Page 30 of A Dangerous Engagement

Old books lined the walls and filled the air with a musty smell. But her gaze was arrested by Mr.Merrick’s face. Truly, in the dim candlelight and shadows, he seemed even more handsome, and she noticed that he was quite tall.

She was endangering her reputation by meeting a man alone at a house party, but she felt safer in this moment than she had in days.

“Forgive me for asking you to meet me like this,” Mr.Merrick began, his voice low and gravelly. “But I need to know anything that might help me discover who killed Mr.Erickson. Did Miss Appleby see anyone before she found the body?”

Mr.Merrick leaned toward her, and she was very aware of his being only inches away.

“Neither of us saw anyone else in the garden. I went to look into a bird’s nest, and Aunt Agnes screamed. When I returned to where she was, she was hysterical, and I saw a hand lying on the ground. I pushed back the bush then, and we could see the man’s face. A puddle of blood seemed to be coming from beneath him.”

“Did you know him? Had you seen him before?”

“No, never.”

“And you saw no one else in or around the garden?”

“No. Who was the man?”

“He was a reformer, but he favored peaceful means of reform. After Lady Blackstone’s gang made it clear that they intended to seize the government through violent means, he may have opposed them and may have tried to turn some of the other members of the group against Lady Blackstone and the others who favored violence.”

“I see.” She shivered, then found herself leaning toward Mr.Merrick’s tall, muscular frame. Would he keep her and her aunt safe? The look in his eyes was compassionate while his jaw was hard and unflinching.

“Lady Blackstone and Mr.Ratley were nowhere to be found as everyone was trying to figure out what to do. Do you know where they were? Did they mention going on some errand today?”

“No, but it would be unusual to go an entire day without Mr.Ratley asking me to go for a walk with him or escorting me down to the drawing rooms to talk.” She wasn’t sure why she was blushing. There was nothing strange about a man spending time with his fiancée. Perhaps she was embarrassed about agreeing to marry a revolutionary.

“You have no idea where he was this afternoon?”

“None at all.”

His forehead creased, forming aVbetween his eyes. Serious and sober or friendly and smiling, he stole her breath a little bit. But at the moment, she needed to be thinking about more important things.

“Mr.Merrick, I would do anything to get my aunt out of this house and away from these nefarious people.”

“Miss Mayson, please forgive me, but I have no way at present of getting a message back to the Home Office without exposing myself and my motives.”

A twinge of guilt pricked her chest. She seemed to be only thinking of herself and her aunt.

“It is imperative that I stay here and find as much information as I can about these insurrectionists’ plans. Believe me.” He suddenly took hold of her hand while holding the candle in his other hand. “Nothing would please me more than to assist you by taking you and your aunt back to your family, to deliver you from danger, but—”

“No, no, I understand. There is much at stake here—our country’s survival and many other lives besides my own. And though I would be happy to be home with my family, I am willing to stay and do my best to help, to discover what information I can.”

“Thank you, Miss Mayson. I appreciate and admire that more than you know.”

She felt a strange flutter in her heart at his words. She swallowed, forcing herself to ignore it. “I am a loyal subject to the king. I will do the best I can.”

“Again, I thank you.” He was still holding her hand, and now he squeezed it and let go. “I think this is a good meeting place. If you have anything you wish to tell me, anything at all that might be pertinent, just say something about the sky or the clouds, and I will understand it to mean you will meet me here as soon as possible.”

“The sky or the clouds. Very good.” Felicity nodded.

“Now, we should probably get back. How is your aunt feeling?”

“She is resting. She drank the warm milk—thank you for having that sent up for her—and seemed calmer when I left.”

“And you? Were you able to bear the shock?”

“Yes, very well. The more excitable others are, the more calm I seem to be.”

“That is a good trait.”