Chapter Twelve #2
Two days later, when they ported in Pasaia, Ian took an abbreviated shore leave to bathe at a nearby mesón and inquire about the quickest routes in and out of San Sebastian.
He gave Diana some credit for docking the ship away from the city.
Ever Hart would have stood out conspicuously in Donastia’s small harbor.
Upon returning to his quarters, he found a note in Amelia’s hand, instructing Ian to dress in dinner attire. He was still fastening his necktie when Birdie summoned him with a loud knock.
She led him down the narrow corridor of the ship to a door near the entrance to the bridge. After giving Ian a once-over, taking in his suit and a rumpled shirt that would have made Hepburn break out in hives, she rapped at the door and fled the moment Diana’s voice beckoned them to enter.
Ian strode inside and leaned back against the door to ensure it was closed.
The setting sun filtered through the windows of generous quarters twice the size of his cabin. The scent of violets permeated the room.
“I suppose that suit will have to do.”
Diana moved smoothly around the large bed covered in snowy linens and approached the mirror that hung on the far wall. She gave her reflection a small frown and adjusted the sleeve of her sapphire silk gown.
“It’s the best I have with me. I didn’t expect I’d need dress blacks in the boiler room.”
Ian studied the movement of her hand so he wouldn’t gawk at the exquisite way the dress gathered at her breasts and waist.
Carefully, she threaded a jewel earring through each earlobe. “I’m glad you trimmed your whiskers at least.”
Ian’s skin grew uncomfortably hot as he realized she’d invited him into her chamber while she was still completing her toilette. Evidently, she thought she could distract him from asking too many probing questions.
It was working; he was having a hard time focusing on anything but what her skin might feel like. Or what she’d do if he placed his lips at the crook of her neck, where it met her shoulder.
“How was your trip to the telegraph office?” Diana asked.
The feigned mildness in her tone made him stifle a laugh. With Birdie’s crew on his tail, he’d only risked a terse signal to Sunderland.
“Diana, what am I doing here?”
“Deploying the special talents you pledged to my service. Now, put those on.” She nodded to the freshly starched shirt, blue silk waistcoat, and tie lying on the bed.
Ian braced both hands on his hips and made no move to follow her convoluted command.
In the mirror, she regarded his stiff posture and gave a terse sigh.
“Two women are being kept against their will. They are lucky—or unlucky, depending on how you examine it—to have a very wealthy father who will pay us handsomely to extract them. As part of the operation, we need you to help put on a performance, and possibly improvise.”
“These are orders you received from the people you work for, or the traitor who wants me dead?”
“If you do well tonight, I could be more forthcoming with information.”
He gave her a sardonic smile. “Why not use someone whose loyalty you don’t have to question?”
She brushed at an imaginary spot on her skirt. “We are in a pinch with very little time. There is a narrow window for a cargo exchange later tonight.”
“How do you know these orders aren’t a scheme from your traitor? If they suspect you suspect them, they might be setting you up for a fall.”
The cool stare she gave him in the mirror confirmed she had the same fear. And his heart jumped at the fact that she was afraid enough to show him her confidence wavered.
He wouldn’t discount what it took for her to admit she needed his help.
“Who is the target?” he asked.
“A wine merchant from Porto who recently assumed control of one of the largest smuggling operations on the Continent.”
Ian paused. “Please tell me you’re not planning to strike Enrique da Costa.”
“I have a plan,” she insisted.
“Are you completely mad?” He kept his tone lethal, his jaw clenched in the way she claimed she found frightening, so he could scare some sense into her.
“Costa is a member of Il Corno, one of the factions who want the emeralds. Strolling into the same room with that man while wearing the Holt necklace is like waving a red flag before a bull.”
In the mirror, both their gazes dipped to the emeralds.
Ian kept his there fractionally longer to appreciate the swell of her breasts.
“Are you saying you won’t help?” Diana asked.
It was a definite taunt. He glanced away long enough to draw a breath.
When he looked back in the mirror, he noted how closely she was watching him. It was more than an assessment; her eyes lingered, as if she enjoyed the view.
He had an inappropriate urge to press her about their kiss again, but he needed to wait for a better time. He could be patient.
Up to a point.
“Tell me everything you know about this,” he ground out. “I won’t go in there blind.”
“And in exchange you’ll tell me everything you know about Il Corno and the others hunting the emeralds?”
“Only Costa. If we get out of this unscathed, we can negotiate the rest.” He was still operating under the foolish hope that he’d disentangle her from those who were chasing the necklace.
“For the good of the operation, I’ll agree to those terms,” Diana said cautiously. “Costa has been on our list for years. He’s leveraged in opium, and we’ve had accounts of him trafficking women and forcing them to labor in workshops that fabricate cheap cloth and notions.”
She paused before adding, “There are also rumors he takes women as payment for debts and auctions them off at elaborate soirees.”
