Page 41 of Heart of Iron
He wants to make his own agreements with the Scandinavians.Out loud Mr.Mandeville added, “He’s never seen anything like it.”
Then, taking a deep breath—and asking how much the commission was likely to pay—she hesitantly wrote.Do you know anything about the content of these letters?Or about the draining factoriesburning down?
Mr.Mandeville stroked his moustache.“I should imagine you could charge a handsome fee.He wants it complete within two weeks.”
“Two weeks?”she squealed.
“The Scandinavians arrive next week.I assume there shall be the usual rounds of talks and social entertainments.”Taking the pen he wrote,We’re not the only ones working against the Echelon.There is another small faction with rather more drastic notions of how to bring them down.The letters, as far as I know, contain dates and times for meetings.
He’d barely put the pen down before she snatched it up.But you don’t know that for certain?
A hesitation.No.I don’t.But I wouldn’t condone such outright acts of terror.
Good.She met his gaze pointedly.Because I want no part of that either.
I have another message that needs to be delivered.Will you do it?
Lena stared at the sheet of paper.Doubt was a small, restless tickle.An itch she couldn’t scratch.I want to meet Mercury.
Mr.Mandeville’s head shot up.“That’s not possible,” he said aloud.
With an angry shake of the head, she picked up the pen.Then I want nothing more to do with this.I won’t be privy to acts that might be killing innocent people.There were guards at those factories.Human guards.I want to talk to someone who knows what is in those letters.
Mr.Mandeville stared at her, his lips thinned.“I’ll pass word along regarding the commission.It shall be up to his discretion to meet with you.”Pursing his lips, he held the letter up.“Willyoutakeit?” he mouthed.
Lena stared at it.So innocuous.Just a single piece of parchment.Slowly she reached out and accepted it, tucking it in her bodice.Nobody would find it there.This once,she wrote.“Thank you.I’ll begin work on the transformational.”Leaning down, she wrote,I want to meet with Mercury.
Mr.Mandeville nodded shortly.“I’ll see what I can arrange.”He let her get almost to the door before he added, “It was good to meet the source of your inspiration, Lena.But I would urge caution.The blue bloods aren’t the only danger to a young woman these days.”
Her cheeks heated.“I know what I’m doing, thank you, Mr.Mandeville.”
“Aye.I suppose you think you do.”
***
Will strode into the warren with his hands shoved into his pockets.If he had them free he thought he just might throttle her.Two seconds more and she would have fallen, crushed beneath the iron hooves of the Trojan cavalry.Cold caught in his chest.A horrible breathless feeling he didn’t recognize.Best not to think of it.
Behind him the footman helped the fat old lady as she huffed and complained up the stairs.Lena suggested quietly that Henry take Mrs.Wade to the kitchen for a good, stiffening drink.From the sounds of the gibberish she’d been uttering for the last half hour, Will suspected she might need most of the bottle.
“Well,” Lena sighed, standing beside him at the top of the stairs and watching her companion being led away.“At least she waited until after the mayhem to succumb to hysteria.”
The delicious scent of her soap rose off her warm skin.If only she’d use something else for once.He’d come to associate that smell with Lena and even a hint of it in the air made his cock rouse.
Her skirts brushed his shins as she peered down the hallway.“Where would you like to begin the lesson?Blade’s parlor?”
The ground floor of the warren was a mess of dust and cobwebs, with creaking floorboards and peeling wallpaper.There was nothing to see down here.Nothing of any value.A deterrent to thieves and anyone who might be reporting back to the Echelon.Upstairs, however, was an entirely different abode.Luxurious carpets and fine paintings, the scent of beeswax in the air and most of the rooms warmed with ornate fireplaces.Very few people were trusted enough to see the upstairs section.
Will nodded gruffly.“It’ll do.”
“I’ll fetch some tea and cakes.”She gave him a look.“Are you hungry?”
He was always hungry.The anger and fear in him only burned through more of his body’s fuel.“Aye.”
“I’ll bring something of more substance then.”
As she sashayed toward the kitchen, he opened the parlor door.Cool air brushed against his face.The fires hadn’t been lit for some time.Blade preferred to sit in Honoria’s laboratory upstairs these days.
The cold barely affected him, but Lena liked to sit in front of a good, toasty fire.In various ways she was rather catlike.He’d watched her curl up on the rug many a time, tinkering with the pieces of a broken clock.The inner workings of such gadgets were beyond him, but Lena managed to fit them together as if they were naught more than a child’s puzzle.
