“Oh, yes. Yes,” she agreed eagerly. “But it isn’t easy, is it?”
There was a moment of hesitation, and then came an answer. “I was hoping that Prinny, like his brother York, might be willing to indulge in a little bimble-bumble concerning a business matter. Things were going well, until the slimy little slug of a French chef went and ruined everything. I suspect . . .” Lady Spencer turned, and though her eyes were dangerously bright, there was still a sharpness beneath the glitter. “Perhaps we can help each other, Lady Wolcott. You know, use our feminine wiles to the benefit of us both.”
“Oh, I should like that very much. How?”
“I could twist Saybrook into doing what you want.” Lady Spencer hesitated for a fraction. “While you could do me a small favor. . . .”
“Gladly,” said Arianna. “The men make all the rules in this world. But that doesn’t mean we have to play by them.”
The remark drew a throaty titter from Lady Spencer. “I think we are going to be very good friends. The thing is, can you keep a secret?”
Arianna crossed her heart.
“Good.” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “This is all hush-hush, but I am involved in a business deal with Concord and several others that promises to be very profitable.”
“What sort of deal?” asked Arianna quickly.
“Oh, some shipments involving military supplies,” replied Lady Spencer. Her speech was growing more slurred. “I had lent one of the men—let us simply call him Mr. K—some important papers to help with the financial calculations, and when he returned them, he also included some documents I wasn’t supposed to know about.” A girlish wink. “You see, the Prince wasn’t the only one I was sleeping with. In bed, I got Mr. K to admit that he was working on something bigger than the military deal, and if it all worked out, he would be able to cut Concord out of the new deal.”
“What sort of deal?” urged Arianna.
“I don’t know, but it looked important.” Her smile returned. “And I could tell that Mr. K was very nervous that I had seen the papers, so I was making a little extra blunt from him for keeping quiet about it.” She lowered her voice even more. “Concord has a nasty temper and tends to turn violent if he thinks he is being cheated.”
Kellton was cheating Concord? Arianna gave an inward grimace. That didn’t seem to make any sense. But given Lady Spencer’s state of inebriation, perhaps she was getting things garbled. It seemed clear that she knew nothing about the New World trading company.
“How exceedingly clever of you,” murmured Arianna. Keep talking, keep talking, she added silently. Saybrook needed to know all the details for his investigation, and she didn’t want to disappoint him.
Lady Spencer nodded. “Yes! But unfortunately Mr. K succumbed to a fit of apoplexy. And now I fear that Concord suspects I knew about the deception and didn’t tell him. So it’s possible that as a way to get back at me, he bribed my chef to poison the Prince.” She frowned. “Or he may have done it for a reason I don’t yet know about.”
Arianna thought for a moment. Concord had been in the corridor near the kitchen on the night of the poisoning . But he hadn’t been alone. Damnation—if only she had been able to make out the other man’s face in the swirl of shadows. Knowing his identity might help answer a number of questions.
Noting that Lady Spencer was watching her intently, she curled a cool smile. “Ah, I see what you mean. You would like me to see what dirt I can dig out of Concord.”
“You are a sly little puss, aren’t you?”
Arianna let out a little laugh. “I didn’t become a rich widow by being a sweet, biddable little girl.”
An answering cackle stirred the air. “Try to find out what his feelings are about me—men do like to talk in bed. And, by the by, try to find out where he’s getting this Devil’s Delight.”
“The Devil’s Delight?” repeated Arianna, pretending that she had never heard the name mentioned before.
Lady Spencer tapped her now empty glass. “It’s a special drug that will bring in a fortune from rich men who crave new excitement. If we can learn who his partner is, and how they get their supplies, we could demand to be part of the deal.” Her rouged lips curled up in a quick smile. “You would, of course, get a share of the profits. Do we have a agreement?”
“Oh, yes.” How sublimely ironic that the request melded so well with her own intentions. “Be assured that you can count on me.”
Lady Spencer’s low titter was cut off by a loud laugh. Concord was fast approaching, his boots clicking a staccato tattoo over the polished wood floor.
Smiling, Arianna quickly turned to greet him with a flirtatious look. “La, I hear you’ve been sampling a stimulating new treat. Aren’t you going to invite me to have a taste?”
“But of course.” His eyes were dilated, and his whole body seemed to crackle with a strange sort of energy. “I was just coming to ask if you would like to join me in a special toast before the real festivities begin.” He touched her arm, and she could feel the heat of him pulse against her skin.
Lady Spencer melted away into the shadows, but not before fluttering a last little wink.
“I would like nothing better!” Arianna didn’t have to feign a note of anticipation. At last, at last. After all the years of battling for every hard-won step, things were beginning to move at a dizzying pace. No wonder she felt a little breathless.
Concord’s grin stretched into a leer. “Then come with me.”
“You suspected this,” said Henning.
“Yes.” Saybrook checked the priming of his pistol. “Put Lady Arianna in a position to do something that should strike terror into the heart of any mere mortal, and one can pretty much count on her setting off in a flash.
The surgeon blew out his cheeks.
“Your man is sure that her carriage was headed out of the city?” asked the earl.
“Aye, he trailed it until he was certain of the direction,” answered Henning. “There’s something else you should know, though. He’s also positive that Lady Arianna was being followed by someone else.”
“One of Grentham’s spies, no doubt,” replied Saybrook matter-of-factly. “I caught sight of a fellow when I was leaving your surgery.”
“Well, your surveillance skills from the Peninsula seem as sharp as ever,” said Henning. “And yet you seem awfully calm about it. Isn’t the minister’s interest in the lassie cause for alarm?”
Saybrook didn’t look up from adjusting the flint. “There is no use speculating about Grentham’s motives in this case. The man is a cipher. He could very well be the one who ordered her lured to Wooburn Moor, or he could have other reasons for keeping a close watch on her.”
“By the by, how the devil did you know she was headed for Wooburn Moor?” demanded Henning. “Have you taken up reading tea leaves, or scrying the future in a crystal ball?”
“The answer is far more mundane. I visited Lady Spencer this afternoon, and in the process of becoming better acquainted with her, she invited me to attend the same party.”
“You should have said yes. That way you could have kept a closer eye on Lady Arianna.”
“I’m not sure she would welcome the scrutiny.” Saybrook flicked a grain of gunpowder from the polished steel. “Besides, such a move might scare away our quarry. We’ve gone to a good deal of trouble to bring Concord sniffing around her skirts. It would be a pity to have all our efforts go for naught.”
“Isn’t that rather liked staking out a lamb to draw in a wolf,” groused the surgeon.
“Ha—if he tries to take a bite, he’ll break his teeth.”
“The lady is remarkably capable,” replied Henning. “But these men are ruthless murderers. I am surprised you aren’t more worried.”
“My feelings are irrelevant.” The earl began loading the second weapon of his matched set. “There appears to be a dangerous conspiracy threatening to do great harm to the country. We have a duty to expose it, Baz, and see the miscreants arrested, no matter the risks involved.”