Page 40 of Scandalous: Family Ties and Spies

“Aye, Constance is right, lass. It will all work out well in the end,” Aunt Matilda said in a comforting voice as she rose from her seat on the couch to hurry toward her niece. “It will simply take the two of them time to see it for themselves.”

The instant the family matriarch enveloped Patience in a warm, loving hug, it was as if she were a child again with her aunt reassuring her everything would be all right.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Are the lot of you as blind as Val?” Louisa sniffed with annoyed disgust. “The man is already smitten with her. Am I the only one who knows my niece will have Val wrapped around her finger before the man even knows what’s happening?”

Blinking back tears, Patience met Louisa’s confident gaze, then choked out a laugh as her sister arched her eyebrows, silently daring Patience to question her prediction. With a nod, Patience wiped away a tear that had escaped and rolled down her cheek.

“No, you’re right,” she said as her sister tried to shore up her confidence. “I’ve never seen Amalie fail to accomplish something whenever she sets her mind to it.”

“And I shall be sure to remind you of it when I’m proven correct.”

Louisa tossed her head with sisterly disgust that anyone should doubt her. Patience released another soft laugh. In that instant, her brother’s tall figure suddenly materialize behind their youngest sister. Caleb shimmered in the light as he grinned broadly at Patience.

Her heart skipped a beat as a few seconds later her brother’s form faded and vanished. Louisa’s smile was just as bright as Caleb’s had been as the youngest Rockwood met her gaze. Their expressions eased some of Patience’s doubt and fear. She could only pray her siblings reassurances were a sign she’d interpreted the an dara sealladh correctly.

Julian’s fierce objections when she’d adamantly insisted he order their daughter to marry Val had been one of the worst arguments they’d ever had. Perhaps even worse than when she’d returned to Crianlarich Castle so badly scarred after the fire that had taken Caleb. God help her if she was wrong. Julian and Amalie would never forgive her.

Chapter 12

Married. Have you taken leave of your senses, Sommerville?”

Sir Mansfield Cumming’s hands slapped down on the flat surface of his desk with a loud crack as he sprang to his feet. The head of the Crown’s Foreign Section of the Secret Intelligence Service was leaning almost halfway over his desk in an aggressive posture.

This was not a small achievement given Cumming’s short, stout figure, but it emphasized his displeasure exceptionally well. C, as he was more popularly referred to, was unhappy with him, but it wasn’t to the level Valeran had expected. A fact for which he was grateful.

“I can assure you, I’m quite sane, sir.”

“Well, I don’t see how when you come in here and announce you’re to be married,” his superior snapped fiercely. “Who is she? And don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love in the space of a week. I know better than that Sommerville.”

“The future Countess of Sommerville is Miss Amalie Rockwood, and it is a matter of honor.”

“Honor? The devil take it, man, what does honor have—” C straightened upright in a sharp movement, and Valeran struggled not to wince as the man’s shadow became a ramrod straight figure. “Good God. Is she with child?”

“No, we were found in…in a compromising situation.”

Valeran’s body tensed at his reply. That wasn’t entirely true. If Crianlarich had not pounded on his door two nights ago, he could have easily sired a child. He’d lost his head, which was why they’d been caught. If he had simply let her flee, he wouldn’t be having this conversation with the stout naval commander.

“Comp—you? Impossible. You have an innate skill for avoiding the marriage trap, man.”

“I have no explanation, but Amalie’s reputation and my honor must be protected.”

“Wait. Rockwood? She’s one of the Rockwoods?” C’s question made Valeran hesitate a brief moment before he answered.

“Yes.” At Valeran’s quiet reply, C went rigid again.

“Christ Jesus. If she’s anything like Westbury and her other three cousins, you’ll find it tricky as hell to keep your activity a secret from her.”

“Westbury and I have already discussed the matter. He’s of the opinion I need to take Amalie into my confidence.”

“Then Westbury needs his head examined,” C snapped with an unusual amount of ferocity. “There are few women in the world capable of keeping secrets.”

“I believe Amalie is one of those exceptions.”

While Valeran preferred to keep Amalie in the dark about his work, he knew the future Countess of Sommerville excelled at keeping secrets. For two years, Amalie had hidden in the shadows better than a small country mouse hiding from the household cat. While his eyesight was limited to shadowy shapes, his acute hearing and other senses compensated for things he couldn’t see. It was what made Amalie’s achievement so remarkable.

If she’d been a man, C would be chafing at the bit to acquire her skill at blending into the background. The thought caused a memory to dance on the edge of his consciousness, but he couldn’t bring it out of the dark. Sir Cummings’s hand cracking against his desk made Valeran jump in surprise.

“Are you listening to me, Sommerville?” C’s belligerent tone made Valeran clear his throat, hedging his response.