A Lady's Secret Weapon (5 page)

Disappointment curled in Ethan’s chest. There had to be thousands of tall, dark-haired maids in England. Why he thought his dockside nurse and Catherine’s mysterious servant might be one and the same, he didn’t know. He would blame it on this seething desperation to bring the warehouse incident to an end. His family had always accused him of being rather bullheaded when it came to resolving matters or protecting loved ones. For the first time, he could clearly see what they meant.

“Thank you, Catherine.” He braced his hand against the windowsill and peered down at the garden. “Seems I have more missing persons to find. But do not fear. Giles takes priority over my personal needs.”

“Sebastian remarked that the people who saved you are avoiding you. Why do you think that is?”

“They’re not avoiding me, per se,” he said through tight lips, turning back to her. “More like, they do not wish to be found.” Her eyebrow arched again, so he clarified. “By anyone.”

“When you find them, what will you do?”

Ethan did not miss her reference to “when,” rather than “if,” he would find the cloaked figure and the maid. “Initially, I wanted to thank them and be done with the whole thing. Now that they’ve caused me a great deal of inconvenience, I have other, less pure thoughts traveling around in my mind.”

“I don’t blame you.” She canted her blond head to the side. “Are you sure your interest does not go beyond gratitude?”

“To what?” Ethan shook his head and began to pace. “No, there is nothing brewing beneath the surface of my interest. It’s unfinished business, that’s all.”

“No desire to uncover the individual beneath the cloak?” she pressed.

His eyes narrowed. “How much time have you been spending with Cora?”

“Is that a polite way of saying ‘mind your own affairs’?” She grinned. “I suppose you’re right, but your curiosity has roused my own.”

“Perhaps,” he said in a menacing tone, “I should continue my march up to Somerton’s attic and remove such temptation from your presence.”

She rose, her lips fixed in a knowing smile. “If you insist, my lord.”

The door burst open. “Mama!” A mop of blond and red curls streaming behind a miniature body ran into the room. Then the girl spotted him, and her pixie face lit up much the same as her mother’s had. “Ethan!”

Sophie Ashcroft’s little body plowed into his midsection. She had changed directions so swiftly and with such force that the assault caught him off-guard. The impact of her enthusiasm forced out a whoosh of air between his lips.

“Where have you been?” his assailant asked.

After catching his breath, he looked down at the newly minted seven-year-old clinging to his waist. Her sparkling blue eyes danced up at him. They had only been acquainted a few weeks, but she had taken a distinct liking to him on sight. When it came to him, she respected nothing. Not his clothing, his space, or his time. She had an affinity for his lap and putting her grubby hands on his face while speaking to him from a mere three inches away. Ethan had no notion of what to do with her or her overabundance of affection. In this instance, he patted her shoulder.

“Hello, banshee. Did you escape your grandmama again?”

Her grin broadened. “Have you come to take me for a ride in the park?”

“And have Teddy rip out my guts?” Ethan asked, recalling the stable lad who had been instrumental in thwarting a kidnapping attempt on his playmate. “I don’t think so.”

She bent back to see him better. “Don’t be a silly goose,” she said. “Teddy’s in Showbury. He’ll never know.”

“Sophie,” her grandmama said, coming into the room. “Do not call Lord Danforth a silly goose. It’s bad enough that you use his Christian name.”

“Yes, Grandmama.” The girl’s blue eyes gazed up at him with an eagerness that did strange things to his chest. “May we go for a ride in the park?”

Ethan grasped her narrow shoulders and stepped back at the same time, exerting pressure until her vine-like arms released their hold. “Just because your young man is miles away and will likely not hear of our escapades in the park doesn’t mean we should. Send him a letter and ask if he minds. If he gives you the nod, I will be happy to escort you about the park.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “Why should I ask him for permission? He’s not a relative.”

He inched toward the door. “A courtesy for saving your life.”

“But I’ve already thanked him, plus Bastian hired someone to fix his sick mama.”

Ethan glanced up to find
Bastian
, or Sebastian Danvers, Lord Somerton, in the doorway, looking upon the girl with fatherly affection. “All the same,” he said, feeling safer with another male nearby. “Get Teddy’s consent and then send me a note.”

