There were things to do. Suddenly she couldn’t think what. She wasn’t even sure her knees would hold her up long enough to do them.
She once again rested her head against his heart instead and closed her eyes, at least for that moment. “I didn’t mean to scare you this time.”
“I doubt you meant to scare me last time.”
She couldn’t help it. She grinned and knew he felt it. “What should we do?” she asked, holding on tight. “All we have here is a pistol and a long gun. Mrs. Martin in the village said the same thing Robbie did, that there are at least seven men. We saw at least three of them at the inn.”
“Nothing,” he said. “We are to do nothing. If we try to interfere now, we’ll never know who they’re supposed to contact and where they’re supposed to go. The guns aren’t enough. The destination is what we need.”
“You’re sure? What if they get away?”
“They won’t. I brought help back.”
“From the Lion and Bandit?!” She couldn’t help envisioning an eyepatch-wearing smuggler, maybe with a peg leg. A hook for a hand.
“Don’t you worry about from where. Just for once stay where you can be protected. We’ll take care of the rest.”
And darn if she didn’t want to believe him. Still, she didn’t move. But then, neither did he.
“Would you like to see where all that wine came from?” she asked. “Also, a rather clever door cut into the wall downstairs that seems to go into the next cellar none of us knew about—well, except for every person in the village and Lizzie’s Aunt Eleanor, evidently. I threw the bolt before coming up. I figure the smugglers cannot know that it was open before…well. I hope they don’t know.”
“I don’t want you down there,” he rasped, ruining what was left of the fantasy.
“If I am not, you’ll have a difficult time finding that door. And if you cannot find it, how do you protect it?”
Beau pulled away, finally, which Pip knew was inevitable and necessary, but still hated. “All right, then. Show me. And then we need to figure out what to do with you.”
There went her heart again, scudding down to her toes. “Oh, Beau, you do know how to say the most romantic things.”
The concern in his eyes chilled to determination. “This is not the place for an amateur.”
She pulled completely out of his arms and crossed her arms. “How inconvenient for you, then. Because with Burke and Pamela up at the hall and watchers meandering about, any surprise moves on our part would raise a red flag, now. Wouldn’t they?”
Once again, Beau was dragging his hand through his hair. “I want you out of this, Pip. I can’t focus if I’m worrying about you.”
Well, she thought.At least he’s worrying about me. I suppose that’s better than being inconvenienced by me.
Not knowing what else to do, she dragged in a calming breath and reached up to straighten his hair. “Let’s take one thing at a time, shall we? And I was always taught that the first step is reconnaissance. So, let us go downstairs.”
Beau was frowning again. “Just who taught you about reconnaissance?”
Giving him nothing but a bright grin, she opened the door and walked out of the parlor. The house was awfully quiet. Pip couldn’t help imagining that everyone was holding their breath to see what kind of explosion she and Beau would ignite. Wouldn’t they be disappointed?
* * *
In the end,their visit to the cellar was rather anticlimactic. Pip showed Beau the lock, and Beau grabbed yet another bottle of claret that bore no tax stamp before they returned upstairs.
Half a bottle in, with Joyful cooking dinner, Robbie drinking his chocolate at the kitchen table, and Billings uncorking the second bottle, there was a soft knock on the kitchen door. Beau was on his feet before Pip could even react. She was so tired of her heart pounding for no reason. It could be anyone at the door. Why should it be someone dangerous? She put her hand on her gun anyway.
Blessed Barbara’s beads, Pip thought when the door opened. Itwassomeone dangerous. Exactly the man she had imagined from the Lion and Bandit, except for the eyepatch and peg leg. Dark, saturnine, scowling, silent. Clad in clothing even more disreputable than Beau’s. He slipped in from the dark and stepped away from the windows.
“You need to give them the house, Drummond,” he said, his accent just as precise as Beau’s.
One of the Rakes? The man Beau was to meet? Pip stepped a bit closer.
“We don’t get an introduction?” she asked.
“No,” both Beau and the intruder answered without looking at her.
