Sin With a Scoundrel (The Husband Hunters Club 4)

“In the shooting?” he hedged.

“No, foolish man, I don’t think he would have shot Sir Henry,” she mocked. “I meant, is this something to do with his work. With your work? I’m asking not through idle curiosity but because I need to know whether Miss Tina is in danger.”

Archie scratched his chin. “I’m sure—”

“Don’t make excuses, Archie. Or I will leave you here all alone and go and find that nice young man you just chased away.”

He sighed and knew he was beaten, and seeing it, her smile grew wider.

“Mr. Eversham is worried about the shooting, but your mistress isn’t in danger. If anyone is in danger it’s probably Mr. Eversham.”

“Oh. Why is that?”

“He is seeking a particular gentleman, someone who has evil intentions for the country and the government. Someone he also has a personal grudge against. He suspects this gentleman might be here at Arlington Hall.”

Maria’s eyes were round. “But surely that is very dangerous, Archie? Who is this man? I need to know so that I can take care around him.”

Archie hesitated and then made his decision. He’d already said far too much, but in for a penny, in for a pound. If he was going to ask Maria to share her life with him, he had to trust her, and she had to trust him. “He thinks the gentleman he’s seeking may be Lord Horace Gilfoyle.”

Now Maria was very worried. “But he is the friend of Mr. Charles and Miss Tina! You must warn them at once, Archie.”

“Most definitely not. If we warn them, then he will hear of it, and the next thing he’ll flee the country. We must stay quiet, Maria. Do you understand? We must trust Mr. Eversham to deal with this.”

“But Archie—”

“Maria, I have said things I should not, but you cannot repeat them. I will lose my job.”

Reluctantly she nodded, but now Archie could see that Maria’s priorities weren’t the same as his. She didn’t care much for the government, but she did care for her mistress. And her mistress seemed to have got herself into a bit of a bother with Gilfoyle and Mr. Eversham. Archie could appreciate that being the personal maid to Miss Tina could be a very worrying thing, and the sooner this mess was sorted out—hopefully by Mr. Eversham—the sooner he could take Maria away from it all and look after her properly.

“Mr. Eversham will make sure she is safe,” he went on confidently, hoping she’d believe him. “I think he’s got a bit of a soft spot for Miss Tina.”

Her dark eyes narrowed as they fastened on him. “He’d better take very good care of her, or I’ll deal with him myself.”

And looking at her, Archie knew she meant it. His Maria was a loyal and wonderful firebrand of a woman, and he was pretty certain he was in love with her. As to whether she was in love with him? Well, that was another problem, and he wasn’t sure yet how to solve it.

Chapter 23

The two men met in the gloomy woods behind the hall. They would be unlucky if anyone noticed they were missing. Everyone else was otherwise engaged, either resting before dinner or taking afternoon tea in the salon.

“You idiot! What on earth possessed you to take a shot at Sir Henry in front of everyone?”

Branson, with a sullen curl to his lip and a rebellious glint to his eyes, looked as if he might say something rash, but common sense prevailed, and at the last moment he bit it back.

“Well? Answer me, damn you, Branson!”

“It was just to give him a scare,” he muttered, chastened. “I had no intention of killing him, or he’d be dead. I’m a good shot, you know.”

“Why on earth would you want to give him a scare? Are you sure you weren’t having your own little revenge on the man? Everyone knows you’re sick with jealousy because he owns Arlington Hall.”

Branson couldn’t think of anything to say.

“And you do realize that because of you Sir Henry knows that we are among his little group—that someone here is most likely the very man he’s been looking for?” He threw up his hands in an excess of frustrated emotion. “I can’t believe you could be so stupid.”

“He’ll never think it was me!”

His companion stared at him in amazed disgust. “No, probably not, but he has no reason to trust me, has he?”

Branson scrambled to dig himself out of his own mess. “Someone must have noticed you in the shooting party among the others. They’ll say you were there in plain sight when Sir Henry was shot. You’re safe. There’s no harm done.”