Free Ghost of Christmas Past by Rebecca King Page A

that
passed between Rupert and Argus.
    “ He is doing as well as can be expected, ma’am. He is sleeping
right now but should wake up soon. I have prepared room for you if
you would like to rest and freshen up. I am sure that your uncle
will be delighted you are here.”
    “ Oh, I should like to see him now. I don’t mind if he is
asleep, I just need to see him with my own eyes.” Relief washed
over her and she felt some of her initial fears start to ease.
However several doubts still lingered and they were doubts she knew
wouldn’t be assuaged until she actually saw him with her own
eyes.
    Rupert
sensed an argument brewing when the butler opened his mouth to put
forward another suggestion, and decided to intervene.
    “ Thea, I hate to say this because I know you are worried, but
you are tired and dusty and it is evident that the last couple of
days have been arduous. I promised your uncle that I would bring
you here, but he is going to be distressed if he sees you like you
are now. You need to get something to eat, at least take a short
nap and get rid of this layer of dust. Your uncle is alive and
resting. Please don’t distress him by letting him see you this
way.” He kept his voice low and quiet but the calm assurance
underlying his steady tone was enough to make her glance down and
take a good look at herself.
    She
couldn’t argue with him. She looked a fright and, as if to support
Rupert’s argument, her wayward stomach took that moment to rumble
loudly. Colour immediately flooded her cheeks and she coughed
uncomfortably to hide her embarrassment. The male superiority in
the look Rupert gave her made her smile ruefully and turned to look
at Argus, whose face was just a little too blank.
    “ I think that might be a better idea,” she sighed.
    “ I have taken the liberty of preparing a room for you as well,
sir. Your man from the War Office has left a note for you, and your
associate said that he would be back later.”
    Rupert
nodded and pocketed the note the butler held out to him. He sensed
the questions in Thea’s gaze but carefully avoided looking at her
in case she decided to stay in the hallway and she press for more
information. It wasn’t that he had no intention of telling her, he
just wanted her to be fed, rested and reassured about her uncle
before he told her about the work he really did, and who he
suspected had shot her uncle.
     
    A couple
of hours later, Thea had been fed, bathed and was now neatly
dressed in her best walking dress. She didn’t even bother to try to
lie down on the huge four poster bed that sat in the middle of the
room because she knew that she couldn’t rest just yet. Now that she
was a little more presentable, nothing was going to prevent her
from seeing her uncle.
    When she
had been shown to her room, Argus had told her where to find her
uncle’s master suite, and she had no problems finding her way there
now. She stood outside the highly polished mahogany door with her
hand on the knob and took in a deep breath. Her hand physically
trembled and she took a moment to compose herself. Tears beckoned
as the realisation of what had actually happened began to sink in.
Until now events had changed too quickly for her to stop and
consider them too much. Now that she was here, outside of her
uncle’s room, the startling swiftness of her change in
circumstances left her reeling.
    “ Are you alright?”
    She
squeaked and spun around at the low rumble in her ear. It was the
first time she realised just how tall he was up close and she was
acutely aware that she had to tip her head right back to look into
his wonderful eyes.
    “ I am just -” she shook her head, unable to find the words to
explain the mixed emotions that tumbled through her.
    “ You won’t find out how he is by standing outside, now will
you,” he prompted gently and reached around her to open the door.
It swung silently open to reveal a huge room that was lavishly
furnished with several chairs, two