Page 43 of What A Rogue Wants (Lords Of Deception #1)

Twenty-Six

“Wake up, Madelaine.”

Madelaine batted the noise away and tried to turn from the hot breath tickling her face.

Her neck ached and her legs would not move to turn her body.

Dear God, she was crippled. Her eyes flew open.

The fog of sleep lifted and Grey’s concerned face loomed in front of her.

Bright stars and moonlight twinkled behind him making him look for a moment like her personal angel. “How do you feel?” His voice shook.

How did she feel? Her body throbbed. Her head pounded, stars danced in her vision, and her throat was so dry she might choke. “Water,” she croaked.

Grey pressed a leather pouch to her mouth, his movements stiff and awkward.

Her eyes widened at the bloody bandage wrapped around his arm. “You were shot.”

He nodded. “Surface wound. The bullet scraped my arm.”

“The stranger?”

All the concern that had filled Grey’s eyes drained away. He stared at her with contempt. “Your accomplice escaped.”

“My what?” She struggled to sit up, but her hands… her hands were bound. Her gaze flew to her feet. Bound as well. At least she wasn’t crippled. She rolled onto her side and awkwardly made her way up.

Grey watched her with raised eyebrows.

Her head swam and bile threatened to make her lose what little food was in her belly. She started to fall back over, but Grey yanked her all the way into a sitting position and leaned her against a tree. For a moment, she closed her eyes and concentrated on not being sick.

“Leave her alone,” Abby demanded from somewhere nearby.

Madelaine inched open her eyes and searched out her friend. Abby sat with her ankles and wrists bound directly across from Madelaine not more than five strides away. “Are you unharmed?”

Abby nodded. “My wrists and ankles ache, of course .”

Madelaine shifted her attention back to Grey and blinked at the unexpected sight of Lord Gravenhurst as well. “You move with disconcerting silence,” she snapped at Lord Gravenhurst.

His teeth flashed with a gleaming smile. “It’s a gift. I’m going to comb the woods one more time. You’ll be all right here until I get back?” he said to Grey.

Without looking at Lord Gravenhurst, Grey nodded and waved him away. “Go. I won’t be foolish again.”

Lord Gravenhurst rose and disappeared into the woods before she addressed Grey. “Why have you bound Abby and me?”

He rocked off his haunches and loomed in front of her. “Because, my sweet, you tried to escape me while your friend tried to shoot me.”

Madelaine snapped her gaze to Abby, but Grey jerked her head back to him. “Not that friend, my consummate little actress.” His hands had come to her arms as he crouched in front of her.

She licked her dry, cracked lips. What Grey said made no sense. “I don’t know that man. He was a stranger to me.”

Grey reached into his coat and withdrew a paper. “And I suppose you don’t know what this is either?”

Her heart sank with recognition. “It’s not as it seems.”

“It never is, in my experience.” The loathing and pain in his voice sliced at her.

“You lied to me. You said this was a goodbye letter from your father, yet this is the king’s paper.

The very one your father was accused of stealing.

So what’s not as it seems? Are you not a liar or is your father not a thief?

Not a traitor? Or are you saying you’re not a traitor? A liar? An expert deceiver?”

She swallowed convulsively. She was a liar and now a traitor.

“I lied to save my father. He stole that paper to protect England.” The words sounded foolish, but she pushed on.

“The king’s going mad and Father wanted to get the paper to the prince, so he may have proof of the king’s unstable mind.

Then the prince will be able to rule in the king’s stead. ”

“Your father’s the mad one.” Grey shoved the paper back into his coat.

“Grey.” Desperation made her voice come out high and brittle. “You promised to help me.”

He jerked away from her and stood. “That was before your friend tried to kill me. I’d be stupid to deny your part now. You’re helping your father and whoever he’s working with try to kill the king’s men.”

Her mouth dropped open at his accusation. “I vow I’m not.”

“Don’t lie to me anymore, Madelaine.” His tone was savage and unrelenting as the hardest steel.

Anger flared in her chest. “You seem to know an awful lot for a mere equerry.” Without replying, he twisted and stomped into the woods.

Hot tears coursed down her cheeks. She was all the things he accused her of, but what was he?

Who was he? He was no mere equerry with all he knew.

Doubt and betrayal gnawed at her. Had he used her simply to try to prove her father’s guilt? If so, it had worked beautifully.

“Madelaine?”

