Chapter Twenty-Four
Not only hadDenise agreed to her ridiculous role as instigator, she’d roped Don into playing second fiddle. Whomever Percy unleashed the Deime siblings on, they didn’t stand a chance at composure with those two needling like it was a personal mission from the Home Office.
Which, in fact, it was.
When Percy had informed her of his visit to the Home Secretary after theirinstructionin the broom cupboard, she’d been angry, knowing the man responsible for manipulating Percy since childhood currently held the title. But if the man offered to look the other way as three of the most prestigious aristocratic families played war, she’d hold her tongue, especially if pardons would be in order.
There’d been no time last night for one last embrace or talk. Danny and her sister received their missions via Charlotte and each of them had spent the remainder of the hours in seclusion to memorize their instructions and prepare for the next day.
And there’d been no sign of Percy all day. Not at breakfast when the three women—and Don—had joined the Duke of Lux and his wife staying at Fellow Hall. Not after lunch as they sat on the veranda overlooking the parks visible on the northwestern side of the estate. And not as the afternoon sun sunk low when the group of individuals dispersed to their designated posts without a word. Small talk had been far from anyone’s mind.
Percy’s instructions to the whole group had arrived just after tea:At half past four, move to your positions.Keep focused and alert at all times.
Danny checked and rechecked her rifle in the old bell tower, theclickingsound of the gun’s reload like a shot in the prolonged silence of the day.
Danny knew the gun was for her protection. Percy never expected her to pull the trigger on another person.
She was the lookout, and her instructions were clear. Danny picked up Percy’s note to her and read the contents again, loving the tight but beautiful lines he used to write it, so different from what anyone would expect.
Raise the flag if you spot the enemy. Green from the west, red for the south, blue for the north, yellow for the east.
Watch for movement at the treeline. The enemy will wear dark clothes to blend into the vegetation. Pay attention to the wildlife.
Be safe.
Upon making her way up the stairs and into the tower, the flags, the rifle, and ammunition had been skillfully placed at each corresponding gap in the wall as if left by a corporeal ghost.
Percy had thought of everything.
Danny couldn’t stop her gaze from straying to the maze, knowing instinctively Percy would be there.
Those last two words in his note ripped at her.
“Be safe.”
He’dbe safe. He had to be. His boasting of skill and experience hadn’t been falsehoods.
But every minute watching the treeline was a minute for doubt to creep its way in.
What if this Nic was just as skilled? What if the enemy came on two fronts? What if the Merrys didn’t see her signal? What if they’d overlooked something crucial?
A sharp breeze whistled through the openings in the walls.
Flash.
Danny squinted at the woods.
Flash.
Stomach twisting, Danny let out a strangled cry as the setting sun flashed over metal in the woods to the west.
Snatching the red flag, Danny raced to the southern wall break, seeing the flash again from a different angle. She stopped.
The flash came again.
Danny hesitated. No trained gunmen would shift his weapon to catch the light.
Minding her gut, Danny used precious seconds to press her gun’s scope tight to her eye and traced the outline of something big and weighted swaying in the fading sweep of wind.
