Page 21 of The Bachelor Spy
Of carrying that weight like a stone in his chest.
And here she stood, looking at him as if she’d seen a ghost.
Had she thought he’d died too?
Had she …cared?
Blake’s mind instantly sorted through possibilities. Why was she here? Why the disguise? Had shefoundthe Midnight Angel? Wasshethe Midnight Angel?
No—he couldn’t believe that.Wouldn’tbelieve it.
But then, he’d never believed Evan Montgomery would turn traitor either, and look how that had ended.
A knot started forming in his chest, squeezing like a vice. Blake’s gaze sharpened on Evie’s face, probing for clues. She’d disappeared completely after theLusitania.No contact with British Intelligence. No word to Director Lark. Nothing.
The kind of disappearance that suggested either death, deep cover, or deep trauma.
Had she found her brother after Blake lost track of them? Had there been a confrontation? Blake knew Evie’s capabilities, knew what she was trained to do. But killing one’s own twin brother—even a traitorous one—would leave scars that had nothing to do with bullets.
The haunted look in her eyes suggested he might be right.
“Blake?” Grace’s voice pulled him back, those large blue eyes far too perceptive for his comfort. “Are you quite all right? You’ve gone rather pale.”
Blake rearranged his features as he’d done so often in the past. A practiced skill, though it required a bit more effort this time. He quickly reassured her …
Grace didn’t look convinced.
Blast the woman.
If she didn’t know him as well as she did, he might not worry about her perceptiveness. But as young and inexperienced in the ways of the world as she was, she made up for it by being terribly bright, endlessly curious, and an unmatched reader of mystery novels—or any novel, really.
But to her credit, her smile returned and she linked her arm through his good one, tugging him back into motion. “Of course, you’ll want to rest your leg. We’ll get you settled.” A sudden rumble erupted from the direction of her stomach, and her eyes went wide. “Oh dear, I think I forgot luncheon again.” She pressed a hand to her middle, and now that he looked at the way her palm indented against her gown …
Oh.
Blake studied her more carefully now, noting details he’d missed in his shock over Evie. The slight rounding of Grace’s figure that her dress didn’t quite conceal. The shadows under her eyes that spoke of exhaustion. The way she’d just pressed her hand to her stomach in that instinctive, protective gesture he’d seen other women make.
Blake’s face immediately warmed with an emotion he didn’t experience nearly often enough—genuine elation.
Was she …with child?
Grace was such a petite woman to begin with, she’d likely carry small as well. And if, as he’d learned from knowing her as long as Frederick had, she’d been rather sheltered from intimate information by her sister’s poor discretion and her father’s well-meaning obliviousness, was she even aware?
Good Lord. Someone needed to tell the poor woman.
And it certainly wasn’t going to be him if he could avoid it.
“Look who has found us, Brandon,” Grace called as they entered the Great Hall, where the butler stood waiting.
Brandon dipped his head in a slight bow, his expression nearly as controlled as Evie’s, but there was no mistaking the light in his eyes. Yes, Brandon was glad to see Blake here too.
And no wonder. If Lady Astley had been managing alone without Frederick, another friendly face would bring some comfort. Blake stifled a frown. Unless, of course, Blake had brought trouble with him in the form of Evie Montgomery—especially if she happened to be the Midnight Angel.
“It is good to see you relatively well, Mr. Blake.”
“Thank you, Brandon. Good to see you as well.”
“Would you be so kind as to ready the Belvedere Room for Mr. Blake, Brandon?” Grace smiled up at the butler. “Since Mr. Blake is family, I insist on him being housed within the family rooms instead of the convalescent quarters.”
