Charming a Spy (21 page)

Perhaps she might even be inclined to reward him. Luckily he could think of several tantalizing gifts he would gladly accept. Geoff would make things right between them. He had to.

“There you are,” Luke said, bringing Geoff out of his thoughts.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Geoff answered.

“You have no idea. I haven’t seen the night sky in… well, it’s been much too long. I swear I feel drunk on the sea air and freedom.”

“Enjoy it, Dubois. You deserve it. It pains me knowing you were unfairly imprisoned,” Geoff said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Luke scoffed.

“Of course not. But it’s still awful. I wouldn’t wish your experience on my worst enemy.”

“Funny,” Luke said. “I wished it for mine. I wished it on him every minute I was in prison.”

“Which brings us to the pertinent question,” Geoff said. He’d not wanted to rush Luke, but his duty was to get to the truth.

“How did I come to be rotting in that hellhole for two years?” Luke guessed.

“Yes.”

Luke sat down next to Geoff on the hull. He was quiet for a few minutes, silently staring at his fingernails. Lord knows what was going on in the tortured man’s mind, but Geoff was willing to be patient. They had a long journey back to England ahead of them.

Luke took a deep breath in. He held it, as if he was preparing to be punched in the gut. Maybe he was. It couldn’t be pleasant to tell the story of one’s incarceration, to relive the pain of what happened.

“It was the night before the battle,” Luke said. “I couldn’t sleep—all I could think was it was the last night I would ever know.” Geoff knew the feeling. He’d had that same thought on more than one mission. The awful bowel-twisting anguish followed by eerie calm acceptance. He would be perfectly happy to never feel that way again.

“It was late. Maybe already morning. I don’t really know, except it was still dark. I was lying on the field outside my tent looking at the sky,” Luke continued. “It was like tonight, clear and black and so many damn stars. That’s when I saw Rafe walking outside.”

“Rafe Grier?” Geoff asked, confirming.

“So you already know,” Luke said.

“I suspected.”

“Good. It was Rafe Grier. He’s the traitor. He’s a murderous rat who sold secrets to the frogs for, for, I don’t even know what for. In all that time, I sat rotting in prison, I still haven’t been able to figure out why he did it. I knew his family growing up. They were plenty well off. Certainly he didn’t do it for the coin,” Luke said.

“Actually, he might have,” Geoff corrected. “My informants discovered Rafe has an unfortunate gambling problem or should I say, a losing problem. He lost his inherited fortune at the gaming hells. He has debts at every one in London and half of Europe.”

“Makes sense at least,” Luke said. “I couldn’t imagine why else a man would sell his soul… and his friend. How could he live with himself knowing so many of his own comrades would die because of him? Money isn’t a good reason. But at least it’s a reason. I’m not sure any man is evil enough to turn on his country without cause.”

“Well, I’ve only known Rafe Grier less than a fortnight, but I think he could be that evil.”

“Touché,” Luke said, smiling. It wasn’t very funny really, but it added levity, which both men were happy to have. They were quiet, letting the brief moment spell the dark night.

It was Geoff who brought them back to the story. “So you were lying outside the tent and saw Rafe. Then what happened?”

“I almost called him over to share a drink, a last whiskey before we most likely died. But a split-second before I noticed he was packing a knapsack with supplies. Food, candles, a knife. Normally that wouldn’t be so strange, but it was the night before the battle. What does a man need with supplies when he isn’t going to live out the next day?”

It was a rhetorical question. Geoff was silent.

“When I followed him, I don’t think I was suspicious yet. More than anything, I was curious. I really wanted to find out—what he knew that would keep him alive long enough to need supplies.”

“Where did you follow him?” Geoff asked.

“He left the campground and started walking through the woods, so I stayed a safe distance behind. I didn’t think he knew I was there.”

“But he did?”

“He must have, although he never turned around and exposed me. At least not while we were walking through the woods. We traipsed around a long time, two hours, maybe three. A couple of times I thought I should turn back because I needed to get back to the camp before the battle started. But I didn’t want to go back. The only thing waiting for me at camp was death. I was scared. Following Rafe was an excuse, an easy way to avoid the day. So I kept walking. Then right before sunup we reached what must have been the French base.”

“Do you know which encampment it was?”

“No idea. It honestly appeared no different than any other one I’d seen. Even ours. The only difference was the French flags.”

“So what did you do then?”

“I hid in the bushes and watched Rafe walk straight up to the soldiers on guard. For a second, I thought he was going to attack them. I know it sounds ridiculous, to think one man would march through the front fence and take on the entire battalion himself. But I wasn’t willing to accept what I’d witnessed yet. That’s when it happened.”

“What?” Geoff asked.

“Rafe Grier walked up to a French officer and pointed to the bushes where I was hiding.”

‡

“Y
ou made it,”
Rafe said, taking her bags down from the hired hack.

“Of course,” Kat answered with false bravado, hoping Rafe couldn’t hear her heart pounding in her chest. She didn’t want him to know how terrified she was. Besides never having been aboard a ship, she was a lone woman traveling to enemy territory.

She’d barely slept a wink last night after receiving Rafe’s note with the plan. He’d managed to secure two spots aboard a freighter, telling the captain he was a merchant and his wife was accompanying him to pick up some merchandise. They would sail to France that afternoon and follow Geoff’s trail there. Rafe said he’d sent some men ahead to start investigating. He assured her by the time they arrived they’d know where to go next.

It wasn’t ideal, pretending to be Rafe’s wife, not knowing their next steps until they actually arrived in France, but it was better than anything Kat had come up with so far. She’d left a note for Aunt Ellie, who was out taking tea with a friend, explaining she was accompanying Maribel on a last minute trip to Bath for a few days. Kat didn’t like lying to her aunt, but she didn’t have a choice. If she wanted to rescue Luke, she was going to have to trust Rafe and do what he told her.

