Page 61 of The Swan Detective (The Swan Syndicate #2)

“I agree.” Stella squeezed his hand before releasing it, needing to stand on her own for the next part.

“I assure you, I’ve had enough of Lady Swan for now.

There was so much confusion that once I’d snatched the last piece of jewelry from Leclair, I thought he might try to abduct me while everyone was fighting.

” She paused to consider her next words.

In for a pound and all. “If I showed interest in working out a partnership, he might leave me alone. I told him I had men who would be remaining in London for a short time.” She played with the strings of the pouch.

“I told him I’d send a note to the messenger at the pub to discuss a new arrangement for concluding our deal since I was taking the jewelry. ”

“You mean André?” Beckworth asked.

She nodded. “I might have mentioned something about future trades.”

Hensley and Jamie exchanged glances before Lando said, “Smart. This leaves us a nice opening.”

“How will they know it’s your man if you didn’t give him a name?” Hensley sipped his whiskey, his eyes pinning her over the rim of the glass. “I assume you didn’t give him one.”

She shook her head and reached into her pocket for the other item she’d grabbed before leaving the bedroom.

She laid the origami swan on the coffee table in front of her.

“I gave one of these to Leclair and told him these were my calling cards. I said my man would have one when he met with the messenger.”

Beckworth grinned, but Jamie laughed out loud. “We’re going to need a lot more of those before you leave for home.”

T en minutes later, Beckworth guided Stella up the stairs.

She pulled her arm away. “I can manage.”

He understood her mood. And as much as he wanted to ignore her, lift her into his arms, and carry her to bed, he wouldn’t diminish her need to regain some control. But there was one thing he could say that would give her permission to relax her guard.

“I didn’t do enough to protect you this evening.

” It was mostly true. He’d left Michelson to watch over her so he could find a safe path out of the chaos.

He had trusted her to survive when all he wanted to do was drag her behind the crates and cover her until everyone fled the scene.

He’d done the right thing. At least he thought that was what Finn would do.

She leaned against him, finally giving him permission to take care of her. “You did everything you were supposed to do. You dealt with saving the firearms and getting our team out while I recovered the jewelry.”

He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her waist. “You’re right as usual.”

Libby met them at their bedroom door, but Beckworth refused to let Stella go.

“It’s time for you to go to bed. I told Mrs. Evans that the staff can sleep in an extra three hours.”

Libby gave them a weak smile. “I wouldn’t mind getting off my feet.” She was partway out the door when she turned back. “What happened to the jewelry?”

“Elizabeth wants to return the pieces herself.” Stella pushed Beckworth away and dropped into a chair. She bent over to pull off her shoes, and he grabbed her elbow to straighten her when she leaned too far to the left.

“Barrington will drive Elizabeth and Mary to visit the three women.” He sat next to Stella and removed his boots.

“Two of Jamie’s sailors will go along for protection.

Elizabeth wants to make sure Stella gets credit for retrieving the jewelry and not the inspector, which I imagine would be the story if we turned the jewelry over to him. ”

“Good riddance to him, I’d say.” Libby made a face that made Stella smile.

“What about the duke?” Stella asked. “I don’t remember anyone mentioning him.”

“Hensley will send a message in the morning. He’ll be informed that Lady Caldway discovered a connection between the items and, being acquainted with Hensley, advised him of who she believed had the jewelry. Hensley sent men to recover the items. Case closed.”

“I like that. A happily ever after.” Stella leaned against Beckworth’s arm with her eyes closed and an odd smile.

“Alright. It’s off to bed with you.” Beckworth hauled her up and turned her toward the bed.

Libby laughed as she closed the door behind her.

Stella held onto the bedpost while he unbuttoned her dress and pulled it over her head. Her arms got stuck, and she tugged with too much effort. Once she was free of the dress, she tumbled onto the floor. Her laughter filled the room, and Beckworth could only grin.

“How much have you had to drink tonight?”

“Not much at all.” She lay flat on her back and giggled helplessly.

He’d seen her like this on several occasions, either because she’d drunk too much wine with AJ, or she hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

This time, it was more likely a combination of lack of sleep, whiskey, and the trauma of the evening’s mission.

She was still giggling when she held her arms up so he could pull her upright. It wasn’t graceful, but they managed, and before she could get away from him, he pushed her onto the bed. He removed the rest of her clothes, then rolled and tugged until she was under the covers.

Before he could back away, she grabbed his hand and kissed it.

“What was that for?”

“You’re so good to me.”

He grinned. “Yes, I am. And in the morning, I’ll remind you of your loving words.”

She giggled again and rolled over toward his spot.

He removed his clothes and crawled in behind her, spooning her close. They’d just settled down when she snapped her fingers and struggled to get up.

“I almost forgot.”

She fought with the bed covers, and he pulled her back down. “It’s nothing that can’t wait until morning.”

“No. It can’t. I forgot to check on Fitz and…” She tried to sit a second time, but he hugged her tighter. “I never asked the other sailor’s name.”

“It’s Timothy, and Bart said they’ll sleep until morning. You can check on them when you deliver the antibiotics.”

She relaxed, and he closed his eyes, thinking she’d fallen asleep.

“I didn’t handle myself very well tonight.” Her voice was sad. Her laughter was gone.

“I thought you did quite well handling Leclair. Your foresight to promise a future opportunity gives Hensley a great deal of leeway on how to proceed.”

“Not that. Although I did good with that, didn’t I?”

He sensed a smile on her face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

“After that. With the injured men. I didn’t do so good then.”

“You jumped into the coach without a second of hesitation. You did the best anyone could have done in that situation.”

“It wasn’t enough.”

“Most of the time it never is.” When he felt her shudder, he pulled the covers higher.

“This time period has many good things, but there are many not-so-good things. After experiencing your time period…” He squeezed her and modified his statement.

“Our time period. I can clearly see how much the bad outweighs the good.”

She was silent for a moment. “Maybe. There are many good people here, doing their best to survive. When I consider our new timeline, many things have changed, many for the better, but not always in the way that counts.”

Another moment passed before she whispered, “It was the blood.”

He closed his eyes. He never wanted this for her.

None of this would have happened if Hensley hadn’t coerced him into a mission during their first trip back.

And now, they’d come to London to visit friends, attend fancy parties, and tour the city.

Yet, once again, they’d been caught in the web of Hensley’s machinations.

“It’s never pretty when someone dies—whether they’re good or bad—it’s always ugly. And it should be. It’s nothing to become accustomed to. But we all take the risk when we join a mission. And even the best of plans go awry.”

She turned over and wrapped an arm around him. He pulled her close until their skin touched, their legs entwined, and her breasts pressed against his chest. She nestled her cheek against him, and contentment rolled over him.

Lying with her was the only time he felt true peace. And regardless of what time period they were in, he had to do a better job of protecting her.

“He’ll be alright,” he murmured, aware of her worry over Fitz.

“You’re all I need to make things better.”