The Complete Regency Surrender Collection. Louise Allen

of the ton facing the same fate as the French aristocracy. You see, he worried for the safety of this family. He created a secret organisation made up of men and women whose sole purpose was to ferret out any threats against the Crown and to protect the royal house with their lives, if necessary. On the day he died, he made me promise him that I would do everything in my power to ensure King George and Prinny remained safe before I assumed his role in overseeing that select group of individuals.’

      The look of confusion was still in her eyes, along with some disbelief. ‘Surely you are joking.’

      He shook his head. ‘It is all true.’

      She pointed to the portrait of his father above the mantel. ‘You expect me to believe that man organised a secret society to protect the Crown? That man?’

      ‘He did.’

      She studied the image of his father through narrow eyes, as if she would find a clue to his father’s secret dealings within the portrait. Then she turned back to him and gave him the same appraisal. ‘I do not know why you find it necessary to tell me such a fantastical tale, but I do not find it amusing and it does not improve my trust in you.’ She looked away and brushed out non-existent wrinkles from her lap.

      ‘Olivia, what I am telling you is the truth. I am responsible for protecting the Crown.’

      ‘And I am a Grand Duchess of Russia, simply raised in England as a girl,’ she bit out with sarcasm.

      ‘You yourself admitted you have suspicions about me. That is why I am telling this to you. Why did you feel it necessary to try to open a locked drawer to my desk? You know deep down what I have told you is possible.’

      Her hand stilled from where she had been about to pick an invisible thread from her sleeve and she stared at the hearth. Her eyes were moving as if she was reading a message in the ashes and he could see she was considering what he said.

      ‘You are too clever to discount what I am telling you, Olivia. You know what I am saying is possible—that it is the truth.’

      She looked back at him and he could see she was struggling to believe him. ‘How long have you been involved in this?’

      ‘I took a vow to give my life for the Crown when I was at Cambridge.’

      ‘So when we were introduced you were already working for your father?’

      He nodded and saw the moment she realised what he told her was possible.

      ‘You’ve been deceiving me from the moment we met!’

      ‘We are sworn to tell no one. One of the reasons we have been successful in stopping plots against Prinny and King George is because we operate in secret. My own mother and most of my closest friends do not even know. Lyonsdale doesn’t know.’

      ‘Lyonsdale is not your wife. I am,’ she spat with fire in her eyes.

      ‘I swore an oath.’

      ‘Then why tell me now? What has changed?’

      ‘Everything has changed,’ he replied forcefully. ‘I misjudged you and did not know you well enough to trust you with something like this years ago. I see now how much you have come to care for Prinny and know you would never do anything to cause him harm. If I continued to keep this secret from you, it would pull us further apart. I do not want that.’ He placed his hand over hers. They remained cold under his touch through her embroidered silk gloves. ‘I do not want to go back to the way things were between us. I like waking up to you. I like being together with you and Nicholas even if at times it is at an absurdly early hour of the morning. And I like knowing that when I want to see you, I will not be turned away. I have missed your intelligence and your wit. And there is no place I would rather be than in your bed. There is no other woman I want more than you, Livy.’

      She slid her hands out from under his. ‘Explain the carriage I was brought home in yesterday.’

      ‘It’s used when we have a need to observe people who we suspect have plans against the Crown.’

      ‘And the box?’

      ‘There are times disguises are necessary.’

      ‘Tell me about the package in Richmond.’

      Bloody hell, she was even craftier than he thought! ‘What do you know of Richmond?’

      She reached inside her glove and withdrew a charred piece of paper. ‘Tell me about the package you received in Richmond,’ she repeated, holding it out to him.

      ‘An attempt has been made on Prinny’s life—’

      ‘He is hurt? Is—’

      ‘He’s fine. I have him in Carlton House to keep him safe until we are certain we have in custody all those involved in this plot. The package this refers to is a person. It’s the man who has been supplying information on Prinny’s whereabouts.’

      ‘You saw this person last night?’

      ‘I did.’

      ‘Well, I hope someone beat him to a bloody mess.’ From the anger rolling off her, he’d wager she would volunteer if given the chance.

      ‘You may not feel that way when I tell you his name.’

      ‘Why should I show concern for such a person?’

      He had an urge to beat Manning himself for the hurt this was sure to cause his wife. Instead he walked to the fireplace to take his anger out of the logs. As he jammed the poker into the flames, sparks flew up the chimney.

      ‘Gabriel, do I know this man?’ she asked, walking over to him.

      From her expression he thought it best to place distance between Olivia and the heavy metal object in his hand, so he hung the poker back on the rack. ‘Mr Manning was informing the assassin of Prinny’s plans.’

      She backed away from him. ‘That’s not amusing.’

      ‘It was not meant to be.’

      ‘John Manning would never do such a thing.’

      Gabriel took a step closer to comfort her, but she took another step back.

      ‘You are just saying that because you do not like me sitting for him. You will find any excuse to prevent him from painting that portrait.’

      ‘That is not true. He was gathering information about Prinny while painting those within the royal circle. That information was given to someone who intends to kill Prinny. We have his confession.’

      Her breathing became more rapid as she processed what he had told her. ‘He asked me to sit for that portrait. He said it was because only I...’ She stormed past him and grabbed the poker. ‘That weasel! And to think I recommended him to friends.’

      By the time she had finished stabbing the logs, they would be tiny bits of ash. At least she had got over her shock and wasn’t a sobbing mess. He took a step closer just as she whirled around, waving the poker at him. He backed up just in time.

      ‘I hope he can no longer stand this morning.’ She turned back around and jabbed the logs. ‘What kind of person seeks the blood of another?’

      Gabriel went to step closer and she yanked the poker out of the fire.

      He froze.

      ‘He should be punished for this,’ she said through her teeth.

      ‘He will be. Once we have captured whoever is responsible for this, Manning will face trial. You should know that he was coerced into giving away the information. If he did not oblige, members of his family would have been maimed.’

      ‘He still should have found a way to get out of his predicament.’

      ‘Sometimes that’s not always possible.’

      ‘I don’t believe that. If you think clearly, you can always find a way.’

      It