whirled on Linnet and embraced her, then Logan, too.
A slender yet statuesque blond, assured and serene, had followed the two ladies outside. She proved to be Minerva, the great Wolverstone’s duchess.
Introduced, Linnet would have curtsied, but Minerva prevented it, clasping both Linnet’s hands instead and smiling warmly. “Welcome to Elveden, Linnet-we tend not to stand on ceremony here, so please call me Minerva. The other ladies will be delighted to meet you. And please don’t hesitate to ask if there’s anything I can arrange to make your stay more comfortable.” She glanced back into the house as many footsteps approached. “Ah-here comes the other side of the coin.”
A small army of men appeared on the front steps, led by a man Linnet instantly identified as Wolverstone. He was tallish, although not the tallest there, black-haired and lean-cheeked, with a certain predatory cast to his austere Norman features. Power hung about him like an invisible mantle, yet it was the look he exchanged with Minerva, one of male resignation overlaying an infinitely deep pool of affection, that settled it.
Smiling, Minerva introduced Linnet, then Logan.
Wolverstone greeted them with sincere pleasure and open approval, then insisted the whole party-which had swollen considerably as more and more gentlemen and ladies came out-adjourn to the warmth of the house.
In the large, wood-paneled hall-glancing around, Linnet thought it must originally have been the main manor hall-Wolverstone, who went by the name of Royce among friends, introduced them to the small army of others.
Two of the men, soldiers by their bearing, were among the first to greet Logan. Royce stood back as, with huge smiles, the three wrung each other’s hands and clapped shoulders, then Logan introduced the pair to Linnet. “Derek Delborough and Gareth Hamilton. You’ve heard me speak of both.”
Linnet shook hands, exchanged smiles, noting the closeness between the three men-that of long-standing brothers-in-arms, men who had fought shoulder to shoulder, back to back, whose friendship had been forged in the heat of battle.
Delborough and Hamilton were as surprised to see her as Logan was to see the ladies each of them had by their sides. “Miss Ensworth?” Logan shook the brown-haired lady’s hand. “I heard you’d traveled with Gareth, but… how did that come about?”
The lady smiled sweetly, yet Linnet instantly recognized a core of steel. “Emily, please. And it’s a long story.” She glanced at Hamilton. “We’ll tell you later.”
Hamilton arched his brows.
Delborough-Del-introduced them to the striking brunette beside him. “Deliah Duncannon. Not knowing of our mission, my aunts had arranged for me to escort Deliah north, so I had to bring her with me.”
“Not that he wanted to, of course,” Deliah said, a definite glint in her green eyes, “but then I rescued him from certain death, and he couldn’t deny me.”
Del laughed. “That’s a long story, too, one for later. For now, it’s your story we need to catch up with.”
“Let’s finish the introductions first,” Royce said. “Then we can get down to business.”
He guided Logan and Linnet on. Within minutes, Linnet’s head was whirling. She struggled to keep track of all the additional names. Gervase and Madeline, Tony and Alicia, Letitia, Jack and Clarice, Tristan and Lenore, and Kit. Letitia’s husband Christian, and Kit’s husband, another Jack, were apparently on the east coast waiting for Rafe Carstairs to land.
While Logan spoke with the men, redheaded Kit shifted closer to Linnet and murmured, “You are not leaving this house without telling me where you got those.” She dropped bright, openly covetous eyes to Linnet’s breeches.
Madeline strolled up, smiling. “I was about to ask the same thing. They look just the thing-so practical.”
Linnet gave up trying to ignore what she had thought to be her inappropriate attire. “Not so much in the height of summer, but for most of the year, yes. They give much better protection than cloth, or even buckskin.” Linnet glanced from one to the other. “Do you know Flick-Demon’s wife?”
“Yes, indeed-and she’s another who will tie you down and torture you if you don’t tell,” Madeline said.
