Read Online Surrender to the Fury by Connie Mason - Free Book Online
Authors: Connie Mason
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you in any way?”
“No, they’ve not touched me. I’m in no danger as long as I abide by Captain Drummond’s rules.”
Gar nodded, apparently satisfied. “I need your help, Aimee. I desperately need to know what those dispatches the messenger delivered yesterday contained, and there is no way I can get inside the house without being caught. It’s essential to the Confederacy that I learn the enemy’s next move in the area. I have reason to believe that dispatches inside that pouch reveal the exact location of the North’s next target.”
Aimee didn’t need an interpreter to know exactly what Gar was asking of her. “You want me to spy?”
“I’m asking you to do whatever is necessary to get that vital information to me. You’re a beautiful woman, Aimee,” he hinted crudely. “You should have little problem finding out what I need to know.”
Aimee paused. Was he asking what she thought he was asking? “Just how far am I expected to go in order to get this information?”
Gar looked at her squarely, stripping her of everything but her pride. “I think you get the picture, Aimee. Do you think Beau would fault you if he knew how desperately the South needs your help? I don’t care how you come by the information, I’m just telling you that without it, the war is as good as lost. You’ve been married; you know about men and how easy it is to beguile them.”
Privately Aimee thought the Confederacy was headed toward defeat, but being as patriotic as the next person, she refrained from voicing her opinion. Perhaps Gar was right. Perhaps the dispatches Nick received would help the South win an important battle. But she had no intention of doing as Gar suggested in order to get that information. She hesitated so long that Gar began to fidget nervously. Fearing capture, he dared not linger in the area longer than necessary.
“Well, Aimee, will you help us? Or will you let Beau’s death go unavenged? It’s within your power to make a big difference in the course of the war.”
With that, Aimee felt she could hardly refuse. “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything,” she said hesitantly.
Gar’s lips curled in a slow smile. “I knew you’d see things my way. After all this nasty business is over … well, you always knew you occupied a tender place in my heart. I was Beau’s best friend, and I’ll take care of you like Beau would have wanted me to.”
Aimee had no illusions about Gar’s halfhearted promise. “Gar, I’ll help if I can, but—”
“Meet me here in one week, Aimee. At midnight. I’ll be waiting. If you can’t bring me thecontents of the pouch, then at least read the dispatches and memorize their contents as well as any others that arrive for Drummond.”
“I’ll try, Gar, but …” Her sentence trailed off as Gar turned abruptly and disappeared into the dappled shadows of the forest. “Gar, wait!” But it was too late. He must have tethered his mount nearby, for she heard the horse prancing in the underbrush. Then absolute silence followed as they rode out of earshot.
Never had Aimee been so troubled. She was basically an honest person; spying went against everything she’d ever been taught. Yet Gar made it sound as if the future of the South depended upon the information in the dispatches Nick received. He had boldly intimated that she should do anything inside or outside the bounds of propriety to obtain that information. Her head spinning with terrifying visions of what Nick would do to her if he caught her spying, Aimee slowly made her way out of the woods. She had just stepped into the clearing when a lone horseman rode straight for her, hell for leather.
She tried to flee back into the protection of the forest, but the madman was off his horse and upon her before she could find a hiding place. “What in the hell are you doing out here when I specifically forbade you from leaving the yard?”
“I—I thought you were gone.”
Nick bent her a disgruntled
“No, they’ve not touched me. I’m in no danger as long as I abide by Captain Drummond’s rules.”
Gar nodded, apparently satisfied. “I need your help, Aimee. I desperately need to know what those dispatches the messenger delivered yesterday contained, and there is no way I can get inside the house without being caught. It’s essential to the Confederacy that I learn the enemy’s next move in the area. I have reason to believe that dispatches inside that pouch reveal the exact location of the North’s next target.”
Aimee didn’t need an interpreter to know exactly what Gar was asking of her. “You want me to spy?”
“I’m asking you to do whatever is necessary to get that vital information to me. You’re a beautiful woman, Aimee,” he hinted crudely. “You should have little problem finding out what I need to know.”
Aimee paused. Was he asking what she thought he was asking? “Just how far am I expected to go in order to get this information?”
Gar looked at her squarely, stripping her of everything but her pride. “I think you get the picture, Aimee. Do you think Beau would fault you if he knew how desperately the South needs your help? I don’t care how you come by the information, I’m just telling you that without it, the war is as good as lost. You’ve been married; you know about men and how easy it is to beguile them.”
Privately Aimee thought the Confederacy was headed toward defeat, but being as patriotic as the next person, she refrained from voicing her opinion. Perhaps Gar was right. Perhaps the dispatches Nick received would help the South win an important battle. But she had no intention of doing as Gar suggested in order to get that information. She hesitated so long that Gar began to fidget nervously. Fearing capture, he dared not linger in the area longer than necessary.
“Well, Aimee, will you help us? Or will you let Beau’s death go unavenged? It’s within your power to make a big difference in the course of the war.”
With that, Aimee felt she could hardly refuse. “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything,” she said hesitantly.
Gar’s lips curled in a slow smile. “I knew you’d see things my way. After all this nasty business is over … well, you always knew you occupied a tender place in my heart. I was Beau’s best friend, and I’ll take care of you like Beau would have wanted me to.”
Aimee had no illusions about Gar’s halfhearted promise. “Gar, I’ll help if I can, but—”
“Meet me here in one week, Aimee. At midnight. I’ll be waiting. If you can’t bring me thecontents of the pouch, then at least read the dispatches and memorize their contents as well as any others that arrive for Drummond.”
“I’ll try, Gar, but …” Her sentence trailed off as Gar turned abruptly and disappeared into the dappled shadows of the forest. “Gar, wait!” But it was too late. He must have tethered his mount nearby, for she heard the horse prancing in the underbrush. Then absolute silence followed as they rode out of earshot.
Never had Aimee been so troubled. She was basically an honest person; spying went against everything she’d ever been taught. Yet Gar made it sound as if the future of the South depended upon the information in the dispatches Nick received. He had boldly intimated that she should do anything inside or outside the bounds of propriety to obtain that information. Her head spinning with terrifying visions of what Nick would do to her if he caught her spying, Aimee slowly made her way out of the woods. She had just stepped into the clearing when a lone horseman rode straight for her, hell for leather.
She tried to flee back into the protection of the forest, but the madman was off his horse and upon her before she could find a hiding place. “What in the hell are you doing out here when I specifically forbade you from leaving the yard?”
“I—I thought you were gone.”
Nick bent her a disgruntled
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