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

Chapter 27

More unexpected stuff to come... hope u like it! :) I do love surprising u all! ;)

Godspeed then!

TPL Chapter 27

********************************************************************************

James felt the impact as Olivia collided against his back, wrapping her arms around his waist. Slowly separating her from him, he turned to face her, tipping up her chin slightly. The anger blazing in the green depths caught him off guard.

"How dare he? How dare they both?! If they weren't already dead, I would- ", she breathed, cutting herself short to declare," No child deserves to go through that, James. No child."Moving away from him toward the windows, she spoke again.

"You are the bravest and most courageous man I have known. I – I feel ashamed of my privileged childhood. I do not know if I could survive what you did, without shattering emotionally. I promise you, my Pirate, you shall never have to suffer through anything like that ever again. After tomorrow, I will never let anything come in the way of our happiness. Ever."

Before James could say anything further, a voice spoke loudly.

"Not if I can help it, darling."

**************************************************

She sat in a secret corridor of the house, wondering how to do what she had come to do. She had seen him pass by her hiding spot a few times since she had arrived, and her throat had closed up at the sight of him and tears had filled her eyes.

It hadn't been long since her husband had died, and his loss had saddened her like no other. But they had spoken of death for a long time and she was prepared mentally for what was to follow.

 Her darling Daniel had departed the world a scarce week ago, and she had been planning her visit since then. But she wasn't as courageous as she believed herself to be, as she kept coming through the passage, but never could speak to the one person she was dying to meet. And she couldn't have peace without the meeting.

It would be a closure of sorts, speaking to him. But she had to gird her loins and approach him for that. Was she ready for this?

Walking back through the passage she came to an intersection, one leading to the back of the house, where she had entered from. Suddenly she came to a decision, and taking a deep breath, started down the other pathway. Maybe it would not be as bad as she feared it would be. Just maybe.....

**************************************************

"Radnor." James spoke as if it was a usual occurrence for a member of the ton to step out of the shadows in his study. With a gun pointed at his heart.

 The study was a large room, with one wall full of shelves for the various books on management and law that the Earls had accumulated over the years. There was a liquor cabinet standing in between the bookshelf and James desk and chair which were set in the middle of the spacious room, with a set of armchairs adjacent to it. Radnor had been hiding behind the liquor cabinet, biding his time. How he had managed to get there, was a mystery.

Inside he was quivering with anger and fear for Olivia's safety. He could not be sure that the bastard wouldn't kill Olivia after him. Or do something much worse than that.

No, he couldn't think about that now. He had to focus on keeping Olivia and himself alive. But how was Albansdale involved? He tried to think... had he encountered him anywhere in the Office? But he could come up with nothing to connect the man to everything that had occurred.

"That's le tueur to you Winchester.", Matthew smirked, looking at James as his head snapped up attentively.

"I wondered why you had been travelling to France so much in the past few years, and now I have my answer. 'The killer', is it?", Olivia spoke, smirking a little as his smile dropped instantly.

"Olivia-", James said, starting towards her, a warning on his face. She was puzzled by that, but decided to comply. After all he seemed more experienced in the field. Everything was becoming a bit more clearer in her mind. But she was furious to realize that Duke Radnor had been the one to harm her both those times. Slowly she placed her hand at the side of her skirts, feeling the hard object kept there to reassure herself that she was prepared to attack if needed.

"Someone has been a busy little bee, eh? Step away from her Winchester. We wouldn't want a stray bullet to hit her, would we now?"

"You despicable beast."Olivia's voice was barely a whisper, but it caught the Duke's attention.

"Watch your tongue, bitch! One more word and I will do as I please. You think you are so clever don't you? But I am even more so."By the tenor of his voice, and the slight sheen of sweat that had developed on his forehead, James could see that the man was not in a stable state of mind. Probably had taken some alcohol to fortify himself before he came. He tried to think of a way to finish this before it became nasty. He wished that Connie had been nearby. Just then the Duke spoke again," By the by Winchester, how is the scar?", he said, turning to James once more.

"Of no importance. But tell me why you did it? The W.O. has been onto you for a while, and so it seems, has my wife. We would have caught you in a few days. Why turn a traitor to your country, Radnor?"

"That, my friend, is inconsequential. But why don't you tell your wife about your career? I'm sure we would both love to hear about that."

James looked at Olivia, trying to gauge her reaction. She was looking at him steadily, no trace of an accusation in her eyes, as if she would never judge him based on someone else's information. He was grateful.

"Olivia, I-" he began.

"Bloody hell, I don't have time for this!", the intruder bellowed, aiming his pistol at James with a glint of madness in his eyes.

"No James!", cried Olivia, beginning to rush to his side, her eyes wide with fear. But before anything else could happen, the Duke gave a cry of pain, his eyes rolling back in his head as his large form crumpled to the ground in a heap.

And James world shook to the core as he saw the figure standing behind the now unconscious duke.

"Mother?"

************************************************************************************

Hope I succeeded at surprising you! :)

Till the next chapter then...

Please Vote and comment!

Best comment gets a dedication! ;)

~shreya07