Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
S haking off the lingering heat of Shannon’s touch, Orlov was now fully alert. The steps had turned for one of the more secluded paths leading down to the loch. He took a shortcut through the trees, his feet moving lightly over the pine straw, and slipped into a rock crevasse overlooking the trail. Hidden from view, he went still. A few minutes later, the voices sounded again.
“I was sure you had forgotten me. And your ardent promises.”
Annabelle. What mischief was the minx up to now?
“How could you think such a thing!” exclaimed her companion. From his angle of view, Orlov could catch only a partial glimpse of the fellow—sandy hair, slender build—but the burred Yorkshire accent made it clear he was not one of the London party.
“As if any man could forget you, my love,” went on the stranger, his tone turning a touch reproachful. “I told you I would find a way to be together. But it was not easy finding a way to pass you a message. ”
The young lady gave a furtive look around. “My brother would die if he knew I was meeting you on the sly.”
So, the loyal Lord Norbert had followed the young lady to Scotland? Orlov gritted his teeth to keep from swearing aloud. Yet another entanglement to trip up this mission. It was as if some great, malevolent spider was spinning a web around the McAllister castle.
“Forgive me if I have put you in an awkward position. I simply had to see you.”
“My brother has threatened to turn you away if you show up at the castle doors.”
“It doesn’t matter, darling. I found lodging in the village of Boath. And I have a plan that will soon solve all of our problems.”
“So you do love me?” Annabelle’s tone was at once arch and unsure.
“With all my heart!” assured her admirer. “If all goes well, in another week I shall sweep you away from here, my dearest angel, and then we shall be married. I have it all arranged with a local justice in Inverness.” A pause. “Please tell me you have not changed your mind.”
“Never!” Annabelle let out a trilling laugh. “La, it is all so romantic. All my friends will be green with envy! Just think of it. A dashing adventure, a hint of danger . . .”
Orlov grimaced. Someone ought to have curtailed the silly chit’s reading of horrid novels.
“And then I shall be Lady Norbert—a grand dame who no longer has to listen to the carping complaints and silly restrictions of my boring family.”
So, Lord Nobody had proved to be a very persistent fellow. Orlov hoped the fellow possessed a great deal of patience as well. Though that seemed highly unlikely, given the mad rush on both of their parts to elope.
“We shall be very happy, Bella, just you and I,” promised Norbert. “But for now, you must be very careful not to give away our plans. It must be our little secret.” He hesitated a fraction. “You are sure you are not in danger of incurring the wrath of your brother? I worry that he may begin to suspect something and keep a closer eye on you.”
“Pooh! I’m not afraid of Robert. Besides, he’s usually so foxed by breakfast that he wouldn’t notice if I showed up for my coffee in the nude.”
“Oh, but I would, sweetmeat.”
A giggle, followed by long, mewling moans. The kiss seemed to go on forever.
Orlov winced. The girl seemed desperate to offer herself up on a platter to any man who cared for a taste. Shifting his shoulders against the stone, he prayed they would quickly move on, so that he could get back to his own business.
Twigs snapped, pebbles crunched underfoot. Annabelle’s laugh cut off in a high squeak.
Bloody hell. Surely they were not . . .
Orlov ventured a quick peek over the ridge of stone.
The fellow’s bare arse was buried in a frothy swirl of petticoats as he braced the girl against a tree.
Swearing another silent oath, Orlov ducked back into his hiding place Perhaps with the right guidance Annabelle’s wildness could be tamed into some semblance of common sense. But he did not have high hopes for her future happiness.
He could not help comparing the girl’s utter lack of self-restraint with Shannon’s disciplined devotion to duty. One born to privilege and pleasure, one born to pain and poverty. One was a spoiled brat, one was . . .
How to describe Shannon? His mouth crooked, her kisses still sweet on his lips. She defied words. Adjectives like courage, strength and principle did not spell out the full depth of her character. A man might spend a lifetime in her presence and still find surprises every day.
A shrill shriek cut off his musings.
“Oh , Stephen !” Annabelle’s voice melted to a tremulous titter. “Will we do this often when we are married?”
“As often as you like, my darling.”
“Mmmmm.” Her skirts rustled in the breeze. “The plan . . . you will come for me soon?”
“Yes, my love. Very soon, I hope. I need another few days to arrange everything. I’ll send word as we planned. You will be ready?
“Oh yes.” A girlish giggle. “I know just what you expect of me, and you need not fear that I will have a last minute change of heart. This will be fun.”
“That’s the spirit.” Her lover laughed softly as he brushed a kiss to her upturned face. “What a lucky man I am to have chosen such a daring darling.”
