The Soldier's Rebel Lover

‘No!’ She turned on him, shaking his hand away from her arm, her face aglow with anger. ‘You know, from the very start, I have been thinking, I have been asking myself, why are you really here?’

‘What do you mean? I’ve told you—’

‘Yes, that you are here to rescue El Fantasma from the Spanish government,’ Isabella interrupted with a sneer. ‘But why would you do that, Finlay? You are a soldier, an English—British soldier. You are here, by your own admission, under orders from the Duke of Wellington himself. But the Duke of Wellington does not care a fig about Spain. He stopped caring about Spain the moment he chased Napoleon across the border into France. No, Wellington does not give this,’ she said, snapping her fingers, ‘for what El Fantasma has to say now that we are no longer at war. He does, however, care very much about what El Fantasma could say about how that war was won here in Spain, yes? A campaign the duke himself had ultimate responsibility for.’

There was no point in pretending to misunderstand her. ‘Yes,’ Finlay said, ‘you’re quite correct. Whether as a result of his direct orders, or merely acts carried out in his name, there are many unsavoury aspects of the conduct of the war here that Wellington and his coterie would prefer left unsaid.’

‘Especially now that he has hopes of becoming prime minister,’ Isabella said, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at him. ‘And he would go to some lengths to protect those hopes, I think. To the extent of sending one of his men here to Spain, even. To ensure the—what was your phrase—diplomatically explosive information does not fall into Spanish hands.’

‘Aye, that he would.’

‘Oh.’

His blunt admission took her aback. She had been a deal less certain in her accusations than she’d sounded, Finlay thought, but what the hell, the lass deserved the whole truth. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘Both our governments have the same aim, albeit for differing reasons. My orders were to get to you before they did and take you back with me. Whether you’d subsequently end up a prisoner in exile under house arrest, or whether you’d simply quietly disappear I don’t know, but the net result would be the same. Silence.’

She put her hand to her breast, staggering away from him in horror. ‘You knew that, and yet you—you tell me this, and you expect me to consent to—to allow you to—to abduct me? You have been lying to me all along. I don’t understand. Why are you telling me all this?’

‘To knock some sense into you!’ He grabbed her, and when she shrank from him, gave her a tiny shake. ‘Don’t be so daft, lass. You can’t possibly think I would harm a hair on your heid! I’m telling you what my orders were, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to follow them.’

‘You’re not?’

‘The Jock Upstart has a reputation for insubordination to uphold,’ he said with a thin smile. ‘I’ve told you the truth from the start. I’m not here to kill you. I’m here to save your life.’

‘But how— What...’

‘You have to get out of Spain, but there’s no way I’m taking you to England. You’re bound for America, lass, and safety,’ Finlay said gently. ‘You asked me why I was sorry for what happened there, between us. That is why. You have no choice but to make a new life for yourself a whole continent away, and I can play no part in that life, even if you wanted me to. The arrangements are already in place.’

He had said far more than he intended, implied far more than he would admit to feeling, made the matter personal when it should not be, but before he could regret it or retract it, Isabella pushed him away.

‘America! I am not going to America. I am not going anywhere. Why would you think— No, wait. Something does not make sense. You had already made arrangements, planned to send El Fantasma to America, before you knew he was me—that it was me? That implies that you had always planned to disobey Wellington’s orders.’

‘I’m not here for Wellington. I’ll admit, my orders originate from Wellington, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because Jack asked me to come.’

‘Jack.’ Isabella stared at him blankly.