“He kissed me in thebath,” Tess said.
“Close enough.”
“And that was after he rolled up his sleeves and flaunted his forearms at me.”
Ellie sucked in a disapproving breath. “Oh, now that’s just not playing fair!”
“We should add wrists to the list, too,” Daisy said. “As well as forearms. Have you noticed how men have these protruding bones, in their wrists? It makes me a little lightheaded just thinking about it.”
“And shoulders,” Ellie breathed. “They have marvelous shoulders.”
“Eleanor Law, you’re blushing!” Tess laughed. “Whose shoulders are you thinking of?”
“None in particular.” Ellie smiled. “It was more a general observation from that time we visited that boxing match in Holborn. Those gentlemen were prime anatomical specimens.”
“I have something else to add,” Tess said. “He treated me as his intellectual equal, instead of a feebleminded simpleton. He deferred to my greater knowledge of running the estate without once trying to tell me I was wrong, or suggesting I do something differently.”
“A rare man indeed,” Daisy muttered.
“And the way he says my name.” An involuntary sigh escaped Tess. “As if it’s his dying breath, and it’s the last thing he wants on his lips before he leaves this world. Nobody else says it like that.”
“Bloody Hell,” Daisy said. “Youarein love with him.”
“But is he in love with you?” Ellie asked.
Tess shook her head. “He is not. At least, I don’t think so.” She put her hands to her forehead and squeezed her temples. “God, I’m such a fool. He calls me Tess now, instead of Scarlet, which is a definite improvement. And I want to believe we could be friends. But he still seems perfectly able to ignore me. I’ve hardly seen him since we got back to Wansford House yesterday.”
“Well, he did say he’d leave you alone during your monthly courses. Perhaps he’s just being considerate.”
“Maybe. But I feel like he’s avoiding me.”
Ellie nibbled the end of her pencil. “He’s probably halfway in love with you already, but refusing to admit it. He’s burying himself in work just to avoid temptation.”
“I wish I had your confidence,” Tess said. “But enough about me. What’s the latest news about Stockdale?”
Daisy slid behind her desk. “He wants to meet you, in your red dress, at Vauxhall Gardens on Saturday. You’reto wait by the fireworks tower, at the east end of the grounds, at ten o’clock.”
“Another good choice,” Ellie grumbled. “It’s far away from the entrance and most of the amusements. And it’s almost completely surrounded by trees.”
“He’s agreed to bring the remaining letters written by the princess, but he’s changed his mind about how he wants to be paid.”
Tess raised her brows.
“Before, he was asking for five hundred pounds, but in his last note he demanded payment in jewels.”
“Why?”
Daisy shrugged. “They’re small, easy to dispose of, and almost untraceable. If he were given a necklace, for example, he could break it up and sell the pieces separately. Five hundred pounds in small-denomination bank notes is quite an unwieldy bundle to conceal. And he could theoretically be traced by the serial numbers on each one.”
“The queen has agreed to lend us a necklace,” Ellie added. “It’s real, not paste, in case he can tell the difference. Daisy and I will hide nearby, so as soon as you get the letters, we’ll emerge from the trees and force him to return it at pistol point.”
“The queen isn’t sending any of her own guards to help capture him?”
Ellie shook her head. “We advised against it. Stockdale will be wary of being double-crossed. He might call it off if he sees a bunch of burly-looking men lurking about in the bushes. If he sees Daisy and I, he’ll probably just think we’re tarts, waiting for an assignation. Or lovers.”
Tess nodded. “Shall we meet at Vauxhall? Or do you want to travel together?”
“You won’t be asking Thornton to escort you?”
