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He took the package from the hall table and paused by the door.  I ll bring this back to you in a day or
two. Then you can take it to Cambridge.
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He did not wait for a reply. Turning away, he opened the door. He strode down the steps and got into
his waiting carriage.
He should just let her go, end their charade, and release her from their bargain, but he could not. It was
too great a risk. He had no illusions that she would stay for him or his cause. As she had told him, she
was not in this for an ideal or for a man. She was in this for herself. Nonetheless, Ethan re-membered that
dead look in her eyes as she had told him about Willoughby and why she would rather die than go back
to that life. He had the feel-ing that look would haunt him for many days and nights to come.
He was threatening to send her back to that life if she did not cooperate with him. Doubts about his
decision to involve her assailed him, and he shifted guiltily on the carriage seat. Perhaps he should find
someone else to go to Cambridge. He could afford to buy her indenture and free her. Perhaps he should
just let her go.
No, she knew too much. She wouldn t stick at handing him to the governor for money if he no longer
had anything to hold over her head. He could not let her go. Once again, guilt and doubt overtook him.
Was he doing the right thing by making her stay? So many people depended on him to make the right
decisions, to find the right infor-mation, to keep danger at bay, and he had never been uncomfortable
with the role. Until now.
He smiled to himself, but there was no humor in it, only irony. He was getting too softhearted, it seemed,
and for a spy who was committing sedi-tion, plotting revolution, and preparing for war, a soft heart was a
very inconvenient thing.
Chapter Thirteen
For the next two days, Katie heard nothing from Ethan, and she occupied her time doing things she had
never had the means or opportunity to do be-fore. She visited as many dressmakers and haber-dashers
in Boston as she could find. She found it amusing that shop assistants fawned all over her, now that she
had fine clothes and a fancy carriage. Only a few weeks ago, any shopkeeper would have taken one
look at her and chased her out with a broom and threats of the constable. Now, they tripped over
themselves to assist her, and she took a somewhat wicked enjoyment in sending them running for the
richest foodstuffs and fabrics for two or three hours and then walking out after buy-ing only a ha penny
box of sweets or half a yard of lace.
She also savored her comfortable house and the servants who fetched and carried for her. She knew
she had only a few more days before Lowden re-turned and she would be forced to end this charade,
but she wanted to take all the pleasure from it that she could, for she doubted she would ever have the
chance to live like this again.
One of the most enjoyable pleasures of her new life was a nightly soak in the huge copper bathtub Ethan
had bought for her, a luxurious ritual com-plete with lavender-scented soap and warm towels. This
evening bath enabled her to forget, at least temporarily, about the price she would pay for the enjoyments
of her new life, to forget about the dan-gerous line she was walking, to forget about the control two men
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had over her life. Until one of them intruded on her nightly bath and reminded her.
 Now, that is how a mistress ought to look.
Katie knew it was Ethan before she even opened her eyes. With a startled gasp, she turned her head
and saw him standing in the doorway to her room, dressed all in black, tricorn pulled low over his eyes,
the copy of Shakespeare in his hands. He leaned with one shoulder against the doorjamb in that lan-guid
yet alert stance she was coming to know so well. Instinctively, she crouched down in the tub in an effort
to shield herself from him, but she knew he had probably already seen everything there was to see.
She grabbed for one of the towels that lay on the floor beside her and took the offensive.  What do you
mean barging into my room? she demanded as she stood up, hoping to brazen things out while shielding
her nakedness from his intense perusal with a towel that suddenly seemed far too small.
He grinned at her awkward efforts, unper-turbed by her bravado.  Since it is my money that pays for
this room, I think I have the right to enter it if I choose to do so.
Katie made a sound of outrage, but it was hard to express it effectively when she was dripping wet and
a towel was all the protection she had. Before she could figure out how to respond, Ethan entered the
bedroom and shut the door behind him.
She watched with growing dismay as he saun-tered over to the bed where Janie had laid out a
nightgown for her earlier. He set down the book and picked up the filmy garment of lawn and lace. To
her acute embarrassment, he held it up for a good, long look.  Very pretty, he said, and shot her a look [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]