She stared at him like he was trying to sell her a house with no door.
“I merely meant to join two purposes,” he explained. “My aunt was in need of a travel agent, and I needed, urgently, to speak with you. I was mindful of not bursting in on your office again, and a simple request for another meeting seemed... ambitious.”
“There will be no future meetings,” she stated.
“Which is why I cultivated this errand. To bring us all together.”
“You and I have alreadybeentogether,” she bit out in a whisper. She paused and a pink blush bloomed on the cream of her cheeks. He watched it spread down her throat and across her collarbone. Jason’s memories engaged, replaying the warm pleasure of their kiss.
Miss Tinker cleared her throat. She repeated, “I’ve provided all the information that I am able. I bade you, as a gentleman—”
“Yes, yes,” he cut in. “I’m a gentleman and you’vebade me to the devil. But at the moment, I’m here on earth and working on behalf of the common good. Look, Miss Tinker, the information you provided in Grosvenor Square was, to put it mildly, a treasure trove. I was able to confirm, corroborate, or build upon nearly every nugget. When I first sought you out, my only intent was to gain a general sense of the Icelandic geographic and cultural landscape. Instead, you handed me the key players in my cousin’s capture and quite possibly their purpose. It’s been a veryfruitfulweek, to say the least. I cannot say when I’ve had a more helpful informant.” He paused, waiting for some reaction. Flattery never hurt, and in this case, it was also true.
“I’m happy to hear it,” she said, not at all flattered. “But now you’llrepaymy usefulness by—”
“I need more,” Jason said, emphasizing every word. He’d not lured her to Hammersmith to beat around the bush.
“More what?”
“I need you to join me on my voyage to Iceland to recover my cousin and the other captured Englishmen.”
There was a long, airless pause. From somewhere nearby, a chirping bird began a cheerful trill. The birdsong, so normal and abiding, served only to mock the highly irregular and improbable thing he was asking her to do.
“No,” she said, a statement more than a denial.
Jason celebrated inside his head but kept his face very calm. He doubled down.
“You couldn’t know this about me, Miss Tinker, but I’m known in my work for seeking unconventional solutions from unlikely sources.”
“No,” she said. Again, the word was floated more than tossed down.
“Protocol and procedure?” he went on. “These have always been afterthoughts. As a strategist, my plans are known as ‘unorthodox.’ ”
“No,” she repeated.
“And then the success we all enjoy is as far-reaching as it was inevitable. A great surprise to everyone but my closest allies.”
“No, no, no.”
“Which is why,” he rushed to finish, “youmay be surprised at the very outrageousness of this plan.”
“Surprise is only one of several very strong reactions to this plan, Your Grace.”
“It could work,” he said. “Itwillwork. It is brilliant and resourceful and kismet.”
“Absolutelynot. Out of the question.” She spun on her heel and stomped up the street in the direction of London.
Jason swore and went after her. “Hear me out,” he said, catching her in two strides.
“Go away, Your Grace,” she said. She would not look at him. “Go away, go away, go away.”
He pressed on. “You would serve as a guide, a translator—a sort of cultural attaché. Based on what I confirmed this week, you know exactly how to getmeinandmy cousinoutas quickly and as quietly as possible.”
She kept walking and he swore again. He was literally chasing her down the street.
He tried again. “Will you hearwhyI need you? Or what I’m prepared to offer in exchange?”
“No.”
