Wrexford shot up from his chair so fast that he sent Hawk tumbling to the carpet. Charlotte would have chuckled, but the earl seized her in such a fierce hug that it squeezed the breath from her lungs.
“You might wish to be a trifle more gentle, milord.” Kurlansky sauntered into the room as he peeled off his gloves. “Your wife has taken a nasty blow to the head.”
“Then I shall put her down,” growled Wrexford, “and proceed to thrash you to a pulp.”
“Might I first pour myself a glass of spirits?” replied the Russian on spotting the tray of decanters on the sideboard. “I don’t suppose you have vodka?”
“Nyet,” said the earl.
“Wrex!” Charlotte caught his fist and uncurled his fingers. “Mr. Kurlansky deserves our thanks, not a bloody beak. He rescued me from a very unpleasant situation.”
Wrexford quickly stepped aside as Hawk flung himself at Charlotte. “Then I suppose that I should offer you a drink after all.” He gestured for Kurlansky to help himself.
After glancing around, Charlotte gave Hawk another hard hug and pressed a kiss to his brow. “Sweeting, please go up find the others and inform them I have arrived home safely while Wrex and I have a private discussion with Mr. Kurlansky.”
The boy looked reluctant to let her out of his sight, but a warning cough from the earl made him turn for the door. However, he hesitated after a few steps and then hurried to Wrexford, who crouched down and exchanged a few hurried whispers with the boy before sending him on his way.
“Alison—I fear Alison has been—” began Charlotte.
“Yes, we’re aware that she is missing,” interjected Wrexford. “Raven and Tyler are fetching our inner circle of friends so that we may start planning a rescue.” He caressed her cheek. “Sit down, my love. Let me pour you a wee dram of whisky, and then tell me what happened while we wait.”
“You have a very fine wine cellar, milord,” said the Russian after taking an appreciative sip of his brandy.
“Apparently you deserve more than pig swill,” came the grudging reply.
Charlotte held back a chiding comment. She didn’t blame the earl for being angry and upset. “He does,” she responded, and proceeded to explain the events of the evening.
“But how did you come to be there, Mr. Kurlansky?” she added after finishing her account.
“As luck would have it, I’ve also been interested in the activities of Taviot and his consortium,” replied the Russian. “I was spying on the soiree tonight and happened to notice that you were in trouble.”
She frowned. “But how did you come to be the one who dragged me into the carriage?”
Kurlansky took the liberty of refilling his glass before answering. “I had noticed a nasty-looking ruffian skulking in the shadows by the carriage. Having witnessed the attack on you through the library’s windows, I put two and two together and decided to insert myself in his place.”
“I imagine he didn’t take kindly to that,” observed Wrexford.
“He did not.” A shrug. “Be that as it may, the fellow is no longer a threat—to anyone.”
“Qui gladio vivit, gladio moritu,” intoned Charlotte. “He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.”
Wrexford quickly moved on. “What’s your interest in Taviot and his consortium?”
“Oh, come, milord.” The Russian arched his brows. “A man of your intellectual prowess does not have to think very hard to realize that the tsar of Russia would be very interested in any new technological innovations involving sea travel.”
“In other words, he sent you to steal the plans,” muttered the earl.
“So your wife assumed.” Kurlansky winked at Charlotte. “I did not miss your daggered looks, milady. And I confess that purloining the technical plans for an oceangoing marine propulsion system might have been my assignment . . .”
A pause. “Assuming they had a chance of working.”
“What makes you think that the Royal Navy or Henry Maudslay have not been successful?” countered Wrexford.
“The fact that, like you, I’m very good at what I do.”
Tired of the verbal sparring, Charlotte shifted against the soft leather cushions of her armchair. “Enough thrusts and parries.” She closed her eyes for an instant as the movement sent a fresh stab of pain through her skull. “Mr. Kurlansky, are you saying that you think none of the inventors have come up with a workable system for an oceangoing steamship?”
The Russian inclined an exaggerated bow. “That is precisely what I am saying, milady.”
