Page 17 of Her Magnificent Mistake (Surprised Heirs #1)

From Her Tempting Traitor

Miss Gabrielle Lindsay, Britain’s only practicing animal doctor, crossed her arms and raised a brow at her uncle, who sat across the desk from her. “You want me to what?”

“I want ye to consider taking this case for me,” Bull repeated, that stupid charming grin on his lips.

Gabby sighed. “Yes, I was afraid that is where you were going with that.” Unfortunately, Bull rarely made an offer—or asked a favor—until he was certain he knew what the answer would be. In this case, it meant there was bound to be something truly tempting about the case. “And why would I agree?”

“Because ye love me and want my agency to be successful? Also, Queen and country and all that?”

Pretending to roll her eyes, Gabby gave him the response she knew he expected. Honestly, Bull’s schemes were often more interesting than not, and a bit of a relief from her consistent hobby of Not Being Paid The Same Amount As a Man Would For Curing The Same Animal Illnesses.

She and her twin brother Hunter were only a handful of years younger than Bull, and since all of them were illegitimate scions of the great Lindsay family, had grown up with an affinity toward one another. And this definitely wasn’t the first time Bull had recruited one or both of them to work some case that had been assigned to Bull’s detective agency.

“What are the details?” she asked, pretending only mild interest.

Bull, of course, could see right through her.

Grey eyes sparkling with excitement, he leaned across the desk, those never-still fingers of his tapping a rhythm on the dark wood. “One of the Crown’s secret agents turned traitor.”

Gabby’s eyes went round. “ Oh ,” she breathed.

And Bull nodded firmly. “I thought ye’d find that interesting.”

Yes.

Yes, she would.

Twenty years ago, Uncle Rourke—the man who’d raised her, and Bull’s only surviving brother—had been an agent for the Crown, a notorious assassin. Only after he’d been sent to execute his best friend had he—thanks to the help and evidence of Aunt Sophia—learned that their leader, the man who’d put together their band of agents, had never really been working for the Crown.

Rourke and his friends had spent years bringing down Blackrose and clearing their names.

Yes, a spy-turned-traitor was not only terribly interesting to Gabby’s family, but someone who deserved everything he got. “Tell me more,” she all but growled.

Nodding in satisfaction, Bull sat back in his chair. “His name is Cassian Grey. He worked for—ah…for the Crown.”

“Princess Louise’s spy network, you mean?” Gabby admitted she took secret delight in the way surprise flashed in his eyes. “I have been paying attention. And you were the one who taught me how helpful it can be to snoop through correspondence.”

“Ye’ve read my mail?” Bull gaped.

“I really am quite bright.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face, releasing a defeated sigh… But not before Gabby saw his lips twitching.

“It’s a damn good thing I trust ye, Gabs.” Before she could object to the nickname, he continued. “Aye, the Princess Louise is our patron, the source of the cases we receive from the Crown. Her network of agents is more than capable, but sometimes she needs an outsider…someone no’ affiliated with the Crown.”

“And not subject to the same rules and laws?” She twitched a brow at Bull’s low curse.

“Ye really are bright.”

Gabby snorted, secretly pleased. “So Mr. Grey was part of the Princess’s network. If he is known to her agents, he would know them as well, making it impossible for one of them to investigate him. That is why she brought the case to you.”

“Exactly.” Bull nodded, the fingers of his right hand flicking through a complicated pattern. “He and his team—three men—were on assignment in Belfast when something went wrong. The Princess assumes it was pre-planned, but wants to ken how much was his idea, and if his men were in on it as well.”

“What happened?” She was beginning to dread the answer.

“They died,” Bull explained grimly. “They were deep undercover with the Irish nationalists, and had set up a hand off that would...” He shook his head. “I can tell ye more if ye accept the case. But they were passing faulty explosives in exchange for a prince’s ransom, and something went wrong. All three of his men were killed, and the exchange compromised.”

He’d killed his men out of greed? Or had he, at some point, begun to believe in the ideals of the I.P.B., and sabotaged his team on purpose?

