She laughed, though the compliment was true. He dipped his lips toward her ear, adding, “You are beautiful without anything on at all.”
“While I do appreciate that, I had a plan. The diamonds go with the dress, and I’ve already asked that it be pressed for the evening.” She settled upon a solution, “Wouldyoufetch it for me from the purser’s safe?” Louisa reached into her coat pocket to produce a small purse, and then retrieved a slip of paper, which she held out to him. “The red Morocco case. Here is the receipt.”
Giles took it. “Am I to be your errand boy?”
“It takes me twice as long to dress as it does you. If I wait in this line, we’ll be late.”
She did have a point. Really, what trouble was it to him if wearing the diamonds meant so much to her? “Very well.”
Grinning, Louisa lifted to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Giles!”
Before he could realize how easily he’d been managed, his wife disappeared down their passageway, leaving him standing in the queue like a love-struck swain.
He inched forward as each passenger claimed their various baubles. He palmed the receipt, jamming his hands in his trouser pockets and rocking on his heels. Wasn’t this what a fellow kept a valet for?
Giles fixed his eyes straight ahead, but soon felt a foul presence breathing down his neck. As if they’d been waiting for the perfect time to approach, Herbert’s hired thugs flanked him in line.
He gritted his teeth until his jaw ached. “What are you doing here?”
The taller of the two put a heavy paw on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. “Things have been quiet hereabouts. Didn’t want you to think we’d forgot about you, guv.”
Giles shrugged off the man’s hand, feeling sick to his stomach. He thought he’d avoided them earlier, ducking into the assembly room where they’d never be permitted, yet he couldn’t hide in his first-class world forever. The moment he showed his head—the instant he dropped his guard—they had pounced.
“Get the hell out of here,” he said, lowering his voice. He daren’t make a scene, for these fellows were escalating. There was no telling what they’d do if he crossed them. “Leave me alone and stay away from my wife. She’s clever. She’ll notice you at some point and start asking questions.”
The other tough laughed. “You mean you haven’t told her? For shame! Not sure what Herbert was worried about. You’re going to muck this up on your own…”
Giles feared as much. “I don’t need marital advice from you bloody parasites, and certainly not from the Herberts.”
The queue for the purser’s desk moved forward. All three men took a step up. He couldn’t run, couldn’t shake them. For propriety’s sake, he stood firm and endured them.
Their presence began to draw attention. A lady in front of Giles hugged her purse and glanced over her shoulder at their shabby coats.
One of the thugs flashed a smile, explaining, “Not to worry, madam. We’re policemen.”
Giles turned to him, surprised. “Are you really?”
He shrugged. “Of a sort.”
Private detectives, probably. Doggedly determined and well above the law. Herbert would not have wasted his time or money on anything but the very best—or worst, depending on where one found oneself.
“Torment me all you like,” said Giles, “but leave Her Ladyship alone. She has done nothing to deserve this, aside from throwing her lot in with mine.”
The toughs locked eyes. “We ain’t harassing an innocent lady, but the minute we think she’s complicit in any of this, guv…” The taller one whistled through his teeth.
“How could she possibly be involved? She doesn’t know a thing about the Herberts or the money I owe. The little fool thinks I need her dowry for a new roof at Granborough.” He desperately needed a new roof, but there was more, so much more pressing into his bank balance. Louisa could never know the truth.
He stepped up to the purser’s desk and presented his receipt. After a moment, the assistant returned with a jeweler’s case covered in red Morocco leather. Giles opened it to inspect a blaze of diamonds, all neatly tucked into place.
“Thank you,” he said, collecting the necklace.
He needn’t fear being robbed with two bruisers flanking him. He walked confidently toward his stateroom.
Heavy footsteps echoed on the paneled passageway. “Why not give us the necklace and be done with it? I reckon Herbert would take the trade.”
Giles almost laughed. The idea was preposterous, and he was no thief. “Are you mad? These diamonds are worth more than any debt.” They were likely worth more than Granborough itself, and he would die before seeing them draped ‘round Lady Venia Herbert’s throat.
He reached the door of his stateroom, but hesitated to twist the knob. He turned to the two men idling in the corridor. “This is where you leave me.”
