Read Online Reckless in Pink by Lynne Connolly - Free Book Online Page A

hand. When that didn’t work, he yelled, “Quiet!” in a tone so stentorian it would have stopped the whole of the House of Lords in its tracks.
    It took her brothers a minute to wind down, but eventually silence fell.
    “Since she’s here, Claudia may as well have a say. You are feeling well enough, my dear?”
    His solicitous smile fooled nobody, least of all Claudia. She had not been ill, and her stomach pains of last night mere fabrication. She prayed he wouldn’t discover where she’d really been.
    Tension tightened her stomach. Would Dominic tell them about her escapade? She glanced at him. He sent her a reassuring smile that told her nothing. She was in his hands, if not literally, figuratively. He could ruin her chances of being treated as an adult.
    “I had the carriage drive past the house yesterday,” she said. “It’s a modest establishment.” She sighed. “I fear I couldn’t live there. I could rent it out.”
    Her father shoved some papers across the scarred surface of the desk. “Read those while I ascertain why Lord St. Just saw fit to visit us this morning.”
    “It’s about the house,” he said, “or I wouldn’t have intruded.”
    Claudia picked up the first paper. Her hand trembled. Would he tell them? “I wouldn’t have thought such a modest establishment would interest you, my lord.”
    If he detected the warning in her tone, he ignored it. “I think the information you have will explain my presence here.”
    It would. Silently she handed him the first paper while she read the next one. The note informed Lord Strenshall that the suspicious activity concerning the house in Hart Street was confirmed. That was all. The second sheet was damning. It recorded the activities of one CJES, who could be none other than Charles James Edward Stuart on his visit to London two years ago. The address in Hart Street featured three times.
    “Explain.” Lord Strenshall leaned back in the chair.
    Marcus leaned against the bookcase behind him, while Val and Darius stood to one side.
    Sometimes she hated that her family members were all so damned intelligent. She could never slip any subterfuge past them, although she’d tried often enough.
    Dominic still stood close to her. He took the second document when she gave it to him.
    Claudia took her time reading all six documents. They told a similar story. The house was a place where known Jacobites met. The authorities were leaving it alone because it was a useful fount of knowledge. They had not tried to infiltrate it or let the occupants know that they knew about it. But it had been a hotbed of sedition for at least five years.
    Now it belonged to Claudia.
    Dominic dropped the papers back on the desk. “I’m working for the government,” he said.
    “Does that mean you’ll report anything we decide back to your masters?” Val shoved a hand into the pocket of his dark brown coat.
    Dominic showed no alarm, even though Val could have his hand wrapped around a weapon. He put one hand on the back of her chair, as if protecting her. The gesture made her feel absurdly safe.
    Today Dominic was all dandy, but she didn’t assume his foppishness was anything but faked. Perhaps he was a little less primped than he’d been the other day, his clothes less gaudy, maroon rather than crimson, buff rather than blinding white. He smelled the same, of citrus and clean male virility, reminding her vividly of what must lie beneath the clothes. He was all powerful male. She wanted him with a rawness that shocked her.
    He took his time answering Val. “Not necessarily. I don’t obey orders blindly. I never have.”
    Lord Strenshall grunted. “That must have made you an interesting soldier.”
    “At times an army needs an officer who can think for himself.”
    The pressure on her chair increased, tilting her slightly toward him. She would have gone to him, but the notion of a room full of angry males did not appeal.
    “Why are you working for the government?”