Chapter 9
The sky was brightening with hues of mauve and magenta as Gabe rapped on the side door to an old pub in Cheapside, the sound echoing through the narrow alley in which he stood. A rat skittered back to its home in a small pile of rubble not ten feet from him and Gabe’s lips curled back in distaste.
An answering knock thudded thrice against the thick wooden door, recalling Gabe’s attention. He rapped twice more and the door swung open.
“Hydra,” he said, affecting a shallow bow to his superior.
“You are just in time, Gabriel. We’ve only just arrived ourselves.”
Gabe had been partnered for assignments before, often for espionage, sabotage, or reconnaissance work. He wondered what Hydra had in store for him today.
He winced at the painful pull at his ribs as the two of them walked down the narrow hallway. The air in the hall was close and stuffy with the scent of smoke, which seeped through the walls from the front rooms.
They reached the closed door at its end and he could hear the high notes of feminine voices. Gabe’s curiosity piqued.
“Enter, if you will,” Hydra said from behind him.
Gabe pressed the latch and pushed, a plethora of floral scents assailing his senses in one gust. The room was bright, and Gabe blinked, allowing his eyes to adjust to the sudden light.
What he saw then stopped his heart.
“Wha’ the devil?”
At his exclamation, Mary spun about, her half-clad form in high relief against the tight fabric of her shift and bosom-lifting corset, and another woman for whom Gabe hardly spared a moment’s thought, dropped a measure of fabric. Gabe turned to gaze accusingly at Hydra, but the man had already entered the room to approach Mary.
“Close your gaping mouth, Gabe, and make a choice,” Hydra glanced at his pocket watch before replacing it in its home in his waistcoat. “Come in and learn the details of the assignment or leave the position to the next available agent.”
Gabe clenched his jaw, his heart beating thunderously in his aching chest.Mary. Half nude. Oh Lord…
“Shouldnae Miss Wright put on some clothes before we begin? She is nae decent!”
For the first time since he entered, Mary spoke, “I am hardly indecent; I am not nude for pity’s sake. Mrs. McPhee was brought down from Brampton to measure me for my costumes and I didn’t wish to delay her. Surely this is nothing you haven’t seen before, Gabe.” He frowned, and Mary rolled her eyes heavenward. “Very well, if it offends yourdelicate sensibilities, I will put on a robe.” She turned to Mrs. McPhee. “My apologies, madam, but this must be suspended until our meeting concludes.”
The older woman nodded and quietly left the room as Mary slid her arms through the sleeves of a thin cerulean blue dressing robe. She tied the sash in a knot about her waist and sat in the rough, threadbare armchair before the fire, an invisible cloud of rose-scented air rising with the motion.
Gabe tamped down on his inappropriately—yet justifiably—lustful reaction to her scantily clad form as he sat in the highboy across from Mary. He watched her from the corner of his eye. She appeared so out of place in this tattered environment; the once-jade velvet window dressings now torn and coloured a nondescript brown from years of coal and cigar smoke. The other fabrics about the room had met the same fate, the green and blue brocade rug worn through from years of being trodden on, the chaise and chairs, formerly adorned with thick fabric, were now nearly worn through; everything was bedraggled and smelled its age. Though at the moment, their smell was overpowered by Mrs. McPhee’s saccharine perfume and Mary’s alluring rose scent.
And there Mary sat, at her ease, in a robe and very little else. She belonged in a room of overstuffed silken cushions, surrounded by fragrant flowers and trays of fruits…which he would feed to her one by one before they shared the lavishly ornamented bed…
Damn,there his lust went again. Hemuststop thinking of Mary on such terms. Or better still, he should take himself as far away from her as possible.
“As you both might have surmised by now, this is an infiltration assignment.” Hydra said, pulling Gabe from his thoughts. At some point in his musings, Hydra had settled himself on the chaise between Gabe and Mary, facing the fire.
An ill feeling began to fester in the pit of Gabe’s stomach. He knew from the nature of an infiltration assignment that he was to play a role, but now that he knew of Mary’s involvement, Gabe felt dread begin to seep into his bones.
A file of paper appeared at his elbow. “Your character profiles and the dossier for our suspected targets.” Hydra nodded at Mary. “Mary has already gained entrée into the house party, and though she was not invited to bring a guest, Gabe, you will attend with her, should you choose to accept.”
“A house party,” Gabe mused. If Mary had garnered an invitation during one of herevening assignments, that did not bode well. “Might this be the sort of house party in which—”
“In which your sensibilities will be put on high alert,” Mary cut across him, her gaze challenging.
Gabe’s gut clenched.Surely not.
Hydra nodded. “This is delicate and highly dangerous. You must remain in character atalltimes.”
Character?Oh God, no…Gabe flipped open his file, his heart freezing at what he saw on the first page. “Mymistress!” he burst out. “Wha’ the devil do ye mean by this, Hydra?”
“I beg your pardon!” Mary said, a tantalizing frown on her deceptively angelic heart-shaped face.
