Page 5

CHAPTER FIVE

“What am I doing here?” exclaimed Izzy, dressed as a young boy in worn, faded clothing, and she folded her arms across her chest. “What are you doing here?” She swung to face Ash, her expression furious. “And why are you ” – she jabbed a finger towards him – “manhandling her?”

“Would we call it manhandling?” Ash quirked a brow.

“Yes, we would, you absolute menace,” Izzy said fiercely, stomping towards us. “I swear, Ash, you are the biggest flirt in all of England.”

“Please, Isobel.” Ash grinned. “Let’s not limit this to England, it’s insulting; I was a sailor, you know.” He winked at me, and Izzy growled. I feared she was spending too much time with my brother.

Clearly seeing there was no immediate threat (from me, at least; Izzy looked like she was about to start spitting fire), Davey slipped back out to the hallway, and another figure sauntered through the doorway in his place. He was a slightly older man and the picture of elegance, his dark hair was swept back from a long, handsome face. He took in the sight of me and Ash – my hair dishevelled, my cheeks flushed, the gold mask lying at my feet – and let out a put-upon sigh.

I was getting the distinct impression that I was not the first girl to be caught in Ash’s office in a state of … dishevelment. I found this information intriguing. I was not a prude, and it always seemed to me a much better idea to kiss someone who had had plenty of practice. I felt a shiver again at the thought of kissing Ash, it was a possibility that warranted further consideration. I pressed my lips together, and his eyes dropped to my mouth, then lifted, heat in his gaze.

“Just … stop that!” Izzy reached out for Ash’s arm, yanking him back and away from me.

“Stop what?” Ash asked innocently.

“You’re … you’re smouldering at her,” Izzy said.

“She smouldered at me first,” Ash protested.

“Did I?” I asked. I turned to Izzy apologetically. “I was considering whether or not it would be worth kissing him, and it must have just happened.”

Ash gave a delighted shout of laughter, while Izzy raised her hands to her short brown wig and made a sound of frustration. “You shouldn’t be thinking about kissing anyone , Felicity. Especially not that man.”

“Felicity, is it?” Ash’s eyes swept over me. “From the Latin for ‘good fortune’. Looks like you really are set to be my good-luck charm.”

The elegant man’s reaction was different. He stepped forward, his mouth tightening.

“Not Felicity Vane?” he asked, his voice soft and somehow all the more dangerous for it. At Izzy’s answering nod, he let out a groan. “Oh, wonderful, Ash – that’s absolutely perfect.”

“Now, Joe…” Ash began soothingly, but he was cut short by Joe’s glare.

“Don’t you now, Joe me, you blockhead,” Joe snapped. “You know how things have been lately. We’ve quite enough to deal with without—”

“What are you dealing with?” Izzy asked keenly.

“A few minor supply issues,” Ash interrupted, waving a dismissive hand. “And a handful of card sharps descending on the place. Nothing to worry about. The Penny is doing well so they were always bound to turn up. I took care of it.”

“But we don’t need further complications,” Joe continued. “I’m going to let you be the one to explain to the Duke of Roxton why you were alone in your office with his sister in the middle of the night.”

“Yes.” Izzy looked smug. “I think Max is going to have one or two things to say to you.”

“That’s quite enough,” I snapped, annoyed now.

All three of them turned to me.

“No one is telling Max anything. What happened here is none of his business.” I glared, first at Izzy and then at Joe. “Nor is it any of yours. I am an eighteen-year-old woman, and – according to several of the world’s leading mathematicians – one of the most promising minds of my generation, not that anyone in my life acts like it. I am not a child to be coddled, and I’m certainly not a possession to be guarded by my big brother. It is insulting .”

Here I treated Izzy to a hard stare and she had the decency to look ashamed.

