Shev by Tracey Devlyn Page A

on the edge of his tongue. He’d rarely sought another’s approval before, but with Anne, he wanted her to know there was more to him than his title and all the privileges that entailed. At the moment, however, he had more important things to sort out. One day soon, he would share with Anne a few of his livelier contributions to securing the kingdom’s borders.
    “Then perhaps you chose not to see.”
    He conceded the point. Lord knew he’d tried not to notice anything beyond what her position represented. Although he might have missed the vixen, he hadn’t been able to ignore the bright, caring, determined, beautiful, slightly vulnerable woman beneath the governess garb.
    “Perhaps, in the beginning. But now, my eyes are wide open.”
    Pink tinged her cheeks. Then her gaze shot up, fixed on something behind him.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “A man,” she said in a low voice. “I think he’s watching us.”
    “Where is he?”
    Her gaze flicked to his at hearing the lethal quality to his voice. “Standing near the large rock outcropping.” She glanced beyond him again. “He’s gone.”
    Shev whirled around and scanned the area, finding no trace of the intruder. “Go to Jacqueline. I’ll be back in a moment.”
    “Marcus, no.” She grasped his sleeve. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
    He cradled her delicate jaw. “I’ll be all right. I swear it.” He wanted to kiss her, but he feared a quick peck of reassurance would turn into more. So he settled for a simple brush of his thumb across her pale cheek. “Go to Jacqueline. Please.”
    The moment she turned away, Shev ran in the opposite direction. When he made it to the outcropping, he glanced back to find Anne picking flowers with Jacqueline though he could tell her every instinct was attuned to her surroundings.
    Ten minutes of searching produced no intruder. But Shev found a half-eaten apple near the outcropping and a fresh pile of horse manure within a cove of trees not far away.
    At his approach, Anne whispered something to Jacqueline before joining him. “Any sign of him?” She folded her arms around her middle, appearing more vulnerable than he’d seen her in a while.
    “Yes.” He slid an arm around her. “I found evidence of where the intruder and his horse were stationed.” A shudder racked her body. “He’s gone, Anne. Everyone is safe.”
    “It’s just that I—” She drew in a breath. “For a moment, I thought I had seen a ghost again.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “The day we arrived, I set off to investigate the mysterious dome in the woods.”
    “The folly?”
    “I assume so.” She stared into the distance. “I never made it. About halfway there, a silhouette in the trees caught my eye. I thought perhaps I had imagined the whole thing. But my unfortunate encounter with Lord Whitfield has made me…cautious.”
    “Shrewd,” he corrected. “My instincts have protected me from a great deal of trouble over the years.”
    She nodded. “I convinced myself the shadow was nothing more than one of the neighbor boys sneaking a peek at the newly returned marquess.”
    “You may be right. I certainly did my fair share of sneaking about as a young lad.” He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “Can you describe the gentleman you saw today?”
    “Tall and lean. Older, perhaps in his fifties. Balding.” She frowned. “I think that’s what drew my attention to him. When he removed his hat to swipe a cloth over his head.”
    The description didn’t match any of his neighbors, nor anyone else he knew. “A cloud has been cast over our outing. Why don’t we collect the banshee and head back to the house?”
    Anne nodded, seemingly reluctant to step out of his embrace. Her small hesitation made him want to drag her back, give her the comfort she so obviously needed but did not want to admit. Her reaction also made him want to track down Whitfield the next time he was in London and show the bastard what true fear and