“Alexander obviously finds me a mysterious, dangerous creature,” Nick drawled, entering the room with a cigarette between his lips.
“Do not light that,” Saffron warned. “Elizabeth will flay you alive. She doesn’t permit smoking in the house, it causes an awful mess.”
Nick’s brows lifted, but he replaced the cigarette in a slender gold case he returned to his jacket pocket. He sat on the armchair opposite them and grinned. “I think that went perfectly, don’t you?”
“I think Elizabeth might flay you even if you don’t smoke,” Saffron said crossly. “You were perfectly awful to Colin.”
Nick settled more comfortably in the chair. “Heis perfectly awful. Did you see his face when you toasted Eliza? He had no idea we were celebrating her birthday.”
She agreed, but she’d never betray Elizabeth by saying so. She’d act as if she liked Colin well enough until Elizabeth saw what a dreadfully dull, pompous fellow he was. “They’ve only been stepping out a few weeks.”
Nick tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair. “Well, on with the show, eh? I’ve had word about Wells.”
The warm ease she’d felt from sitting so close to Alexander evaporated. “What did they say?”
“And from whom?” Alexander asked.
Nick flicked him a glance, a smile curling one side of his mouth. “I see this is now a team effort instead of a partnership. Very well. Wells died of respiratory and heart failure. His liver was enlarged, to boot. Perhaps most significantly, that nasty cut on his hand was infected with fungus.”
Saffron stared at him. “But what killed him?”
“The report didn’t say. They need more time to do the full workup.”
“But?”
Nick tilted his head thoughtfully. “But I suspect the fungus will have something to do with his death. It looked god-awful. Something funny is going on at the Harpenden lab.”
“So you’ll return there to investigate?” Saffron asked.
“I will,” he said. “But I’m not trained for lab work. Couldn’t muddle my way through pretending, even if I hadn’t already been in the lab in my current capacity.”
“As an agent of the Agricultural Ministry?” Alexander asked dryly.
“Just so.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw, frowning. “It’ll take ages to find someone to be a mole in the lab. They’re a tight-knit group, with only a handful of scientists working there. They’d spot a true outsider in a moment.”
“I’ll do it.”
Saffron spun in her seat to face Alexander. He was looking at Nick without expression.
“I appreciate the offer,” Nick said, “but you’re not subtle, Alexander. A great tall brute like you would only put them on their guard.”
Saffron scoffed. “You’re practically the same size, you know.”
Nick gave her a wicked smile. “He’s certainly not the type to strike up friendly conversations that lead to free-flowing information, is he?”
Saffron had known it would come to this the moment Alexander had spoken, knew why he’d offered. But she’d do it anyway. She wanted to know what was going on. “I’ll go to the lab.”
Nick studied her. “No, I don’t think so.”
“But why not?” she asked, surprised. She’d thought he’d been angling for her to volunteer.
“First of all, itisdangerous,” Nick said. “Two men are dead. I know you know your way around a lab, especially one that deals with plants, but should something happen, I’d be responsible. You’re a civilian.”
“Youare meant to be a civilian,” Saffron muttered, a bit put out.
“Second, the value in sending you would be, in part, your name. Everleigh is a name known in botanical circles, and your father worked in plant pathology, which is what this lab deals with. I doubt you’d be willing to go as yourself.”
“Why not?”