“I will think about kissing whomever I like. In fact,” I continued, “I have made it a practice to kiss whomever I choose, whenever I choose, and I have never once felt the need to take my brother’s opinion on the matter into consideration, nor my sister-in-law’s, nor that of any other stranger wholly unconnected with me.”

I had, in fact, engaged in my own research on the subject with enthusiasm. I thought about the soft, lush kisses I’d shared with Lady Julia Farnworth – as well as the surprisingly passionate embraces with Mr Jones, the quiet lawyer’s clerk who had visited Max a time or two – and smiled.

Ash grabbed my hand, lifting it to his lips. “Marry me.”

“No, thank you,” I replied coolly despite the prickling, tingling feeling that was running all over my skin. “I would simply like, as I’ve already stated, to collect my winnings and go home.”

“The lady has been gaming?” Joe asked neutrally.

I straightened my spine. “The lady has been winning .”

“Yes.” Izzy sighed. “And the lady has been flirting with Edward Laing.”

Ash’s lazy gaze sharpened. “Has she indeed?”

I glanced between them. “I certainly have not. I don’t even know an Edward Laing.”

“I had a report that the two of you were laughing over the vingt-et-un table,” Izzy said.

“A report?” I said sweetly. “Why would you be receiving reports, Izzy?”

Some colour crept into Izzy’s cheeks. “I mean, a friend saw you … and told me.”

“Mmm,” I murmured. “I can’t help but notice that’s also an interesting outfit you’re wearing,” I said, and she glanced down at her trousers with a worried frown. It seemed she had realized I might have questions too. “I think there was a man who spoke to me at the table,” I added. “But I didn’t catch his name. I was busy concentrating on the cards.”

“Apparently, Mr Laing was especially struck by you,” Izzy continued doggedly.

“I should imagine so,” I replied, looking down at the gently dipping neckline of my dress. “My gown is becoming, and I do think the masks are dashing. Also, I was winning an awful lot of money.”

“An irresistible combination,” Ash agreed helpfully.

Izzy frowned. “Well, I’m glad to hear you don’t know the man.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Oh,” Izzy floundered. “I only meant it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to be talking to a man so intimately,” she said, regaining some of her poise.

“Really, Izzy, I had no idea before tonight that you were so obsessed with propriety,” I said, letting my gaze move again slowly and deliberately over her costume. “Perhaps now would be a good time to explain what, exactly, you are doing here.”

“Yes,” Izzy said, coughing into her hand. “I suppose it does seem strange, but there is a very – er – simple explanation. Teresa and I made a small wager that I could pass for a boy, you see.”

“Mmm.” I tilted my head. “And that wager brought you to a gambling den in the middle of the night?”

“Well, you know how convincing Teresa can be,” Izzy murmured vaguely.

I met my sister-in-law’s eyes. “As much fun as this is, let’s cut through to the meat of the matter, shall we? I assume that the agency that you work for has an interest in this Edward Laing character and that’s why you’re here tonight?”

I had the distinct pleasure of rendering Izzy utterly speechless.

“I-I—”

I waited patiently for her to find her words.

“I suppose I should stop being surprised by you, Felicity Vane,” she said finally, on an exhale.

I let a pointed silence do the talking here, deciding it was unnecessary for me to agree aloud.

“In answer to your question, yes,” she continued reluctantly. “My … organization is looking into Edward Laing. We believe him to be a dangerous man.”

“And we believe him to be a cheat,” Ash said, moving back to sit behind his desk and shuffling through a sheaf of papers. “A clever one.”

“You called me a cheat not half an hour ago,” I pointed out. “Perhaps this Laing fellow is simply using the same mathematical principles that I was?”

“You accused Felicity of cheating?” Izzy’s outrage at this outstripped any she’d shown over finding Ash and myself in a compromising situation. It warmed my heart, and made it at least thirty per cent easier to forgive her for the overbearing routine that she’d clearly learned from my brother.

“I’ve been shown the error of my ways.” Ash held up his hands in surrender. “Your sister-in-law has a singular mind.”

