Much Ado About Kissing (Howertys #4)

Chapter 28: Puzzle Pieces

It had taken some convincing—and lying—to get the Archbishop to sign a special license for two people who were not even present. Especially without a guardian for Nick Howerty, who was not yet of age. Sometimes, being a duke did have its advantages, and Marcus was not beyond using them when he needed to. This had been such a time. With the special license in his pocket, he'd visited the War Office to inform them of where he was heading, and he'd made his way to Nick's estate in Devon.

When he'd arrived at Holdenhurst Manor two days later, he'd discovered that Nick and Winter had been taken captive by the elusive Frenchman that everyone was searching for. He wanted Nick's estate for its prime location on the coast, where he could bring in items and people without having to visit an official port, and no one would have been the wiser. The special license was to make Nick and Winter marry so the Frenchman could force Winter to sign the estate over to him.

The very day after Marcus's arrival, Nick and Winter had married in the local church. Not the most romantic wedding when their refusal would have potentially been fatal. The reinforcements from the War Office had finally arrived as they were leaving the church, and they had apprehended the Frenchman and his henchmen. With the threat averted, they could all breathe out.

Nick and Winter were still married, but as long as they didn't consummate the marriage, they could most likely gain an annulment. Especially considering the circumstances of the wedding. The bishop would likely agree to an annulment when the bride had not had her guardian's consent and had been forced under near-literal gunpoint. They just had to make sure they didn't consummate, and they could get it all sorted when they returned to London. He smirked where sat atop his horse on his way home. Knowing his friend's weakness for the young lady, he rather doubted they would get that far.

"I'm not sure I have ever seen you smirk before." John Osborne, one of the young employees of the War Office, had stayed behind to travel home with him rather than going with his fellow agents. Marcus had worked with him on a few cases, and always thought he seemed like an all right fellow. He was also a friend of Rain's, and that meant he was automatically a friend of Marcus's too.

"I was only calculating the odds of Winter and Nick being able to request an annulment of their marriage."

"Oh, I imagine it should be easy enough, considering the circumstances." Osborne caught Marcus's raised eyebrow and chuckled. "Right. I understand. Yes. Not likely, indeed."

Marcus fingered the reins of his horse as he thought through the events of the last few days. Something just didn't feel right, and there was an uncomfortable tingling between his shoulder blades that he simply could not shake. "Osborne," he said. "What do you make of the missing list? Do you agree that Brown must have destroyed it or we should have found it by now?"

Osborne's brow furrowed as he considered it. "It seems the most likely possibility. We have suspected that he had an accomplice, so my biggest concern would probably be if that man has the list."

"We've had similar thoughts. Did you know Brown? Does he seem like someone who would betray his fellow men to you?" It had been several years since Marcus worked directly for the War Office rather than help on the occasional case, but from what little he remembered of the agent, he had seemed devoted to his king and country.

"Honestly?" Osborne turned his head to meet Marcus's eyes. "Brown was one of the last men I would have expected to do such a thing."

"Hmm. I had the same thought. Something doesn't quite add up for me, and I don't like it."

"Want to talk it through?" Osborne gave him a lopsided smile. "It's not as if we have much else to do at the moment. We've still got hours before we take a break for the night."