Though Ellison nodded as if he, too, were upset by the need for a chaperone, Audrey silently said a thank you for the societal norms that didn’t allow her to be unaccompanied with the man beside her. She shuttered to think what he might attempt in a private setting.
As they walked through the park, Hannah forever trailing behind them at a respectable distance, Audrey looked around her. The grounds were packed with people of all rank and political disposition. Any one of them could be operating under Ellison. She searched desperately for a sign of his partners. Just one exchanged glance, one word out of place, and she could go to Noah with the evidence. But there was nothing and her shoulders slumped in disappointment.
The miniatures of the ships involved in the Battle of Trafalgar were already arranged on the river, ready for the reenactment that would surely entertain the drunken crowd. Of course once the true gaiety had begun, Audrey’s job would be all the harder. As soon as the noisy festivities commenced, there would be confusion and Ellison or his men could easily make a move.
“Come my dear.” Ellison gripped her arm a bit tighter as his gray eyes darkened. “Let’s move closer, shall we?”
“Perhaps we should find a spot in the shade.”
She pulled back against his grip. Suddenly she felt less protected by the crowd around them. Douglas looked positively gleeful and it was terrifying.
His grip gentled though he didn’t release her. “We’ll want to be close when the reenactment begins. The Prince has the best view on the field.”
Though she searched for a reason to refuse, Audrey couldn’t find one. Finally, she smiled. “Of course. We’ll simply keep watch for my brother so he may join us later.”
As she allowed Ellison to lead her toward the Prince and his party, she prayed Noah would find them and that they could put a stop to whatever the traitor had planned.
***
“Where the hell have you been?”
Griffin turned from the barrel of ale he’d been standing beside to look at Noah. His friend gave a smile to soften the tone of his question.
“I could ask the same of you,” Griffin replied.
“I had to take care of some business with Lord Golding and then I was looking for you.” His friend’s smile faded. “Grif, I understand your anger and your fear for Audrey’s safety, but you must be more careful about how you behave around Ellison. Too many outbursts and the man might suspect something.”
“He already suspects something.” Griffin downed his ale with a grimace.
“What?” Noah asked. “I’ve heard nothing. What does he suspect?”
“Not what you think,” Griffin hastened to say as he realized his friend thought he meant Ellison had guessed something about Audrey. “He thinks I’m a rival for your sister’s affections. He doesn’t feel the way he would with just any other man, but sees me as a true challenge. I don’t know how he’s come to this conclusion, but it was clear by the way he looked at me that he considers me an opponent.”
Noah tilted his head to look at his friend in silence for a moment. “Are you?”
Griffin swallowed the remainder of his drink in one uncomfortable gulp. The brew stuck in his chest as he stared at his friend. “I beg your pardon?”
“
Griffin shut his eyes briefly, letting his senses be filled by the sounds and smells of the crowded park. He thought of Audrey and his entire body clenched with pleasure and pain and longing all at once.
“I would never hurt Audrey,” he finally answered.
“That wasn’t the question.”
Griffin opened his eyes. He should have known Noah wouldn’t be distracted by evasion. Unfortunately, he wasn’t certain of his answer. He wanted Audrey. And wanted to protect her, but beyond that…
A great cheer from the crowd made both men look up. A group of soldiers passed through, their uniforms smart in the fading evening sun.
Noah looked at him again. “What I asked is if you’re in any way serious about my sister. And don’t tell me you’re only interested in her friendship. I’ve seen the way you look at her and I know you two have exchanged at least one kiss. Those aren’t the actions of a friend.”
Dipping his head, Griffin examined the dusty ground beneath his feet where the grass had been smashed beyond repair.
“Noah, I don’t know what to tell you about your sister and I. The fact is…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a loud bang came from behind the two. As both spun around, a large cheer went up from the gang of people around them.
“Is that the reenactment beginning?” Noah yelled over the din.
“It must be!” Griffin said in return. “It’s close to eight. But that was awfully loud, wasn’t it?”
“Very.” The two men locked eyes and Griffin knew Noah was thinking the same thing he was. Where was Audrey and was she in danger?
“Let’s go.”
Griffin spun on his heel to hurry through the crowd. People automatically cleared out of his way, some calling out his name. How he managed to wave and smile at his old friends, he didn’t know, but his hand came up naturally as he maneuvered through groups of people.
“I don’t see her,” Noah called out, straightening up so he could look over the crowd.
Another explosion rocked the park and several children screamed to his left. Griffin looked at them sharply. No one was hurt, in fact they seemed to be having a grand time.
“Damn it,” he said with a shake his head. “Why in God’s name did we leave her alone?”
Noah’s response was a warning. “Griffin.”
He ignored the warning. “Let’s split up. You go north toward the refreshment area, I’ll head toward the Prince’s box. We’ll meet back by that tree over there in ten minutes if neither of us has found her.”
Griffin motioned to a tall elm tree a few feet away. Its branches were heavy with lads who had scrambled into the bows for a better view of the festivities.
“Very well,” Noah said, “But watch yourself if you find them. Audrey is still doing a job, you know.”
As Noah vanished into the milling crowd, Griffin sighed. “I know. How could I not?”
With a deep breath, he hurried toward the spot in the distance that was the Prince’s box. Clamoring around people and half-empty crates of liquor in his pathway, Griffin scanned the crowd, looking for a glimpse of Audrey’s yellow gown, or that ridiculous bonnet she wore with all the ribbons, or the flash of her auburn hair as she strolled around the park. But there was nothing, only thousands of people milling in a disorganized wave.
Just as he was about to give up and head back to the elm where he’d promise to meet Noah, Griffin saw what he’d been looking for. The crowd peeled back and Audrey stood on a slight knoll, her hand shading her eyes as she peered around the park. Her bonnet was somewhat crocked, cocked too far over one eye. Ellison was nowhere in sight, neither was Hannah.
With a soft sound of relief, Griffin hurried toward her, knocking against uniformed men and tipsy women in his urgent need to reach her, to touch her and make sure she was real and unharmed.
“Audrey!” he called out, but the noise around him muffled his voice.
She didn’t seem to hear him as she continued to look around her with an expression of vexation on her face. With a scowl, she removed her bonnet and lowered her head to look at the messy knot in one of the ribbons, just as an errant arrow whizzed by her skull.
Chapter Eleven
Audrey felt the arrow pass by her head rather than saw it. A great gush of wind lifted the tufts of curls
