And Jamie need never know.
She got to her feet. As she dipped her curtsy, she gave Gloucester a slight nod. Then she picked up her skirts and left him without a backward glance.
The question of what to pay Gloucester for the favor was already settled in her mind. It was well known Gloucester overspent his income. His lavish support of the arts, among other indulgences, left him perpetually short of cash. Gold coin she had aplenty.
Gloucester was like a fish on a hook. All she had to do was get him in her net without falling into the water. She would make this a business deal, and they both would walk away satisfied. From what she heard, that was more than could be said of his lovers.
He would give her the name of her enemy. Once she had it, she would crush the villain like a soft pebble beneath her heel. Then all would be as it should be: the evil would be punished, the honest and hardworking rewarded.
Jamie called it revenge, but she called it justice.
To leave her past behind, she must do this one last thing. And then, she would begin her new life with her beloved.
An hour later, Linnet presented herself at Gloucester’s rooms. She was covered head to toe in hood and cape and carrying a purse filled with gold coins. She was expected. After a brief glance at her face beneath the hood, the guard opened the heavy door for her.
She could not make herself go in at first.
For the hundredth time, she told herself Jamie need never know. Sweat broke out on her palms as she stepped into the room—not from any fear of Gloucester, but because she felt guilty for deceiving her future husband—the man she loved with all her heart.
“Jamie, I promise I shall never deceive you again,” she whispered under her breath. “But I can have no peace until I avenge my grandfather and right the wrong done to us.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Jamie was starving. ’Twas always that way after a fight. As soon as he cleaned himself up, he went to the hall hoping to find some supper. He could eat an entire wild boar himself.
Supper was finished, but when he hailed a servant, the good man brought him a tasty venison pie and a loaf of bread. Ignoring the people milling about the hall, he sat at a trestle table and made quick work of his meal. When he was done, he got up to look for Linnet.
Food was not the only thing a man hungered for after a fight. He was randy as hell.
The Virgin protect him. Eleanor Cobham was heading straight for him like a hound on the scent of a fox through an open field. Jamie glanced to the left and the right, though he knew full well it was too late to escape.
“Lady Eleanor,” he said, making his bow. “You look striking tonight.”
He spoke the truth—Eleanor looked as if she might strike anyone who stood in her path.
She narrowed cold gray eyes at him and demanded, “Do you know where your lady friend is?”
How much jewelry could a woman wear? Gloucester could have financed another foray against the Flemish with the gold and glittering stones hanging off his mistress.
“My ‘lady friend’?” he asked in a mild tone, knowing damned well it would annoy her.
Eleanor leaned forward, hands on her hips, and he smelled the strong wine on her breath.
“Do not play the fool with me, James Rayburn. You know very well I mean that fair-haired French bastard who puts on airs as if royal blood ran through her veins.”
In a flash, Jamie’s own blood was pounding in his ears. “If you were a man, Eleanor, I would beat you senseless for that remark. As it is, I will ask you to curb your tongue.”
“Men are such fools,” she spat out. “Shall I tell you where the woman you are so gallantly defending is at this very moment?”
Unease settled in his gut. He cursed himself for letting this corrosive woman make him doubt Linnet. She had pledged her love, given him an eternal promise. She would not play him for a fool.
Not again.
“Lady Linnet is with the queen and her ladies in the queen’s apartment,” he said.
Eleanor clenched her fists and stamped her foot. “She is with Gloucester!”
“You are mistaken,” he said, fighting the insidious doubt that was seeping into his heart. “But if she were in his company, I am certain it would be for some innocent purpose.”