“Dear Lord,” Gabby whispered, gripping her fingers together, her throat dry. The thought of him ordering his own men to their deaths was sickening. “And he got away unscathed with the money? Where is he now? I assume you know.”

Interestingly, Bull hesitated. “I didnae say he was unscathed. He…” Abruptly, he sat forward and began to rifle through the stack of papers on his desk. “Aye, here it is. He lost his right leg below the knee. His foot was badly damaged in what appeared to be an explosion, and the doctors amputated.”

Gabby swallowed. Uncle Rourke still limped because of a firebombing. “That seems…extensive. His superiors believe he blew his own leg off to abscond with the money?”

Bull shrugged and tapped the paper. “They suspect the plan went awry. The money is gone. And to answer your other question, he’s been recuperating at Inverlochy Castle, up near Fort William.”

“He has a castle ?” Despite her earlier disgust at the details of the case, Gabby was beginning to question the logic. “Why would he kill his own men for money if he has a castle ?”

Bull was shaking his head. “His uncle by marriage has a castle. Sir Richard Byrdhande, excentric landowner, world-traveler, and menagerie-builder.”

Menagerie . “Ah. I suspect we are fast approaching my reason for being here.”

“Bright indeed,” Bull teased, leaning back once more and beaming fondly. “Aye, Sir Richard and his wife housed—perhaps cared for, I dinnae ken—Grey’s son while he was on assignment, since his wife’s death. Gray has retired there, supposedly to spend time with his son and come to terms with his sudden forced retirement?—”

“And unplanned leg removal, presumably,” Gabby interrupted dryly. After all, it wasn’t as if the man had diabolically cut off his own foot. Had he?

“ However,” Bull continued as if she hadn’t interjected, “there’s been some rumors of him planning a move to America.”

Oh. That was rather suspicious. Blackrose, the bastard who’d made Uncle Rourke’s life hell, had fled to Boston for this same reason, before they were able to tempt him back.

“Packing up his son and his ill-gotten gains and beginning again in a new country.” This time Gabby did growl, and she didn’t care how unladylike it sounded. “We have to stop him.”

Bull nodded firmly. “Good lass. Aye, and that is where ye come in.”

“Sir Richard’s menagerie?”

“He has a sick elephant.”

Gabby blinked at that particular combination of words. “I would question if that was a euphemism, but?—”

“The man literally has an elephant. She is pregnant, and the pregnancy is no’ going well.”

“Bull,” she huffed, tipping to one side enough to plant a hand on her hip. “There is a vast difference between being sick and being pregnant.”

Her uncle-turned-friend waved airily. “I treasure my ignorance when it comes to pachyderm reproduction. The point is, he acquired a pregnant elephant, his elephant is no’ thriving, and before he ends up with two dead elephants, he’s put out a call for help.”

“And you just happen to monitor the personal ads for desperate calls for aid for pregnant land mammals?”

Bull likely hoped that picking up his papers and shifting them around would hide his smile, but he was unsuccessful. “My contact at the London Zoo?—”

Gabby suddenly lunged forward to grab the edge of the desk. “You have a contact at the London Zoo? And you never mentioned him?”

“Of course.” Bull winked, displaying the same charm that won him friends from all walks of life—Princesses to zookeepers to dockworkers. “Who do ye think got ye in to see that ocelot autopsy for yer birthday?” His teasing expression collapsed into a grimace. “And aye, I’ve asked him to get ye a position. He said nay because…”

“Because I was born with a female’s body,” she sighed, slumping back in the chair, “which happens to host a brilliant veterinary mind.”

“Brilliant,” Bull agreed softly.

Damn .

Well, it wasn’t the first time she’d been denied an opportunity because of her sex. It wasn’t even the thousandth time. But Bull could always be relied upon to support her, so she forced a wry smile.

“That really was a smashing birthday present, although I do not think Hunter appreciated it.” The twins had always made it a habit to spend their birthday together.

“Just be glad he didnae insist ye join him for his present that evening.” Bull winked, and Gabby rolled her eyes.

“Judging by how elated he was the following day, I have always assumed you acquired some sort of sexual experience?—”

Bull smacked the papers on the desk. “And now, back to the case!”

