“You promised me just to observe.” he admonished.
“I am just observing. I wasn’t going to go in there. I was only waiting to see if anyone else went inside.” She frowned up at him.
“I have a better idea.” He took her hand and walked away from the portrait gallery. Down the hallway, he opened a door to the left which concealed a set of stairs. “These lead up to the upper balcony that runs along the south side of the gallery. We should be able to hear anybody talking down in the gallery without them noticing us.”
He motioned they should be silent and closed the door behind them, then started up the stairs. When they reached the top, they stood along the far wall in the shadows. From down below, they could hear a pair of voices, a man and a woman.
“Darling, it drives me mad to be so close to you and not to be able to make love with you,” the man’s voice declared in a French accent. It must be Moreau.
“I know, but he decided to accompany me at the last minute. What was I supposed to do? We can always find ourselves a nice empty guestroom to play in,” Lady Granger purred.
The conversation paused. Vivian raised an eyebrow as if to say,are you thinking what I am thinking?He nodded, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.
“Did you bring me the list as I asked?” Moreau said.
Jack sobered.
“Yes, I did. It’s hidden on my person somewhere. Come and get it.” Lady Granger laughed. Light footsteps ran down the gallery.
“I am on the hunt, my little she-cat. When I find you, I will devour you.” More footsteps and then a gasp and giggles, followed by the rustle of skirts and then the sound of Lady Granger moaning.
Vivian made a disgusted face at Jack, pretending to gag dramatically with her hands at her throat. He motioned for them to leave and they retreated back down the stairs. At the bottom, she tugged on his sleeve.
“What if they come out of the room?” she whispered.
“I don’t think they will emerge for some time. Let’s exit now while we still can.” He led them into the hallway, tucked her arm in his, and escorted her outside to the terrace.
“Now that I know more sensitive information has passed to Moreau, I must retrieve it before he can forward it to his contact.” He frowned, trying to determine the best way to get his hands on the list.
“I have an idea,” Vivian offered. “But you have to listen first before you say no.”
“I don’t like the sound of this already.”
“Well, one of my varied talents is pickpocketing. One of the sailors on my father’s ship taught me a few tricks of the trade and I spent the entire voyage to Istanbul practicing on the crew. Of course, I always returned everything. I haven’t practiced recently, but one doesn’t forget these types of skills.”
“An expert card player and a petty thief.” He grinned. “A woman of many facets.”
“I could easily take the list right from Moreau this evening. He won’t even know what happened.”
She looked so excited, so eager. This was a mistake. “No. This is exactly why I shouldn’t have gotten you involved. I don’t want the people I care for put into dangerous positions.”
“You care for me, do you?” She glanced up at him through her eyelashes.
“You must know I do.” He brushed the back of his knuckles against the softness of her cheek. “Don’t try to change the topic.”
“Listen, after this evening he could hide the list anywhere. How are you going to find it without being caught and before he passes on the information? Agents’ lives are at risk, yes? Let me try. Men always keep things inside of the front breast pocket. Easy for me, I promise. I simply need a good distraction for a brief moment.”
She took his hand and gave a squeeze. “Jack, trust me. Let me help.”
He must be crazy to consider the plan, but this was the best chance they had to obtain the list tonight. “All right, I will try to find a good way to cause a distraction.”
They agreed if the right moment didn’t arise, she wouldn’t make an attempt. The plan in place, they returned to the drawing room with the other guests and waited for Moreau to make an appearance.
The men had rejoined the women when Jack and Vivian snuck back into the drawing room. Everyone milled about, the conversation aided by the wine passed around by the footmen. Almost no one took notice of their return. Almost.
Miss Gabrielle marched over to Vivian.
“Where have you been?” She glared accusingly at Jack.
