A short huff as her lips pursed. “Henry—”
“What the hell were you thinking, coming here tonight?”
“I came to stop you from doing something foolish.”
“Says the woman dressed as a serving wench,” he gritted out between the clench of his teeth. “For Christ’s sake, Grace, he dropped a penny down your damned gown.”
“It was tuppence, I’ll have you know.” A little shift of her shoulders, which thrust those glorious breasts up further. “He was never going to sell it to you,” she said. “Cooper, I mean to say. I’ve been eavesdropping for the last hour—”
“Anhour!”
“Keep your voice down!” Grace hissed. “Just because it’s loud doesn’t mean someone isn’t listening.” She took a swift, sharp breath. “The deal is already done,” she said. “Cooper was never going to sell to you, no matter what you offered. He’s got your uncle dangling upon a string.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It’s why he didn’t offer the evidence to you first,” she said in a rushed little voice. “If he had, it would only disappear. But your uncle mustuseit to get what he wants. It means Cooper has got a thousand pounds from him—and an earl’s weight with whatever matters he might require. Cooper knows too much, could cast too much doubt upon the evidence your uncle would need to present to claim your title. So he’s got your uncle in the very palm of his hand, ripe for the manipulation. He’s spent the last hour explaining as much to him.”
Christ. Moneyandfavors. Grace had been right all along; his plan had been doomed from the start, for he’d had no reason—nor the inclination—to offer the same. Of a certainty Cooper intended to extract the value of far more than one thousand pounds from Uncle Nigel. Probably well beyond even the two thousand Henry had been prepared to offer.
He needed to think, and quickly.
He couldn’t fucking think worth a damn with those magnificent breasts so prominently displayed.
Henry lowered his voice to a feral rumble. “You are going to tell me how I would most effectively pick my uncle’s pocket—and then you are going to walk out the door and straight to my carriage on the street. Where you will damned wellstayuntil Ireturn.”
“Henry, I can’t teach you to become a pickpocket in a few minutes. It’s a skill that takes months to master. Years, for some.”
Goddamn it all. Her nose hadn’t twitched. She was telling the truth.
“And besides,” she added, “you can’t risk coming so close to your uncle.”
“I’m damned well not going to let you do it!”
She uttered a rueful little laugh. “Don’t you think I would have already tried, if I were capable of it? It’s not a page folded up and tucked in his pocket,” she said. “It’s a leather-bound book; a large one. And Cooper is presently sitting upon it. It would be impossible for me to retrieve it without his notice.”
Chapter Seventeen
She saw the significance of the words strike him, watched a long swallow roll down his throat. Briefly, those glacial blue eyes slid across the room to where Cooper and Henry’s uncle were yet engaged in conversation. Any moment now Henry’s uncle would get up and leave—and he would pass right by them on the way.
“Henry,” Grace said softly. “You can’t be seen here.” Thus far his uncle might have some vague suspicions, but nothing concrete. If he caught a glimpse of Henry in this very tavern on this very night, those suspicions would be confirmed. They would lose what little element of surprise remained to them.
For a moment he stood stock-still. His fingers tightened upon her wrist. “You’re right,” he said. “I can’t.Youcan’t.”
She’d expected him to perform a quick about-face and make for the door. Instead he grasped her wrist tighter and headed for the stairs.
What on earth? “Henry—”
“Oi!” A rough voice cut across the din; a serving maid who had just come from a nearby table had paused to slant a glare at Grace, as if she ought to have known better. “Ye know the rules. Room fer the night’ll cost ye a shillin’.”
“Oh,” Grace said, on an awkward laugh. “That’s not—”
“Keep what’s left,” Henry said as he plucked a crown coin from the pocket of his coat and dropped it into the maid’s outstretched hand.
Grace’s mouth dropped open in shock as Henry nudged her back toward the stairs. “You’ve paid for a room?”
“I have got quite a lot to say to you, and I’d prefer privacy in which to do it.” There was a growl in his voice, something just short of feral that lifted the hairs at the nape of her neck. “I distinctly remember telling you that you weren’t to come here. I distinctly remember also your promise that you would not.”
“I couldn’t let you do something foolish,” she said defensively.