She shifted to face Abby.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

Not about to shout all her secrets, Madelaine scooted on her bottom across the ground. Once she was beside Abby, she took a deep breath. “My father was a spy for the king.”

Abby responded with a sharp intake of breath, followed by, “And?”

“And he has betrayed the king. Father thinks it’s for the good of the kingdom, but I don’t know.” She hung her head low. “I just don’t know,” she whispered. “Now I’m a traitor too. And Lord Grey thinks I’m helping Father and some other accomplice kill the king’s men.”

Abby nudged Madelaine’s shoulder with her own until Madelaine reluctantly looked up. “Did you know that man on the trail?” Abby asked, barely above a whisper.

“No.” Madelaine shook her head. “I swear I didn’t. And Father may be a traitor, but he’s no killer.”

“I know,” Abby soothed. “What are we going to do now?”

Madelaine shook her head but didn’t answer. Footsteps crunched through the woods toward them. Grey and Lord Gravenhurst appeared side by side. Grey bent down in front of her. “We will untie you to eat, drink and have a moment of privacy, but then you’ll be bound again so we can sleep. Understand?”

She nodded. She wasn’t about to argue and cause him to change his mind. He yanked her ropes off her wrists and ankles and pointed to a log. “Sit there. And don’t say a word.” She sniffed at his command but held her silence.

A few moments later Abby was dumped unceremoniously beside her.

Madelaine opened her mouth to thank Grey, but he cut her off.

“Don’t speak, Madelaine. I’ve my temper under control for the moment, but one wrong word from you might make me lose it, and I’ll not be responsible for what I do to you after that. ”

She clamped her mouth closed at his ominous words and then ate and drank without speaking. She was almost positive that he’d lied to her too, but blast the brutish man, without proof she dare not risk what he might do.

Madelaine awoke to darkness like she’d never seen.

She blinked, confused about where she was.

Grey’s voice floated to her. She froze as the memories flooded her and made her shake.

Cold air licked her bare face and hands but something heavy covered her body, offering a little warmth.

She ran her fingertips over the fine material and when she got to the hard buttons, she stilled, a lump forming in her throat.

When had Grey covered her with his coat?

The small gesture of kindness filled her with hope that perhaps he really did care about her, and made her cringe that she should care at all.

Immediately, she moved to sit up and realized she could. She glanced at her hands and feet. Grey or Lord Gravenhurst had untied her while she slept. But which man had taken pity on her? Her foolish heart wanted to think it was Grey.

Glancing around, she located Abby asleep on the other side of the clearing.

Clever. Even if Madelaine wanted to escape, they knew she’d never leave Abby and to get to her friend, she’d have to cross right in front of Grey.

She was as good as stuck, unless she wanted to add Abby to the list of people she had betrayed.

If she couldn’t escape, then she planned to learn as much as she could.

She strained to hear what the men were saying but only caught snatches of the conversation.

Inching her body along the dirt, she moved a bit closer and froze when Lord Gravenhurst stood. She squeezed her eyes shut and feigned sleep taking care to breathe deeply.

“So you didn’t recognize the man either?” Grey asked.

“No. The woods were thick where we were. The trees and underbrush blocked most light. But even in the shadow of darkness, I could tell his face was not right.”

“Yes.” Grey’s voice held a note of curiosity. “The outline of his jaw and cheek was a misshapen mess.”

“I’ll tell you one thing for sure,” Lord Gravenhurst said. “The man isn’t French. Whoever they’re working with, it’s not the French.”

Grey spoke like a man who knew all about the king’s spies. Her throat constricted as she waited for them to speak again.

“I got that much from his accent,” Grey replied. “Why the hell are you here?”

Madelaine slowly opened her eyes and stared into the dark. She wished she could see their faces.

“You’re damn lucky I am,” Lord Gravenhurst said. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead.”

Grey scoffed. “By the time you came to help me, I already had the man on the run.”

“Ah, yes. He was running to get into better position to shoot you again.”

“Did my brother send you to check up on me and make sure I was doing my job?”

Madelaine dug her fingers into the dirt. Every word Grey spoke crushed her anew. He was a spy. He had to be. What was his job? Seduce and destroy? Her heart thumped heavily.

“I’ve lost contact with your brother,” Lord Gravenhurst said. “That’s why I came to you. To see if he’d changed his mind and followed you.”

“When did you lose contact?” Concern filled Grey’s tone.