James let out a slow breath. “This may take some time.” Together, he and Kate laid out the mystery in the library, the narrow escape in Dover, and their clandestine ties to Westmarch and the Home Office.
Hugh rose carefully from the sofa and moved toward them. For once, he seemed to have no ready jest. “You mean to tell me that you are both . . . spies?”
Kate lifted her chin. “Yes. That is precisely what we are telling you.”
Hugh’s expression was visibly unsettled. “Why are you sharing this with me now?”
James spared him any further confusion. “Because agents are expected to keep silent about their involvement until Westmarch decides otherwise. And apparently, he has. The three of us are to work together.”
Hugh smiled, then sobered. “Gads, I am relieved that he told you about my work as an agent. I have wanted to tell you for months. Though I am not comfortable with the notion of Kate being involved in all of this.”
James’s patience thinned. “Then perhaps you should explain how Kate came to have the note from your saddlebags.”
Hugh’s face paled. “You mean you opened it?”
Kate’s brows rose. “You asked me to see to your saddlebags, then looked at me as though the fate of England depended upon it. What else was I to think?”
“Kate.” Hugh’s voice roughened. “I am sorry. Truly. I never meant for you to be pulled into any of this. I am not experienced with all of this yet, and I was so blasted afraid a servant would find the paper that I did not think clearly. I meant for you to keep the bags out of sight. That was all. I should have warned you. I should have trusted you.”
Hugh’s mouth tightened. “There is more I need to tell you. Before James left Brenton Hall to propose to you, I asked him to watch over you.”
Kate’s gaze sharpened. “You asked him to dowhat?”
“I thought I was merely being a protective brother,” Hugh said. “Since I undertook this business with Westmarch last year, I find myself imagining peril at every turn, and you seemed troubled in recent weeks. I told myself it was nothing, but I did not believe there would be any harm in asking James to keep a sharp lookout.”
“I am not certain if I should be resentful or grateful.”
Hugh winced. “Both would be entirely fair.”
“I was out of sorts when I learned you were an agent and had not trusted me with the truth,” Kate said, her voice softening. “But I was keeping secrets of my own, after all. And after the note sent me into Lord Wycliff’s library during a ball, I consider you in my debt and fully plan on collecting when convenient.”
“I believed I was protecting you by saying nothing.”
Kate’s mouth curved, but there was no humor in it. “That seems to be a common affliction among the men of my acquaintance.”
“I worry about you being part of this. This work leads to ugly places.”
James stepped toward Hugh, clasping his friend’s shoulder. “You may not have known about Raven, but you know your sister. You know her mind, her courage, and her habit of running directly toward the thing everyone else would avoid.”
Hugh gave a reluctant nod.
“So do I.” The promise settled in James before he spoke it. “And I give you my word, if Kate’s own brilliance is ever not enough to keep her from harm, I shall be standing beside her.”
Hugh went still as understanding dawned. “So it’s like that now between you?”
James could not help glancing over at Kate. The warmth in his chest sharpened into something fierce. He wished they were alone so he could show her just how much it was “like that” for him.
“Yes,” James said, unable to keep the tenderness from his voice. “Yes, it is.”
Hugh let out a sudden laugh. “Finally. I was beginning to fear the two of you would never realize how perfectly matched you are.”
“Do not go announcing anything to the families yet,” James said.
Kate’s smile softened. “Not until after the ball.”
Hugh’s amusement faded into confusion. “Why would you wait?”
“There is more you need to know,” James said, and the levity in the room vanished as he and Kate relayed what Westmarch had revealed about the charity ball and precisely how high the stakes had become.