Sophie huffed a discontented breath. “That’ll take days.”

Why, yes, it will
. “Doing the right thing is not always the easiest path.” The sage advice sounded pompous, even to his ears. “Somerton, shall we begin our meeting?” He widened his eyes in a “help me” gesture, hoping his mentor would take the hint.

“By all means,” Somerton said, though he did not look pleased. “Sophie, I will take you for a ride in the park once my business is done with Lord Danforth. Will that suit?”

“Oh, yes, Bastian.” She lifted up onto her toes and clasped her hands together. “That would suit very well.” Her happiness dimmed a bit when she glanced at Ethan.

To Catherine, Sebastian said, “I’ll be back in a half hour.”

“Take your time,” she said. “Good day, Ethan.”

He nodded to the women and followed Somerton to the study, trying desperately to put Sophie’s miserable little face from his mind. She was not the first female he had made unhappy today. When had he shifted from charmer to destroyer of happiness? He shrugged off the unpleasant realization. With all his other responsibilities, he had no time left to play nursemaid to a child, especially one with so much zest for life. Not only was he on a personal quest to uncover the identities of his saviors, but he also had a mission to complete. He had to verify Giles Clarke’s presence in Abbingale Home and then extract the boy.

What Somerton planned to do with the Clarke boy after extraction, Ethan didn’t know. With the mother dead and no other living relative to contact—at least, none they knew of—the boy would likely wind up in another home, but one of Somerton’s choosing.

First things first. Right now, he had to mentally prepare himself for one of the most important meetings of his life.

***

While Somerton closed the study door, Ethan moved to stand before the earl’s desk and did his best to settle his nerves. All his preparation and dedication to the Nexus—and to Somerton—had led him to this moment. He was ready, both in mind and body. Stepping into the chief’s position would validate all his hard work and sacrifices.

He would finally be a greater asset to the Nexus than a boudoir spy. Although he’d ventured outside that role in recent years, seducing information from women was the one that had defined his career and the one he had come to dread. In the early days, bedding beautiful women and coaxing away their secrets had been a young agent’s ideal mission. The assignments had brought him great physical pleasure without all the emotional aftermath. But, within a few short years, his expertise had felt more like a burden than a gift.

Somerton drew up a chair. “Have a seat, Danforth.”

“I hope I did not offend Catherine by my desire to make a hasty exit,” Ethan said. “She was kind enough to answer some questions, and the last thing I wanted to do was upset her.”

“You’ll find Cat’s skin to be thicker than most women’s. Besides, she’s fully aware of Sophie’s impact on others.”

“She’s a sweet girl, but I’ve no notion what to do with her.”

“You don’t have to do anything with her. Next time, bring up the subject of horses and she’ll take it from there.”

Ethan nodded, even though he thought there must be more to dealing with children than talking about four-legged animals with manes.

“What questions did you have for Catherine?”

“I took the opportunity to ask her about the unknown servant at Sophie’s birthday celebration.”

“Still trying to make the connection between Cat’s maid and your benevolent stranger?”

There were times, such as this, when Somerton’s questions made Ethan feel lacking in the intelligence arena. In this instance, the feeling trebled, because Ethan knew it was a stretch to connect a maid from the country to one in the city, especially one who moved about the docks with no care to her personal safety. He wondered what the spymaster would say if he knew Ethan’s thoughts had even wandered to Hunt Agency’s proprietress.

“Conducting my due diligence, sir. Even though my mind finds little logic connecting the two, my gut is guiding me at the moment.”

“Very well. Do not allow this issue to take priority over retrieving Giles Clarke, though.”

This wasn’t the first time Somerton felt the need to deliver an unnecessary warning or command. Ethan refused to believe that the one mistake he’d made a few weeks ago warranted such greenling treatment. Outside a handful of missions with his friend Helsford, he had operated alone and had done so quite successfully. If Ethan wasn’t determined to remain on his best behavior today, he would tell Somerton what he could do with his advice. “Of course. As I told you before, I learned my lesson well and won’t veer from protocol again.”

He studied Somerton, trying to gauge the man’s mood. But, as always, his mentor’s expression revealed nothing.

