Three Nights of Sin

by Anne Mallory

  The music stopped and he switched his arm from about her waist to underneath her hand. Before she knew what was happening he was escorting her from the floor.

  She caught the admiring glances sent their way. More than one woman was eyeing Noble with an avaricious gaze. She had a feeling that most of the people there knew who he was. Apart from the standard masquerade wear, he hadn’t attempted to disguise himself tonight. And even if he had, after that turn about the dance floor, his identity was assuredly obvious to all those who knew him.

  They stopped by the refreshment area.

  “Noble,” a voice purred, a woman in a fashionable royal blue dress slinking to his side. “I haven’t seen you in a double fortnight. Been keeping away from us?”

  “Mrs. Dalworth. I’ve been busy. How is your husband?”

  She waved a hand. “Away, as usual.”

  “I see. This is Miss Rose. Mrs. Dalworth.”

  The woman barely spared her a look and a baring of teeth. “Charming. I wanted to extend the invitation to meet with the ladies at tea. We are interested in sponsoring your foundation. A formal note will be sent tomorrow too, of course, but I wanted to let you know in person. I stopped by your residence today but your butler said you were out.”

  “Excellent. I will respond posthaste. What good sense you ladies have.” He smiled charmingly and Mrs. Dalworth preened. Marietta wondered why she didn’t see the hard light in the back of his eyes, the edge behind his charming smile. Mrs. Dalworth seemed only to be taken in with his sweet guile. Perhaps she only saw what she wished to see.

  Or what he wished her to see. He manipulated women as easily as making a deft turn on the dance floor. She had to remember that.

  “I will see you soon, then. I hope you two enjoy yourselves this evening. I have found patience never lets me down.” Her voice lilted at the end as she sashayed off.

  The woman wasn’t even trying to be ambiguous. She had a fine figure, and Marietta knew the features beneath her mask were fine as well. But she didn’t have a chance with Noble. Couldn’t she tell?

  “No, she never can. What is intriguing is how you can tell?”

  She looked up to see Noble watching her, eyes calculating. She realized with a dawning sense of horror that she had said that last bit out loud.

  “Your eyes,” she replied.

  They immediately shuttered and she cursed herself. She had just begun to be able to read him and she had given her advantage away.

  The shutters fell just as suddenly as they’d been erected. She could see amusement there and interest. “Mmmm. I’m interested to see if you continue to guess correctly. Most see only what they wish to see.”

  She didn’t comment on his part in that equation—that of providing that vision for them. She didn’t think herself so different from most. She too liked to see what she wished. But desperate times required rationality and attention, and the last few years had made her look more deeply.

  “A game?”

  “A challenge. Come, Marietta, take my challenge.” His voice was husky and deep, sexual and mysterious. She saw the truth in his eyes, though, which were watchful and keen.

  “I accept.”

  Pleasure and increased interest joined the watchfulness. “Not everything is singular, though, remember that. There is nothing wrong with discovery alongside a challenge. It is all in how you approach it.”

  His hand slid along her back, dipping to touch her natural waist. “I hope you give in to the desire I discovered in you earlier.” He turned her and pulled her against him. Her buttocks nestled in the juncture of his legs. Heat shot straight up her spine.

  They had attracted some attention. She tried to calm herself by repeating that no one knew who she was. She was just some woman who had arrived with a too attractive man.

  “I want to see my brother released. That is how I’m approaching it.”

  She felt his lips brush the back of her ear and she forgot to breathe. “If we are lucky tonight, Alcroft will know of a way to delay the trial. What will you do for the weeks that we might be searching?”

  She pushed away from him and turned to face him, an angry retort on her lips. His smile was lazy and rakish, but his eyes…were watchful, calculating. Damn. He was going to give her a permanent headache.

  “You are testing me.”

  He inclined his head, watching her. “Perhaps.”

  “Well, stop. I am perfectly capable of following through on my tasks, I’ve already told you that.”

