CHAPTER 36

C HAPTER 36

T he Admiral’s Inn was close and rather grand, as Chief Howard had promised. It was also spacious, and Cade was able to get a pair of connecting rooms for himself and Tam, plus separate rooms for Bran and Andre. Despite Tam’s claims that she was fine, she didn’t protest when he carried her up the stairs to their rooms.

Tamsyn’s room had a comfortable-looking four-poster bed, wide enough for an admiral and his wife. Cade set Tam on her feet while he pulled back the counterpane. “Shall I help you out of your gown and stays so you can relax better?”

“Please.” She turned so he could undo the ties of her gown and then unfasten her stays, leaving her in her shift.

As he peeled off her outer garments, she said, “You’d better invoke some stealth now. If anyone in our family should sense our activity, this would be considered a highly compromising position!”

“We’ve well and truly compromised each other, but yes, locked doors and stealth are desirable.” He lifted her and laid her gently down on the wide mattress, then removed her half boots before crossing the room to lock the main door to the corridor outside. Returning to the bed, he asked, “Is there anything else you need?”

“A glass of water?” she asked in a thin voice.

On the desk was a pitcher and a pair of drinking glasses, so he poured water for both of them. It had been a long day and the spring weather was getting warm.

He emptied his glass in one long swallow, then helped Tam sit up so she could drink also. As she swallowed, he admired the elegance of her slim neck and tried, without success, not to stare at the soft curves visible under the light fabric of her shift. “Now you need to get some sleep.”

She handed her empty glass to him and lay back on the bed with a tired sigh. “Will you lie down and hold me until I fall asleep? I . . . I need you close.”

“Your wish is my command, my lady.” He stripped off his coat and boots, then lay down on the bed behind her and drew her into his arms.

She gave a soft sigh of relaxation and settled back against him, drawing his upper arm over her waist. She was so delicate, yet so strong. She also had a deliciously shaped backside. Once again he told his lower self to behave.

Aloud he said, “I’m glad we have this private time together. I have no idea how we’ll manage in London. I have trouble imagining setting up a love nest where we can be together in secret. It seems . . . so undignified. You deserve better.”

“So do you. We must take it one day at a time, and we’ll start by telling Gwyn and Rhys. They might have some magical solution,” she said, her voice stronger than it had been. “But now that you mention it, since private time might be difficult to come by soon, we shouldn’t waste it now.”

He laughed a little. “Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

“No,” she said demurely as she rolled onto her back. “I’m suggesting what I hope you’ll suggest.”

There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, but he hesitated briefly. “Are you sure? You burned an immense amount of energy earlier.”

“Yes, but I’ve become stronger while you’re holding me.” She looked mischievous again. “It would be an interesting experiment to see if closer holding would restore my energy entirely.”

He couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “If you’re willing to participate in this experiment to increase our knowledge of how energy can be rebuilt, it will be my pleasure to assist you.”

“I’m sure we’ll find this very educational,” she said before she pulled his head down into a slow, delicious kiss. Energy sparked between them.

In deference to her fatigue, he started gently, but as they kissed and caressed each other, desire increased to a bonfire. Her shift was easily moved and her clever hands deftly unbuttoned his fall.

As she clasped him, she said, “Surely you don’t need to disrobe entirely when you’ll just have to get dressed again later. It would be a waste of time.”

He gasped as she squeezed him. “We wouldn’t . . . want to waste time,” he managed to get out.

She was ready, more than ready, and they came together with smooth fire. He dizzily sensed that no matter how many times they might make love in the future, each occasion would feel as rare and special as this joining did.

They culminated swiftly and held each other as the intoxicating waves of passion subsided. She said with a catch of laughter, “Our experiment suggests that this is a swift and delightful way to recharge one’s energy.”

He chuckled and drew her against him. “I rather think that now you have all the energy and I’m a mere shadow of my former self.”

“Further experiments will be needed,” she said with mock seriousness.

He drew her closer so that all her soft curves melded against him. “I can’t imagine giving this up forever. Maybe we should emigrate to the American colonies. They say that Boston is a pleasant place.”

“An appealing thought,” she said with a sigh. “But with the war resumed, we’re needed in England and will be for years to come.”

“Speaking of which, Bran and Andre should be returning soon. I’ll go down to the kitchen and see about getting a dinner served up here in my room. There’s a good-sized table and several chairs in there.”

“I’m sure that admirals like to hold elegant private dinner parties here,” she said. “Or do you think they prefer wild orgies?”

