But it was already too late.
“I think I’m going to be sick—” Triana whispered miserably, abruptly wrenching free of his grasp. Stumbling to the far side of the veranda, she emptied the contents of her stomach all over the Kensingtons’ delicate rose bushes below.
It seemed an eternity passed before she finally sank down into a dejected heap. Resting her forehead on top of her bent knees, she tried to keep the smothering feelings of mortification at bay. Had she truly vomited in front ofGabriel Wilde?
Any remaining shred of pride or dignity she possessed quickly fled. She’d fantasized about this moment, wondering what it would be like to actually speak to him, only to make a complete fool out of herself when the opportunity finally arose! The urge to cry was so overwhelming that Triana felt she might have given in had not Gabriel chosen that moment to kneel down in front of her, silently extending a white handkerchief. She glanced at him curiously before accepting it with a slight hesitation. Words escaped her, although she did offer him a weak and watery smile of appreciation for the kind and rather unexpected gesture. After all, it was more than most would have done.
It made her wonder why he’d bothered.
“Feeling better?” he asked quietly, breaking the odd, but companionable silence. Triana couldn’t speak over the lump in her throat, so she simply nodded. Standing, he offered his hand to her. With shaky fingers, she accepted.
Thinking that he would quickly leave, eager to get away now that his honor had been satisfied, she was stunned when he didn’t immediately release her. Instead, he turned her hand upright. Triana tried to ignore the way her pulse leaped in wild response as he carefully peeled back the soft material of her glove. Struck immobile, she watched in rapt fascination as he gently placed a light kiss upon her bare palm, the contact causing her skin to sizzle, the sensation traveling past her midsection and lower...
Those hypnotizing, silver eyes singed her with a charming twinkle. “I would suggest limiting yourself to one glass of wine next time. It has a nasty habit of sneaking up on you unaware.” Drawing a line down her cheek with his forefinger, he added more softly, “Until we meet again, Lady Abernathy.”
Her eyes widened.He knows who I am?
She closed her eyes against the heady sensations running through her body, reopening them a scant second later — only to find that he was gone.
Blinking, she realized that she still clasped his handkerchief. Looking down, she noticed the initialsGWemblazoned in black, a sharp contrast to the brilliant white. With her fingertip, she gently traced their outline, before tucking it into her bodice and taking her leave.
Chapter Three
Gabriel remained hidden in the shadows of the veranda, watching silently as Triana slipped away. Releasing a pent up breath and smoothing out a frown he didn’t realize had appeared, the duke made his way toward the designated rendezvous point and forced himself to put those enchanting blue eyes out of his mind — and the fact that he’d been right.
She was absolutely lovely when she smiled.
Already five minutes late in meeting with his contact, promptness being a strict rule he normally adhered to, Gabriel strode stealthily through the Kensingtons’ expansive gardens, stopping only when he was well away from the manor house. Pausing, he gave a sharp whistle. Seconds afterward he heard the answering signal he’d been anticipating. Striding toward the call, he glanced once more over his shoulder to make sure he hadn’t been followed and slid deeper into the darkness.
He hadn’t taken more than a handful of steps before the bushes rustled slightly and a man appeared. Beckoning nervously to him, the hunched man whispered, “I ’ave th’ information ye wanted.”
Gabriel didn’t reply, just held out his hand into which a packet was thrust.
Perusing the material inside for a moment, he reached into his coat pocket and tossed a gold crown at the messenger. “Excellent work, as usual. I’ll be in touch.” The other man nodded, then after a quick, anxious glance around, was gone as furtively as he’d appeared.
The duke securely stuffed the missive inside his coat pocket to be thoroughly examined later, his mouth compressing into a grim line as he made his way back to the ballroom. For some reason, his contact had been more edgy than usual. While he thought it might have something to do with his own tardiness, Gabriel figured it was most likely due to the papers he now held in his possession.
Slipping back into the crowd with his usual, outward nonchalance, Gabriel felt a sharp sense of exhilaration. After all, it was the thrill of taking down a criminal that had drawn him to this life in the first place. However, he was careful not to get overconfident in his abilities because that’s how mistakes were made. And now the need for caution was higher than ever.
Smuggling was becoming a real problem in England.
With the strain of the ongoing war in France, combined with the recent unrest in America over trading in Europe, things had become difficult for the Regent. Not only had he had to assume power the year before following the king’s latest malady over the death of his youngest daughter, Princess Amelia, but Prinny was also in constant negotiations with the Jiaqing Emperor in China to halt any further opium deliveries from the East India Company due to the country’s growing number of addicts.
England could easily see a financial burden if things didn’t improve — and quickly. Bow Street was on constant patrol, but spies and enemies were continually on the move, exchanging prisoners of war and guineas for illegal exports. At least now, with the secret agreements of England, Russia, and Sweden in place against Napoleon, it was one less thing the Regent had to worry about.
But since the smuggling issues had to be addressed, he’d put his best men on the line, a handful of highly trained spies, and the biggest secret of the Home Office where only a select, trusted few even knew of their existence.
For the past month, Gabriel had been undercover in the Seven Dials district, searching for clues as to who might be leading the largest profitable, underground operation. Having succeeded without a single lead thus far, fate decided to intervene one night at a rundown tavern. There, he overheard a hushed conversation between two men, both of whom were known to have quite a lengthy, criminal history. While he wouldn’t have given much thought about this particular scenario, it was a name they mentioned that had given him pause. A name he wouldn’t normally have connected to such shady characters — without good reason.
Cordelia Westchester, the Marchioness of Worthington.
Two days later, Gabriel received the news that his father had perished and he was now the fifth Duke of Chiltern.
As he decided that it was in the best interest of the investigation for him to return to society at that point, in order to gain further insight into the marchioness, his usual disguise of a street ruffian in torn breeches and stained shirts had been swiftly replaced with starched cravats and shining Hessians. Having sworn off ever returning to such an empty life years earlier, he wasn’t particularly thrilled with this specific turn of events, but he had to grudgingly admit that his sudden resurgence would likely cause the fewest questions, so he’d reluctantly agreed to take his rightful place among the viper pit. Thus far, nothing else of import had materialized.
While Gabriel and his cohorts had uncovered scraps of information here and there, it still wasn’t the big breakthrough they were looking for. But tonight...with this packet, he might just be holding the key to ending it all. At least he hoped so, for Gabriel found his patience was growing thin. He’d rifled through Cordelia’s townhouse several times and come up empty handed, so she was a dead end as far as he was concerned and frankly, he was tired of playing the besotted suitor. Although Gabriel was the first to admit he’d resorted to any number of skills in the past to gain the advantage over a suspect, he’d never entered into an illicit affair with a suspected criminal, and there was no doubt in his mind that Cordelia was hiding something, although until he could prove her involvement, he had to rely on his instincts.
Then again, if it did come to a meaningless toss in the sheets, he would do what he had to do, although he would much rather be forced to seduce Triana Abernathy…