It really was adorable how flustered her male relatives became when she mentioned knowing anything relating to reproductive acts.

“Yes, your pregnant pachyderm.” She hid her smile, folded her hands in her lap. “Do go on.”

He made a show of arranging the papers, although she suspected it was just to keep his hands busy as he explained.

“I have had my contact send word to Sir Richard that there’s an animal doctor in London well-suited to help his pet. Ye arrive at Inverlochy with yer credentials and yer knowledge, and find a reason to linger. While ye’re saving the elephant—I dinnae doubt ye will—ye can be investigating Grey and—why are ye shaking yer head at me, Gabs?”

“Because it will not work,” she admitted, stifling another defeated sigh, “for the same reason your London Zoo contact does not want me. It has been my experience that most British men do not want a woman treating their prized pets.”

“Aye, but Sir Richard seems to be a forward thinker. He might be one who would accept ye and yer talents.”

“And if he is not?” Gabby shook her head. “You will have wasted your opportunity. No, what we need is a decoy. I will attend Inverlochy, but as your assistant. You claim to be the elephant doctor.”

Bull winced, tapping a steady rhythm against the arm of his chair. “I cannae. I’ve never worked with Grey, but he was one of the Crown’s top tier operatives. He might ken my face, just because of the work I’ve done.”

Not about to be deterred, Gabby frowned and sat forward, placing her palm against the desk for emphasis. “Hunter, then. He will be the veterinarian, and as his sister, I will be along to…take notes or something. It will leave us both free to poke about.”

Her uncle considered her words, studying her with a cocked head. “Do ye think Hunter can manage it?”

Her twin brother was the most important person in the world to her, but Gabby could admit that she was likely smarter than he was. At least, she’d been better educated. But Hunter had so many skills… “He is your agent. You doubt his ability to lie and pretend?”

“I doubt his ability to ken the arse end of an elephant from its trunk.”

Gabby’s chuckle burst from her. “Oh, Bull…clearly you have not spent enough time around elephants, if you would imagine anyone could get those two confused.”

“I stand by my statement,” he said primly. But then he snapped and pushed himself upright. “But aye, with ye feeding him lines, he can bullshite his way through it. It could leave him free to investigate while ye are…shoving yer arm up the elephant’s backside, or whatever it is ye do with pregnant animals.”

Good Lord. “Let us hope you never plan to marry and impregnate a woman, Uncle Bull, lest your wife murder you for saying such a thing while her ankles are swollen, her back is sore, and your son is punching her from the inside.”

“Never fear, Gabs.” His irreverent grin was accompanied by a wink. “I have nae plans on ever being in such a position.”

“Because you do not plan on impregnating—” she began, and sure enough, any mention of reproduction warranted an interruption.

“Because I dinnae plan on marrying,” he snapped. Then, sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his face. “This plan of yers…”

“It will work.” She pushed herself to her feet and planted her knuckles on his desk. “How do you think I have managed to work in this field for so long? I am used to men taking credit for my skills and knowledge.”

Slowly, Bull nodded, holding her gaze. “Aye,” he finally agreed. “I am sorry for that, but it will work. I’ll put together some papers and testimonials for ye, and have my contact put us in touch with Sir Richard.”

Gabby felt her blood humming in excitement. It always happened when she was involved in one of the cases for the Lindsay Group, but this time felt different.

This time, she was going to use her skills and talents to not only help a suffering animal, but to catch a traitor. A man who, if guilty, deserved the swiftest punishment imaginable.

“I will round up Hunter, and we will meet you back here the day after tomorrow. Is that enough time?”

Bull nodded and moved around the desk to offer her a hug. “Thank ye, Gabby. Ye will be doing the Crown a favor.”

And more than that, she would be ridding the world of a despicable traitor.

She would succeed.

Spoiler alert: Gabby isn’t going to find success quite as simple as she imagines. What’s going to happen when she and Hunter show up at Inverlochy Castle and are met by Sir Dickie, his pregnant elephant, an angry pre-teen, and a grumpy one-legged hero? Well, she’s going to fall in love with all of them, for one thing… Check out Her Tempting Traitor !