While danger stalked nearby.
For the second time that day.
She should pull away and hasten to the safety of a well-lit public space. But the prospect of being captured seemed more of a concern in that moment than her reputation, not to mention the fact that no one had touched her beyond her hands in years, and she was finding it more pleasant than she cared to admit. Perhaps sensing this, Devon advanced his ministrations, brushing a loose strand of hair away from her cheek.
Tingles went through Beth like a thousand tiny stars. She stared at the man, transfixed. His face was as faint as an albino owl in the darkness, his eyes some other nocturnal metaphorshe could not summon from the sparkling haze that had been, merely ten seconds ago, a perfectly good brain. She wanted—
Nothing specific, actually. Justwanted, with a depth of feeling she’d experienced only once before, when a rare amphibian crow hopped across the sand in front of her. Obviously, the drama of the moment was to blame, since she had no desire whatsoever for Devon Lockley. He was an adversary in the field, an academic rival, an obnoxious villain with a gorgeous smile that came close to dissolving her kneecaps every time he turned it on her…
Beth felt herself drifting helplessly toward him…
He moved closer to her…
Toot!
They jolted apart in shock. For a moment, the world comprised nothing but shuddering heartbeats and rushed breath.
Toot! Toot!
“The ferry!” they gasped in unison. Scrambling out from beneath the platform, they emerged on the sea side of the train. Immediately, Beth spied Cholmbaumgh and Schreib—!!
—standing on the rear deck of the ferry, panting heavily from having done a mad dash, as the boat chugged out to sea. Workers were maneuvering the boarding ramp across the dock and wheeling away emptied trolleys.
“Blast and botheration andbloody hell!” Beth fumed.
Devon gave her an amused look. “Surprisingly well said, Miss Pickering. I don’t suppose you are any good at swimming?”
Beth felt her face grow white. “I’m sorry, but is that a joke? Are you joking? In this moment? Are you mad?”
“No more than any other ornithologist.”
“How can you be so calm in the face of this disaster?!”
His face creased in a bemused frown. “Disaster?”
“We are stranded on this dock,” Beth explained in the I-am-not-calling-you-an-idiot-but-that’s-because-I’m-nice tone she used when explaining to students, yet again, the basic metaphysical attributes of the plica semilunaris in prognosticating thaumaturgic passeriformes. “Although we escaped assault, that is small consolation under the circumstances. The others now have a head start in the competition. I’ve lost all my luggage apart from this one satchel, I doubt I’ve enough money on me for a new ferry ticket, and—” Her breath tripped in exhaustion. “It’sraining.”
Turning away from him, she tucked her hands under her armpits in a futile effort to warm them. A few dockworkers peered over curiously, but Beth could not summon even the basic courtesy of nodding to them. She stared out at the ferry, which was now no more than a blurred cluster of lights diminishing into the mist.
Thunk!
She jerked at the sudden sound. But it was only Devon opening her umbrella. He lifted it to shield her.
Beth turned to stare at him amazedly. He looked back with equanimity. The air between them, washed faintly gold from lamplight, glinted as raindrops drizzled through it. The sea’s whispering was interspersed with the bell-like sounds of halyards clanking against boat masts. Beth did not know whether she ought to take the umbrella in her own hand, or insist Devon share in its shelter, or just dive into the harbor and swim away so as to avoid embarrassment.
“Thank you,” she said as a last recourse.
“It’s the least I can do,” Devon said. “If I hadn’t noticed youlurking behind the train, I’d have walked into a trap. I should have known Oberhufter wouldn’t have left his binoculars on the train.”
“I wasn’t lurking,” Beth retorted. “I was pausing with a sensible discretion.”
Devon’s mouth quirked. “One day I’d like to read whatever dictionary it is that you use.” He tilted his head to regard her more seriously. “Are you all right?”
“Fine,” she said in Automatic British. “You think Oberhufter was behind this?”
“Actually I’m not sure. His footman may have sent me back to the train, but Oberhufter himself is not that sneaky. If he wanted to do away with me, he’d just have had me thrown off the train.”
“Why do you work with a man like that?” Beth asked curiously.