Linnet laughed. “I’ll tell-I’ve already told Penny. I get them from a leatherworker in Exeter.”
“We’ll extract the directions later,” Kit said. “But did I hear Royce say you captain your own ship?” When Linnet nodded, Kit vowed, “I am so deeply jealous. I’ve wanted to sail my own ship for forever, but Jack always claims the wheel. You’d think with a husband in shipping I could have just one tiny yacht of my own.”
Linnet’s brain made the connection. “Jack Hendon-of Hendon Shipping Lines?”
Kit nodded. “The very same. Why?”
“I own Trevission Ships. He’s a competitor.”
“Just wait until he hears. He’ll probably make you an offer.”
“I might just make one back,” Linnet said.
Kit hooted. “Oh,
There’d been a knock on the door. Demon and Wolverstone had gone to look out. Now Wolverstone turned back to the room. “Hamilton, Delborough. If you would-there’s a body here we need you to see if you can identify.”
Naturally, within two minutes, everyone was in the forecourt again, gathered around the hay cart. Everyone looked at the body; Royce had drawn down the tarpaulin, so they could all see the dagger. Glancing at the faces, Linnet noted that while each was deadly serious, not one had paled, let alone flinched.
Returning her gaze to the dead man’s graying face, she felt a sense of shared purpose, of people coming together in pursuit of a common goal. For the first time, felt a part of that whole. She’d been committed to helping Logan, but that had been personal. Now she, too, was a part of this group devoted to seeing justice done and the Black Cobra exposed.
Royce glanced at Delborough and Hamilton. “Any idea who he is?”
“He was an associate of Ferrar’s in Bombay, but I never knew his name.” Del glanced at Gareth. “Do you know?”
Gareth stared at the man for a long moment, then said, “Thurgood. Daniel Thurgood.” He looked up at the waiting faces. “He was a friend of Ferrar, one of his circle.”
“A close friend?” Tristan asked.
Gareth grimaced. “No closer than others I could name, at least in public. In private?” Gareth shrugged. “Who’s to know?”
“Indeed.” Royce looked at the dagger. “Same type of dagger, same style of blow-from very close. He was killed by someone he trusted implicitly.”
“And that someone is still out there,” Logan said.
Royce nodded. “We haven’t yet succeeded in beheading the Black Cobra. Whether they were a group of equals or a tiered hierarchy, the head, the real power, the most dangerous of these villains, is still at large.”
“And not far away,” Jack Warnefleet said.
Royce glanced around the circle. Many of the other men did, too. Despite the weak winter sun’s valiant attempts to break through the clouds, it was still chilly and cold, and they’d all come out without coats.
“Let’s go inside,” Royce said. “We can discuss this latest twist and hear Logan’s report in comfort. In the drawing room,” he added, as if to assure the ladies they would not be excluded.
Royce stepped back; all the other men shifted as if to fall in with his directive.
But not one of the ladies moved. Minerva flapped an absentminded hand. “Wait a minute.” She was studying Daniel Thurgood’s face. She nudged Letitia, beside her. “Is it just my imagination, or is there a resemblance to Ferrar?”
Letitia, who had also been staring at Thurgood’s face, slowly nodded. “It’s the bones-the browline, set of the eyes, the chin. Imagine him with Shrewton’s pale eyes and fairer hair and… he’s very like Ferrar.”
Clarice, beside Letitia, arched her brows. “For my money, he’s even more like Shrewton himself.”
Deverell frowned. “He-Thurgood-said something about being a bastard.” He glanced at Logan. “What did he say exactly?”
Linnet, beside Logan, answered. “When he broke his word-a word he’d sworn on his honor as a gentleman-and ordered his men to kill us, Logan prodded him about being a gentleman. Thurgood laughed and said he’d been born a bastard, and was simply living up to his birth.”
Everyone stared at the body. Royce murmured, “What if he’d meant the phrase ‘living up to his birth’ to mean
