Charmed and Dangerous (10 page)

Gavin chose the sofa before the hearth. When Laura took the armchair farthest away from him, he had to smile slightly.

She folded her hands tightly on her lap. “I have to…” She pressed her lips together.

They were delectable lips, Gavin thought, enjoying himself far too much to press her—not thin, but never pouting, a look he despised. And when you kissed them, they…

“Did you know that Signor Oliveri has a network of spies?” blurted Laura.

“What?”

“Apparently, they are street urchins. I suppose no one notices if they are followed by such children. They are everywhere, unfortunately.”

“What have you been up to?” demanded Gavin.

“I haven't been ‘up to' anything. I was curious about something Signor Oliveri said, so I went to see him, and—”

“You visited Oliveri? Alone?” Remembering the way she had sat beside the man and laughed with him, Gavin's temper flared.

“I took a maid with me,” replied Laura haughtily. “But what I am trying to tell you is that he was very inquisitive about—”

“I'll wager he was!”

“Will you stop interrupting me! I am beginning to be very sorry I asked you to call. But there is no one else I can tell.”

“Tell what? Did Oliveri insult you?”

“No! He is some sort of spy. He is very insistent about gathering information, and I don't think he has painted in months.”

“What do you mean, insistent?”

“What is the matter with you? I thought you would be interested in this.”

Gavin struggled to regain control of himself. He didn't know precisely what was the matter.

“Who do you think he could be working for?” Laura asked.

“Oh, you haven't discovered that as well?” he replied, trying to match his customary tone.

“No.” She shook her head in disappointment. “But he hasn't much money. If he were connected with someone important, wouldn't he have funds?”

She had a quick mind, Gavin acknowledged. Possibly too quick. “Not necessarily.”

“Oh. Well, perhaps if he were watched.”

He had a horrifying vision of Laura crouched in a shabby doorway outside Oliveri's apartments cataloging his comings and goings. “You may leave this information in my hands,” he said forcefully. “I will see that it is acted upon.”

“Oh,” said Laura again.

“This is all you wished to tell me?” It wasn't actually so bad, Gavin thought. If he could only discourage her from any further harebrained expeditions, she would be all right.

“Well…”

“There's more?”

She looked extremely reluctant. Gavin found that his fingers were digging into the brocade of the sofa arm.

“This is a bit difficult,” Laura allowed.

His imagination ran wild. She had told Oliveri about the attack in the garden. She had approached some other—far more dangerous—personage in Vienna. She had disguised herself as a linkboy and laid dynamite around the Russian embassy.

“The thing is—you must know why General Pryor invited me here.”

She threw him a glance, and Gavin nodded sharply.

“Yes. Well. I knew it was a…a silly plan. But I had promised, you see, so I thought I should try my best. I thought if I knew something—”

“What have you done!”

“There is no need to shout at me.”

“Isn't there?”

“No! I was only trying to—”

“To what?” cried Gavin.

“To understand the circumstances.”

“What circumstances?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“Those the general was…concerned about. So I…” She took a deep breath. “I went to visit Countess Krelov, and I—”

The sound that escaped him was as unfamiliar to Gavin as to Laura. It was somewhere between a gasp and a snarl, a small dispassionate part of his brain observed.

“I thought I would be able to help the general better if I knew what…what interested you,” she blurted, her cheeks flooding with crimson.

“Indeed?” He had to regain his composure, Gavin thought, if he was to have any hope of retrieving this situation.

Laura looked at him from under her lashes as if she expected some further comment. “I talked with her,” she continued finally. “Actually, we had an enjoyable chat.”

Gavin tried to picture it, and was afraid he could.

“But then when she saw me with you and the Pryors, she appeared…agitated.”

“You hadn't told her the real reason for your visit,” Gavin said neutrally. It wasn't a question.

“No. And when I did, today, she didn't believe me.”

“Today?” he echoed. Perhaps he wasn't really having this conversation, he thought. Perhaps he was in the grip of an insane nightmare, and in a little while he would wake up.

“Yes. You see, when she saw me coming out of Oliveri's building—”

Gavin groaned. Leaning on his elbow, he covered his eyes with one hand. If he was going to wake up, he thought, let it be now.

“She's extremely angry with me,” concluded Laura. “And I thought I had better tell someone.”

Silence fell in the room. “Did it never occur to you that Sophie Krelov is a very dangerous woman?” he asked finally.

“It did today,” she admitted. She gave him a searching look again, as if she were trying to figure something out.

“She has friends who…” He didn't even want to think about it.

“I thought you would know what to do.”

“I?”

“You have a great deal of experience—”

“I don't have experience in creating incredible muddles,” he snapped.

Laura opened her mouth, then shut it. She took in a deep breath, then let it out. She folded her hands in her lap, looked down at them, and took another breath.

“What are you doing?” he couldn't help but ask.

“Controlling my temper,” she replied in a tone that suggested she hadn't yet succeeded. “I am very good at it.”

So was he, Gavin thought—usually.

“Recriminations aren't helpful,” she added, sounding as if she would very much like to make some.

“No,” he agreed, fascinated by her behavior.

“If you do not intend to help me…”

“You will do what? Precisely?”

“I will find help elsewhere.”

“The Pryors will simply send you home.” When she started to reply, he held up a hand. “And much as I might have wished that before, it is not advisable now. You have drawn the attention of some unpleasant people. That attention would follow you back to England.” For the first time, she looked a bit frightened. Good, Gavin thought savagely.

“There are others I could ask for help,” she said.

“Who?”

Her eyes shifted away from his.

“The judgment you have exhibited so far does not give me much confidence in these ‘others.'”

