She thought she saw reluctance as he turned and reentered the dining room.For a moment there he had desired her.Her, not any other woman.
The power of alcohol, Eleanor told herself as she climbed the stairs.But did they not sayin vino veritas?She had not been immune to the effects either.If he had come to her bed tonight, she thought, and taken her in his arms, if he had unraveled her hair and kissed her as he had just kissed her, she would not have found it so hard to be responsive.No, she would not have found it hard at all.
Nicholas reentered the dining room and confiscated the port, calling for ale and coffee instead, despite the protests of his friends.When it had been served he gathered their attention.
“We have work to do again,” he explained.
“Work?”queried Amleigh owlishly.“Christ, Nick, the last time the Company was in operation was in the sixth, when old Chisholme decided to pick on Miles ’cause he didn’t like the Irish.”
Miles laughed.“I wonder if he ever knew who dyed all his shirts and cravats green for Saint Patrick’s Day?”
Nicholas grinned.“He knew, but he realized there’d be worse if he didn’t stop.We had quite a reputation by then.”
“So what do you want of us now?”asked Lord Middlethorpe.
Nicholas toyed with his cup for a moment, and that moment of untypical abstraction captured the attention of all at the table.“I have undertaken a task for the country,” he said at last.“The government believes there is already a plot afoot to liberate Napoleon and reestablish his empire.”
There were exclamations of horror and disbelief from the group.“Damn it to hell,” exclaimed Amleigh.“I’ll not stand for more of his madness!”He had served in the Peninsula before inheriting his title.
“Of course we’ll do anything to help, Nick,” said the marquess.“As one who could not go to fight, I would love a chance to strike a blow at the Corsican.”
Nicholas saw agreement around the table.“Thank you.But before you commit yourselves, I must tell you my task.It is not, in fact, a very noble business.The person most prominent in this plot appears to be a Frenchwoman called Therese Bellaire.She is an adventuress, and a very successful one.I knew her four years ago in Vienna.We were, in fact, lovers.”He continued to meet the eyes of his friends as he said, “It is my task to seduce her again and use my influence to persuade her to abandon the plot and betray the leaders.”
Silence.
Then Lord Middlethorpe spoke.“But Nick, what of your wife?”
Nicholas colored slightly and at last looked away.“She will not be the first wife to find her husband has a mistress.I hope, however, she need never know.”He faced them again.“If, as I suspect, this is all a mistake, I should be able to find that out quickly.If it is not, then I am sure I can soon persuade Therese to betray her colleagues for money, which the government is willing to provide.She is amoral.She does not know the meaning of loyalty.”
It was Sir Stephen who spoke their thoughts.“Could you not have waited the wedding until this matter was settled, Nick?”
“No,” he said flatly.“Eleanor is expecting a child.”
The resulting silence was broken again by Lord Middlethorpe, speaking gently.“What is it you want us to do, Nick?We will help in any way we can.”
The marquess added, “I don’t suppose your Frenchwoman would succumb to one of us instead?I could bear such a sacrifice…”
Nicholas smiled at that.“No, I fear not, not even to you, Luce.Though you are all welcome to try if you wish.She has apparently set up an establishment in Town, a bordello, to be precise.It is her usual way.It will be a well-run place, I assure you.She has also just taken a country villa near Aldershot, where the favored few will be entertained.I’ve received an invitation already and am off tomorrow.”
He looked around at his friends.They were regarding him with some doubt.“What I require of you first is your support for Eleanor.She knows few people in town.If you can provide escort and attendance at social events, make her known to your families, she may not notice the absence of a mere husband.If I cannot finish this business in the next few days, then I would like some of you to come with me to Therese’s establishment from time to time.You can give me moral support, and perhaps in a group my attention to the lady will not be so obvious.”
He hesitated slightly and weighed them.“Also,” he said, “if you will connive at deception, I would like to use you each as excuses for my neglect of Eleanor.If the matter drags on, we are going to have a great many bachelor evenings.”
He sat back to await their judgment.The gentlemen uneasily eyed one another and their leader.
Rolling an unwanted walnut backward and forward between his fingers, Viscount Amleigh said, “On balance, I think the Peninsula was easier than what you are doing.”
Nicholas smiled at him.“I would certainly have chosen it.”
“Unless you can complete this business very speedily,” said Lord Middlethorpe, “Eleanor cannot help but be hurt.”
Nicholas met his friend’s eyes.“The marriage is not a love match, Francis.She is a sensible woman and understands the way of the world.If there is any hurt, I will make it up to her.My main concern is that she not feel any embarrassment.I hope my behavior need not become talked of in polite society.”
Francis shook his head at this optimism, but he again offered his support and the others followed.
Nicholas smiled fully with relief.“Thank you.I know this is not at all heroic, but it is service of a kind and it will be soon over.”
Chapter 7
