Page 31 of After the Spy Seduces

“You truly had no idea that your son’s been missing?” Kit pulled the stopper from the decanter of whisky and splashed the golden liquid into two crystal tumblers. “Or that the French want your diary?”

And wanted it badly enough to threaten Diana’s life.

At that dark thought, Kit glanced up at her. Still in her blue ball gown, she sat straight-spined next to her father, possessing the same disciplined military bearing. She’d fixed her hair, putting back into place the golden tresses that had come down in the fight, and her delicate lips and cheeks had regained their color.

Anyone who saw her would never have suspected what she’d gone through tonight. But she couldn’t hide the worry that lingered on her beautiful face, or the tension that gripped her shoulders, that even now made them stiff as stone.

The general shook his head. “I came looking for Diana because it was time for the toast, and she wasn’t in the ballroom. I knew she wouldn’t want to miss it. That’s when I found all of you in the study.” His eyes grimly met Kit’s as he handed the general one of the glasses. “Thank God you knew to distract him by drawing his attention to the desk so that I could grab up the fireplace poker.”

Diana’s gaze darted to Kit. “You did that on purpose?”

“Yes.” The way she stared at him made him feel as if she’d never truly seen him before. Damn unsettling that, given the way he’d embraced her earlier.

But he didn’t blame her. After all, she had no idea the man he truly was.

Yet she could also never find out. She’d already been placed into danger. To reveal any more to her would simply amplify the risk.

“I had no idea that’s what you were doing,” she mumbled. Her surprise over his ruse turned into visible chagrin. “You saved my life again.”

“Again?” The general leveled a glare at Kit so fierce that it shook him to his boots.

Diana squeezed her father’s hand, to draw his attention back to her. “It was my fault, general,” she admitted guiltily. “I’ve been keeping secrets from you.”

Quietly, she told her father about the ransom note and the meeting at the inn, then softened the details as she described the fight and how Kit had rushed after her, to keep her from being hurt.

Her heroic description of him only grew the guilt gnawing at his gut as he returned to his perch on the desk. The truth was that he’d have gladly strung up her brother for murder and treason if Morgan had been at the tavern in her place.

“And then Mr. Carlisle brought me safely home,” she finished, thankfully avoiding the details that would have gotten him shot at dawn. But she seemed absolutely confused about him when she added, “He was a perfect gentleman.”

When she met his gaze over her father’s head, Kit arched a knowing brow and mouthed,A perfect gentleman?

Stop that!she mouthed back, yet her cheeks pinked intriguingly.

Kit grinned, then coughed to cover his smile when the general glanced up at him. He quickly raised the whisky to his lips.

“You didn’t trust me enough to tell me,” the general scolded her gently, yet Kit suspected that the question was actually aimed at him.

“Of course, I trust you.” Her voice lowered to an almost secretive whisper, and she took her own glance at Kit then, to see if he was listening. “You know how much.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

Worry melted across her beautiful face. “I didn’t want to upset you because of your heart. I planned on telling you once Garrett was safely back home, but everything spun out of control.”

The general eyed Kit askance and muttered, “Apparently.”

“I was wrong earlier to blame Mr. Carlisle,” Diana corrected, quietly apologetic. “He’s been caught up in all of this by accident, just as we were. He only wants to collect the gambling debts that Garrett owes him.”

The general’s eyes never left Kit. “He isn’t here to collect money.”

That knowing accusation sliced into Kit with a sickening jolt.

“But he is,” Diana answered for him, frowning. “That’s why he was at the inn when—”

Her father cut her off with a wave of his hand and sat forward on the edge of the settee, his hard gaze fixed on Kit. “Are you, Carlisle?”

There was no point in denying it. “No, sir.”

“Why else would you want to find Garrett?” Diana twisted on the settee, her bewildered gaze darting between the two men. “I don’t understand…”