position to make promises at the moment, but I want you to know that I’d like to give you everything: home, family, security, and tenderness,” he said softly.
“I thought you said you are not a gentle man,” Jocelyn teased. He still intimidated her at times, especially when he was in a temper, something that seemed to happen more often these days and was usually the result of a closed-door meeting with the major or a visit to General Howe’s headquarters.
“I will be tender with you,” Jared said, lowering his lips to brush hers. “You make me want to be a kinder man, Jocelyn. You bring out my protective instincts.”
“Jared, we hardly know each other,” Jocelyn replied, unable to commit.
“We’ve lived in the same house for months,” Jared said. “That’s more intimacy that most couples enjoy before they marry.”
“I’ve lived in the same house as Major Radcliffe and Robert Sykes as well,” Jocelyn pointed out, “but I don’t mean to marry either of them.”
“Does that mean you mean to marry me?” Jared asked. It would have been a playful question had he not looked so darn earnest.
“I don’t recall you proposing,” Jocelyn replied, inwardly chastising herself for playing along. This wouldn’t end well, for either of them.
“Would you?” Jared asked, and she knew he was completely serious.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I’m not in a position to make promises either.”
“Then can you promise to wait for me? Say, until Christmas?” Jared asked softly.
Jocelyn stared at him in disbelief. Did he expect the war to be over by Christmas? Were the British really so confident in their strategy?
“Do you expect your situation to change in three months?” she asked instead of giving him an answer.
“I do,” Jared replied. “You didn’t answer my question,” he said, watching her.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Jocelyn said. That was as close to an answer as she was willing to give.
“But where would I find you if you were to leave the major’s employ?” Jared asked, taking her hand in his.
“I honestly don’t know,” Jocelyn replied. She supposed she’d stay with Anna Reid for a while, but she couldn’t reveal the location of her safehouse to him, not when she was feeding information he’d shared with her to the Continentals. She had never mentioned Anna in his presence, nor would she make him aware of her existence. “I’d get a message to you. Don’t worry,” she promised. “I’d leave word at the King’s Cross Inn.”
“Do I have your word on that?” Jared asked, his eyes anxious.
“You do. Now, we’d better go in. I have no wish to give the major any more reasons to be displeased. He’s been in a mood,” Jocelyn said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “Same time tomorrow?”
“I’m afraid not. Major Andre is hosting a supper tomorrow in honor of General Howe. I’ve been invited to attend.”
“You’re moving up in the world,” Jocelyn said, and instantly wished she’d kept quiet. Major John Andre was the head of the British Security Services in North America and had a reputation for being fiercely intelligent, incredibly cunning, and ruthlessly charming, but being a maidservant, Jocelyn wouldn’t know that. She did know, however, that he was a very handsome man, having met him once when he’d come to dine with Major Radcliffe, and a perceptive one. He’d watched her from beneath hooded lids as she served at table and had even asked her a few questions about her family and past employment. His gaze had never left her face as she replied, her expression calm, her voice even. She may have been quivering with terror inside, but she didn’t think he’d known that. He had complimented her on her looks and thanked her for staying up late to look after the men who’d chosen to linger over their port.
“Hardly,” Jared said as he followed her inside. “I was only invited as a courtesy to Major Radcliffe. I think he wants me there.”
“Why?”
“Probably to keep me away from you,” Jared replied.
“Is he that concerned about impropriety under his roof?” Jocelyn asked, arching one eyebrow. Did the major think her relationship with Jared had taken a less-than-respectable leap? She’d done nothing inappropriate, other than allow a handsome man to kiss her. She was a grown woman, for God’s sake, entitled to a few chaste kisses.
“The major is a meticulous man, disciplined and correct in his habits. You and I are a complication he can’t control, and that rankles him.”
He can control it, Jocelyn thought. He can simply request another aide-de-camp.
“He can