After a moment’s thought, he replied, “I’d rather not speculate on what admirals do for entertainment.” He skimmed his hand from her shoulder to her knee, loving the silky texture of her pale skin. “You, my experimenting lady, look very fetching now, but you need to get dressed again.”

She covered a yawn, then sat up in the bed. “I have the feeling that Bran and Chief Howard were successful in their search, and I haven’t heard any explosions, but I want to hear more of the details.”

“As do I.” Cade swung from the bed and straightened his clothing, then donned his coat and boots again. “We’ll have a council of war over dinner.”

The Admiral’s Inn had a very obliging kitchen. A quarter hour after Bran and Andre returned, a fine meal of roast beef, boiled new potatoes, and sweet young peas was served in Cade’s room. Tam was already there, looking misleadingly demure.

“You look much recovered, Tam,” Bran said.

She gave him a quick hug. “Cade took good care of me. But now I want to know what happened after we left. Andre, you seem to be vibrating with excitement.”

“I am!” he said. “It was the first time I’ve been part of such a serious mission. I found it most interesting and rewarding.”

“He did very well,” Bran said. “Especially with the steam engine. He used his intuition to find what the French agents had done that might have led to an explosion.”

“You must have a strong gift for mechanical things,” Cade said. “What about the firetraps? Did you find them all?”

“Yes, and the last one was close to going off,” Bran said. “Unlucky thirteen indeed. But we got to it in time.”

Tam said, “I’ve been thinking about the fact that there seems to be a network of French agents working to cause trouble at the Royal Navy Dockyards. Could Dubois, that unpleasant fellow we met at the Devonport Naval Yard, have been part of this network?”

“I think it likely,” Bran said slowly, “though we have no proof.” He frowned. “It isn’t generally known yet, but Napoleon wants to invade England and is massing soldiers and ships in the Boulogne area. I don’t know how long it will take for him to assemble his invasion force because it’s a huge undertaking, but there is no question that he wants to cross the channel and conquer Britain.”

Not liking the sound of that, Cade set his wineglass aside. “So the more he can weaken the Royal Navy, the better his chances of success.”

“Exactly,” Bran said. “I think in the coming years, many of the efforts of our branch of the Home Office will be bent on protecting our naval installations.”

His words produced a long silence, which he ended by taking a sip of his red wine. “Very good wine.”

“An inn that wants to lure admirals needs a good wine cellar,” Tamsyn said. “This tastes French.”

“Probably smuggled to England,” Cade said. “Possibly in the same ship that brought us over.”

“That’s an interesting thought.” Andre contemplated his glass of wine before taking a sip. “We have reason to be grateful to smugglers.”

“The smugglers are probably bringing over French agents as well,” Bran said dryly. “I’m going to stay here for several days and discuss further security measures with Chief Howard. Andre, will you stay and join the discussion? You have good instincts in this area.”

Andre hesitated, torn. “I’d like to be part of this, but . . . I want to get to Woolwich to find my friend Elizabeth.”

“Of course you do,” Tam said warmly. “It’s a southeastern area of London, and we can easily go that way on our return to Tremayne House.”

Andre smiled, looking a little bashful. “You probably think I’m foolish. Elizabeth and I might not even recognize each other after all this time.”

“We Tremaynes take affairs of the heart very seriously.” Bran’s gaze touched lightly on Tam and Cade. “You can join the dockyard security discussion when I return to London. Rhys, the father of the Tribe of Tremayne, is also head of our Home Office department of gifted agents, and he’ll have very good ideas about what changes will need to be made.”

“I look forward to meeting him,” Andre said. “Do you think he might consider me as a possible agent even though I am young and not well trained?”

“I think it very likely,” Bran said. “He looks for talent and commitment. Which is why we have female agents like our Tamsyn.”

Andre blinked at Tam. “You’re an official agent for the Home Office?”

She batted her blue eyes at him, looking totally frivolous. “Yes, and a good one. Most men don’t take me seriously.”

Cade laughed. “You’ve seen what she can do, Andre! Talent and commitment. Rhys would be a fool not to have her as an agent, and he is not a fool. You might want to be a part-time agent while you pursue your engineering studies.”

“I would like that if it’s possible.” Andre inclined his head respectfully at Tam. “I am honored to have seen your abilities, Lady Tamsyn!”

Thinking it was time to return to business, Cade said, “If we leave early in the morning, we should be able to make it to Woolwich by late afternoon. The roads are good from here to London.”

“London!” Tam said dramatically. “Life will return to normal and I’ll have more than one gown to wear!”

Her gaze met Cade’s and turned bleak, and he knew they were thinking the same thing. They would have tonight to be together. After that, when would such closeness be possible again?