“Yes, she does,” Izzy snapped, and I was reminded of a mother hen, feathers ruffled.

“If Laing isn’t cheating, then he’s an incredibly skilled player. But to answer your question, Felicity” – Ash’s eyes flashed to mine and he said my name as if it tasted delicious – “I don’t believe that Laing has your brains … although he is cunning.”

“I can be cunning,” I said, stung. “You try having any kind of life when your older brother is a government spy with an overprotective streak that runs several miles wide.”

Izzy choked on thin air.

“So you know about…” Izzy trailed off.

“The two of you sneaking around like a couple of cat burglars?” I arched a brow. “It has come to my attention. Even if neither of you felt the need to share the information with me yourselves.”

“You know your brother loves you,” she croaked when she had regained a hold on herself. “And you know that he’s only cautious because of your history—”

“Yes, yes.” I cut her off. “I know. I don’t have to like it, though.”

“No,” Izzy said with some sympathy, and I saw a spark of understanding in her eyes. “No, you don’t. I can see that we’ve both made a lot of mistakes.”

“While this tender family moment is extremely moving,” Joe drawled, “perhaps we can focus on the matter at hand.”

“Yes, we’ve got something for you, Izzy. One of our girls heard that Laing is organizing a private high-stakes game of draw poker next week,” Ash put in.

Izzy was instantly alert. “Interesting. Does she know who else is invited?”

Ash shook his head, his fingers drumming against the top of his desk. “No, though I suspect there will be several sizeable marks for him to target.”

“You believe he’ll cheat people out of their money?” I asked.

“Yes,” Izzy said distantly. “He’s been working hard the past few months to garner a significant sum. The question is why. I won’t go into the details, but suffice to say, we’re learning that with Edward Laing, there’s every chance his intentions are dangerous.” Despite how deliberately vague Izzy was being, I felt a trickle of unease at that. “Our surveillance suggests an increase in activity and that whatever game he’s playing may be at a turning point. I’d give a lot to be at that private game he’s holding – he might let something slip.”

“It would be easy enough to get him to hold the game here,” Ash said.

Izzy nodded thoughtfully. “You think he’d want that?”

Ash shrugged. “I don’t see why not – we have private rooms where we often host high-stakes games. It lends a certain clout to the proceedings – I imagine Laing would snap our fingers off.”

Joe nodded. “I doubt Laing would suspect anything. We have eyes everywhere. We could get someone into the game, maybe. Turn it to our advantage. Stop Laing amassing this fortune he’s putting together.”

Izzy said, “And hopefully stop his scheme too … or at least slow him down. It’s a good idea. I’ll have to discuss this with…” Her eyes slid to me. “My associates.”

“It’s worth mentioning to them that we have a secret weapon,” Ash said.

Izzy raised her brows in question and his smile only grew as his gaze moved to lock with mine.

“Me?” I asked.

“Absolutely not!” Izzy exploded.

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously.

“Could you do what you did downstairs but with a different card game?” Ash asked. He produced a small gold coin from his pocket and began to roll it in an absent movement along the top of his knuckles. It was a strangely hypnotic gesture, and I watched those long, clever fingers rise and fall.

“Certainly the principles apply,” I said, gathering my thoughts. “For a game like draw poker the odds would alter based on several different factors – counting the cards and calculating the probability of each potential hand as the deck was dealt would be complicated. An interesting problem to tackle, actually… Games of chance will always be mathematical problems at heart. It would never be faultless, but I suppose that with work, one could dramatically improve one’s chances.”

“It’s not possible,” Joe said firmly.

Ash’s smile had a feral edge as he flipped the coin up into the air and caught it. “Felicity could do it.”

The certainty in his words had me thinking about kissing him all over again.

“Yes,” I murmured. “I believe I could.”

Izzy’s eyes moved from Ash to me, and she groaned.

“Oh, your brother is going to kill me.”