“Yes, yes,” she cut in, “before England is at war with Iceland.” She cocked her head and gave him a look. “Highly unlikely, don’t you think?”
He opened his mouth to challenge her, but she forged ahead. “Look, it may be good work, but it’s hardly ‘honorable’ for an unmarried woman to travel alone with a—with you.”
She looked away. Jason longed to catch her chin and turn her face back.
“You would not have asked,” she swallowed, “arespectablelady to drop everything and serve as your translator on this journey.”
“Not translator,” he said softly. “Attaché. And I don’t see it as dishonorable. Not in the slightest.”
“Come now. Sailing away with you would ruin myreputation, if I had a reputation to ruin.” She looked up at him. “But I don’t, do I? And we both know it.”
“I’ve given no thought to your reputation, Miss Tinker,” he said. The words were out before he’d examined them for the truth.
Had he thought of it?
“My parents were never married,” she stated. “I spent my youth mostly unsupervised, flouncing around Europe with other unsupervised girls and truly laddish boys. The result of this was exactly what one might expect, and I survived only by the skin of my teeth. And because of my uncle and aunt.
“Which,” she finished, “brings me back to the reason I asked about Sir Jeffrey. Their compassion may well have saved my life, and I promised myself to repay their kindness by being the most well-behaved, respectable niece in Britain. To be a source of pride and goodwill and no disgrace.”
“Your uncle is so proud,” Jason said. “It’s very clear.”
“My uncle would not consider sailing to Iceland in your company to tangle with pirates to be a source of pride, Your Grace. And neither do I.”
“Ah...” he said.
“I’ll not lie about it to them, of course,” she said. “Obviously they will learn of the new building and my relocation to Hammersmith. But I would rather... mention it in hindsight. Months from now. If and when we all return unscathed.”
Now she turned her back to the ocean and flopped against the railing. She looked to him. “My point is, I absolutely must return from all of this business entirelyunscathed.”
She paused. Jason realized it was his turn to speak.“Don’t give it a second thought,” he said, flicking his coin.
She laughed.
“No, really,” he went on. “I’ve convened the very best in hired muscle, and I, myself, am very handy in a fight. You needn’t worr—”
“I do not meanphysically imperiled, Northumberland. I can take care of myself when it comes to pirates.”
“So you mean...”
“Imean,” she said, “I’ve a job and a reputation and a surrogate family. They all depend on how I conduct myself. And with whom. In Mayfair, my conduct was easy to maintain. On a brig, cutting across the North Sea with you, the challenge is greater. My aunt and uncle will be well aware of this.Any personwho understands the notion of ‘unchaperoned travel’ will be aware of this.Thatis what I mean by unscathed.”
“Do you feel... unsafe, Miss Tinker?” Jason asked, tossing the coin. It was a stupid question, but he meant to buy himself time. Of course he’d not thought of this.
“It makes no difference whether I feel safe, as you well know,” she said. “What care have people for my safety when they can speculate about my purity instead. My clients value myrespectability. My character and choices must be above reproach. My aunt and uncle want me safe, of course, but they also want a life for me with no closed doors.Iwant this life.”
Jason was nodding his head. “I understand how maidenly virtue works. I simply hadn’t focused on it.”
“No, you wouldn’t have. No one expects a bachelor duke to be virtuous.”
“Well, I don’t expectyouto be virtuous.” The truth, he realized.
She laughed. “No, you wouldn’t expect that either.”
No, no, no, he thought. “What I mean is—”
“You don’t have to explain. You would never have approached my cousin Jane for this mission, even though Jane is intrepid and eager for adventure. And why? Because she is the daughter of an MP and the granddaughter of an earl. She’s unmarried and she lives at home with her parents. This ‘mission’ would be unheard of for her, as well it should be.
“But me?” she went on. “A girl in a shop? With ‘a file’ in the Foreign Office and no known father? You didn’t hesitate; in fact, you hounded me—”
