Betrayal (28 page)

“Because there are places that look like our world, but are not.”

“You have to admit it sounds Fantastical, Lizzy.” Lillian shook her head.

“I’m only relaying what the master told me. The bigger issue is, we have a spy in our Company and no idea who it might be.”

Everyone nodded and some mumbled agreement.

Miles, William, and Joseph had not contributed to the debate, but they sat along the bench at the back of the room.

Elizabeth dragged herself up from the soft chair and joined them. “I do not know how to thank the three of you.”

William said, “You are alive and safe, that is thanks enough for us.”

“It will be strange going back to Spero Hall after all this.” Miles smiled and spread his arms.

She pushed past the lump in her throat. “The three of you were amazing. I’m honored you would risk your lives and your careers for me.”

“You would do the same for any one of us.” Joseph stood and gave her a quick hug.

“I hope I shall never have to return the favor, my friends. But I guarantee if the need arises, I am at your service. Be sure to take care of yourselves. You still have to finish your training. If I hear you have been slacking, I’m going to come to Spero and beat some sense into you.”

They laughed and the other two hugged her. The meeting broke up.

Tad left with hooded eyes and fisted hands.

“Miss Smyth, will you remain a moment?” Drake Cullum dismissed the rest of the group.

Reece squeezed her hand and looked her in the eye.

“I will be fine.” She smiled and let go.

Shafton looked from her to Cullum, gave a nod, and closed the door on his way out.

Her legs wobbled, but she stood facing her employer.

“Elizabeth Smyth, I am about to do something I never do.” Cullum braced his hands on his hips and grimaced.

“Are you?” She would have liked to have a bath before taking her set down. A nice clean dress and her weapons, and she would have been whole. Yet exhaustion stood as a kind of shield. There was protection in being too tired to care.

“I owe you an apology.”

She sagged against the back of the settee. “Do you?”

“I never apologize.”

“Should I send for a scribe to record the event?”

Remarkably, he laughed. “I had no idea you were such a wit, Elizabeth.”

“I am not. I’m just very tired.”

He opened his hand and indicated she should sit. “I can imagine. I will be brief, and then you should take as much time as you need to recover from your ordeal.”

“All I require is a good night’s sleep.”

He nodded. “I thought you had betrayed The Company. I assumed because you had a connection to the master and both you and the Blade of Skane went missing, you had committed treason. I did not believe you were strong enough to break the link.”

“I might not have been if not for Reece.”

“He never lost faith in you.”

“No.”

“Even when the people he trusts believed you were lost, he knew you were not.”

There was no appropriate response. What transpired between she and Reece would remain private and had no place in this conversation. “You do not need to boost my opinion of my fiancé. I’m already quite fixated on him.”

“Of course.” He paced. “You garner more respect than I would have expected in one so young and inexperienced. The young men from the school came to your aid. They did so against my express orders. I can understand Reece disobeying me, but Lillian, Dorian, Shafton, Thaddeus, and those boys? This is a puzzle to me. No one has ever disobeyed my orders before. At least not without my knowing they would.”

“I do not understand, sir.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Ah, well, Lillian Dellacourt often believed she had disobeyed orders, but I always knew what she would do. She performs better if she believes she is working outside the rules.”

“So you manipulate her?”

“I manipulate you all. I get the best out of each and every hunter by giving them what they need.”

“Yet you would have left me to be destroyed by the master.”

“I regret that more than I can say, Elizabeth. All I can do is apologize and hope you will accept that I made a mistake. Most of all, I hope you will not leave The Company as we still need your skills to defeat the enemy.”

She stood up and put her fists on her hips. “I’m not leaving The Company. I will hunt until the master is either dead or returned to hell where he belongs. The only way you will stop me is to kill me. Do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly clear.”

“I would like to point something out, Mr. Cullum. You never thought Belinda Clayton had betrayed The Company. You never assumed she’d told company secrets to the master and her circumstance was not much different from mine. You keep telling me to act more like a hunter and less like a servant, yet you treat me differently, and the only excuse I can find is my birth is not from a good family.”

