Authors: Gloria Harchar
Instinct told her to push on.
"
Nonsense, my lord. You were a victim. Now, I have promised your help to another one of Mr. Hill
'
s victims.
"
"
I repeat—I
'
m no man
'
s dupe.
"
She tilted her head.
"
I admit that I do have trouble with that part of the story.
"
"
Thank God for that. I see I must satisfy your curiosity, else you will snoop more and create new situations for me to resolve.
"
"
I am tenacious.
"
"
Yes
, I realize that.
"
He gave her a meaningful look. She tapped her knee with her fingers.
"
Back to my original question. You weren
'
t duped. What did you do to get even with Thomas Hill?
"
He leaned back against the squabs.
"
To put it simply— nothing. That is, nothing other than make him promise to put all the blame on me.
"
She sat, stunned.
"
Excuse me? You mean to imply that you wanted him to spread false rumors about how you were responsible for the missing cargo?
"
"
I
'
m not implying—I
'
m
telling
you that.
"
"
But...
but why?
"
"
Haven
'
t you been listening? I have taken great efforts to develop my black reputation. Power,
Nicola
... as I
'
ve attempted to explain before, much can be said about the power of fear.
"
Mind working, she stared at him. How strange he was. Why couldn
'
t he have actually stolen the goods if he was so bent on living a blackguard
'
s life? He lived a lie—and everything became clearer than ever.
"
No, your sham is up. It
'
s no use.
"
"
What?
"
"
You are such a good man that you have to borrow other men
'
s sins.
"
"
Don
'
t you ever relent?"
The coolness in his tone was enough to put off almost anyone. But she wasn
'
t just anyone. She was stubborn, bullheaded, and she knew a well of goodness lay in his heart. Like a miner searching for gold, she would dig as deep as she must.
"
I know there
'
s goodness, just as I believe you will help anyone who has been victimized. Mr. Busby
'
s son needs your help.
"
With a nonchalance almost certainly feigned, he flicked at something on his waistcoat.
"
He
'
ll learn to roll with the waves or else be drowned. It
'
s the way of the world.
"
Tilting his hat to cover his
eyes
, he leaned back, clearly dismissing her.
Huh. If he thought she was that easily discouraged, he had another think coming.
Nicola
slid a third hairpin into the lock that secured Thomas Hill
'
s offices.
"
Bloody hell,
"
she muttered
, and then realized she had picked up Malcom's favorite expletive.
She
peered behind her at the darkened street.
"
What are
you
doing, lass?
'
Glissando
perched on the knob, leaning against the door.
Startled, she jumped, the movement causing her to break the hairpin.
"
Botheration,
Glissando
! Can
'
t you warn me of your appearance once in a while?
"
"
And miss seeing
you
r reaction
? That wouldn
'
t be nearly as fun.
"
Grumbling, she pulled another pin from her hat.
Glissando
sat on the nail head that stuck out from the knob, which made a perfect stool for him, and retrieved a flask from his waistcoat.
"
Lass, what are
you
doing?
"
"
For your information, I
'
m trying to find proof that
Thomas Hill is behind the Busby's
missing shipments.
"
A sparkle of
ye
llow light flashed near the window a split second before Allegro
'
s tiny form appeared next to
Glissando
.
Allegro flitted close to her nose, beacon flashing.
"
You are a danger unto yourself, missy! Don
'
t you know cutthroats and thieves abound in London? This place is dangerous
waters
durin
g the day and completely shark-
infested at night.
"
Nicola
glared at him.
"
I don
'
t have time for lectures.
"
"
Get in the alley, lass,
"
Glissando
whispered urgently, putting away his flask. His wings buzzing, he peeked down the night-shrouded street.
The unexpected command from
Glissando
was enough to make her do
as he bade—she
step
ped
back into the shadows. Two men rounded the comer. One had a cutlass in hand, and the other wore a patch over his e
ye
. Both were obviously sailors, and rough-looking ones at that.
Nicola
waited until they passed, then rushed back
to the office door
and bent to her task.
"
I can help
you
, lass,
"
Glissando
announced.
"
You
don
'
t need to pick the lock.
"
"
Are you going to open it for me then?
"
"
You
don
'
t have to go into the office at all. I know where Hill
'
s stolen goods are kept.
"
"
You do?"
"
A
ye
, in a warehouse nearby.
"
"
Glissando
, I thought we were working together now,
"
Allegro exclaimed.
"
Can
'
t
you
see the lass is determined? We can
'
t plan everything. Sometimes the best results occur impromptu.
"
Keeping
close, Allegro
flew so that he was
nose-to-nose with
Glissando
.
"
Too
,
impromptu can get the girl killed.
"
"
Please,
"
Glissando
replied, rolling his e
ye
s and grimacing.
Raucous laughter echoed through the eerie fog, followed by squeals of delight from women as a group approached, causing a nervous tremor to skitter down
Nicola
'
s spine.
Allegro
'
s mouth thinned.
"
Oh, all right. But I don
'
t like sneaking around in this unsavory part of town—not at all.
"
"
You
r objection is duly noted,
"
Glissando
responded.
Barely holding on to her patience,
Nicola
listened as the rowdy group of revelers faded back in the mist.
"
Do yo
u really want to stand around and argue?"
.
"
I
'
m the one waiting for you,
"
Glissando
replied, exasperated.
"
Follow me and don
'
t dally. The warehouse is just three blocks south of here.
"
He snapped his fingers and a tiny object appeared before him.
Nicola
leaned close to get a better look in the dim light,
and then
blinked. It looked like a carriage—a miniature, gilt-embellishe
d, lavishly appointed carriage
... except all the wheels were missing but one. That one spun horizontally over the carriage instead of attached underneath, as it should be.