Bride for a Night

It should have been an impossible task, Gabriel silently acknowledged, detesting the thought that church officials might have been bribed or bullied into turning a blind eye to Vicar Gerard of Carrick Park.

“Someday I wish to hear how you accomplished such a feat,” he warned.

“Someday.”

Gabriel allowed his brother to remain evasive. He would eventually discover the truth of the matter. But he was suddenly struck by a more pressing question.

“I do not comprehend why you agreed to wed Talia if you were being supported by Jacques.”

Harry flushed, revealing a genuine embarrassment for his heartless behavior.

“I had a brief moment of conscience,” he said, smiling wryly at Gabriel’s sudden scowl. “It is true, although I do not blame you if you find it difficult to believe. I thought that once I had my hands on Dobson’s money I could cut my ties to Jacques and walk away unscathed.”

“You thought he could be bribed?”

“Absurd, of course.” His sharp laugh cut through the hushed silence. “I was assured that there was no means to end my…partnership with the damned Frenchman.”

“And that is when you fled to Calais?”

“Yes, once again forcing you to pay for my sins,” Harry acknowledged, his expression hardening. “But no more. I have learned my lesson, I swear. Things will be different in the future.”

Gabriel shied from his brother’s heartfelt promise. He desperately wanted to believe that Harry had truly changed, but how often had he been disappointed in the past?

“Enough of this, you must conserve your strength while I fetch some help,” he said brusquely.

Once again Harry’s fingers dug into Gabriel’s arm, keeping him from rising.

“First I must give you this,” Harry said, wincing as he fumbled beneath his jacket and at last pulled out a folded piece of parchment that he shoved into Gabriel’s hand.

Shifting to catch the faint light cresting the horizon, Gabriel unfolded the paper and scanned the list of names that were written in a neat column.

He frowned as he recognized several of the gentlemen. “What is it?”

“The names of those Englishmen hired by Jacques.”

Even suspecting the truth, Gabriel felt an icy dread settle in his heart. Christ, just how deeply had the rot penetrated?

The men on the list were gentlemen of society, some of them members of parliament. Gentlemen of power and influence who could cause untold damage if they truly had sold their loyalty to Napoleon.

The question was how Jacques Gerard managed to lure, or perhaps even force, them into becoming traitors and how willing they had been to betray their country.

“How did you get your hands on this?” he rasped.

Harry returned his hand to cover his wound, his breath hissing between his teeth in pain.

“I made a search of the vicarage at Carrick Park after I became engaged to Talia,” he said, a fine sheen of sweat visible on his brow. “I knew I must destroy the letter that I had written to confess my guilt if I hoped to be rid of Jacques. Unfortunately I was unable to find my letter, but I did discover the names tucked in a prayer book.”

“Does he know that you have this?”

“No.” There was a hint of satisfaction in his tone. “I made a copy and returned the original to the book. I intended to use this as a bargaining chip when I felt the time was right.”

It was a powerful bargaining chip, indeed. Gabriel did not doubt that Jacques would be willing to barter a great deal to ensure the list did not fall into the hands of British officials.

And the fact that Harry had handed it over to Gabriel rather than keeping it to use for his own benefit was almost as shocking as the names on the list.

“And now?” he demanded, wondering if this was to be a trap.

“Now it is yours.” Harry regarded him with a wry smile before being racked by a deep cough that chilled Gabriel’s blood. “You will do what is right,” he at last gasped. “You always do.”