Page 14 of A Little Bit Dangerous
We need you!
It was as if he heard Christian’s silent plea.
Dashing tears from his eyes, Aaron returned to Mrs Maloney’s room. He reassured Christian all was well and urged him to go to sleep.
“Life can be unbearable even for the most hardened,” Aaron confessed. “I’m a sinner and have never proclaimed to be a saint. This isn’t the same, and you damn well know it.”
Finding it impossible to vent his frustration, Christian said, “I’ll wait for you in the drawing room where we can talk like civilised men.”
For good measure, he stroked the lucky horseshoe hanging above the gaming hell’s door, entered the drawing room and made for the table lined with crystal decanters. A cask of brandy would not ease his agitation.
Being as stubborn as a mule, Aaron came marching through the door ten minutes later. He did not sit down but stood before the fireplace, his stance defensive, his hands clasped behind his back as if he fought the urge to throttle someone.
“Everything I do is for the good of this family,” Aaron said. “Need I remind you I foiled a plot to kidnap Delphine? Shall I name the men who would love nothing more than to see us dead?”
Christian relaxed back on the sofa and sipped his brandy. He would not be drawn into an argument. “I don’t know where we would be without you, but I’m twenty-seven and quite capable of making a decision that affects my future.”
“Your future? Your future is here with your family, not playing an enquiry agent for Lucius bloody Daventry.”
If there was one thing Christian despised, it was hypocrisy. “Only last month we assisted Daventry with the problem at Chadwick’s Auction House. You brooked no argument then.”
“Because Daventry had information I wanted. It was a trade of services, nothing more.” Aaron firmed his jaw. “And that lunatic Smith could have shot you. Is that not enough to deter you from this madness?”
They were straying from the topic. “I gave Daventry my word I would examine Egyptian treasures at the museum. As you know, I have some knowledge of the subject. I left early this morning, not because I had something to hide, but because the curator insisted I conduct my studies before opening hours.”
The frown lines in Aaron’s brow softened, albeit prematurely. “I’m not averse to helping Daventry on occasion. The man is a useful ally. But you should have left a note.”
“Next time, I shall.” Christian tossed back the remains of his brandy and inhaled sharply. It was better to make a full confession now. “The matter is more complicated than inspecting the artefacts.”
Aaron’s brow quirked. “Oh?”
Christian explained the curator’s late-night interlude with a ghost. “Doubtless she’d taken too much laudanum.”
Aaron laughed. “Or the curator had.”
“The fellow believes the artefacts purchased last month might be fake. Bought from a market in Cairo, not pulled from an excavation site.”
“Are they fake?” Aaron’s shoulders relaxed and he came to sit in the chair. “Does the museum not have men trained to check provenance? You’re more an enthusiast than an expert.”
“That’s why Daventry had me work with his assistant.” A vision of the exotic beauty slipped into Christian’s mind. The strange tug in his loins and his chest proved worrying. “She is extremely knowledgeable.” Attractive, funny and kind.
Aaron laughed again. “Thank God all Daventry’s female agents are married. They say the man is an expert matchmaker.”
Christian swallowed past his growing reluctance to reveal his partner’s identity. “She’s not one of Daventry’s agents but someone he met at the servants’ registry. She arrived from Italy mere weeks ago with barely a penny to her name. When we met this morning, it was clear she hadn’t eaten for days.”
A muscle in Aaron’s cheek twitched, his expression growing wary. “I suppose you gave her money.”
“No, but I placed an order with the grocer.”
Aaron offered no complaint.
“And arranged to have it delivered to Hill Street,” Christian added.
Aaron jerked like someone had prodded him with a hot poker. “Hill Street?” He paused, his suspicion growing. “I know every resident. None lease properties to tenants.”
“Her father sent her to a seminary sixteen years ago and told her never to return. He’s away from home, so she broke into the empty house to take refuge.” In all honesty, Christian had never met a woman so courageous. However, being destitute left one with few options.
Amid the taut silence, Aaron merely glared. Like Satan rising from the underworld, he stood slowly, the dangerous glint in his eyes warning Christian to remain seated.
