Page 62 of Captivating the Earl (Lords and Ladies in Love 5)

Cam’s eyebrows rose. “You mean I left the two of you alone for three days and you spent the time drawing? Not well done, Hawk.” He grinned.

“Not at all.” Hawk placed his hand over Lizzie’s and squeezed. “Rest assured we found other ways to occupy our time.”

Lizzie blushed a deep red, as images of the various places and times of day and night she and Hawk had “otherwise occupied their time” flooded her mind. In fact, in the very room they sat in, on the table where they ate breakfast, on the floor in front of the fireplace, and up against the wall. She remembered that one with fondness. She’d been quite enthusiastic that time, and Hawk’s shoulder still bore the bite marks.

She glanced sideways at Hawk who smirked, most likely recalling the same. She grinned back.

Cam rolled his eyes and shook his head, pushing his coffee cup away. “All right, children, let’s get back to work, and discuss your plan. As much as I would like to stay and see this through with you, I received a summons this morning from one of my estates in Scotland to retrieve a package of great importance as soon as possible. No other information, just the necessity for me to arrive post-haste.”

“That is rather odd,” Hawk said.

“Indeed, and quite bothersome. I do not like being ordered about, but if this has to do with one of my estates, I best deal with it. I have found that leaving loose ends dangling in the wind often turns into major problems.”

Hawk leaned back and crossed his arms. “We wait until dark. Either tonight or tomorrow would be best because there will be a full moon. We can’t take the chance of lighting a candle in the house should someone passing by notice it and summon the Watch.”

Cam nodded. “Then what? The Home Office directed you to bring your wife in. I imagine that request still holds?”

“No matter. That will not happen. I won’t bring Lizzie anywhere near the Home Office until the person wishing her dead is caught and in prison.”

“It sounds like you have it all planned out. I hope your trip to the townhouse brings results. I can imagine how frightening it is for the two of you.” Cam took one final gulp of his coffee and stood. “I will be in my library finishing up a few items to prepare for my trip.”

…

The next evening with the sky clear and a full moon casting the night into a silvery glow, Hawk took Lizzie’s hand as they left through the back door of Cam’s townhouse. They were both dressed all in black, with Lizzie wearing breeches and a man’s cap pulled low on her head. He had decided a walk to the townhouse would garner less notice than arriving in a hackney. Tucked safely into his jacket pocket were the drawings of the layout of the house.

So much depended on uncovering evidence that the person anxious enough to send a killer after Lizzie believed to be in her possession. Once they had that in hand, he would present it to the Home Secretary. Then he and Lizzie could get on with their lives.

As they walked stealthily along the pavement through Mayfair, keeping close to the shadows, Hawk pondered that thought. When he’d gone to Wycliff Manor, the last thing on his mind had been marriage.

He’d already developed a fancy for the governess before he’d learned who she was. Her high spirits and bit of devilish demeanor had drawn him in. She was quite different from other young ladies of the ton, which was most likely why she’d survived her father’s betrayal and made a new life for herself. She was a strong woman, one to be admired and respected.

Now that they’d been alone together for days, and especially after the taste he had of her in his bed—and everywhere else in the house—he was quite pleased with his decision to marry.

The cloud of despondency that had hung over him for the past year had slowly disappeared. For the first time in many months he embraced hope. Anxious to see what changes his new life would bring him. With his countess by his side.

They were well suited in many ways. He’d been surprised and delighted at how receptive she had been in the bedchamber. So far nothing he’d introduced to her had shocked or upset her. It was most likely due to her not having a mother to terrify her about the marriage bed, as so many ladies of the ton did to their daughters. He looked forward to many years of discovering new and interesting ways to pleasure each other.

Another point in her favor was despite the scandal caused by her father, she had been raised to be a nobleman’s wife. She was gracious, charming, well-educated in the necessary skills, and would make an excellent hostess for him, and a mother to their children. Yes, things had worked out very well.

In the quiet of the night, Hawk realized Lizzie was panting alongside him. He’d been caught up in his thoughts, almost forgetting she was with him, and striding along at his usual pace. The poor girl was having a hard time keeping up with him. He immediately slowed down.

“Is something wrong?” Lizzie asked.

“No. I just realized you are having some difficulty matching my stride. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “No, I prefer to hurry along. I want to get this over with.” She shivered.

“Are you chilled?”

“No.”

He wrapped his arm around her and drew her next to his body. “Fear not, wife of mine, this will be over soon.”

“One can only hope.”

…

One can only hope.