Page 83 of Romanced By the Orc

“Quite,” Albie said with a wave, making sure his adversary caught a glimpse of the elegant lace cuffs on the shirt he wore underneath his silk frock coat and light spring cloak. “But France has opened up again and all that. And safe as houses since you English have troops stationed here for the time being. Though I can’t allow I think much of this little burg.” He sniffed dramatically. “One would assume the sea air would clear the mind, but it seems the fishmongers have overwhelmed its crispness, wouldn’t you say?”

“Most gentlemen prefer Paris to the coast.”

“Why, what a queer observation seeing as how we both find ourselves here. Surely, you did not mean to imply that either of us is not a gentleman, Reg.”

Reg huffed a bit at that, though he was still doing his right best to appear nonchalant, Albion was sure. Waiting for his constables, or Rostin’s brutes, or whomever he had engaged to assist him in apprehending the Benevolent Phantom.

“I suppose I was premature in that assessment,” Reginald said between gritted teeth. “Multiple people back in Dover spoke of a large green orc boarding a packet ship to cross the Channel. Extraordinary, I thought. Yet the Frenchmen in Calais spoke of the very same. An orc heading to the border of Chamberly, no less.”

“I confess you have me on tenterhooks, Reg,” Albion said. “You don’t mean to say you followed me to this inn?”

“Easy enough to ascertain your location from your driver. And here you are. I see you with my own eyes.”

“And what business have you so close to Chamberly, Reg?”

Albion found it something of a minor victory that he had asked that question directly first. Reginald only shook his head andsaid: “Much the same as yours, I imagine. Except we may find ourselves on different sides of the shared objective.”

Albion fussed with his lace cuffs, taking a moment to consider how Reg might proceed. Undoubtedly, the man had planned to apprehend him with Jacques in tow so he could then deliver him to the Duke of Rostin to square his debt.

How surprised he would be to find no one there. Albion’s business here did not involve collecting his young charge. But that didn’t mean Reg wouldn’t have him captured and sent to Rostin. He had to proceed with caution.

“Seeing how that seems to be the case,” he said. “We might as well go in. What say you, Reg? Care to enjoy a glass or two of wine with me?”

“I don’t believe that’s appropriate.”

“Why not? It will be jolly to get to know one another better. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Albion whacked him between the shoulders, causing Reg to pitch forward, though he recovered in an admirably speedy manner.

“Why not, then?” Reg said, recovering his equilibrium. “We have much to discuss.”

“Capital. Capital.” Albion swung his arms elegantly to indicate that Reginald should enter first. “What have I heard the fashionable set say? Age before beauty and all that?” He let out a high laugh, seemingly pleased to find his brain capable of such wit.

Reg scowled but removed his hat and went inside. When Albion followed, ducking so as not to run the top of his head into the low rafters of the entranceway, his laughter stopped abruptly.

Daisy sat at the table, her face only somewhat obscured by her voluminous cloak.

And Albion realized all of his plans needed to change.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“Idon’t believe you ever shared what precisely brings you to this area of the continent, Lord Albion,” Sir Reginald said as he entered the inn just behind her husband.

“Why, you shall hear all about it in the broadsheets soon enough, Reg.” To Diana’s shock, Albie sounded as though he had met Reg outside his club at St. James, with neither of them having the slightest idea that Reginald knew he was the Phantom with a substantial bounty for his apprehension. “At least if my brother has his way. I am here as an official representative of the Hidden Realm. Blast it if the journalists decided not to show at the last minute. Yet I trust my brother will find a way to make the tale known. Dunc has a knack for figuring out how to get his way. Blazes. I wish some of that talent had deigned to fly my way. I can scarcely keep one foot in front of another in this life.”

“Somehow, I find that difficult to believe, Lord Albion. Quite difficult indeed.”

When Albie stepped toward the table, his eyes locked with Diana’s. Then she gave the slightest shake of her head, as William Langley had done with her before, to ensure her husband did nothing to disrupt her plans. Now was not the time for questions or elaborate explanations.

She rose to her feet.

“Albie!” she cried, running into his arms. When they embraced, his muscles stiffened at her touch. After another moment, however, he relaxed into her.

“I’ve been waiting nearly an hour. You haven’t forgotten about your little wife, have you?”

“How would such be possible, my dear,” Albion replied in the thickest version of a posh English drawl she’d heard from him yet. “Though I daresay I’m running late.”

She took her hand in his and turned to Sir Reginald as though their previous conversations had never happened. Diana might never become an actress on stage, but she only needed to confuse Reginald long enough to determine what to do next.

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