Page 20 of The Cutthroat Countess

“Morrison certainly looked convinced by what he had already and he’d barely started decoding the one book.”

“Gray sounded just as convinced that there wasn’t enough,” she pointed out.

“I’m not sure how much of that was genuine and how much was bluster.” He gave her a smile he hoped was reassuring. “Let’s wait until Morrison has finished all the transcription before we jump to any conclusions.”

Jo nodded, but he could see she was impatient and couldn’t blame her. She had waited decades for evidence of Mungo’s innocence.

They’d sent the code breaker back home with the magistrate, who’d agreed to post several guards outside his cottage while he finished his work. Sir Stanley might be in custody, but they couldn’t be sure whether he’d worked alone all those years ago or how long his reach might be.

“Go on with your story,” Jo said.

Elliot poured out their tea and said, “After I shot the man, the second one, Mick—despite being large and intimidating-looking—surrendered himself and seemed to collapse. He confessed to me that he’d been charged with desertion and Gray had pulled him out of the brig and offered him a way out of jail. He was supposed to leave England and disappear after he’d completed this job, but Mick isn’t a complete idiot and had begun to realize—after seeing how several other people had disappeared—that the only place he’d be disappearing was in a shallow grave.”

Elliot handed Jo her cup of black tea and doctored his own cup with sugar, but no milk, as there wasn’t any.

He took a sip of the scalding liquid and sighed happily. “Mick was more than willing to tell me what his orders were and give me the location of where Gray was holding you. Sin, along with Crisp, his servant cavalcade, and the last of Mungo’s notebooks, arrived shortly after my confrontation with Gray’s men. We decided to be cautious when we approached the house to free you, because we didn’t know how many other men Gray might have.” He stopped and shrugged. “And the rest you already know. Now it’s your turn; tell me your story.”

* * *

It took far less time to tell Jo’s tale.

“Was the man I killed still in Morrison’s house when you arrived?” she asked Elliot once she’d finished.

“No, the men had done a half-hearted cleaning job, and I didn’t ask where they’d put the dead man. Apparently, they’d removed your knives from the corpse and divided them up between them.”

Jo scowled. “Vultures.”

“Can’t blame them for recognizing quality.”

Jo snorted. “I suppose not.” She finished the rest of her tea, set down her cup and saucer, and then stretched and yawned, wincing at the various aches and pains.

“What you need,” Elliot said, “is a hot bath and some rest.”

“Yes, please.”

“What order would you like them?”

She would have liked to bathe first, but Crisp had scarcely been gone three-quarters of an hour. And also, there was Angus, who doubtless wanted to go outside for a bit.

“Angus needs to—”

“Hush,” Elliot murmured. “I’ll take Angus out for some exercise—you just concentrate on yourself. Bath or rest?”

“I’ll take a nap first.”

Elliot came to her and offered his hand.

Jo took it and stood with a groan.

“Poor darling,” he murmured, slipping his hands around her waist. “Did you get roughed up?”

“I was unconscious, but I suspect they weren’t exactly gentle transporting me here.” Not to mention she’d wrestled around with Wilmer before being conked on the head. But the last thing she wanted was Elliot fussing over her injuries. They only had tonight together before she’d be back in the house on Berkeley Square and under strict surveillance. Jo intended to make excellent use of their limited time.

“Before I let you go rest, I wanted to tell you how much I missed you.” Elliot kissed the tip of her nose. “A great deal.”

“I missed you, too,” she said, wondering why it was so difficult to speak the affectionate words when her heart was full of love for him.

But he seemed pleased by that tepid declaration and, after giving her another entirely too chaste kiss, he took her hand and led her to the door. “You go up and settle, and I’ll find Crisp and arrange for your bath. How about three hours?”