Her Grace's Stable: A Jane Austen Space Opera, Book 2 by Joely Sue Burkhart Page B

beg me to let you kiss me again.”

Chapter Eight
    Drumming her fingertips on her desk, Violet let a plan of action form in her mind. Cole stood before her with an eager air of expectancy, hoping, no doubt, that she’d send him on some clandestine mission to determine the identity of their stable guest. All the bits of information he’d provided rattled about in her mind like one gigantic puzzle she burned to solve.
    She wasn’t familiar with anyone named Kitty but she was hardly an expert on the multitudes of Houses who crowded the ballrooms and parlors hoping to find a suitable matrimonial prospect, whether titled or moneyed or both. The Wellesleys had been relative nobodies until Wellington had been promoted to Field Marshal. If the engagement hadn’t been made formal, perhaps the infamous Kitty had been holding out for a more socially attractive mate. Though how she could have looked at the explosive strength in Arthur’s impressive body and not snatched him up formally, Violet had no idea.
    I shan’t make the same mistake.
    However, the thought that Arthur’s own grandmother had had a hand in his suffering made her so violently furious it was all she could do not to call Wellington out and risk the Queen’s wrath. She’d had her own run-ins with the hateful bitch, but she’d never expected Wellington would mistreat her own family with such betrayal.
    “Has he mentioned any other names?”
    “Only Corbus, the mistress at the auction house.”
    Violet froze but kept her voice even and hopefully unalarmed. “She’s the one who hurt him?”
    Cole nodded. “He said she wore a black bird’s mask with feathers that covered her hair. She led the others.”
    Dread the size of a cannonball rolled about in her stomach and her mind buzzed. It couldn’t be Majel. She wouldn’t risk her throne. But it could be one of her daughters. House Krowe was certainly wealthy enough to own every warehouse on the Thames and likely did.
    The name, the black mask, Majel’s feathers. A deliberate message? Or a deadly ruse?
    Only the eldest princess, Jane, was rumored to be insane enough to risk such a blatant challenge to her powerful mother. How many knew or suspected that the Queen’s heir might be torturing young men?
    Her skin prickled. All of Dottie’s whispered tales about spies and electronic bugs throughout the grand dome protecting Londonium made Violet’s blood run cold. “Let’s not repeat that name again. Ever. Tell him to forget he ever heard it if he cares at all who lives or dies around him.”
    Cole’s eyes widened with surprise. “You won’t let this woman escape punishment for hurting him.”
    It wasn’t exactly a question, but he wanted, needed, confirmation. “Of course not. But it’s going to be a very delicate, dangerous matter.”
    Relieved, he nodded. “Anything else, Your Grace?”
    She forced herself to broach the painful topic of their relationship. As his former mistress, I must ensure his wellbeing, no matter how much it hurts. “Have you been happy with him?”
    Another man might have dropped his gaze and shuffled his feet in embarrassment, but Cole continued to meet her gaze levelly. “No, Your Grace.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because you’re not there with us.” At the stricken look that must be on her face, he quickly moved on. “Besides, I don’t know that he particularly likes men. I mean, he didn’t hesitate to use me at first because his need was too great to ignore. But he told me it wouldn’t happen again.”
    Surprised, she reached out to Cole and he came around her desk immediately to drop at her feet and bury his face in her skirts. “You mean he hasn’t…”
    “Only the time in the stable when I first found him, and then once after that when he was fully recovered. He seemed…to regret it.”
    “Oh, dearest, I had no idea. I thought you might be happy with him and I was perfectly willing to step aside.”
    “I don’t want another man if I can’t have you too,