The Pirate's Lady (Spies of London #1)

Chapter 22

I am so SORRY I took so long!!!!! It has been a difficult few weeks, and I love you guys soooooo much for being so damn patient! :*

Cute as a button, every single one of you! ;)

This one is for rominaavaness, AkiraAnimosa, Mustango77, skylark12, SarahJeanneSingler, rhasty, and of course bluecountrygirl!! Thankyou!

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Olivia would never have thought that she could get tired of lying in bed. But she was more than tired. She was frustrated.

She had been lying in bed for the entire morning, the two maids that had been sent to care for her fluttering around the room, fluffing pillows, tidying her dresser, asking her if she wanted anything to eat or drink, being told 'no', still bringing up a tray laden with food and juice as well as water, her losing her temper, them calling James, him sternly telling her to rest and eat up, her feigning sleep so they would go away, them not going away......... And the cycle continued.

She was contemplating jumping out of the window (a few broken bones would be preferable to this coddling!), when she heard the thundering of a lone horse's hooves along the gravel path, and wondered who would be in such a hurry to reach Bentham. Probably a messenger, she mused, dismissing the thought.

But a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and the maid went and opened it.

James entered, his eyes meeting hers, trying to see if she seemed better. He walked to her side swiftly, picking up her hand to kiss it.

"How do you feel now Olivia? Have you taken the laudanum?"

"Yes, I'm feeling much better, my Lord."

"Do you think you are well enough to come downstairs, my dear? " At his words, her face glowed like a child at Christmas, and she gushed happily.

"Of course I am! I am bloody well tired of lying in this bed all morning! I-" On realizing her gaffe, however, she colored up instantly, her cheeks taking on a red tinge as she stared in horror at the bed covers, which she was clutching tightly with both hands.

Trying to control his mirth, James dismissed the scandalized maids with a look, sitting next to his wife on the bed as the door shut quietly behind them.

And laughed. Olivia was stunned by the rich sound and she realized that it was so rare for him to laugh, that it took the one who had the privilege of witnessing it by surprise. What had made him so pensive?

As his laughter subsided, he put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close, murmuring softly.

"My dear, you constantly surprise and delight me. Who would have thought that such a lady like voice could make the word bloody sound like a compliment?" Noticing her embarrassment however, he took hold of both her hands, rubbing circles on them with his thumbs, urging her silently to look up at him.

She did so after a few seconds, and the soft smile on his face coaxed out one of her own, and after a long time, she felt relaxed with her husband.

"Now let us get your injured self into a proper gown. We have a-"

Before James could complete his sentence however, the door burst open and a gentleman walked in proclaiming loudly, "Jamie boy, how long are you going to take to meet me downstairs? I am your guest after all, am I not?"

On seeing them though, he appeared gobsmacked for a moment as he blinked a few times and cleared his throat awkwardly. James had stood up at that and with a quick "I shall see you downstairs in a few minutes, Olivia." ,and a harsh look for the intruder, whom he practically dragged from the room.

After two minutes of inactivity, the two maids entered the room urging her to choose a gown to wear for meeting the 'guest' downstairs. Snapping out of her puzzlement, she rose from the bed to go to her dressing room, feeling like looking beautiful for James.

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James pulled Connie into the study and slammed the door behind them, turning to face his friend.

"What was so important that you couldn't wait for me to come to you?" he thundered.

"How was I supposed to know you had a mistress installed at Bentham? As far as I knew, you didn't even have a mistress! James!" The last words were choked out as James had picked him up by his collar holding him up to the wall.

"She is my wife, the countess of Winchester, and you shall address her as such!"

A well aimed kick at his leg made him drop his friend back onto the floor, who smoothened his collar while walking towards the brandy snifter on the table and taking a gulp before saying, "I apologize."

"I apologize as well..... It is just that she is... special to me. With her, I feel like my past can be forgotten, and replaced with a better future. But Connie, she was shot on our wedding day."

Connie whirled around at his words, his happiness at the first words replaced with rage and horror at the conclusion that his best friend's wife was being targeted by the very traitor that he and James were searching for. There could be no other explanation.

"What do we do?"

James looked at his friend pensively, trying in vain to think of some way to protect Olivia from the traitor, apart from him staying away from her, which was unpalatable to him, and he was starting to think, quite impossible.

"I want you to keep an eye on her, Connie. Her proximity to me only increases her danger. But maintaining a distance from her might give the wrong idea to everyone, which is something I do not want her to face. Also, she happens to possess some papers of relevance to our search, and I must subtly try to get them from her without arousing her suspicion. Which is a rather daunting task in itself. The woman could pass off as a spy any day!"

Connie laughed at James face, "Looks like you've met your match, Jamie. She seems spirited enough, even for you!" This smart remark earned him a smack on the head, which he took graciously, apart from his raucous laughter at his friend's red cheeks.

Suddenly the door to the study opened, and the very object of their discussion stepped in, every inch the haughty countess, and said in a cool tone, "So I was right in assuming the room where you two gentlemen were to be found would be the one where all the noise would be coming from. Shall we proceed to the dining room, my Lord? Your friend must be hungry from his travels."

So saying, she turned and left the room as gracefully as she had entered, the pastel pink satin of her gown barely making a sound to disturb the awkward silence that encompassed the room.

"Is this the same woman you were talking about, James ?" Connie asked quizzically, eyeing his friend's posture, which had turned slightly rigid. But James was as puzzled as Connie and no answer came forth from his lips, but he left the room instantly, leaving a befuddled Conrad to follow him to the dining room.

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When she reached the dining room, Olivia stopped at the threshold for a second. Spy? Met your match? What had she heard? Was there any truth to all of it, and if so, what was she getting into? All these thoughts crashed inside her head.

She had overheard the two men talking, and had foolishly barged in on them, when she could have heard much more without them knowing. But it had gone against her morals, and this fight going on in her heart had affected her mood and made her voice come out cool as ice. Oh dear, what must their guest think!

It was obvious that he was a good friend of James, and she had offended them both. Not knowing how long they would take, she went and took a seat to the right of James seat, preparing what she would say to apologize.

James entered the room a few seconds later, and stopped at the sight of his Siren sitting at the table, eyes closed, as if in deep thought. Walking to the table, he saw that she was slowly massaging her injured side, wincing as she touched a sore spot.

"Olivia?"

Her eyes popped open at his voice and she stood up to face him, saying ,"I am so sorry, James. He is obviously a good friend of yours, and I just barged in on your conversation, forgetting all my manners! It was a dreadful mistake on my part, and I have shamed you. Please forgive me! " ,after which she became completely silent, staring at him with pleading eyes.

"It is alright my dear. You have done nothing to make me feel ashamed, so you needn't fret so. But I would like to speak to you in private later. Conrad will be staying for a few days atleast, I believe. And are you really feeling well enough? Does it hurt too much?"

"No my lord. I will be fine." She smiled at her Pirate, touched by his concern, and realized that she must have been rubbing the wound as she was wont to do, and he must have seen it.

Conrad came into the room just then, and the couple turned to him with identical smiles, though James seemed a bit strained compared to Olivia's bright one. Vowing to continue their earlier conversation sometime later, Connie prepared to enjoy lunch with his best friend and his wife.

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How is it? Yaay, Connie's back! But what about the traitor? And what is Olivia going to do about the stuff she overheard?

Coming up in TPL chapter 23!

Adios till then dear readers! And sorry for the extremely late update! :(

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~shreya07