His Silken Seduction Read Online Free Page B

this subtly coded letter, that she and Jacques are making for the coast so that he can take ship for England.” He grinned at her, feeling more than a little smug at having deciphered Marguerite’s code where Suzanne could not.
    “But why on earth should he do that? Jacques’s place is here, alongside his fellow royalists, fighting for our cause. You must return to England, Benn, but you are English. Jacques is a Frenchman.”
    Ben knew, in that instant, that his face had given him away.
    “Dear God!” Suzanne exclaimed. “You gulled us all. Your friend Jacques is another English spy!”
    There was no point in denying it. “You are right, of course,” he conceded, trying to keep his tone light. “The only difference between us is that he can pass for a Frenchman, and I cannot. Jacques’s…Jack’s mother is French, you see,” he added, with a rueful smile.
    “And ‘Jack’ is his real name.” It was not a question.
    Ben did not reply, which was confirmation in itself. He had told Suzanne quite enough now. It would be dangerous for her to learn more.
    Her next question surprised him. “But what about Marguerite? Her English spy…this two-faced Jack of yours…will abandon her and sail back to his own country. She will be left alone, and in danger. Oh, war is cruel to treat poor women so. And English spies are heartless.” She rose and turned her back on him, hurrying for the door.
    “Don’t go. Please, Suzanne.” The words were out before he knew it. He took a deep breath, fixing his gaze on her straight, tense back. “Jack is an honourable man, Suzanne. He knows how much he owes…how much we both owe to you and your sister. I know he will ensure that Marguerite is safe before he leaves. If not with the cure, then somewhere else. He would never abandon her. As I could never abandon you.”
    She spun on her heel to confront him. But it was no true confrontation. Her face was more flushed than he had ever seen it. Her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears. Ben fancied that her hands were shaking.
    “Never?” Her voice was shaking, too.
    For a heartbeat, their eyes locked. Then she turned and fled from the room.

Chapter Four
     
    There was no going back now. He must continue with his mission…he had no choice there…but he was now bound to Suzanne Grolier by ties of honour. Somehow, he would have to find a way of ensuring her future safety and her comfort. That was not what he really wanted, of course. What he really wanted was to take her in his arms, to feel her lithe, strong body under his own, to show her what passion could be between a man and a woman.
    It was out of the question. He knew that. She was no loose woman, but a solid bourgeoisie, the daughter of an honest trader. She was not of Ben’s class, but she was not of a class that he could trifle with, either. It would be dishonourable for Ben to seduce any girl of the bourgeoisie. With Suzanne, it would be even more unthinkable, for he had now pledged himself to protect her.
    He should think of her as a sister.
    That made him laugh out loud, so much so that a shaft of pain tore through his wounded shoulder, a telling reminder of the risks he ran by acting without careful thought. Before Jack left for Paris, he had been rash enough to swear on the Grolier family bible that he would treat Marguerite as a sister. Ben wondered whether Jack would have been able to resist the temptation. Marguerite would make a luscious armful and, unlike Ben, Jack had two good arms to wrap around her.
    Ben tried to push that sensuous image from his mind. Lying here, in Marguerite’s room, injured and idle, was doing him no good at all. He needed something to do…to keep his mind busy and away from lustful imaginings.
    He would make a start, right now, by getting back on to his feet.
    Suzanne was refusing to think about what Benn had said. She told herself she had far too much to do, finishing her accounts and sorting out the precious fabrics from