“Coffee?” she asked, a hopeful yet demanding tone to her voice.
He looked to her cautiously and noted her smile’s radiance had faded into a more diffused grin, and he released a breath, not realizing he’d been holding it.
Good Lord, she had to have noticed. She saw everything.
He raised his hand for a footman and ordered coffee ready, watching her from the corner of his eye.
She didn’t act as if she noticed his reaction.
How could she have missed something so obvious?
It was curious, but he had a suspicion. He filed it away to study later and turned his attention to her, folding his hands and leaning forward slightly on the table, resting on his elbows. “So, what is the plan?”
“Coffee first--” She held up a hand. “--then we plan. I think better when I’ve had my fourth cup.” She set her reticule to the side and straightened her kid gloves.
“Four?” he asked, surprised.
She gave him a narrowed glance. “Tell me, how many cups of tea does one teapot hold?”
“Depends.”
“Two to four, which means that if you have a teapot to yourself, you easily consume the same, on average. So why the harassment?” she asked with a smile that said she expected victory.
“I concede defeat,” he replied with a grin. “Happy?”
“Not particularly, but it will have to suffice till I have my coffee.” She shrugged.
As if conjured up by her impatience, a maid returned with a fresh cup and pot of coffee. Her eyes lit with anticipation as she poured a cup and then inhaled the steam, her pink lips stretching into a wide smile before taking a sip. She all but purred in satisfaction, and if she had been a housecat rather than jaguar, she would have curled into a circle around the cup and taken a nap, he expected. She was younger than he had calculated; this softening of her features gave her almost a girlish appearance.
What path had her life taken to bring her here, so quickly none the less? Had it been survival, her skillset?
“How old are you?” he asked conversationally, lifting his tepid tea simply to appear less interested in the answer than he actually was.
Her gaze flickered from the coffee to him. “Old enough to know not to answer the question.” She took another sip.
“Is your wit always this sharp, or is it the coffee?” he asked in return.
“The coffee simply sharpens what’s already present, sir.” She took another swallow. “Now…” She turned her attention fully to him but still didn’t set down the cup, instead holding it as if the warmth from the china revived her just as much as the liquid within. “…there’s a ball hosted by Wessix in three days’ time. I’m assuming that he will be using it as a blind to help move information, especially since the missive said one week before the plan to move the bastard Napoleon. That gives them four days after the ball.”
Emerson nodded, biting back a grin at her unladylike word. It didn’t offend him, but it was curious that she held so little to ladylike propriety. He had done his research before meeting her, and knew Jaxsen — the man, he had assumed — was born into nobility as the second child of a viscount, not one to inherit. But seeing as Jaxsen was a woman, she wouldn’t have inherited anyway, but she would have been raised as a gently bred lady, with governesses, tutors, and needlepoint. None of that seemed part of her education at the moment as she took another sip of black coffee and threw around words likebastard.
“Can you get an invitation?” she asked.
Emerson raised a brow in sarcasm. “I wasn’t under the impression being invited was something that you concerned yourself with.”
She gave a sigh. “Normally, no, but an invitation does make the process simpler. Don’t you agree?”
Emerson gave her a wry grin then lifted the thick invitation beside him that had been strategically hidden from view by the teapot. “You mean this?” He waved it slightly.
“If that’s an invitation, then yes.” She gave a disinterested shrug.
He had expected more.
Which she must have realized because she regarded him for a moment then leaned forward slightly. “I’m not going to praise you for simply doing your job, Blueberry. But I can say I’d sure as hell scold you if you hadn’t had the forethought. So, look at it that way. I won’t give you a verbal dress down when you do what you should have, but I will if you neglect common sense in this.”
Ah, there it was. The authority in her voice that didn’t broker argument. This was different from his superiors in the army. When they had spoken, it was simply as if they were breathing the commands into existence by their sheer voice and will. But when Jaxsen spoke, it appeared she was gearing up for a battle, as if expecting to defend her orders rather than simply watching them be carried out. How fierce had she needed to fight for her position? Continue to fight to keep it?
“Understood.” He nodded in deference.
