She had so many answers to that plea, none of which he would understand or believe. She almost made the mistake of telling him she would make him love her. But he was right. That was twelve-year-old Pip talking. Adult Pip had had too many dreams die of neglect to believe that kind of fairy tale.
But she didn’t want to simply give up!
“There is something else,” he said, dropping his voice so he wasn’t overheard. “We need to do it for your safety.”
She was so tempted to laugh. “Beau…”
But he wasn’t watching her. He was looking into the room the old duke had transformed into a study. Without another word, he took her arm, pulled her in and sat her down on one of the chairs.
“Did you see that a man was watching you ride today?” he asked, seating himself in the other. “A man who was definitely not part of the house party?”
She blinked. “No. Why?”
He leaned forward, elbows on knees. “He was focused on you; nobody else. What if someone believes you are important to me? What if they think they can get to me through you?”
She scowled at him. “It didn’t occur to you he might have simply thought I look quite attractive on a horse? I do, you know.”
He was not about to be pacified. “That was not the type of attention he was paying.”
“Might you be a victim of an overactive protective instinct? They don’t even know you’re a Rake. We fooled them.”
“Are you sure? From what I’ve heard, I missed quite a melee here with your brother hauling away not only spies, but several others, including the young duke. And yet, at least Burke, Pamela and evidently Thomas are still lingering. Why would that be?”
“The message.” Even before she said it, she saw the flaw. “But they have that. At least they think they do.”
She had no other answer. All she knew was that she had begun to hope that maybe she could find a place of amity with her husband, a slow beginning that could eventually bear fruit. All she knew was that she didn’t want to hear that her marriage was once again some kind of leverage that in the end would destroy her, no matter how it turned out. All she knew was that she was so tired of being tossed around like a shuttlecock. She wanted some peace. She wanted a home that was hers. She wanted…
She looked at the expression on Beau’s face and knew it was pointless to want even that much. At least right now.
“I wasn’t even going to tell you this much,” he said, looking sincerely sorry. “But you will not listen. There is a plot to assassinate every person between Princess Charlotte and the throne, and if you do not take this seriously, we won’t have the chance to stop it.”
“And if you had shared any of this a bit earlier,” she said as calmly as she could, her hands fisted and her chest burning with frustration and grief, “I might have better understood. As it is, we should hope that no one in this house is disloyal, or you have given us all away.”
“I had to take the chance. This is not a game, Pip. There is a lot at stake.”
“So, you are saying that in order to protect me by making it seem we are not…content together, we need to maintain a certain distance at least until we get to London.”
He sighed, she thought with relief. “Yes. Exactly.”
She nodded, still wondering if this was simply a ruse by Beau to keep her at arm’s length. But he was right. If there really was a man, and he was really situated to assess Beau’s vulnerability, then the last thing she wanted to do was put Beau in danger. More danger.
“Fine,” she said, standing back up. “We shall play your game. I shall do everything I can to put a distance between the two of us for now, although I demand the right to change your mind once we’re out of this mess. But for now, I imagine that means that I will prepare for dinner in my room. If you would like to use the bathing room, please do. There are several rooms you can use to sleep that are not mine. After everything, I find myself disinterested in giving up the bed. And you evidently have no interest in sharing it.”
And without another word, she whirled around and stalked across the hall into her own room. She had just taken hold of the latch when she heard Beau follow her.
“One more thing, Pip,” he said, and he was using what Theo used to call his voice of authority.
She stopped but didn’t turn.
“You must promise me that you won’t go looking for trouble. You will stay out of this investigation.”
She took a breath. “You should have included that in the wedding vows.”
“I mean it, Pip. I cannot concentrate if I’m constantly worried about you rushing off into disaster because you think you’re involved in one of Theo’s games.”
“One of these days, Beau,” she said without turning, “you are going to learn how to say ‘thank you for your help, Pip.’”
“I mean it. We won’t be so lucky next time.”