“Up the planks here,” Rafe said, ushering her onto the ship.

Kat climbed the gangway, gripping tightly onto the rope banisters. She reached the top and stepped onto the enormous ship. On deck, sailors scurried about, hoisting sails, carrying supplies and readying the ship. They didn’t look like what Kat thought sailors would look like, pirates seemed a more apt description. They wore gold earrings, gold necklaces, some even had gold teeth. They were dirty and hairy and were nothing like any gentleman Kat had ever encountered. From the way they stopped and glared at her, she surmised she was unlike any woman they’d ever met.

She knew it wasn’t going to be a luxurious trip, but she wasn’t expecting it to be quite
so
primitive. The good news was it would only be two days and she could spend most of her time under the deck in her private quarters.

At least that’s what she thought.

Her private quarters turned out to be no bigger than a pillbox. It had one porthole, a washbasin and a small single bed. Spare to say the least. Rafe set down her bags, next to another set of luggage.

“There must be some mistake,” Kat said. “Is someone already occupying this cabin?”

“I told them we were married,” Rafe said, pausing to let the meaning sink in. Then it occurred to Kat. The bags were his. They were sharing a room. “You saw the men out there,” he said. “Believe me, it’s safer for you this way.”

“Right, of course,” she said, trying to sound calm. Rafe was right. She couldn’t very well travel as an unaccompanied maiden on a ship full of sailors. She and Rafe would have to make the best of it. He would surely behave himself this time. Just in case he didn’t, she’d packed the dagger Luke gave her before he’d left for war. It never hurt to be prepared.

“I’ll leave you to get unpacked,” Rafe said, awkwardly excusing himself from the room.

Unpack. Where
? There was hardly a place to put her person, let alone her things. She sat on the edge of the bed and tried not to let the terror overwhelm her.
Happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts.

Geoff’s hands touching her cheek.
No.
Different happy thoughts.
Geoff’s lips touching her breast.
This is not working
. Geoff shouldn’t be a happy thought anymore. Not even a little bit. He was the reason she was on the ship and in peril, stuck in the belly of this freighter pretending to be a merchant’s wife and hiding from unsavory sailors.
Damn him
.

Kat jumped as the ship lurched away from the dock. This was it, no turning back. They were actually sailing. She went above deck to get one more glimpse of home before who knows what awaited her in France. Luckily the pirates were all too busy to pay her much notice.

She stood at the bow, watching the shore becoming farther away as the boat sped forward. Soon London looked like a miniature replica of a city, one she could hold between her forefinger and her thumb. The water raced by below as the vessel cut cleanly through the waves.

The sun began to set over the water and Kat stood watching the painted sky turn from melon to a deep fiery orange. The fresh air blew against her cheeks and tossed strands of her hair around her face. The fear and trepidation she’d felt minutes before started to dissipate.

For the first time in a week, Kat sighed with relief. Gone was the sense of dread and fear. This was a new chance, another shot at finding Luke.

Rafe joined her at the railing. “It’s exciting isn’t it?” he said.

“Yes, it really is. I didn’t expect to like sailing much,” Kat said.

“Oh, there is nothing better than the feeling of mastering the sea. This enormous ship using the wind to propel us, it’s a thing of beauty.”

“I was thinking almost exactly the same thing just now.” Kat smiled. She was right to trust Rafe. He was a good man and he’d followed through coming up with a plan to get her to Luke. “So, how long do you think it will take us to get there?” Kat asked.

“A couple of weeks,” Rafe said grinning.

“Weeks. You joker. France is a two day’s journey away,” Kat said, playfully hitting Rafe on the arm.

“Yes, but this freighter isn’t going to France. It’s going to America.”

“That’s not funny, Mr. Grier,” Kat said.

“If only I were kidding,” Rafe responded.

“I don’t understand,” Kat said, panic starting to rise in her chest.

“I know, dear heart. But now you will. It’s simple. You’re being kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped! What do you mean?” she asked, the truth still not setting in.

“Poor, innocent Katherine. You really are too trusting. First Stamwell and now me. Your brother was never the traitor,” Rafe said. “I was.”

Kat’s stomach dropped and her heart joined it. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be real. She turned around, looking for a way to escape. Pirates swarmed around the ship, paying her no attention. They weren’t likely to save her, especially from the man they believed to be her husband. She watched the shore, now miles away. It was too far to swim.
Bollocks
.

“There’s nowhere to go, Katherine,” Rafe said, reading her mind. “You might as well accept your fate.”

She didn’t know what was happening. Her mind reeled, trying to piece together disparate thoughts racing so fast she believed she must be dreaming. Nothing made sense. Rafe was the traitor? Why would he betray his country… and her brother? They were friends.

“Why?” It was the only word she could manage to choke out.

“I did it for my sister, for her dowry,” Luke said, shooting an innocent look at Kat.

“For Jessica? What happened to her dowry?” Kat asked. What could Jessica possibly have to do with selling secrets to the French? Kat never liked her, it was true, but she didn’t think she could possibly be responsible for the death of hundreds of soldiers at Corunna.

“It was a string of bad luck at the gaming tables, unfortunately. But I was going to give every cent of her dowry back. In fact, I was well on my way to becoming rich as a full-time informant for the frogs, until your precious brother messed that up for me. After he had followed me, the French didn’t trust me to not get caught again. So I had to find another way to get the money. And I was well on my way until you ruined it. You Dubois siblings are always foiling my plans.”

“The Duke of Stamwell…” Kat said, putting the pieces together in her head.