“Italian,” she answered. “I heard him speak, and his hair was dark.”
He waved an impatient hand to indicate he needed more detail.
“Thin and tall. Very thin, I’m not sure how tall. His face is narrow, and I want to say—” she bit her lip, searching for the word.
“Ferret faced?” he interrupted, “Narrow like a weasel?”
“Yes,” Nora sputtered, “Exactly like that.”
“Wearing a plain suit?”
“Like a secretary or a clerk. Yes, a suit,” she said. “You’ve seen this man?”
“He works for Isabella’s uncle.”Castellimonte’s Ferret.
“The count? But how do you know?” she asked.
His job was to interpret, but his instinct and his inconvenient honor were another matter. He had made it his job to know.
“My employer lets me go early each day. It’s a simple matter to reconnoiter the count’s compound. The Ferret comes and goes often,” he told her.
Nora chewed her lower lip. “The count’s man? He watches me,” she said, “and you watch him.”
Jamie forced a smile he didn’t feel. “That is often the way it works among adversaries.”
Nora made no reply.
“Shall I escort you home?”Oblivion will have to wait.
“Please,” she said.
“No argument? The man must have frightened you badly,” he said.
Nora Haley bobbed her head.
“You’re wise to be cautious. Keep your door locked, and don’twander the streets without an escort.” Jamie pointed a finger at her when he said it.
She started to sputter protest and bit back the words. She nodded again.
Jamie acted as if he hadn’t noticed. “I don’t think you need to fear for your physical safety, but you might take a care for your reputation.”
“My reputation?” Outrage put fire in her voice. The blue eyes shot sparks. He liked sparks. “How can that man know or care about my reputation?”
“He has you watched. A child’s future is at stake. Have a care, Nora Haley,” he said. He rose, extended his right hand to Nora, and picked up the bottle with his left.
“That can stay here,” she said tartly. “I need you sober.”
“What I do on my own time—” he began.
“—impacts me,” she asserted. “You’re the one who said I should look to my reputation. An escort carrying an open wine bottle won’t enhance the impression I make on the Count di Castellimonte’s spies.”
She stared until he dropped his eyes.The damned woman has a point. He didn’t resist when she took the bottle and signaled for the waiter. “Major Bently won’t need this,” she told him. “Kindly dispose of it.”
Jamie’s mouth watered. His hand shook with the need to pull it back. He needed just one night, just one blind drunk.Does she have any idea how badly I need it?
His night turned inside out, and she went on speaking.
“Besides, Major,” she said, “If anything happens to Robert, I may need you at any time of day. I need you sober.”