  He bowed toward her so his face was level with hers, his arms clasped behind his back. “You have yet to be truly tested, Marietta. You may think me poking fun about the kissing earlier, but you will need to carry off your disguise when we leave tonight for the tavern. Your brother depends upon it.”

  She lifted her chin. “I will do whatever it takes.”

  He smiled that rakish smile again, and this time it was echoed in his eyes. “Perfect.”

  At eleven they slipped from the festivities and Marietta followed Noble into a well-appointed study. Bookshelves lined the rooms and everything was very neat. Spartan even. The complete opposite of Noble’s messy desk.

  Alcroft was standing in a corner, pouring from a decanter, the liquid falling into three crystal glasses in turn.

  “Miss Winters, I presume?”

  Marietta jumped. Alcroft had the same way about him as Noble. He didn’t turn around, just expected everything to be as he wanted it. His shoulders tensed just so in anticipation that they might not.

  “How did you know?” She looked at Noble. He nodded in affirmation at her unasked question.

  For all that she was supposed to be in disguise, a surprising number of people seemed to know or recognize her after only a few brief comments. Anthony, Jeremy, now Alcroft.

  “Gabriel told me.” He balanced the glasses and put them on the desktop, waving a hand to the two chairs on the other side. “Please.”

  Noble made himself comfortable, removing his mask, as Alcroft already had. Marietta perched on the chair and kept her mask in place.

  “What specifically did you need?” he asked.

  Noble lifted a glass and leaned back. “A way to hold off the trial. We need more time.”

  Alcroft nodded and sat back in his chair as well, steepling his fingers in front of him. “You’ll need someone from Parliament to place pressure. Lords would be better at the moment, though someone in the Commons would do if you have a power player.”

  Noble shook his head. “I have a couple of very big favors owed me by power players in both. I could call one in, but it wouldn’t be commensurate with the request. And creating a debt is out of the question.”

  Alcroft smiled. “Always wanting the upper hand, never wanting to be the one to owe. Nothing changes. I do have a favor I can bring due with the Home Office head, Casenton. Do you want it?”

  Noble nodded and relaxed a bit more into his chair, swirling the Madeira. “That would be perfect. Is it enough of a recompense for the favor owed?”

  “Yes. And I was wondering if it was ever going to be used. He doesn’t deal in the horses I love, and a favor from him is by far closer to your area than mine. Frankly, I will be well rid of the tie to him. He is keeping it hidden well, but his creditors are knocking. He will be more than willing to pay a debt without having to draw a draft.”

  “I suppose you want the Newmarket favor?”

  Alcroft tapped his fingers together. “You know I do.”

  “Excellent. I was going to gift it to you the next holiday anyway. As if I care about the races.”

  “You bastard.”

  “Yes. Wonderful, isn’t it?” Noble gave a cheeky grin, which Alcroft returned. Marietta felt as if she had stepped into another country where she didn’t speak the language.

  “You will let me know what Casenton says?”

  “Of course.”

  “The quirks and quillets will be out for this one.”

  “Yes.” Alcroft shot Marietta a
speculative glance. “It should prove entertaining at the very least.”

  She didn’t see anything entertaining about the situation, and it must have shown on her face.

  “No offense meant to you or your brother, Miss Winters. I refer to the game of manipulating the law and enforcers of such until such time that Gabriel can absolve your brother.” He tilted his head. “Gabriel always finishes the tasks set before him. Do not despair.”

  She looked between them. “How long have the two of you known each other?” Alcroft was part of society, and though Noble seemed able to hold his own, he hadn’t been born to it, that much was obvious. It seemed likely they had met through business, no matter the easy friendship between them.

  “Oh, we have known each other for what now, twenty years?”

  Noble agreed to her right, but she didn’t look his way. Alcroft seemed amused, and she couldn’t understand why.

  “Quite the puzzle, is it not, Miss Winters? I will leave you to suss it out.”

