Phoebe's attention jumped to her aunt's closed door up ahead.
"Yes," Lady Albery replied. "Mrs. Jenkins and Cook are napping, and I left strict orders not to be disturbed for the afternoon. The maids won't dare venture upstairs until I call for them."
"But you called for me," the man said.
"You know I can't go a day without you," she replied in a sultry voice.
Phoebe stifled a gasp. Her aunt had a lover?
"You like that?"
"Yes," she gasped with a breathless moan. "Don’t be gentle, Clive, fuck me hard."
Phoebe's stomach roiled.
"Happy to oblige," he said in a gritty voice.
Something in his voice gave her pause and she slowed. What was it?
Lady Albery cried out.
Phoebe stumbled, then caught herself. Dear God, she had to get away from there. She raced past her aunt's room, but couldn't drown out the sounds of the man's grunts and her aunt's moan. Phoebe reached the stairs and nearly tripped over her skirts on the first step. She yanked up her skirts and raced down the stairs. She reached the ground floor and left by the front door.
Once on the main street, she hailed a passing cab and collapsed onto the seat. "Oh, uncle," she sobbed, and couldn't halt the flood of tears.
When Phoebe arrived at the duke and duchess' home where she and Kiernan were staying were staying, she'd composed herself enough so that the servants wouldn't be able to detect her anxiety. She needed time to think, to figure out what Ty was doing with the note from the duke, and how she was going to tell her uncle about his wife. Tears threatened again, but Phoebe forced them back as she nodded to the butler.
"I'll be in my room, Hinks. I'm not to be disturbed."
He gave an austere cant of his head and she took the stairs at a leisurely pace. When she reached her room, Phoebe sat on the bed and burst into tears again. She wasn't wholly surprised her aunt was unfaithful, but her uncle would be. How was she going to tell him? The door to the antechamber connecting her room to Kiernan's opened and he stood in the doorway. Phoebe drew a sharp breath.
"What's wrong?" He strode to the bed.
"N-nothing."
"Give me any trouble, Phoebe, and I'll turn you over my knee."
She blinked, then ire shot through her. "You've threatened that many a time, my lord. I don't believe you."
Kiernan stood quietly for a moment. "It sounds as if you would like a spanking."
"What I would like is to be left alone."
"What's wrong?" His attention dropped to the pocket with the Blunderbuss.
His brow furrowed, but she realized his intent too late. Kiernan seized her arm, yanked her to her feet, and pulled the pistol from the pocket. The note fluttered to the floor.
"What's this?" He shoved the pistol close to her face.
Something in his tone gave her pause, and she realized he'd read the magistrate's report on Adam's death. He thought the weapon was hers…that she'd killed Adam.
Kiernan released her and snatched up the letter. She stood frozen as he read it.
His gaze shifted to her face. "What are you doing with my father's letter? Damnation, Phoebe, I know this isn't your weapon. What have you done?"
She considered telling him to go to the devil, but realized she couldn't sacrifice Adam's justice—and her uncle's life—for her own anger. "It belongs to my cousin Ty. As you have clearly guessed, I read John Glen's report on Adam's bullet wounds. I recalled that Ty was carrying a Blunderbuss when he happened upon us on the road."
"And the letter?" Kiernan demanded.
"That, too, I found in Ty's room."
Kiernan's mouth thinned. "Ty's room? You were snooping in Arlington's room? You are not to go back there. No more playing spy."
"Playing spy? I am a spy."
"Not anymore."
"I warned you, sir, that marriage would not change me. I'll come and go as I please, continue on as I always have."
He gave her a critical look. "I see. So it is you whose life won't change, while you brought me to task for believing I wouldn't change with marriage."
"I never asked you to change, and I made it perfectly clear I wouldn't."
He stepped close, towering over her. "A wife who wishes to attend parties is one thing. A fiancée who is spying and doesn't tell her future husband is quite another."
"I never planned on marrying you," she replied.
He nodded. "So I gather."
"If you are dissatisfied with the union, have the marriage annulled."
Kiernan scowled. "I have no intention of letting you go."
"Why? I have been nothing but trouble for you."
He snorted. "No truer words have been spoken, but that doesn't mean I don't love you."
Her mouth parted in surprise.
He lifted a brow. "What have you to say to that, madam?"
Phoebe narrowed her eyes. "I think that you are once again trying to charm me."
A speculative glint appeared in his eyes. "I haven't charmed you in two days."
Her cheeks flushed hot with the memory of how she had charmed him in their carriage.
"I am going to keep a closer watch on you, wife. There will no sleeping in the lady's chamber tonight. I want you in my bed."