“What does he look like?” Shannon checked the priming of her pistol, then tugged on a black knit cap in readiness for her round of the nightly patrols.
Orlov’s mouth twitched in amusement. “Sandy locks, well-muscled thighs and a hairy arse.”
She bit back a laugh. “Well if he points his weapon at me in the dark, he is going to be singing his marriage vows as a soprano.”
He chuckled, then abruptly changed his own tune. “In all seriousness, be extra vigilant out there.”
“You think the randy Lord Norbert is here to steal more than the chit’s virginity?”
“The thought occurred to me.” Orlov ran a hand through his hair. “We can’t afford to overlook any possibility.”
“True.” Shannon thought for a moment. “However, I doubt a professional like D’Etienne would risk exposing himself to the opposition for a quick tupping.”
“You have a point,” he admitted. “Still, don’t let down your guard.”
“That goes without saying.” After making a minor adjustment to hammer and flint she added, “You would think that the girl would have enough sense to wait for a ring on her finger before lifting her skirts.”
“I would not have thought you such a stickler for propriety.”
“I am not being prudish,” she replied. “Merely practical. In negotiating a deal, you should never give away your most valuable bargaining chip without getting something of equal value in return.”
“Ah.” His expression was hidden by the flutter of the draperies. “So you have no moral objection to sleeping with a man out of wedlock?”
Shannon knew he was being deliberately provoking. Still, she could not keep a faint flush from coloring her face. “Seduction is part of our schooling,” A blade slid into the hidden sheath of her boot. “It’s all part of the job.”
“And you are, of course, the consummate professional. ”
There was an odd sort of note to his teasing that made her look twice before turning for the open window. “As are you, Mr. Orlov.”
“Indeed?” The Marquess of Lynsley looked up in some surprise from his study of the weekly military reports. “Show her right her in, Graves—” He rose as Mrs. Merlin marched by the startled secretary, her silk skirts a fluttering contrast to the starkly masculine furnishing of his Ministry office. “Never mind.”
“I would not normally intrude on your schedule, Thomas,” she said, once the door had closed. “But I have just received news that D’Etienne has been spotted near the Scottish border.”
“You are sure?”
The headmistress nodded. “He was positively identified by one of our former students. And seeing as Seville lost three fingers and walks with a limp, compliments of the Frenchman’s skill with a stiletto, I am sure she would not mistake his face.”
“The Antwerp mission.” Lynsley heaved a heavy sigh and fell silent for several moments. “This is a devilish dilemma. The question is whether to send word . . .”
“Or?” asked Mrs. Merlin.
“Or reinforcements. We can’t afford any mistakes.” His jaw hardened. “I don’t want to let him get away this time.”
“You are concerned about Shannon.” It was more of statement than a question.
“We both know that she can be volatile. And while her handling of the Irish mission was commendable, I am unsure of how her passions will affect this particular assignment.”
The headmistress withdrew a sheet of foolscap from her reticule. “In reviewing what we know of this man Orlov, perhaps there is reason to worry.” She hesitated. “Do you trust Yussapov?”
The marquess made a face. Despite his patrician air and elegant tailoring, he was no stranger to the cutthroat underworld of clandestine missions. “I trust no one in this dirty game we play, save for you, Charlotte. However, in this case, it seems that the prince’s interests are the same as ours. So I don’t expect a double cross.”
“But you cannot overlook the possibility,” she said softly.
“You have had some time to contemplate the options,” he said. “Any suggestions you care to offer?”
“If you wish to send one of our own as a back-up, we could dispatch Sofia.”
“In what guise?” Perching a hip on the edge of his desk, Lynsley began to drum his well-tended fingers upon the polished wood. “The area is quite isolated. Any new arrival at the McAllister castle will not go unnoticed. We already have a governess in place, and the servants are all local folk.”
Mrs. Merlin nodded. “The same concerns occurred to me. But given Sofia’s dark looks and her talent with the tarot cards, I thought she could masquerade as a traveling Gypsy. With Marco, our assistant fencing instructor, playing the role of her husband, the two would make a formidable force to reckon with.”She paused. “Assuming that Shannon is having any difficulty in completing the mission on her own.”
His expression was unreadable as he turned and walked to the windows. A mizzled mist hung heavy over the spires of the nearby buildings, fuzzing the outlines of stone and slates to hazy shades of grey. “There is no clear answer.”
“There never is.”
He allowed a small smile. “Then I suppose we had best err on the side of caution. Can they leave by nightfall?”
‘They are packing their bags as we speak.”