Uncle Tyburn’s castle near Inverness.”
“Oh, yes. That is indeed a safe place. We almost couldn’t get Ashton Lennox’s wife out of her family’s castle in Scotland. We practically had to storm it to even have a conversation.” Lucien was trying to tease her, but she didn’t feel at all in the mood to laugh.
“We must send someone to bring Adam back. As much as I do not want him in danger, we will need him. Avery cannot do this alone.”
“He won’t be alone,” Lucien replied grimly. “I’ll send someone north immediately.”
Caroline nodded. “If you can fetch the architectural plans for Westminster, I shall watch over your brother.”
Lucien stood, and Caroline took his place on the edge of the settee. “You saved his life,” Lucien said quietly. “I owe you a great favor, Lady Caroline. Name it, and whatever it is shall be yours.”
Caroline smiled. “Thank you, my lord, but what I desire, you cannot give.”
When she was alone with Avery, she held out a hand to take his. If only someone had been able to save John. Adam had been too late, and that moment had made him become a spy as well. It was only a matter of time before her brother’s luck ran out. Adam and Avery were both men who lived on borrowed time.
17
The rider came just after dawn on an exhausted horse, carrying an urgent message. Adam and Letty were in the drawing room with Tyburn when one of Tyburn’s footmen rushed inside.
“What is it, lad?” All three people present in the drawing room stood.
“A messenger, my lord. From England. He says he has an urgent message for Lord Morrey.”
A pit formed in Adam’s stomach as he and Tyburn exited the room to speak with the messenger. The man who stood in the entryway looked travel weary.
“I am Lord Morrey,” Adam told the young man.
“My lord, Mr. Russell said you must return to London at once.” The young man gazed at him with fearful eyes.
“What? Why?”
“I was told to tell you that the fifth of November should never be forgot. That was all he told me, that and to come to the Marquess of Rochester’s home once you reach London.”
Adam frowned. “The fifth of November?” The implications there were worrisome indeed.
Tyburn pointed toward a door that led to the castle kitchens. “Thank ye, lad. Why don’t ye go to the kitchens and eat. One of my staff will show ye to a room where ye may rest.”
“Thank you, my lord.” The young man left them alone.
“Well, what does the message mean?” Tyburn asked.
“Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot . . . It’s a reference to when Guy Fawkes and his coconspirators attempted to blow up Parliament.”
“My God,” Tyburn said as he and Adam exchanged glances.
“I have to leave for London, now.”
“But ye’ve barely had time to heal,” Tyburn argued.
Adam rolled his shoulders and winced at the tight, scarred skin that pulled at him, but the pain was dull rather than sharp.
“Avery needs me. If he summoned me back from Scotland, then he has no one else left.” As he spoke, his chest suddenly tightened with panic. The Court of Shadows—something must have happened to them. “May I have use of your fastest horse?”
“Of course. But—”
“And me,” Letty said. “Can you have the little black gelding saddled for me?”
Both lords turned to look down at her.
“No,” Tyburn said at the same instant that Adam said, “Absolutely not.”
Letty held up a hand in silence and kept both men from speaking further with an imperious look. “Husband, you would have been dead if not for me and that horse I stole from the Crown and Thistle. And I have as much right to defend my king and country as any of you do.”
“But what of our child?” Adam argued, hoping to use this tactic to make his wife stay safe a second time.
“My menses came this morning, so the only life I risk is my own.”
Adam pulled her into his arms. “And that is already far too precious a thing to risk.”
She pushed back against him, a fierce scowl of rebellion on her face.“You will not talk to me sweetly and hope to convince me to stay here. If you go, I go. It is that simple.” She escaped his arms and rushed up the stairs.
Adam, his arms held out empty of her, stood staring after her.
“As much as she deserves protection, that is a woman who can take care of herself. Perhaps she