Page 32 of How to Fall for a Scoundrel
Ellie tugged her fingers back, and sent him a scornful look.
Willingham was undeterred. “Perhaps the lovely Carlotta will treat us to an impromptu performance this evening?”
Ellie pretended not to understand, but trod on Harry’s foot beneath the concealing folds of her skirts.
“Carlotta speaks no English,” Harry said easily. “But I can answer for her. Alas, she must save her voice for a special, private performance for the prince regent tomorrow evening.”
Willingham’s face fell. “Ah well, another time perhaps.” He waved a hand to indicate the baize-topped tables in the room behind him. “There are few good games of vingt-et-un and hazard on the go. Perhaps we can play a hand or two a little later?”
His eagerness to fleece Harry was painfully obvious, but Harry sent him a wide, guileless smile. “Of course. But first I ’ave promised to dance withamore mio.”
He bent and pressed a casual kiss to Ellie’s neck, just below her ear, and it took all the acting ability she had not to gasp in shock.
Luckily, Willingham was paying more attention to her jewels than her face.
“Of course,” he murmured, his eyes lingering on her emeralds with an avaricious gleam. “One should never disappoint a lady.”
His emphasis on the final word indicated he thought the term “lady” was generous, for an opera singer who was clearly also Harry’s paramour, but Harry ignored the unsubtle snub and patted the older man on the shoulder.
“Until later, then.”
He ushered them away through the crowd, and Ellie let out a relieved sigh when they left the main ballroom and found a relatively secluded corner in one of the smaller salons.
Her neck still tingled from the touch of Harry’s lips, but she forced herself to concentrate on the business at hand. He’d only done it to make their performance more believable. It had been an act, nothing more.
“Daisy’s going to look for the book downstairs,” she said. “Which means it’s up to us to search upstairs. Do you think we can sneak up there without being seen?”
Harry looked down at her, and her heart did an odd little flip. He really was stupidly handsome.
“Oh, I’m sure we can.”
He reached up and straightened a stray curl that had escaped from her coiffure, and the brush of his knuckles on the side of her cheek made her knees a little weak. Everything inside her seemed tight, on edge.
Did he know the effect he had on her? Was he doing it on purpose? And if so, to what end? Did he just like the added frisson of danger that flirting on the job provided?
“Just to be clear, if we find the book, we’re going to steal it, yes?” he whispered.
“Reclaimit on behalf of the rightful owner,” she corrected.
His eyes twinkled at the prospect of a spirited discussion. “Aha! So, we’re allowed to steal something that’s already been stolen, as long as we’re planning on returning it to the right person?”
Ellie narrowed her eyes at him, certain she was walking into a verbal trap. “In this particular instance, yes.”
“Which would make it a case of two wrongs actuallymakinga right.”
She sighed at his inversion of her previous logic. The man had a brain as sharp as a defense lawyer’s. William Garrow would have hired him on the spot.
“I’m willing to bend the rules just a little in this instance,” she conceded.
His delighted laugh warmed her insides. “Ha! You’re about to do a bad thing, for a good reason. You’re practically Robin Hood. You’re halfway to scoundreldom already.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Scoundreldom isn’t a word. And I wouldn’t celebrate just yet. This isn’t the start of a glittering criminal career; we’re simply giving justice a helping hand.”
“If that’s how you want to think of it.” His shrug and raised brows indicated his skeptical amusement.
He took her arm and ambled toward the nearest doorway, which led into an even quieter corridor. A few couples lingered about, clearly taking the opportunity for a little privacy, and Ellie averted her eyes as they passed a couple kissing in a curtained alcove.
Harry took her hand, threading his fingers through hers, and when she glanced down in surprise he whispered, “We need to look like an amorous couple trying to find somewhere for a tryst.”