Read Online Lord Buckingham’s Bride by Sandra Heath - Free Book Online

so-handsome Lord Buckingham?
    He exhaled slowly, for it was almost as if he could touch her now, the memory of her was so real. The scent of lavender had clung to her – such an English scent, at once sweet and piquant, fresh and heady – and her skin had been so flawless, pale, clear, without blemish. He sat forward suddenly, taking up two dice and shaking them for a moment before tossing them down. When they stopped rolling, he gave a low, satisfied laugh. Double six. Luck was with him.
    A door opened and closed somewhere nearby and footsteps approached. They were the steps of a man wearing spurred military boots, and Nikolai looked up with a smile as he saw the slight uniformed figure and almost feline face of one of his fellow officers.
    â€˜Ah, Sergei Mikhailovich, my good and trusted friend, how very agreeable it is to see you this morning,’ he murmured, his dark eyes shining with satisfaction, for Sergei Mikhailovich Golitsin was the very person he had chosen for certain tasks.
    The other paused warily, for it wasn’t like Nikolai to utter such an effusive and warm greeting. Sergei was a slender young man with brown hair and almond eyes that told of Tatar blood, and he was looking a little the worse for wear after a long night of drinking and making love. ‘Good morning, sir,’ he said carefully, for one could never be sure if one was Prince Naryshky’s friend or his social and military inferior.
    Nikolai gestured toward a chair. ‘What’s this “sir” business? Aren’t we old friends?’
    â€˜I am a mere lieutenant, whereas you—’
    â€˜This morning we are friends, Sergei.’
    Slowly Sergei took the proffered seat. ‘What is it you want of me?’ he asked, reaching for an almost empty bottle of schnapps and pouring the clear liquid into a glass.
    â€˜We can be of assistance to each other, my friend,’ replied Nikolai. ‘I happen to hold a considerable number of your IOUs, do I not?’
    â€˜You do.’
    â€˜And if I were to call them all in at once, you would be in some difficulties?’
    Sergei’s almond eyes became alarmed. ‘I’d be ruined, and you know it,’ he said quickly, draining the glass.
    â€˜What would you say if I offered to tear them up and forget them?’
    â€˜I’d say that you wanted something important from me,’ replied the other frankly.
    â€˜And you’d be right. Sergei, I want you to return to St Petersburg on the Pavlovsk , which sails on the midday tide, and I want you to observe very closely the two English guests staying here tonight. I want to know if they are indeed the lovers they claim to be, and so I want you to search their cabins for anything that might confirm their story, letters, mementos, miniatures, locks of hair, anything at all, and if you suspect that there is anything suspicious, I wish you to inform the overseer at my summer palace.’ Nikolai sat forward. ‘Before you leave here, I will give you two letters, one for the Countess Irina, and the other for Bragin, instructing him what action to take on my behalf. Have I made myself clear?’
    Sergei nodded. It was very clear indeed, for the overseer at Naryshky Palace on the coast near St Petersburg was Nikolai’s henchman  devious, ruthless, and utterly reliable. He had disposed of his master’s enemies and unwanted troublemakers in the past, and they had vanished without a trace.
    Nikolai’s dark eyes held his gaze. ‘Don’t fail me in this, Sergei, or it will be the worst for you, of that you may be sure. Serve me well and your IOUs will be thrown on the fire.’
    â€˜I won’t fail you.’
    Nikolai leaned back in his chair again. ‘There is just one thing more,’ he murmured softly. ‘Whether or not you find anything untoward concerning Miss Clearwell and her lord, I wish you to follow her in St Petersburg and seize the first opportunity to