Merely the Groom (Free Fellows League 2)

“That you repeat what you did to me this afternoon in the labyrinth.”

Colin’s grin grew even broader. “So, you liked being kissed in your secret places?” he teased.

“Oh, yes!” Gillian blushed to admit it, but it was quite the most wickedly exciting and incredibly satisfying kiss she had ever had. And she was eager to experience more of the same.

“It’s a deal, my lady,” Colin told her. “When and where?”

She straightened to her full height and looked him in the eyes. “In the coach. On the way to London.” She gave him a wicked smile. “I’ll dress accordingly.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

“They say best men art molded out of faults,

And for the most, become much more the better

For being a little bad.”

—William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

Measure for Measure

They departed Sheperdston Hall for London at dawn, and the journey was by far the most pleasant trip Gillian and Colin had ever made. The hours flew by as the carriage rumbled along the Post Road covering the distance between country and city, and the lovers inside the carriage occupied themselves with the covering and uncovering of each other.

They arrived at the outskirts of the city flushed with color and pleasantly sated. And as they put their clothing to rights and lingered over sweet kisses, Colin took Gillian’s hand in his and looked her in the eye. “I need... I want...”

“That’s a start,” she taunted him.

Colin took a deep breath and tried again. “About last night...”

Gillian arched an elegant eyebrow in anticipation. “Yes?”

Colin frowned. “I owe you an apology, my lady, for the way I took you without preamble on the desktop like a—”

Gillian placed two fingers against his lips to stop the unnecessary words. “I don’t recall any need for an apology. In fact, I found the situation quite to my liking—and quite satisfying.”

He kissed her fingers and bowed his head, and Gillian took pity on him and made his task so much easier. “When do you leave?”

“How did you know?” He looked up at her in surprise. The messages she’d spent part of the night helping him decipher had said nothing about his mission, only that he was needed in London.

She drew a shaky breath and managed a slow, wistful smile. “Your kisses taste of good-bye.”

Colin closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “I have to go,” he told her. “There’s no one else. Whoever made those unauthorized changes to the shipping routes went to a great deal of trouble to arrange it. The moment your father becomes aware that his ships have been used for nefarious purposes, the game is over. And desperation is dangerous. Your father has spent a lifetime building his business. I won’t allow anyone to endanger it.”

A sudden rush of tears clogged her throat, and it was all Gillian could to do nod her head without crying.

“I don’t anticipate a long absence,” he said softly, “but there is always the chance that...” Colin couldn’t stem the feeling of urgency he felt or stop the sense of foreboding that something was about to happen. Something for which he needed to prepare. “That I’ll be delayed or...” He knew the success or failure of the mission depended upon him and that it was possible he wouldn’t return, but Colin looked at Gillian and swore otherwise. “I’m coming back, Gillian. I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you cannot keep,” she warned him, reaching up to trace the outline of the scar on his chest through the fabric of his waistcoat and shirt. “There are footpads with daggers on every corner.”

“Daggers I can handle,” Colin joked. “It’s the pistols I worry about.”

She blanched.

“It was a joke,” he rushed to reassure her.

“Don’t joke about things like that,” she ordered. “Not to me.”

“All right,” he agreed, turning her hand so he could press his lips against her palm, then close her fingers around the kiss to hold it. “I won’t be accompanying you to Herrin House,” he said at last. “You’ll have to go without me.”