“I am very sorry about this incident, but I assure you your background had nothing to do with it. You did a fine job of collecting information under the worst conditions imaginable. I should have had more faith in you.”

“I would like to believe that is the truth. One of the finest things about The Company is the appearance of equality. Without that, you are just another bureaucrat and this is just another makeshift government. As for the rest, I did my job and you do not know me very well. Besides, it’s rather comforting to know that even the great Drake Cullum makes mistakes.”

“More than I care to admit.” He stopped pacing. “I could not care less about your family name or your gender. The Company turns people into warriors if they have the heart and drive. Each one emerges new, different, and decidedly equal. I would not have it any other way. Perhaps I should spend more time at the school and get to know new recruits.”

The light she associated with The Company brightened again. She believed him. She wanted to believe him. If he lied, then he was gifted at the skill. She nodded. “You have bigger problems.”

“Oh?”

“There is still a betrayer within our ranks. While I did not tell the master how to retrieve the Blade of Skane, someone did. The master told me so himself.”

“But he did not tell you who it was.”

She shook her head. “He said ‘he’ was still useful.”

“There are a lot of male members of The Company.”

“And one of them is a traitor.”

* * * *

Reece swallowed the rush of emotion as he stared at his sleeping wife. It wouldn’t do for her to wake up on the first morning of their marriage and find her husband in tears. It was bad enough their bedroom had only a few furnishings and no decoration or even a warm rug. He would correct all that, or they would together. The bed was comfortable, and the staff had managed to clean the entire house in just a few days. He wanted to wake up in their own home for the first time as husband and wife.

“I can feel you staring at me.” Her scratchy voice resounded as the perfect gift to his already wonderful day.

“I’m not staring. I’m admiring my wife while she sleeps.”

She rolled to face him. “Well, it feels quite similar to staring.”

He kissed her nose. “You cannot blame me. I am the most fortunate man in London, and I’m amazed at my good luck.”

“Was it luck that brought us together?” She stretched long like a cat, her breasts peeking out above the covers.

He brushed his fingers along her nipples and thrilled at the moan and arching of her back. “I do not know if it was luck, but I feel lucky.”

She sat up and pulled the covers over herself. “You now have a wife who is a prime target of the master. How is that lucky?”

“For now, the master is gone somewhere to lick his wounds, and I have the woman I love to share my bed.”

“He will regroup, Reece.”

He rested his head in her lap. “The Company needs to do the same.”

“And the traitor, what of him?” Her fingers combed through his hair.

“Drake will have to root him out. That is not our assignment. In fact, we have no assignment. We are on our honeymoon.”

“Mmm… I think Drake knows who it is.”

He strained his neck and looked up at her. “What makes you think so?”

“Someone had to have delivered information about me being a traitor. Someone had to know what I knew and how to use it.”

“You’ve been giving this careful examination.”

“I suppose I have. It nags at me that someone close to us is a servant of the master.”

“You do not suspect Tally, do you?”

“She had no opportunity to leak information to Drake. We were present during her interrogation by Lillian, and she had no way of knowing where the dagger was. I never discussed it with her.”

“Do you think she will stay with us?” He put his head down and snuggled against her thighs. To hell with all the trappings of a fine house, he had everything he needed.

“No. I think she will want to make her own way. She is very keen on finding a way to break the bond with the master. She told me she wishes to go to Edinburgh and speak to the witches who guard Holyrood. Though, I’ll be sorry to see her go.”

“Do you want to go to the country and rest for a while? We have the time, and you have never seen our estate.”

“To be honest I’m more comfortable here in London.”

“Then here we shall stay.”

She ran her fingers through his hair. “I will see your estate some other time.”

“Our estate, sweetheart.”

A knock rang out. She pulled her hand free and yanked the covers up to her neck.

“What is it?” Reece had given strict instructions about not bothering them for the day.