  She looked to her right. Noble seemed equally amused, but there was a fine line of tension about him.

  Alcroft’s eyes changed. Noble tensed even further. She hungered to know what was behind that look. “Did I ever tell you that I begged Lord Dentry to allow you to attend Eton?”

  Noble snorted. “I’m sure that was a scene you’d like to re-create.”

  “No, no I would not.”

  Noble looked to the long case clock at the side, tension visibly strumming through him. “We’ve kept you too long.” He rose and started retying the strings on his mask. “Let me know about Casenton. We are staying on the row.”

  Alcroft rose too and rounded the desk, bowing to Marietta and shaking Noble’s hand, his mask held loosely between his other fingers. “I will. Perhaps I’ll drop by sometime this week as well. I admit that Jeremy has infected me with his excitement about the case. I will send a note first. But there might be something further I can do.”

  Noble nodded and they exited the room, leaving Alcroft behind.

  Noble slipped his hand around her waist as they walked down the hall, bypassing the ballroom and heading straight for the door.

  “And now, my dear, it is time for you to become my wench.”

  Chapter 8

  Marietta removed her mask in the carriage. Utilizing the light from the gas lamps and her small pocket mirror, she attempted to smooth away the smudges beneath her eyes.

  “The extra kohl is perfect. You look smoky and sensual.” Noble leaned languidly against the back of the seat across from her.

  Her cheeks warmed. She had never been called smoky or sensual—not that it would have been at all appropriate. But she found that it suited her sensibilities just fine. She smoothed her fingers down the low-cut dress and watched the man across from her.

  Noble had changed into an outfit fit for a laborer. It was too big for him, hanging from his defined edges, but she had a feeling it was that way on purpose. He had another cap on, this one set at a jaunty angle. It would allow him to hide his eye color mostly in the shadows. His cheekbones appeared flatter. She hadn’t been paying close attention, but he’d done something with the kohl. He was still going to turn women’s heads, but in the guise of a rakish longshoreman instead.

  He looked like the kind of man ladies had strict orders never to talk to.

  The carriage turned a corner. They had to be close. “Remember that we are just here to soak up information and to see which patrollers and night watchmen are friendly and which are not. If the chance comes to ask questions, or the topic of the murderer is broached by someone else, you have to be enamored with everything about the murders and murderer. Like one of the women who attend every execution and then touches herself on the spot.”

  Her hand holding the mirror dropped into her lap as she stared at him. “Pardon me?”

  He waved her off. “Just be enamored and try not to act too bright. I know it will be difficult for you.”

  She held her tongue at his obvious amusement and stowed the mirror without looking at him. She decided to change the subject. “Does Alcroft owe you favors as well?”

  “No. We trade them as a matter of course, but I’ve never done a job for Alcroft in the way I’m doing this one for you. Alcroft’s jobs are free.”

  “So once you become friends with someone, you are free to hire?”

  “Are you looking to become my friend, Marietta?” He looked amused. He didn’t give her a chance to answer. “Alcroft enjoys intrigue and gossip. So does Jeremy. Those two will try to get under foot. Shoo them away if they bother you. They know how I work and will push as much as they can to be included, like toddlers trying to find their limits, even though they know better.”

  They pulled up on a street one over from Greville Street and the White Stag. They couldn’t very well exit an expensive carriage in front of the pub looking as they were currently dressed. Noble spoke with his driver for a minute.

  Marietta took a deep breath.

  He slipped an arm around her shoulder and she leaned against him as they walked around the corner toward the pub. The pub where Kenny had been arrested. She suddenly had a horrible thought.

  “What if Mr. Penner is here tonight?”

  “I made him an appointment to receive a certificate of merit from a group in Windsor today. Festivities to last through the night. He’ll never make it back in time to visit the pub this eve.”

