Truly a Wife (Free Fellows League 4)

“Thank you, Maman.” He kissed her cheek one last time, said his good-bye, and left.

* * *

Leaving Miranda had proven much harder.

She hadn’t cried when he left, but her eyes had shimmered with unshed tears and she’d tried her best to hide the quaver in her voice and the fact that she was wearing his trousers beneath her dress. But he’d run his hands up under her skirts and discovered them.

Daniel arched an eyebrow. “New style, milady?”

“Take me with you,” she’d pleaded.

“I can’t,” he answered, shoving her skirts higher so he could see the trousers she had on. “Mine, I suppose?”

Miranda frowned. “Yes, of course.”

He cupped her round buttocks, then smoothed his hand over the taut fabric. “I seem to recall that you look quite fetching in these.” He grinned. “What’s the occasion?”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “You know the occasion. I’m going with you.”

He shook his head. “Would that you could, my love, but I’m afraid you won’t be modeling your costume for me on this trip.”

“Please, Daniel,” she said. “I can’t bear the thought of you in a boat out on the Channel alone.”

“I won’t be alone,” he said.

“But you’ll be in a boat. How will I know if you’re all right?”

“I’ll be all right because I have you to come home to.” He pressed her against him, then kissed the tip of her nose, marveling at the way she fit him so perfectly. “And a little while from now, you’ll be receiving a note from my mother inviting you to join her for refreshments at Sussex House, where you’ll have the opportunity to choose furnishings for our new house. I’d like it very much if you’d accept her invitation.”

“But, Daniel …”

“Don’t worry, if all goes well, I’ll be home by tomorrow evening,” he told her.

“I can’t help but worry,” she admitted. “I know what went wrong last time.”

“I’ll be fine. Please go to Sussex House and let my mother begin making amends for her behavior.”

Seeing the look in his eyes, Miranda capitulated. “All right.”

“That’s my duchess,” Daniel approved, lingering over his kiss, putting all the passion he felt into bidding his wife good-bye.

* * *

The Free Fellows League waited until Jarrod returned from his honeymoon to bait the trap.

Jarrod had boarded one of Lord Davies’s merchant ships and crossed the Channel bound for Spain under cover of darkness some hours before. Alex, second Marquess of Courtland, had gone with him, boarding the boat in London earlier in the day. Courtland’s mission was to take much-needed provisions to their network of couriers and spies scattered along the Peninsula while Jarrod conferred with Wellington and his staff.

Daniel and his group of smugglers were the decoys, for their precious cargo was Micah Beekins, a few cases of brandy taken from Daniel’s own cellar, and a leather dispatch pouch full of counterfeit dispatches Colin and Gillian had spent two days

constructing.

The dispatches, when deciphered, would condemn the person presenting them, and the Free Fellows had decided to use them as a safeguard should things go awry and allow the rat to slip through their trap.

Lord Weymouth had played his part by relaying tiny bits of information in conversation with his superior in the War Office. Leather dispatches were due to arrive on the evening tide at Dover, along with one of the secret men who carried the dispatches.

Jonathan, playing the part of a naval officer assigned to the coast watch, was ready to board the HMS Colchester to thwart the rat’s escape by water. And Colin and Griffin remained behind in London to follow him. All the way to the coast if necessary.

Everyone had a role to play. Even Rupert and Ned. For Daniel had instructed them to watch over Miranda and keep her safe when he’d taken her back to Upper Brook Street to stay with her mother and kissed her good-bye.