“Indeed? By happy chance, I myself have left A.U.N.T.’s employment—”
Alice raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged, as if the relinquishment of his complete identity thus far was of no consequence. “I haven’t finished readingMadame Bovary. I wish to get it back. Consequently, I’m free to join you on the recovery mission—if you want, that is.”
“I want,” she said at once, grasping his hand in a sudden fit of reckless passion. A lady passing by noticed andtsked loudly in horrified disapproval. They ignored her.
“I’m sorry it took me a few days to track you down,” Daniel whispered.
Alice squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t escape sooner to find you.”
“Alex and Charlotte took me in. They made me tea—then waited while I remade it properly—then offered to bomb headquarters for me. They... listened.” He winced slightly, and Alice guessed all he was not describing—the fear of being left without orders, structure,discipline; the confusion about how exactly to be from now on. She’d experienced it herself. If it hadn’t been for her determination to escape and reunite with Daniel, she might have fallen into a terrifying insouciance. Knowing he’d gone through the same thing made her feel a strange, shadowy pain. Could this be the “empathy” she’d read so often about in novels? Or did she need to visit a doctor?
“After I talked,” Daniel was saying, “they kindly let me scrub their floors and wash their dishes, which helped most of all. By the time I had the laundry folded, I no longer wanted quite so much to slaughter Mrs. Kew and the Academy tutors. I just wanted you.”
Crash!
Something slammed against a wall inside the boutique, causing the door to shudder. Alice did not even notice. All she knew was Daniel.
“We made a plan, Alex, Charlotte, and I,” he said, touching a button on her dress in a way that reminded her of a moonlit room, a list of rules they had broken kiss by kiss. “Alex called in some favors. And here we are.”
“Here you are,” Alice whispered tremulously. She touched his hair, his jaw, as if to assure herself of the reality.
“Of course I am. It would be illogical for me to stay away from the woman I value above all things in the world. You are my prime number, Alice. My eyes are for you only.”
“My heart is yours,” she countered.
He grinned. “You win.”
“Get used to it,” she warned with a crooked smile.
From inside the boutique came another crash; farther along the street, several pedestrians in black coats began to walk toward them. The air grew charged with anticipation.
“Is that Captain O’Riley’s house across the road?” Alice asked.
“Yes.” Daniel rubbed her button between two fingers, and sheswallowed heavily. Anyone getting between her and the moment Daniel did the same thing with those fingers elsewhere on her body was going to be very,verysorry.
“It looks like we have a clear path ahead,” she said.
“Look again.” He pointed upward, and Alice noticed then a black shed hovering above them. Suddenly its several doors opened and a squad of butlers rappelled out, bowler hats strapped to their heads and rifles to their backs.
Alice and Daniel began to run.
They reached halfway across the wide street before the butlers landed. Turning, they found several valets converging on them from both west and east.
“Trapped,” Daniel noted dispassionately.
“Oh dear,” Alice said, scratching at a mark on her thumbnail.
And then—
Whack! Thwomp! Smash!They punched, pummeled, spun, and leaped into the air with legs extended horizontally. Noses shattered, knees cracked, heads were smashed together. Several hats were completely destroyed.
“Who is in charge of combat training these days?” Alice asked with exasperation as she tossed a mustachioed butler to the ground.
“I don’t know,” Daniel replied, slamming the heel of his hand into the windpipe of a valet. “But I’m not impressed with their work.”
“They should bring in a consultant,” Alice said while kicking another valet in the groin. “Perhaps a freelance company run by experienced, retired agents.”
