Free Devil in Her Dreams by Jane Charles

danger?” Louisa looked at all three of them, trying to gauge their reaction.
    John laughed first. “No.”
    “
But this Savary, he sent that man after you?”
    “
Savary has issued a warrant in France. The man today, and another in London, took it upon themselves to come after John and Elizabeth,” Marston explained. “They wanted to prove themselves to Savary and gain favor.”
    “
Well, he didn’t seem very bright,” Louisa mused. “Who would believe a tale about wild boars?”
    Marston grinned. “If I wouldn’t worry myself sick, I would suggest you offer your services to the Home Office. With your fluent French, eavesdropping, and shooting ability, you would be a valuable asset.”
    John and Elizabeth both looked at him as if he had gone mad.
    Louisa’s face warmed. It was the nicest compliment she had ever received. “So you admit that I don’t need a gentleman to protect me?”
    “
I didn’t say that.” He took a drink. What should she have expected? Marston would always view women as if they needed to be sheltered, despite the compliment he just delivered.
    Elizabeth stood. “Let’s get you upstairs to prepare for dinner.”
    “
What will become of that man?” Louisa put her wine glass on the table and came to her feet.
    “
I will be taking him back to London tomorrow,” Marston answered.
    Her heart lurched, but instead of asking him to stay longer, she forced a pleasant smile. “I wish you a safe journey.”
    His eyebrows drew together as if her words confused him. She didn’t wait to be questioned and followed her sister out the door.
     
    Devlin sighed and thrust his fingers through his hair. Safe journey? That is what someone said to an acquaintance, not a man who kissed you senseless earlier in the day. Had he misread her somehow? He tipped the glass back and drained the brandy. It burned down his throat.
    Marching to the sideboard, he poured another. It didn’t matter that it was his third. He was angry from being caught today and mortified that it was Louisa who had to save him and bring down Savary’s man without any help from him. Now she acted as if he were no more than an acquaintance. Had the fact that he had been the one tied to the tree while she delivered the disabling blows made her think less of him? It should have been the other way around. He should have been coming to her rescue.
    Damn and blast.
    He turned to find John staring at him as he leaned against the closed door, a curious look upon his face.
    “
What exactly are your intentions toward my sister-in-law?”
    Bloody hell, he didn’t want to have this conversation now. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    John straightened and walked toward him. “You would worry if she were with the Home Office. You’ve worked with other women and it never seemed to bother you.”
    “
That was different.” They weren’t Louisa. “And I didn’t like it.”
    “
I think it’s more.”
    Did he dare tell John the truth? They had known each other for years, and if anyone would understand, it was John. “I wish to court her.” There, he said it. “However, I can’t until my sisters are settled. I can’t be distracted by a lady.”
    John laughed. “Whether you are courting Louisa or not, you will still be distracted by her.”
    “
No, I won’t,” Devlin insisted.
    “
If you say so.” John grinned into his glass before he took a drink.
     
    Louisa looked up from her seat by the window. Marston walked toward her when the gentlemen filtered into the drawing room after dinner. He stopped before her chair.
    “
Would you join me for a turn in the garden?”
    She hoped he would ask. They had barely spoken since she left him to dress for supper. Without a word, she rose and placed her hand on his arm, and he led her outside into the star filled night. They turned down a path bordered with roses still blooming and stopped at a small bench. Louisa took a seat, and he joined her.
    He didn’t utter a word but drew her close for