Bride for a Night(118)

So foolish. She had sensed his wariness, had she not? But she had allowed her eagerness to be rid of his unwelcome presence to dismiss her fears. And in doing so, she had all but invited Gabriel into the waiting trap.

Shutting the door, Jacques pulled a pistol from a pocket of his jacket, pointing it toward Gabriel.

“What a touching reunion      .”



GABRIEL’S ARMS instinctively tightened around Talia as the Frenchman moved to the center of the room, resisting the urge to yank her into the tunnel and attempt to escape before the Frenchman could call for his guards. He would not risk Talia being hit by a stray bullet intended for him.

“I truly am growing weary of you, Jacques Gerard.”

“The feeling is quite mutual, Lord Ashcombe.” Jacques gave a small wave of the pistol. “Release Talia and step away from her.”

Talia made a small sound of distress, clinging tightly to his arm.

“No.”

“Talia, do not fear,” he murmured, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek before untangling her fingers from his jacket and pushing her out of the line of fire. “Everything will be fine.”

Fearless as always, she turned to send their captor a fierce glare.

“Please do not hurt him.”

“He has left me little option, ma petite.”

Gabriel’s hands clenched at Jacques’s intimate glance toward Talia. By God, when would the bastard accept that Talia was his wife and that she would never willingly belong to another man?

“Do not blame me for your murderous tendencies,” he snarled. “And keep your endearments for your mistress. You will refer to my wife as Lady Ashcombe.”

Jacques smiled, clearly amused by Gabriel’s fierce jealousy.

“How did you discover the passageway?”

With a mocking smile Gabriel gave a smooth lift of his shoulder.

“Hugo is a remarkably stubborn gentleman who refused to accept we were trapped.” The words were not entirely a lie. “He searched until he found the entrance to the passageway in the library.”

Jacques considered a long moment before giving a sharp shake of his head.

“Non. It is too much a coincidence that you should simply stumble across a hidden passageway when you have need of one. Only someone who has spent time exploring the house could have known of it.” His eyes narrowed. “So who is the traitor? A guard? A servant? Ah…” A disdainful smile twisted his lips. “Harry.”

“Harry?” Gabriel lifted his brows. “He has made his decision to offer you his loyalty. I no longer consider him my brother.”

Jacques shook his head, too clever to be so easily fooled.

“So I believed, but then I have discovered never to place my faith in the cowardly sod,” he drawled. “He would betray me as easily as he betrayed you. Where is he?”

Gabriel gave a lift of his hands, futilely hoping that Hugo and his brother would obey his command to return to his yacht.

“If you speak of Harry I have no notion.” He smiled, his expression bland. “Hugo, on the other hand, has escaped and is currently on his way back to England to warn them of my brother’s treachery.”

Jacques heaved a patronizing sigh. “Must we play this tedious game?”

Gabriel managed to keep his smile in place even as he comforted himself with the thought of his fist smashing into the man’s arrogant face.

“It would appear we must.”

“No matter.” Jacques shrugged. “My guards will swiftly hunt down my missing guests.”