Read Online His Lady Spy (The Star Elite Series) by Rebecca King - Free Book Online

and, throwing a quick warning look at Cecily, left the protection of the altar, rolling over and over across the chancel. Slamming into the wall, he pulled the trigger and watched one of the French Guards drop to the ground, blood pouring from the wound in his chest.
    Archie lifted the knife out of his belt and watched the third Guard spin on his heel and head for the main doors. The urge to go after him was so strong that he rocked on the balls of his feet with the forward momentum, only for common sense to prevail and he reluctantly turned back toward the altar. He couldn’t abandon the ladies in a blood soaked church. If the vicar or any locals were nearby, they would have heard the gunshot and would come to investigate. It went against all of his protective instincts to simply leave Cecily and Portia, to witness the macabre scene before them, and deal with angry locals, let alone their own father by themselves. 
    Pushing to his feet, Archie puffed out his cheeks and glanced at Manton’s body. Cursing fluidly, he wasn’t sure whether he should be glad that Portia was apparently such a crack shot, or intensely angry at the damage she had done. Even if he did ignore the fact that she had just killed the one man who could provide the Star Elite with valuable information they had spent months searching for, she had been lucky that she had managed to hit anything with the unfamiliar gun. At least now Archie knew that one of the financiers they had been trying to uncover was living in Tissington, and that financier was aided by the local merchants.
    “Portia?”
    His anger evaporated at the sight of her curled up on the floor with her arms around her knees. He could see her physically trembling from several feet away. The urge to gather her into his arms was strong, but he knew that she probably wouldn’t welcome him being so forward. Instead, Archie turned toward the church, shaking his head at the bloodied mess that covered the floor and the walls of the old Norman building. He briefly contemplated at least trying to clear up the mess, but there was too much blood for any of them to clean effectively. They couldn’t waste the time. Now that the Guard was on the run, he would undoubtedly head back to his base camp and report Manton’s death. Reinforcements would be sent out to capture all three of them, and seek revenge.
    Time was precious, and if Archie had any hope of getting his part of the operation wrapped up, he needed to secure the ladies somewhere safe and go hunting for French Guards.
    Turning to Cecily, he studied her pale face that was so very much like her sisters. Although deeply shaken, she was at least managing to hold on to her control – for now at least, and for that he was very grateful.
    “Here, hold this.” He held out the gun to Cecily and watched her recoil in horror. “I don’t want you to use it, just hold it and keep your eye on the doors. Tell me if anyone comes in, Cecily.” When Cecily simply stared down at the heavy object in her hand and didn’t reply, Archie sighed and grasped her shoulders, immediately loosening his hold at the feel of her delicate bones beneath his fingers. She felt so very fragile that he wondered how she had the strength to remain upright. “I need to look at your sister.” He waited and watched as Cecily seemed to jerk out of her trance and nod briefly at him. He could feel her eyes studying him as he moved around the altar and knelt beside Portia. “Watch the doors,” he growled, pointing toward the huge oak doors at the far end of the church, and the door to the vestry, waiting as Cecily seemed to give herself a mental shake before dutifully turning around.
    “Portia?” Archie said gently , easing her arms away from her knees and pushing at her shoulders in an attempt to get her to uncurl enough so he could get a good look at her. As far as his stunned memory could recall, there had only been one gunshot. He was fairly certain that she was unharmed, but