Stephan quirked a corner of his mouth. “I do not suppose you would be aiding and abetting that condition?”
Brice’s grin widened. “I may have bought an extra round or two.”
“Hmmm. I take it the investment paid off?”
“Quite well,” Brice answered. “Tisdale had purchased that shipment to coddle up to Prinny.”
Stephan blinked. “The shipment was meant for this house party?”
“Yes. Tisdale wanted to impress the prince.”
“I am sure he did just that,” Stephan said drily, “but perhaps not in the way he intended.”
“You have that right,” Brice replied. “Tisdale went down to Kent to sniff around, not that it will do him any good. If any of the coastal men are involved, they certainly are not going to admit it.”
“That is true.” Apart from the fishermen and crofters adhering to the theory that it was their human—or maybe divine—right to avoid the revenue man, each household got part of the bounty or the sale thereof. Not that Stephan could tell Barclay that. “Perhaps Tisdale is using the trip to Kent as an excuse to allow the prince to cool his temper.”
“You may be right about that, too,” Brice agreed. “One of the lords said the regent is so furious about the theft that he is offering a five-hundred-pound reward to catch the pirates.”
Stephan schooled his face to the impassive expression he used when he played faro. That kind of money could well convince a man to turn someone in. He would have to warn Eric that their risks had just increased.
For the moment, though, Stephan would content himself with the knowledge that part of the raid had been at Tisdale’s expense. What ironic luck that was.
…
Having spent their first night aboardLady of Fortune, Brice and Stephan didn’t put in an appearance at the Pavilion until luncheon at thirty past one o’clock the next afternoon. Stephan figured he could explain the delay due to securing his vessel and making a final inspection of the tack in preparation for trial runs. That excuse would also explain his lack of formal dress today. However, he didn’t want to push the prince into a further frenzy, given what he’d heard about the reward being offered.
Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how he viewed it—that delay had also afforded them the knowledge that theSea Masterhad docked sometime during the night. Any captain worth his salt would have dropped anchor off shore and waited until daylight to come in, but if Tisdale were on board, he probably ordered the captain to proceed. There had been little sign of activity around the boat, though, so Stephan didn’t know if the earl had actually arrived or not.
As Brice and he approached the entrance to the octagon rotunda, Brice suddenly stopped. “Why do I feel like I am delivering you into the bowels of hell?”
“Because you probably are,” Stephan replied as he paused, too. “Attending dinners and balls are torture. Spending nearly three weeks doing the same night after night amounts to purgatory.”
“You can blame your title for that,” Brice said with good-natured ribbing. “As a mere baron, I did not receive the honor of a resident room within these glamorous walls.”
“You know damn well I would prefer spending the nights on board theLady of Fortune.”
“That is where I will be,” Brice said. “At least for tonight. I will get a hotel room tomorrow.”
“No doubt with a paramour or two to share your bed.”
Brice grinned. “Who am I to deny a lady pleasure?”
Stephan shook his head. “Just be careful whom you lure out here unless you want to be caughtin flagrante delicto. The only escape is plunging into the sea.”
“I have no intention of letting that happen,” Brice replied, “but you might be concerned for yourself.”
Stephan raised a brow. “Myself?”
“Do not sound like a green lad,” Brice said. “I know why you did not insist on staying at nearby Castle Inn where you would have been able to escape at least some of the lunacy. You have not forgotten that Caroline Nash will be housed beneath the Pavilion roof.”
He could hardly forget. She truly was his sea siren. Remembering how responsive she’d been to his kisses was the reason he was here. But he’d already confided too much interest in her as it was. He didn’t need to make more of an arse of himself in front of Brice.
To change the subject, Stephan looked up at the massive palace. Work had recently been done on a large onion-like dome on the rotunda, and several others were in stages of being built, making the building look more like it belonged in India than southern England. He gestured to the extensions on either side of the original building. “The new architect for these additions is John Nash. Is he any relation to Caroline?”
“Are you trying to sidetrack me?” Brice asked.
Stephan feigned ignorance. “Not at all. I just wondered, since they share the same last name.”
