The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens Read Free Book Online Page A

suspicion he bears is simply that—suspicion. Suspicion he won’t dare air.”
    “It’s not what’s in the damned letter that’s the problem.” Again the first speaker raked a hand through his hair. He turned from the other two, pacing again. “It’s what’s on the damned letter. I sealed it with my personal seal.”
    “What?” The second speaker’s voice was incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”
    “I am. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but what chance was there this letter of all letters—going to Poona—would end back in Bombay, in Delborough’s hands?” The first speaker spread his arms. “It’s bizarre.”
    “But what possessed you to write a letter from the Black Cobra and use your own damned seal?” The baritone’s accents were sharply condemnatory.
    “It was necessary,” the first speaker snapped. “I had to get the letter off that day, or we would have lost another week—you’ll remember we discussed it. At the time we were desperate for more men, Delborough and his cohorts were making life difficult, and Holkar seemed our best bet. We agreed I should write, and it was urgent. But the Poona courier decided to leave early—the officious beggar actually had the gall to stand in my doorway and watch me finish the letter. He was itching to leave—if I’d ordered him out, told him to close the door and wait outside, he would have left. He was looking for any excuse to go without my letter.”
    Still pacing, the first speaker twisted the signet ring on the little finger of his right hand. “Everyone in the office—the damn courier included—knows about my seal ring. With him standing there, I could hardly reach into my pocket, draw out the Black Cobra seal and use it—with him watching my every move. In the circumstances, I decided using my own seal was the lesser of all evils—it’s not as if Holkar doesn’t know who I am.”
    “Hmm.” The second speaker sounded resigned. “Well, we can hardly allow you to be exposed.” The second speakerexchanged a glance with the baritone. “That would definitely put a dent in our enterprise. So”—gaze reverting to the pacing man, the second speaker briskly stated, “we’ll just have to locate Delborough and get this incriminating letter back.”
    September 16, the following night
Bombay
    “Delborough and his three remaining colleagues, together with their households, left Bombay two days ago.”
    Silence greeted the first speaker’s terse announcement. Once again the three conspirators had gathered in the night-shrouded courtyard—one on the sofa, one in the armchair, the other pacing the terrace above the glimmering pool.
    “Indeed?” the second speaker eventually said. “That’s disturbing. Still, I can’t see Hastings acting—”
    “They haven’t gone back to Calcutta.” Reaching the end of the terrace, the first speaker swung back. “I told you a week ago—they’ve resigned! They are, by all accounts, heading back to England.”
    Another lengthy silence ensued, then the baritone inquired, “Are you sure they’re even bothering with this letter? Easy enough to miss a seal, especially if concentrating on the information inside. They’ve laid hands on similar letters before, and known well enough such documents would get them nowhere.”
    “I’d like to believe that—that they’ve given up and are on their way home—believe me, I would.” The first speaker’s agitated pace didn’t ease. “But our spies have reported they met in a back room in some seedy bar in town two days ago. When they came out, each was carrying one of those wooden scroll-holders the locals use to ferry important documents—and then they parted. Went their separate ways. Those four have been together since long before theyreached these shores—why would they each go home by completely different routes?”
    On the sofa, the second speaker sat straighter. “Do you know which way each has gone?”
    “Delborough’s done the