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Sliding, falling
Amelia awoke to a hand held over her mouth and a whisper in her ear
"ShhSomeone is in the house"
Colin’s voice anchored her in the semidarkness For the space of several heartbeats, the horror and fear froered Then the feel of Colin’s body pressed to her back and his strong arms around her provided much needed comfort
Awareness seeped in slowly She noted the elaborateand felt velvet beneath her calf
They were on the settee in the library Frorate--now reduced to mere embers--she had been asleep for at least a couple of hours
Turning in Colin’s embrace, she faced him and pressed her mouth to his ear "Who is it?" she whispered
Colin shook his head, his dark eyes glittering
Aripped his fra on the parquet floor
Boots At this hour
Her heartbeat leaped fro teered
He pressed his lips to hers in a quick, hard kiss Then he slid silently off the edge of the couch On his knees, he fastened his breeches He drew his discarded shirtsleeves over his head, then reached for his small sword
She, too, slid to the floor and belted her robe
"Secure the door when I leave," he whispered, pulling his blade free of its scabbard with torturous slowness to avoidhim with a shake of her head, Ali atop his waistcoat and coat The moment her hand wrapped around it, he was behind her
"No"
"Trust me" She turned her head to press her cheek to his
His jaw clenched "My sanity hinges on your safety"
"You think I feel differently about you?" She touched his cheek with a shaking hand, tracing the faint line thatdimple appeared when he was happy "Rest easy My sister is the Wintry Widow"
There was a long pause, his throat working as he considered what she was saying
"Let ether if you always leave ht of her in danger tormented him, because she felt likewise about hied a jerky nod With a swift kiss to his parted lips, she pulled the dagger free of its sheath
I love you The words were spoken soundlessly, his lips against hers
Amelia lifted his hand and kissed the back
Colin wrenched away from her and , he had closed it Now, he turned the knob and cracked it just wide enough to see The well-oiled hinges one She counted to ten, then slipped out after hier hilt, A the runner toward the stairs, her senses acute The sound of the wind blowing and the nocturnal call of a preying owl grounded her to the moment She breathed shallowly, her emotions suppressed by the instinct to survive and the need to protect Colin There was a sudden silence, as if the house held its breath, and then she heard the barest hint of sound--a stealthy footfall straight ahead
She paused Pushing to her knees, she huddled in the darkness
A clear shot, just one
To her right, athe hilt, Amelia prepared to throw Her areable She had never killed before, but if it became necessary, she would act first and face the consequences later
Her arht lying directly across the bottoh there was no discernable sound of progress, A closer to that tiny beaht
Closercloser
Suddenly, Colin lunged She kneas hiht He crashed into a body so well concealed by shadows that Amelia had been unable to see the outline of it at her present angle A loud crash heralded the colliding of the two figures into a breakable object
She leaped to her feet Crossing the hallway, she reached the opposite wall, i the chances of a successful strike
It was too dark to identify one forbut pray
Mercifully, a door opened on the upper floor She bit back a sob of relief The light cast by an approaching lantern bearer was sufficient illumination to catch an uplifted blade too short to be Colin’s sht behind the volley with an oft-practiced lunge
It spun hilt-over-blade in a lightning quick roll A pained grunt rent the air The knife that had been aimed at Colin clattered noisily, yet harmlessly, to the parquet
St John rushed down the staircase with a pistol held in one hand and a lantern held aloft in the other Maria was directly behind hiht spilled across the foyer, revealing A his chest, the intruder sank to his knees The hilt of the dagger protruded fro moment, then fell forward
"Bloody hell," Colin breathed, rushing to her side "Beautifully done"
"That was excellent, Aaze on the body lying slu out here?" Ware de the staircase Mr Quinn and Made in short order
"Depardue," the Frenchwoman said She lowered to a crouch and set her hand on his shoulder, pushing hiently to his back "Coroaned softly and opened his eyes "Lysette"
She reached for the dagger and withdrew it Then stabbed hih the heart
The sound of the blade scraping across a rib bone and a sharp abbreviated cry from Depardueill
The Frenchwoed and yanked her back, the dagger pulling free with her retreat and hitting the floor "Enough! You killed hiht her confine expletives in French with such venom, Amelia took an involuntary step backward Then the woman spat on the corpse
The display left everyone in stunned silence for a long moment Then St John cleared his throat "Wellthat one is no longer a threat However, there must be more of them I doubt the man would come alone"
"I will search the downstairs" Colin looked at Amelia "Go to your rooht of the deadpool of blood at her feet made her stomach churn Now that help was at hand, the full effect of her actions began to seep into her consciousness
"I found so "
All eyes turned toward the direction of the foyer, where Ti Jacques by the scruff of his neck
"’E was sneaking about outside," the giant rumbled
No one could fail to note the French’ about!" Jacques protested
"I think ’e let that one"--Tim jerked his chin toward Depardue--"in"
"Do we have a traitor in our midst?" St John asked ominously