“I think you know why I’ve asked to meet with you today,” Somerton said.

“Yes, sir. I have an idea of the reason.”

“I don’t think I have to tell you what a good and valued agent of the Nexus you’ve become.”

Somerton did not dole out praise often, so hearing his mentor’s thoughts now made his chest swell and his back straighten. “Thank you,” Ethan said, swallowing back his emotion. “I am honored to be part of such a worthy cause.”

“Now that I’ve assumed my new duties as Under Superintendent of the Alien Office, Superintendent Reeves has asked for a recommendation for the chief’s position.”

Ethan’s breaths were coming harder, and he found it difficult to maintain his calm mask. “Of course.”

“The candidate I’m considering is someone I’ve known for many years and someone whose career I helped mold.”

“Someone you trust.”

“Implicitly. His integrity is above reproach, and he has the intelligence and strength to coordinate an international operation.”

“Who have you chosen, sir?”

“Helsford.”

Ethan’s vision blurred. An image of his best friend hovered between them, blocking thought, arresting sight, and stealing every snatch of sound. He shook his head to clear the confusion. “Helsford?”

“Yes. I had considered your sister, Cora, but after all that’s happened in the last few months, I don’t believe she’s ready to take on such an onerous position.”

Blood pumped through Ethan’s veins like thick, black sludge. It oozed from one extremity to the other, slow and deliberate. He closed his eyes as the meaning behind Somerton’s announcement struck him full force in the chest.

He wouldn’t be chief, after all. He’d lost his one true goal in life.

Somerton had chosen Cora and Guy over him. Two people who had joined the group for reasons other than a belief in the Nexus’s core mission—to stop Napoleon. Cora had learned what she could from Somerton in order to track down the French assassin responsible for their parents’ murders. And Guy had joined only to watch over Cora. Both were noble reasons, but neither had devoted their life to the advancement of the Nexus’s cause.

Ethan had. Every decision he’d ever made had been in support of this organization. An organization that was now kicking up its nose at over a decade’s worth of dedicated service. Anger like nothing he had ever experienced slashed against the thin thread of his control.

He would not give Somerton reason to believe he’d made the right decision. Through his nose, he forced his breathing into an even rhythm. He focused his entire concentration on the smooth, slow glide of air. In, out. In, out. Over and over until the anger building in his heart tempered into something manageable. In a low voice, he asked, “Has Helsford accepted?”

Somerton’s gaze sharpened. “I haven’t approached him yet. Before I did, I wanted to hear your opinion on my decision.”

“Why?”

Somerton paused, studying him. “Because you know Helsford better than anyone. Do you think his concern over Cora will distract him too badly from doing his duties as chief?”

A dozen answers swirled around Ethan’s mind, each one confirming Somerton’s fears about Helsford’s inability to lead the Nexus. All he had to do was voice one—just one—and he knew Somerton would bypass his best friend and move on to the next candidate. But who would that be? Him? Somehow Ethan didn’t think so.

He thought back to the mission before last, when he had gone off on his own in search of his sister’s abuser. He had wanted to remove the threat against her. Kill Valère before the French bastard had an opportunity to settle on English soil. But someone had known what he was about and had him attacked and left him to rot. What followed after had caused his family great distress when no one knew whether he was alive or dead. That incident had secured him the epithet
King
of
Rogues
, and not because of his prowess in bed.

No, he had earned that ignominious title by ignoring protocol. One mistake. That’s all it took to lose the one thing that mattered to him most. He lifted his gaze to Somerton’s. “If Helsford accepts the position, he will not disappoint you.” Ethan rose to his feet; his head and arms felt as though they weighed twenty stone. “If you have nothing more, I have an appointment to keep.”

Somerton unwound his tall frame. “That’s all you have to say?”

“What else is there? I’m sure you’ve put a lot of thought into your selection and your mind is set, no matter my input.”

“Your opinion matters a great deal, Danforth.”

Ethan clenched his teeth. “Helsford will lead the Nexus well.”

Silence darkened the chamber. Then Somerton asked, “How is the investigation going? Have you managed to catch sight of Giles Clarke?”