And that was all he said.Um.Why? Because like an out-of-control carriage with the reins jerked, his thoughts had just swung to a screeching, heart-thundering stop.
Wonderful? She thought the Belle’s publication, the news of her ruination…waswonderful?
Aye, Barbara was practically bouncing in her excitement, waiting for his response. Unfortunately, all he could come up with was, “What?”
“Social ruination, Kenneth!” She smacked his chest with the paper, then began to rub the same spot. “I have been threatened with public misfortune! Do you not see?”
Evidentially not. Kenneth winced. “Uh…what am I no’ seeing?”
She grinned teasingly. “Both of our hypotheses were wrong! The misfortune, the social ruin, wasn’t the causeorthe effect of the thefts! It ispartof it; our counterfeit ring is the one whobeginsthe rumors—they aredistractions!” She gave another little bounce. “Oh, this is very exciting, is it not?”
Kenneth held her, his body responding to her nearness, her scent, in an inconvenient way. He came here to grovel, and instead he found her…excitedby her ruination?
“Love…” He took a deep breath, but that unfortunately reminded his cock of her scent, and became damned distracted again.
Barbara pressed closer. “Our villains are targetingme! Oh, Kenneth, I wondered whymycanopic jars had not been stolen and replaced with forgeries. It turns out they were just biding their time. But now they have made the first move—the rumors of social ruin to distract me, make me feel vulnerable—surely they are planning on making the switch soon!”
Belatedly Kenneth’s ears caught up with his brain, overcame the urges of his cock, and forced him to reallylistento her words.
Her words could indeed be accurate--even if she did not know it.
He blinked down at her, hands on her arms. “Ye think… If the men we are afterstartthe rumors of misfortune, the marks would be distracted?—”
“Just as they expectmeto be! A normal lady would be in despair over such accusations.” She smacked the paper again, still beaming. “I am made of sterner stuff.”
“Ye certainly are.” Kenneth shook his head, not knowing how to tell her the truth. And he had to, didn’t he? Had to make her understand. “Barbara, theRake Reviewis infamous. Nae one kens how the Belle gets her information?—”
“Oh, it does not really matter, does it?” Barbara stretched up on her toes to brush a kiss across his lips. “We need to set a trap.”
At the touch of her lips, all the blood in Kenneth’s brain had sunk south again. This was becoming a bit ridiculous. He struggled to follow her brilliant mind. “A trap?”
“A trap, Kenneth, keep up. It is clear that, with these rumors of pending misfortune—or perhaps the scandal sheet is already my ruination!—the scoundrels will strike soon. Perhaps even tonight!” She frowned thoughtfully. “If only there was a way to know how soon they strike after the mark’s intended misfortune.”
Kenneth struggled to focus. “Um…for efficacy, ye ken, it would make sense to strike while the mark is most distracted.”
“Tonight!” Her face lit in another smile. “They will strike tonight, I am certain of it!” Barbara pulled out of his arms and turned about, studying the layout of the room. “My library is only on the upper level—do you believe they could come in through the window?” The teasing look she sent over her shoulder left him no doubt what she was referencing.
Running a hand through his hair, Kenneth forced himself to listen to her words, her plan. She believed theRake Reviewwaslies, made up to distract her from the upcoming theft. It fit themodus operandiof the thefts they’d already identified, and she was the only collector—that she knew of—who hadn’t been hit and who had antiquities to interest the thieves.
If Kenneth wasn’t completely certain the accusations in theRake Reviewwere entirely real, he might have been convinced.
“Yes, the window!” Barbara was peering out eagerly. “There is a shed back here, someone might use to stand on and reach quite a bit closer to the window.”
“I ken,” he agreed dully. He’d used it last night to begin his climb. “Barbara, ye dinnae understand?—”
“I will leave the window open just slightly.” She cracked it, just enough to be believable that someone might have forgotten to close it all the way. “That will make such an entrance far more appealing.” She whirled about to study the layout of the room. “The canopic jars are on those shelves, though I do not think we can afford to move them.”
Reluctantly, he found himself caught up in her planning. “We dinnae actuallywantthe things to be stolen.”
“That is true.” She chewed her lower lip in that adorable way of hers. “I suppose I could move them—move everything from the library into protective storage. When we catch a group of strange men standing here in the dark, holding forged canopic jars that match mine, we shall consider them fairly guilty.”
“Fairly,” he agreed. “Wait,we?”
“Who else!” She smiled up at him. “You and me. We will lie in wait here to catch the evil-doers in the midst of their crime! You will have solved the case!”
“Barbara, if yer theory is correct then our counterfeiters were the ones to start the rumors of Standish’s treason?—”
“Which explains why you could not find evidence of it! I told you Cousin Errol was innocent.”