“Sir. We have a visitor.” John spoke loud enough to breach the door.

Elizabeth got up. “He would not disturb us unless it was important.”

Her perfect butt swayed as she crossed to the basin. “We’ll be down directly, John.”

Reece hung his legs over the edge of the bed. “I would prefer to spend the day in this room with you.”

She looked over her shoulder; a wicked grin offered a world of promise. “Later. Get dressed and let’s go see who is downstairs.”

* * * *

Garvey stood at the front door with a small case at his feet.

Reece bounded down the stairs and offered the butler his hand. “My father finally let you go.”

“Not exactly, sir.”

Elizabeth shook his hand. “Perhaps we should talk in the study.”

Several of the staff gathered in the foyer, watching the exchange.

The three of them walked to the door on the right. The room, which would become their study, had a desk, four chairs, a rug, and a wall of books. Much remained undone in their effort to make the new townhouse a home.

“Please have a seat, Garvey.” Reece held a chair for Elizabeth, then took the one next to her.

Garvey sat on the edge of the chair ready to jump up at any moment. Clearly sitting with his old employer was unfamiliar territory for the butler. “I wish to inform you your father has closed his London townhouse.”

“As we expected. Did he bother to give you a letter of reference?”

“No. As he did not release me from my contract, he did not deem it his responsibility to recommend me for a new position.”

The anger he associated with his parents flooded into his gut. “What do you mean? He did not release you, yet the house is closed.”

“That is correct, sir. Mr. Foxjohn wanted me to stay on at the townhouse.”

“At an empty house?” Elizabeth asked.

“Evidently, madam.”

His father punished the butler for his loyalty to Reece. “I noticed you arrived with a bag.”

“I resigned my post. I could see no purpose in serving an empty house. I am a butler. To sit around with no residents to attend would not suit me.”

“I should think not.” Elizabeth stood and crossed her arms over her chest. “That man is impossible.”

Reece loved how passionate she became about everything. He brought his attention back to Garvey. “I hope you will accept a position at this house.”

“I confess that was my hope, sir.”

She rushed back to the grouping of chairs and stood. “Of course you will stay here.”

“Lizzy, let the man decide for himself.”

She dropped her arms. “You are right, of course. I only want Garvey to know we welcome his service in our new home. John is doing an adequate job, but we have been suffering without a proper butler’s guidance.”

Reece laughed. “The job is yours, Garvey, if you want it. From the crowd of smiling faces who gathered in the foyer, I would say the staff is pleased you have arrived.”

Garvey stood. “Thank you, sir, madam. I accept your offer of employment.”

She clapped. “Wonderful.”

“If you don’t mind my saying, I wish you great joy on the event of your recent marriage.”

Reece stood and shook his hand. “Thank you. I expect we shall have a great many years to enjoy this house. I’m afraid it is sorely in need of some decor.”

“I’m sure all of those things will come in time, sir.” Garvey cleared his throat and strode out of the room.

Reece sat and Elizabeth curled into his lap. She snuggled against his neck. “I feel it all has settled into place now.”

He settled his arm around her back and tucked his other under her legs. “It is good to have our staff back at home.”

“Why do you suppose your father is so awful?”

He kissed the top of her head. “Because he can be and it is his nature. Money makes some men tyrants.”

“You were raised with that same money. Do you not wonder how you became such a good man?”

“I shall accept your compliment, my love. I can only credit my nanny for showing me a way of living better than my father’s.”

She lifted her chin and kissed him. “I’m glad you are as you are.”

He covered her lips with his, sweeping his tongue in and devouring her. A tear squeezed out of his eye and several more followed.

She broke the kiss and wiped his cheek. A crease formed between her soulful brown eyes. “What’s wrong?”

This was everything he wanted. His father no longer ruled any part of his life. The woman he loved curled in his arms, looking at him as if he were the sun and the moon. “I’ve never been happier in my life. I do not think I could ever be happier.”