“You shouldn’t,” she argued. She wouldn’t.
To her surprise, he laughed.
“This is not humorous,” she returned.
He walked up to her. “I’m not laughing out of humor. I’m laughing because you are so concerned and you needn’t be.”
“I beg to differ, Your Grace,” she answered tartly. “I feel like I am caught in a difficult position.”
“And you are, my dear Sarah, and for that I am heartily sorry. I do not know why Talbert would wish to betray me. However, of late, I have noticed he has been less than satisfied with his position on my staff. He is an ambitious man. I must ask myself, who benefits from my disgrace?”
“Not him,” she said.
“And not you. However, Rovington could use all of this to his advantage. He knows I will see him removed as the Chairman of the Committees. I put him there and I can take him away. He would do anything to usurp my power.”
“So, you are saying that Talbert might be doing Lord Rovington’s bidding?”
“And using you. Tell me the conversation when Talbert asked you to drug me.” He pulled a chair out for Sarah and then took one for himself.
As she recalled the exchange with Mr. Talbert the best she could, Gavin listened intently. When she was done, he sat for a moment and then said, “Of course, I will stay here for the night,” he said. “Let them believe you drugged me.”
“But you will meet Rovington in the morning.”
“Undoubtedly.”
Sarah heard the steel in his voice and she wished she could dissuade him. “Men who use trickery cannot be expected to fight fair.”
“Is that Shakespeare?” he asked, teasing her.
“No, it is what I’ve learned through a life of hard living. You have power. Go to some authority. I will testify what Mr. Talbert asked me to do.”
“Talbert is only a small part of this. Rovington is the betrayer. But he has been clever, using people around me as a boundary between the deed and his manipulation. I will not let him escape, not without exacting a price.”
“Will you kill him?”
The duke appeared surprised by her question, and then answered, “I don’t know.”
“Don’t let him kill you,” she begged, suddenly frightened of the prospect.
“I won’t, Sarah.” He smiled. “Now, the hour is late. Go to bed. Go on now,” he prodded as if she was a child.
“Are you coming?”
“I have a few things to write,” he replied and crossed over to the portable desk he’d given her. He pulled out paper and pen.
“Last instructions?”
“It would be wise, although my affairs are always in order. A few last thoughts. I would also document our discussion this evening.”
Sarah wanted to pretend that it wasn’t necessary, that the whole situation was something that could be ignored. However, the way Gavin sat down at the desk and started writing told her that it would not be.
She went into the bedroom and undressed, feeling as if she was in a dream. She climbed beneath the sheets naked. She rolled on her side and watched through the door as Baynton wrote.
Would he join her?
What would she do if he did?
She could still taste the heat of the kisses they had shared that evening . . . and she knew that when he joined her, she would give him what he asked. Her stomach hollowed in fear, but it was not as great as it had been. She knew she could be calm. This was their bargain. She not only owed it to Gavin, she wanted to please him. She waited for him to come to her.