The laws governing such things had as many holes as a sieve. Ian had made everyone in London believe he was a scoundrel so he could wield his own notoriety to keep that kind of illicit trade from Holt & Company’s docks.
“Your orders are to infiltrate one of these parties?” His voice rose, the only outward sign he hated everything about the idea, and the harm that could befall her if she set foot in the same room as Costa and his jackals.
“Yes,” she confirmed pragmatically. “Now tell me what you know about Costa.”
He took a moment to swallow his fury at her blasé attitude about such a treacherous situation. “No one can stop talking about how quickly Costa moved in on Clementi’s businesses. Which means he either orchestrated his murder or knew someone else was planning it.”
“Why do you believe he’s coming after the emeralds?”
“With his rival dead, he now has rank.”
A furrow appeared on her forehead. “What does that mean?”
Out of habit, Ian hesitated. In Italy, people only spoke of such things in hushed voices and whispers. “How much Italian history do you know?”
Her mouth quirked. “Do you mean ancient Rome?”
Her teasing smile would not beguile him.
Not even a little. “For centuries, the Italian city-states ruled themselves. Although they are now united under the Italian flag, each region is home to several unofficial…militias. The men who run them also hold monopolies on certain enterprises. They succeed by secrecy and intimidation, and their reach now extends well beyond Italy.”
“And these…militias want the emeralds?”
“Since the crusades ended, three of them have competed for it. To them, the necklace is more than a trophy. It’s a chance for them to bet huge stakes of their business against each other. An excuse for a turf battle.”
“And how do they—”
“We don’t have time for all that now.” If he had his way, that was all she’d find out about the emeralds. “What are the plans for tonight?”
Diana cast down her eyes and fiddled with the gloves on the table. “You should change.”
The feigned modesty irked him. She’d seen him without a shirt often during summers at the shore. She refused to look him in the eye because she was withholding something from him.
He was going to enjoy prying it out of her.
Slowly, he shed his coat and vest. He took his damn time unfastening his tie, and the buttons of his shirt, and let it fall from his shoulders. As Diana watched him undress in the mirror, her gaze traveled the length of his body in a way he’d dreamed about.
He thought of a thousand different things he could do to distract her with his mouth and his touch, so she wouldn’t dream of leaving the cabin.
In the mirror, she raised a delicate finger over the ink tattooed on his heart. The motion was something akin to an imaginary caress.
Her reaction heated his skin and stroked his ego. He slowly closed the distance between them and stood behind her, facing their reflections. “You’re holding back something. It’s more dangerous for me to go in there without knowing everything.”
“You won’t like it.”
The blush rising over her cheeks was the best form of encouragement. He inched closer. “Tell me.”
“Put your shirt on,” she whispered.
Diana kept her eyes on him while he reached for the shirt, but she averted them when he tucked it into his trousers.
“Tell me the part I won’t like,” he insisted.
“Our orders to extract the two women from Costa also included a specific request that I wear the emeralds.”
He swore. “It is obviously a trap!”
“Of course it is.” Her voice shook. “But we have to go. There are lives at stake. And this could be our best chance to uncover information that will lead us to the traitor.”
Ian expelled a breath, and in a somewhat calmer voice, said, “When you walk into that auction wearing the necklace, it will signal Il Corno and other factions to set chase for us. We might manage a clean escape tonight, but as long as you have the emeralds, they will pursue you.”
“I know. We’ll have to splinter off after the cargo exchange. I’ll take the necklace and the others will take the new passengers back on the Ever Hart.”
He hated the pallor that had replaced her flush. “There must be an easier way to find out who betrayed you.”
“Probably. But there are still two women we can help protect tonight. Their father is offering an outrageous sum for us to move them to safety. Amelia believes if we follow the payments, we’ll uncover the traitor.”
“And the other women?” Ian asked. “The ones who have no wealthy fathers to pay for their rescue?”
“There isn’t enough time to get them out. Attempting it with limited resources will get everyone killed.” Her throat bobbed on a swallow. “The organization I pledged my loyalty to would never allow me to leave them behind. There is some other agenda at play.”
The uncertainty in her voice made Ian take a protective step closer to her. One of the back buttons of her dress was only partially done, and his fingers found the fabric and pushed the shell of the button through the slippery silk.
His hand grazed the bare skin of her neck, and something like a low moan sounded from her throat. He rested his fingers against her throat for a moment longer than needed, stopping just short of stroking the necklace.
“If I prove faithful to you tonight, and you find the trail that leads to the traitor, give me the emeralds,” he murmured. “You said yourself you can’t put the women you’re supposed to be protecting at risk.”
Diana reached for her reticule. “And what about you?”
His hand clasped her wrist. “I can take care of myself.”
Her free hand spread protectively over the necklace. “Is this worth such a lethal gamble?”
“They won’t hurt me as long as I play by their rules.”
She responded with an emphatic scoff.
Reluctantly, he released her arm.
Diana brushed past him and seized a cape from a hook on the door. “If tonight proves a success, we’ll negotiate the return of the emeralds.”