The Untamed Bride Plus Black Cobra 02-03 and Special Excerpt Read Online Free PDF Page B

her gaze to Del’s face. “I’ll leave it in your hands, Colonel, as I promised Captain MacFarlane I would.”
    She pushed back from the table.
    They all rose. Gareth drew back her chair. “Allow me to organize an escort for you back to the governor’s house.”
    Gareth’s gaze touched Del’s, and he nodded. No sense taking any unnecessary chances with Miss Ensworth.
    Their interaction had passed over Emily Ensworth’s head. She nodded graciously to Gareth. “Thank you, Major.”
    Then she inclined her head to Del and the other two. “Good evening, Colonel. Gentlemen.”
    “Miss Ensworth.” They all bowed, waited as Gareth led her away, then resumed their seats.
    They stared at the packet lying on the table before Del. Without a word, they waited for Gareth to return.
    The instant he did, Del picked up the packet. Removing the outer sheet, he laid it flat, revealing it was blank. It hadbeen wrapped around a single document, a letter, the seal already broken.
    Del unfolded the letter, briefly scanned. After a quick glance around, he leaned on the table and, voice low, read the contents aloud.
    The letter was addressed to one of the more influential Maratha princelings, one Govind Holkar. It began innocently enough, with nothing more sinister than social news revolving about what was loosely termed the younger Government House set. But after those first paragraphs, the tone of the letter changed to one of offer, a blatant inducement to persuade Holkar to commit more men and resources to the Black Cobra cult.
    The further he read, the more Del frowned. Reaching the end, he concluded with, “And, as usual, it’s signed with the mark of the Black Cobra.”
    Letting the letter fall through his fingers to rest on the table, Del shook his head. “This isn’t anything more than we’ve already got—than James knew we already had.”
    Gareth reached for the letter. “There has to be something more in it—something concealed.”
    Del sat back, feeling oddly dead inside, and watched while Gareth silently went through the letter. Then Gareth raised his head, grimly shook it. “If there is, I can’t see it.”
    Logan took the letter, read it, then, with a swift shake of his head, passed it to Rafe in his corner.
    It didn’t take Rafe long to scan the single sheet. He slumped back in his chair, the letter held in one hand at arm’s length. “Why?” He shook the letter. “Damn it, James, why did you give your life for this? There’s nothing here!”
    Rafe flung the letter toward the table. It flipped and landed upside down. He scowled at it. “That’s not worth—”
    When he said nothing more, Del glanced at him and saw him staring, as if mesmerized, at the letter. As if it had transformed into their nemesis.
    “Oh, Lord,” Rafe breathed. “It can’t be.” He reached for the letter.
    For the first time in all the years he’d known him, Del saw Rafe Carstairs’s hand shake.
    Rafe lifted the letter, held it closer to his face, staring….
    “It’s the seal.” Voice firming, Rafe leaned forward and turned the letter, held it so the seal, largely intact, was on a level with the others’ eyes. “He’s used his own seal. Bloody Ferrar finally made a mistake, and James—youthful-sharp-eyes-and-even-sharper-wits James—caught it.”
    Gareth reached out and took the letter. He was the most familiar with Ferrar’s seal; he’d been the one to go through the man’s desk. He studied the imprint closely, then looked up and met Rafe’s eyes. Nodded. “It’s his.” The suppressed excitement coming off both of them was palpable.
    Del asked, “Could he say someone had stolen the seal and used it to implicate him? One of us, for instance?”
    A slow smile spread across Gareth’s face. He looked at Del. “That won’t wash. It’s a seal ring, and it never leaves Ferrar’s pinky. In fact, short of him losing the finger, it can’t. All the clerks and secretaries at Government House know that—he makes