Read Online The Ambitious Orphan by Amelia Price - Free Book Online Page A

and nodded at
Mycroft.
    “Good morning, Mr
Holmes. Would you please come with me? You're wanted at the palace,
sir.”
    “Of course, Mr
Newton. As always, I am at her majesty's command.” Mycroft added a
fake smile to his words and the driver opened the door for him.
    Before he even sat
down, he took in the unexpected presence of Amelia sitting on the
other side of the car. She gave him a brief smile.
    “I've been
summoned as well, for some reason,” she said, the apology evident
in her voice. It was obvious why, but he wasn't about to tell
her.
    They had realised
she hadn't yet become an agent, and neither he nor his brother had
declared themselves engaged. If there were any other reasons than
this, they would be secondary.
    For a few seconds,
he considered telling Amelia that she should turn down the offer to
become an agent, but the driver never gave them the privacy, and
even if he had, Mycroft felt confident that she'd know it wasn't
something he wanted.
    As soon as it was
mentioned to her she should realise Mycroft had deliberately kept
the offer from her. It wasn't something he approved of.
    “Where are we?”
she asked as the car pulled up to the security hut at the barriers
on and off the military site.
    “A small military
facility west of London. You'll forget you were here,” Mycroft
replied.
    “As you wish, but
is this where you brought Nesterov after last night?”
    He nodded,
ignoring the break in her voice as she said the Russian's name.
    “I never got a
chance to thank the agents who provided their assistance last
night. Could you thank them for me?” she said a few seconds later.
As he glanced at her he saw the immense gratitude in her eyes. He
nodded.
    Both the agents
who'd arrived with Nesterov had been debriefed, so he was fully
aware of what had happened the night before. The bravery she'd
displayed and forethought to follow the men into the house in case
other Russians lingered outside had pleased him.
    “Did you sleep
well?” he asked, deciding to reward her act of courage by showing
at least a small amount of concern.
    “Not really. Once
Tom left, I tried, but I woke every hour or so.” As she said this
Mycroft studied her face. In the low-light of the car interior the
tell-tale signs of tiredness were mostly masked, but on close
examination he could still see a little darkness under her eyes and
a slowness to her movements. She was exhausted.
    “You don't have to
stay there again if you don't wish. At least, not yet, but it
wouldn't be wise to leave it too long before you try again.”
    “I know. I was
planning on trying again in another week. Once some of the mess has
been cleared up and some furniture has been replaced.”
    He nodded, pleased
she'd thought over some kind of recovery plan. Fear was always
worse the longer it was left, if it got the better of you once. You
had to keep tackling it until it was gone or you were resilient
enough to its effects that it didn't matter anymore.
    They slipped into
a companionable silence for the rest of the hour and seventeen
minutes that the driver took to get them to Buckingham Palace. As
they got close, he stole another glance at Amelia. Her eyes were
wide and her mouth was in danger of falling open as they pulled up
in the courtyard.
    By the time they
both stood outside she'd composed herself well enough that few
people would notice her wonder at the surroundings. It was a good
attitude to have. The palace was a dangerous place to show your
true emotions.
    They were led
inside and towards the sitting room Mycroft had occupied the last
time he was there. To help avoid a social faux pas on Amelia's
part, he waited for her to sit and then joined her on the sofa she
chose. If she'd chosen a different one to him it would have left
nowhere for the butler to sit and still follow the palace
etiquette.
    Despite there
being two of them waiting, the butler didn't appear swiftly.
Fifteen minutes after they arrived, they were still sitting, far
too