A Spy's Honor Read Free Page A

just wanted to find my True Love and settle down to a charmed life. Now I must marry a monster. Where is Allerton when I need him?” She brought her hands to her face, exposing the bruises beginning to form on the back of her arm.
    Hot anger seared through John. He shot to his feet and paced in front of her. Allerton would have known what to do—and would have done it with confidence that his every command would be followed. Such was the life of a duke. But John’s brother was gone and would be for the next five weeks. That left him, a poor substitute. Still, he claimed the same steadfast, capable father as Allerton. Some of that blood must flow through his veins. At least that’s what his brother had muttered over and over again as he’d tried to shape John into a “more formidable man.”
    There was only one thing such a man could do when faced with a lady in distress. John secured his spectacles more firmly on his nose, took her hand, and helped her up.
    His heartbeat faltered when her gaze connected with his. He inhaled a deep breath and said on a rushed exhale, “No, my lady, you will not marry Lord Landry. You can marry me. We can head to Gretna Green this night.” He broke eye contact before adding, “I am afraid you are not getting the love match you had hoped for, but I can offer you the protection of marriage.”
    “Oh my! I never expected…” Her husky voice sent an errant thrill along his spine and drew his gaze upward. The top of her head barely reached his cravat, so she tilted her head and he was grateful to see her eyes shining with hope . “You do me a great honor. I should have known Allerton’s brother would be just as generous and noble as he.”
    Such effusions should have made him uncomfortable, but he liked how she gazed up at him with those adoring brown eyes, as if he were the most heroic man on earth.
    She grabbed his hands. “An elopement. How adventurous. And scandalous!”
    Oh Lord. Scandalous. Who knew how Allerton would react if John swept Emily’s sister off to Scotland for a clandestine wedding? Allerton’s name had once been synonymous with scandal, but now…now that he’d found a wife to love John’s brother seemed less tolerant of outrageous behavior.
    She must have noticed his frown, for she withdrew her hands from John’s. “I understand your hesitation. I can’t ask that much of you. I will just—”
    He missed the warmth, the connection, of holding her hands. The brightness left her eyes.
    An adventure? Scotland would be just the beginning; marriage to Claire would be the true adventure. An unknown future, yes, but he’d have a wife without having to suffer through an awkward courtship. A pretty wife, and one to whom he already felt more than comfortable talking.
    He grasped her hand and pulled her back toward him. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “We leave for Scotland within the hour.”
    Leaving Claire to make any arrangements she might care to, he went in search of Philip, their most discreet footman, and ordered Allerton’s third-best carriage readied. He also asked Philip to have a basket of food prepared, telling the servant he had to attend to an urgent matter at one of Allerton’s more remote estates. That fabrication should buy them a little time. And, true to his word, within an hour of proposing his rash plan, John slipped out the areaway door, valise in hand.
    He wound unobtrusively through the members of the bon ton who milled about the pavement in front of Allerton House looking for their carriages. Though they were obviously leaving the ball early, all were in such good spirits after partaking of the duke’s largesse that they paid not a whit of attention to him, a bit of luck he hoped would continue a few minutes longer.
    The carriage that awaited him was halfway down the block, behind a long line of other vehicles. He could just make out Claire in a dark cloak, hiding in the shadows of the neighboring house as planned.
    He handed