance?”

Finally, a break in her anger. “I’d
say he more than likes her. Ask him about last night if you wish to
confirm what I’ve said.” Gravenhurst could damn well claim he
adored Constance to help soothe Madelaine.

She cleared her throat and smiled.
“I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”

“
Don’t be. I deserve your
wariness.” He’d never been so happy for a woman’s smile than in
this moment.

Stratmore slapped Grey on the back.
“Her mother always jumped to conclusions as well. Maddie, you
should have said something about this earlier. I’m sorry for being
cross with you.”

“
It’s fine, Father.” It
didn’t sound fine. Her voice sounded strained, and she’d shifted
away from her father. “I’m pleased you’re happy.”

“
Of course I’m happy. Lord
Grey is from a fine family. Tell me, Lord Grey, what do you plan to
do in the future? Will you take a commission as the youngest
son?”

“
Nothing as exciting as
that, I’m afraid.” Grey wasn’t sure how to proceed. Did Stratmore
already know Grey was now a spy? Even if he did, Madelaine could
never know. Stratmore seemed happy to hear about the courtship.
With luck the next bit of news would please the man more and not
anger him, if he wasn’t already aware of Grey’s status. “I’ve just
finished my equerry training.”

“
Splendid. That’s a fine,
noble thing to do.”

“
I think so.”

“
Who are you
serving?”

“
Lord Grey is an equerry
to your friend Lord Pearson, Father.”

Grey smiled at Madelaine’s proud
tone.

“
Well,” Stratmore said.
“That’s most interesting news.” The duke fumbled with a button on
his coat. Stratmore didn’t seem a man to fumble. When he slowly
looked up, his blue eyes were intent, and Grey felt a cold draft of
displeasure through the layers of his clothes.

He straightened and met the man’s gaze
which had turned unnaturally bright. “I’d love to discuss my duties
with you.” What he really wanted to do was assure Stratmore that he
had every intention, if his courtship should come to that, of one
day being a good husband to Madelaine. Just because she couldn’t
know he was a spy didn’t mean she would be unhappy.

“
Madelaine, is the queen
not expecting you?” her father asked.

“
She is.” Madelaine bit
her lip and glanced uneasily between Grey and her father. “I do
have to go. Father, how long will you be staying? We can visit
tonight at dinner and tomorrow―”

“
I have to leave after I
see the king.”

Grey’s heart squeezed for the way
Madelaine’s face fell.

“
Take heart, my girl. I’ll
be back within the month to collect you.”

“
Collect me?” She shuffled
backward, nearly tripping over Grey’s boot. He reached out to
steady her, though he felt rather unsteady himself. Her father
didn’t seem to welcome the courtship now that he knew Grey was a
spy like himself. His throat tightened with the need to argue his
case, but he held his words. No sense trying to convince the duke
with Madelaine standing here.

“
But, Father―”

Stratmore turned away with a gesture
of frustration. “Don’t question me. We’ll discuss the matter on my
return.”

Madelaine’s gaze met Grey’s. Her face
had gone pale, but she nodded.

Grey wanted to assure her everything
would sort out. He stood still, the blood pounding thickly in his
ears.

“
Until next month then,”
she finally said to her father. Her pulse thumped wildly in the
open throat of her dress. “Lord Grey.”

“
Lady Madelaine.” His
words came out thick with emotion, but she passed by him without
another word.

The moment she was out of sight, he
addressed Stratmore. “I believe I understand your
concerns.”

“
You don’t.”

Grey felt certain he did. “Sir, you
were married.”

“
Which is precisely why I
know how difficult the lying is. We’ll talk no more of it. My
decision is made, and the king is expecting me.”

“
The king expects me too.
Madelaine likes me.”

Stratmore squinted at Grey. “She likes
shooting arrows too. But I ended that folly.”

“
Sir.”

Stratmore jerked his head.
“You’ve been an
equerry
how long?”

“
One day.”

“
Exactly. You know nothing
of the job. The dangers. I was married before I became what I am.
I’d never have married afterwards, but it was too late. I didn’t
know better.”

“
My father makes it
work.”

An inscrutable look came to
Stratmore’s face. “Your father lives in a fantasy. He always
has.”

“
Are you denying my
courtship?” He hated to ask the question because the answer was
almost certainly not in his favor. Yet he had to know what he was
up against. Too long he’d lived with assumptions that had been
wrong. He’d not make that same mistake ever again.

“
I’ve never denied my
daughter anything. Which is part of her problem.” The duke glanced
toward the stained glass window for a moment then finally back.
“You belong to the king in body and soul now, which means you’ll
never be the man for my daughter. So yes, I’m denying the
courtship. Stay away from her; it will be the best for both of
you.”

Stratmore spun and walked
away.

Grey followed silently behind into the
king’s chambers. There was no way in hell he would simply obey
Stratmore and not see Madelaine, but what would she do? He could
see the enormous desire to please her father on her face. Pushing
the problem aside, he focused on the king.

“
Good morning, Your
Majesty,” he said after Stratmore and the king had greeted one
another. “Shall I wait in the outer chamber for you to conclude
your business with Lord Stratmore?”

“
No. Stay. My business
with Stratmore concerns you as well.”

Grey settled into a chair near a
window and opposite the men. The three faced each other, the sound
of rain pounding against the window echoed a continuous tap
throughout the silent room. Tension knotted Grey’s shoulders, made
worse by the wait and the thunder that accompanied the rain. The
groan of the heavy door being pulled partially shut seemed to snap
the king out of his daze. He ordered all the servants to leave the
inner and outer chamber, and the guards were ordered to stand guard
at the door to the outer chamber.

Once everyone cleared out, the king
leaned forward in his chair, his eyes almost feverish in
appearance. “Did you bring it?”

Stratmore glared at Grey
then swiftly looked away, nodded and reached inside his coat. He
withdrew a rolled up piece of parchment. “It’s complete.” His gaze
flicked once again to Grey before returning to the king. “Perhaps
we should go over it
alone
?”

Grey ground his teeth. Not only did
Stratmore not want Grey to pursue Madelaine, her father didn’t
trust him.

“
Lord Grey stays.” With
that pronouncement, the king sat back, his face abstract in
thought. Grey barely contained his triumphant smile.

After a few moments, the king focused
on Grey. “The code we use to send strategic plans to our armies has
been compromised. One of the French has figured the thing out. We
know because the last mission your father undertook was
sabotaged.”

Grey tried not to flinch at the news.
To think his father could have been killed was bad enough, but
Grey’s guilt for the way he’d treated his parents these many years
caused a physical ache inside. He wanted to make things right as
soon as possible.

The king sighed heavily. “Stratmore
has created a new code which will ensure we will once again
outsmart Napoleon. He’s here today to teach it to me. Forgive him,
Lord Grey, he’s edgy, as always, and wants you to leave. But
distrust of everyone is what makes Stratmore an excellent
spy.”

“
Thank you,” Stratmore
murmured, looking more murderous than grateful.

“
You’re entirely welcome,”
the king said a bit too jovial. Something seemed off about the
king’s demeanor today, but Grey couldn’t figure out
what.