Page 94 of A Remarkable Rogue

“Can’t be helped.” He soothed that answer by nuzzling his cheek against hers. Then he growled rakishly with a possessive nip to her earlobe. “So it’s a good thing that I have the rest of my life to make up for it. Starting right now.”

He scooped her into his arms and carried her upstairs to her bedroom.

Twenty-Eight

Sydney’s eyes fluttered open as she awoke. She took a moment to remember where she was and why the room was so dark except for the small slant of sunlight falling through a single narrow window.

Ah, the Armory…the old building that Nate had brought her and Robbie to yesterday evening. A medieval castle on the outside with its gates, portcullis, and crenellated central tower, but a luxurious gentlemen’s club on the inside, complete with two well-appointed bedrooms off the main tower where they’d spent the night.

She couldn’t prevent a smile as she stretched to shake off the last fog of sleep. She was scandalously naked, exhausted from making love all night, and thoroughly satiated. Most of all, she was unbelievably happy.

She laughed. Engaged! She was going to be married, and this time to a man who loved her unconditionally. Perhaps she was still dreaming.

She sat up and saw the note lying on the nightstand. Her smile faded.

No. Not a dream. Because in a dream, Nate would still be here with her. He wouldn’t have left at dawn to put his life at risk again.Thatwas the first thing she planned on changing once they wed.

Baroness,

I’ll be back by sunset with more news. Stay inside the Armory with McTavish.

And then her smile came back with stunning force.

Be prepared to wed me within the sennight. I’m never letting go of you.

Nate

Soft laughter drifted into the room through the little window and stole her attention away. It was the only window she’d seen so far anywhere in the building, and it was less than half a foot wide, three feet tall, and starting at the height of her chin. It reminded her of those arrow slots medieval archers had used to rain terror down upon anyone who dared to attack a castle.

She crawled out of bed and stepped softly on bare feet to peer outside. This window would have given His Majesty’s sharpshooters the same advantage in defending the Armory.

But it also gavehera grand view of the yard beneath and of Robbie and Sergeant McTavish as the two played at what looked suspiciously like a military drill, complete with a wooden stick against her son’s shoulder that served as a rifle. The little boy eagerly tried to march to perfection, but his turns sometimes went the wrong way and sometimes he spun in a complete circle. But words of encouragement from the old sergeant lit his round face and had him bouncing through his steps.

“My baby boy…” Her heart swelled with love. All the pain she’d suffered in those years without him was nothing compared now with all the hope and joy she held for the future.

Humming to herself—oh, she was simply too happy not to!—she slipped into her shift, stays, and stockings and did up her hair as best she could in the small oval mirror over the gentleman’s shaving stand and the dim light from the window. Then she reached for her dress, and the humming died in her throat.

Not her dress. Miss Jenner’s.

Where was the governess now? Had General Elliott brought her all the way back to London, or was she being held in custody somewhere secret where even Scepter couldn’t find her? Not that it mattered. Either from the work of Scepter or the Home Office, Sydney knew she’d never see the governess again.

As she put on the dress and tugged it into place, she couldn’t wait to be able to return to her town house. Yes, she wanted to put the events of the past several weeks behind her, starting with changing into a dress that didn’t belong to a coldhearted murderer. But she also couldn’t wait to show her house to Robbie, let him pick out his own bedroom, and fill it with all kinds of toys and things he loved. It would be his new city home. But their main home would be in the country, she’d already decided. Oakwood Manor had been Robbie’s first true home, and now it would be her first true home, too. With Nate.

Fastening the last button, she returned to the window. She couldn’t resist taking another look at Robbie as he played, but she couldn’t see him or McTavish now.

Unease blossomed at how quiet the yard was in the midmorning sunlight because she’d already learned that no child worried a mother as much as the one she couldn’t hear.

Then a new worry pricked at the backs of her knees. If they weren’t in the yard playing with a stick gun, were they inside the Armory playing with real weapons? After all, the Armory held what looked like all the swords and bayonets from the Peninsular campaigns. So many weapons filled the training room, in fact, that McTavish had warned Robbie not to go into the room at all without him. Nate had been bolder and threatened to take away his pony for an entire month if he dared to stick even the tip of a toe over the threshold.Thatcertainly caught Robbie’s attention.

Well, she would just go downstairs and check, and for an excuse, she’d say that she simply wanted to find out if Sergeant McTavish and Robbie had eaten breakfast yet. There was a kitchen in the basement where she would most likely find food, although she had no idea how to cook it once she’d found it. Or if the food would even be edible. Nate had told her that the former soldiers who used this place as their club, training salon, and sanctuary were considering hiring staff to oversee and run the place, including a butler and cook. But for now, the kitchen was left to the men to use as they wanted, and she could only imagine what that meant for cleanliness and food storage.

“Sergeant and Major,” she called out as she hurried down the spiral staircase that snaked along the side of the tower. “Would you like to join me for breakfast?”

No answer.

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, her unease growing. She couldn’t see them anywhere, and the building was unusually silent for containing an exuberant boy who loved all things military.

“Sergeant?” The little hairs on her arms prickled at the silence. “Robert?”