Laura very obviously suppressed a hot response.

This might have been amusing, Gavin thought—trying to break her self-control—if the matter hadn't been so serious. “You must stay out of the way until I discover what's going on. If you don't leave the house—”

“The Pryors will wonder what's wrong,” she objected.

“Tell them you're ill. Tell them anything you like. It won't be for long.”

“I could help you investigate.”

“Out of the question.”

“But I have already found out several things.” Her expression shifted, as if she was remembering. “There was something else too. Sophie mentioned a name. She said that ‘Michael' had told her I was at Oliveri's, but she hadn't believed him.”

“Michael?”

Laura nodded.

He pondered this. “Why didn't you tell me at once?”

“You kept arguing.”

“I never argue. It is a waste of energy.”

“Really? What do you call it then?”

“What?”

“What we are doing right now.”

He waved this aside as irrelevant. “Michael,” he repeated.

“Do you think Oliveri is part of it?”

Gavin shook his head. “He is insignificant, collecting odd bits of information to sell.”

“You knew about him already?” said Laura, sounding very disappointed.

“He is rather obvious.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip, then brightened. “But the name—Michael—is useful.”

“Possibly,” he conceded.

“So you see.”

“If you come to me for help, you must do as I say,” Gavin replied.

“But if I were working
with
you…”

“You are not. And you would be very much in the way. You will confine yourself to the house until I tell you it is safe.”

“And if I won't?”

He glared at her.

“You can't tie me up and lock me in a cupboard.”

It was an appealing thought, but unfortunately she was right. “Are you attempting to negotiate with me?”

“You are a diplomat,” Laura pointed out pertly. “You must be accustomed to compromise.”

“You are not a fool,” he said confidently. “You won't put yourself in danger merely to annoy me.”

This stopped her, but only for a moment. “I can tell the general about the attack on you at the ball,” she responded.

“If you like.” He tried to sound indifferent.

“I suppose he would look into the matter for you.”

He would interfere damnably, Gavin thought.

“I could ask Signor Oliveri…”

He stood up abruptly. Laura jumped to her feet. He took a step toward her. She moved swiftly around a wide table, putting it between them.

“Do you think you can threaten me?” he demanded.

“You cannot tell me what to do,” she replied a bit shakily.

“What is it that you want, exactly?”

She met his gaze, her eyes dark with emotion. “To do something important,” she said defiantly.

Something about the words, and the passion behind them, arrested his attention. It reminded him of something, though he couldn't recall just what. Where had she come from, this woman who was like no other he had ever met? “What have you been doing for the last ten years?”

Laura stiffened slightly, her hands resting on the tabletop. “What has that to do with anything?”

He simply waited.

“I was a governess,” she said, a bit loudly.

He tried to keep the astonishment from his expression, and failed.

“My father wagered everything he had on a young horse from his stables. He was absolutely certain Alliance would win the Derby.”

“And he didn't.”

“He lost by half a length. I didn't wish to be dependent on anyone, so I took a position as a governess. I was just looking for a new post when Mrs. Pryor came to see me.”

“It is hard to picture you in a schoolroom.” It was impossible, in fact. This striking creature would have been as out of place as a tiger in Parliament. And she would have drawn the attention of every man in the house. Perhaps she had, he thought. The idea was surprisingly distasteful.

“I looked rather different,” she said, as if she knew what he had been thinking.

“Indeed?”

“Not that it is any of your affair.”

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Had she been some nobleman's secret mistress? he wondered. Was that the explanation for her unexpected qualities?

Laura gave him a peculiar look. “Must we continue to talk about this?”

Gavin was feeling odd. He wanted to question her closely about her history. He wanted to insist upon the truth. But she was right; it was none of his affair. It had nothing to do with him at all, he thought.

“I will continue to explore matters myself if you do not wish me to help you,” Laura added.

He didn't know whether she meant it or was just trying to force him to agree. But he did know that Sophie Krelov's friends didn't take kindly to interference. People who got in Sophie's way tended to regret it, some of them permanently. The thought of Laura wandering into that sort of danger was…unacceptable.

But if he yielded, he would have to be with her whenever she was out. He would have to stay close in order to keep her safe. Gavin surveyed her slender form and lovely face. It would give him some control, he decided. “Very well.”

“You agree?”

“If you promise to follow my instructions.”

She smiled brilliantly.

Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad, Gavin thought. “Do you promise?”

“Of course.”

He felt the beginnings of relief.

“After we have discussed what it is best to do,” she added.

“It is not a matter of discussion—”

“And you have explained to me the reasons. We cannot be equal partners unless I know that.”

He gritted his teeth.

“I will also be much more helpful if I understand.”

“Do you think so?” His voice dripped with skepticism, but she ignored it.

“Oh, and one other thing.”

“Only one?” he inquired sarcastically.

Laura frowned at him. “There are to be no more of these…these sudden assaults on me.”

“Assaults?” he echoed dangerously.

“Now that we have come to an agreement, you needn't bother with that…sort of thing. You were only trying to frighten me off, after all.”

It sounded almost like a question. But Gavin was too irritated to wonder why. “I have never assaulted a woman in my life,” he snapped.

“You dragged me into the garden and—”

He moved swiftly around the table. Laura jumped and retreated to the side where he had been standing. They faced each other across the expanse of mahogany.

Gavin struggled valiantly with his temper. How could this one woman make him so angry? “You may be assured I won't touch you again,” he said.

She looked strangely unsatisfied by his promise. But she said, “Good. That's settled, then.”

“Completely settled.”

“It's…it's best to be clear.”