  Relief rushed through her, and she had to admire Noble’s forethought. She wondered again why he was doing this. Why he took cases like hers where he wouldn’t get paid. Unpaid cases where he would have a toehold into a future spot ripe for favors, she could understand. Hers, she couldn’t.

  They entered the pub and Marietta was surprised to see the number of people inside. She didn’t realize so many people could fit in one space. No wonder Kenny had been drawn here. She was jostled and Noble pulled her more securely against his side, fitting her under his warm arm.

  Sheer luck found them next to a table that was abandoned just as they walked by it. It wasn’t situated in the best spot in the room, out in front as it was, but it was a place to hunker down and see how the different groups interacted in the pub. Thankfully, even though it was far from a corner, it was against a wall. Noble pulled one chair next to the other so they were both sitting side by side facing outward.

  He leaned toward her and tipped her chin up. “Are you ready, Marietta?”

  She swallowed. Kenny. She was doing this for Kenny. No one would recognize her here. She had no future to preserve now. The cacophony of the pub blurred into the steady beat of her heart. She had expected it to be racing, but it was just beat, beat, beating in expectation.

  She gave a jerky nod.

  “Give me a smile.” His fingers traced a line from her jaw to the back of her neck and down around her collarbone. His fingertips were light and comforting, and at the same time they made her body lean into his for more.

  She could almost find it laughable that he had called her smoky and sensual when it was obvious those were qualities he exuded. His eyes pinned hers and the only things she could think about were more S words like stunning, sexual and sinful, strong and steadfast. The last one would have provoked more thought from her if Noble hadn’t all of a sudden laughed lightly.

  His eyes changed to a more roguish bent. “I’m forgetting myself. These aren’t the actions I’m supposed to be taking dressed as I am.”

  His hand abruptly switched to her thigh and started stroking her leg. He caught her body’s jump beneath his fingertips and held her in place.

  “Come now, luv, we are playing a part remember?”

  Her smile strained as his fingers traced a pattern up and down her thigh, working her dress up as he went. Her mind rebelled as her ankles came into view. Her calves. The bottoms of her knees. His fingertips dipped under the material and between her knees, and she slapped his hand in instinctive reaction, then pushed her dress back down.

  He gave a raucous la
ugh, the sound foreign to her ears and entirely unnatural on him, then pulled her in for a hard kiss that left her dazed. Instead of the subtle surrender of his earlier sensual domination, this one was brusque, harsher, and lacking in any type of subtlety. But even though he was obviously doing this as a way to create a character, his actions still sent her heart racing and her cheeks warming. She thought it might be distinctly impossible for the man to kiss badly. Not that she had much experience, but sometimes intuition never lied.

  There were parts of this role that were really not difficult to participate in at all.

  When she looked up, a waitress stood across the table. Marietta was impressed with how fast she had gotten through the mob. The woman wore an outfit similar to her own, her body packed tightly into it, her ample bosom pushing out the bodice, but her face was hard, the lines around her eyes and mouth strictly set.

  “What can I get ya?”

  “Two ales, please. Whichever you recommend, darlin’.” Noble had a cocky expression on his face and was looking at the woman through his lashes.

  The waitress raised a brow, though her eyes softened a bit, as if he was just the type of character that made her compliant. “Right away, dearie.” She gave him a wink and barely spared Marietta a glance.

  He leaned back in his chair and splayed out with his arm across the back of hers. He shot her a hot glance beneath his lashes. It made her skin heat and her toes curl, even though she knew it was for show. Noble had said in the carriage, I’m going to be the worker who is trying to worm up the pretty tavern girl’s dress. I’m wooing you, after a fashion. After we have a drink or two, who knows what position you’ll find yourself in outside in the alley.

  She could only imagine.

  He leaned closer to her, so that they were touching at the shoulder, his head dipped toward hers. He wasn’t going to try that again, was he? She felt exposed and uncomfortable, and was horrified to be the slightest bit excited. From the corner of her eye she watched some of the patrons give them a look.