“Danton’s the reason the Nightjar went after the gems. The most recent ones, at least. If we hand the jewels over to the prince and tell him the perpetrators have been dealt with appropriately, it won’t be a lie. Danton can stand trial and receive his just punishment for murdering Andretti. And I’ll personally vouch for Emmy’s continued good behavior to Conant if she’s spared prosecution. Case closed.”
Alex stared into the fire. Emmy wouldn’t like Danton taking credit for her heists. She was proud of her talents, and rightly so. But if this solution stopped her from being imprisoned, he would do it, her pride be damned. Danton would hang for the Italian’s murder. He might as well take the blame for the thefts too, and let the Nightjar die with him. Emmy would be free from her father’s legacy once and for all.
Seb wrinkled his forehead. “Vouch for her? How are you going to do that? Sail her off around the world? Keep her chained up at the Tricorn for the next sixty years?”
“By keeping a close eye on her for the rest of my life. I’m going to marry her.”
Alex derived a great deal of satisfaction from the way Seb’s mouth dropped open in shock.
“You’re going towhat?”
“Marry her.” It got easier every time he said it out loud. Alex smiled. “I’ll swear to Conant to keep her out of trouble. I’ll keep her so busy, both in bed and out of it, that she won’t have time to steal.”
Seb slouched back in his chair and took another sip of brandy. “Doessheknow about this brilliant plan of yours? You’ve actually asked her to marry you? And she’s agreed?”
“Not yet. I was going to tell her, once tonight was over with.”
Seb gave a bark of laughter. “Tell her? Good God, man! I might not be married, but from everything I know about the fair sex, you don’t justtella woman you’re going to marry her. You ask. You grovel, in fact. You get down on your knees and beg. And then you pray she’s either foolish enough, desperate enough, or pitying enough to say yes.”
Alex shifted in his seat. “She won’t refuse me.”
Seb’s disbelieving chuckle made him want to punch him in the face. “This is the same woman who still thinks you’re about to lock her away and throw away the key? That one?” He shook his head.
“I’m doing it for her own protection,” Alex growled, inexplicably feeling the need to justify his decision with rational argument. “As my countess, she’ll be far better off, both socially and financially. That aloneshould convince Conant that she won’t need to steal anymore.”
“She never stole for profit in the first place,” Seb pointed out, with irritating logic. “That’s the worst excuse I ever heard. Why don’t you just admit the real reason?”
Alex felt heat creep up his neck. “What reason?” Seb’s teasing smirk made his hands itch to close around his neck. He clenched them into fists.
“That blind spot of yours is an extremely good metaphor, you know,” Seb drawled. “Physically, you can’t see to your right. Mentally, you can’t see what’s been bloody obvious to everyone else around you for weeks. You can’t take your eyes off her. You can’t stop thinking about her. You can’t stop talking about her. You can’t stopchasingher. You are, in fact, one hundred percentin love with her.”
Alex opened his mouth to deny it, but Seb raised his hand.
“Admit it. You’re head over heels in love with her, and you’re too much of an idiot to tell her so.” He shook his head mock mournfully. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“It’ll happen to you too, someday,” Alex growled.
“Not in a month of Sundays. Love is for fools.”
“You don’t need to tell me. I know. We’re from opposite ends of the legal and—might I add—ethicalmoral spectrum. I’m sworn to uphold the law. She’s committed heaven knows how many crimes and shown not a shred of remorse for any of them. In fact, she seems to exhibit an unholy glee at having outwitted us all for so long.”
“She brings out the best in you. And just think, life will never be boring.”
“Well, that’s true. I never know what the hell she’s going to do next.”
Seb sighed. “I wish you luck, my friend. That woman has been one step ahead of us for months. You might havethe upper hand right now, but she has a lifetime of tricks up her sleeve.”
Deciding to give Emmy a little space, Alex made sure her letter was delivered to her grandmother, checked that her request for food had been accommodated, and joined Seb in the Tricorn’s private dining room for a meal provided by the wonderful Monsieur Lagrasse.
When he finally entered his rooms, it was to find Emmy looking ridiculously attractive in a moss-green velvet dress he hadn’t seen before. She’d obviously had a bath—her skin was pink and rosy, and her hair had been put up in a complicated-looking twist. That damnable perfume of hers swirled in the air.
Instead of striding over there and kissing her senseless, which he very much wanted to do, he frowned and took a seat behind his desk to hide the telltale bulge in the front of his breeches. “Where did you get that dress?”
“Sally sent it over.” She took the chair across the desk from him and placed her hands neatly on the top. “She thought I might need something clean and warm for tonight. So, do we have a plan?”
“We do. Danton wants you to meet at Kew, in the grounds of the castle King George has been constructing for the past decade.” He glanced over at the mantel clock. Eight thirty. “It’s about eight miles as the crow flies, across the river from Brentwood. It should take about an hour with the carriage, so we need to be leaving soon. Dan will drive you, but when you reach the gatehouse, you must get out of the carriage and go on alone with the jewels. Don’t worry. Seb and I will be hidden in the undergrowth. We’ll always have you in our sights.”
“That’s reassuring,” she said dryly. “I’m sure I’ll feel much more relaxed knowing you’re tracking my progress with the barrel of a Baker rifle.”
