“More like hallelujah,” Dudley remarked dryly.
Finn looked at the second hand of the brass-trimmed clock above the lobby doors, noting the time. He placed his index finger on the vein in his wrist, then glanced at the earl. The Earl of Harrow reportedly enjoyed having his eyelids licked by two naked whores. An eyelid apiece, one supposed.
Fifteen seconds. Thirty-five heartbeats, Finn did the math. Thirty-five times four equals one hundred forty beats per minute. Tolerable. Finn released his finger from his wrist and kept his breath slow and regular.
In actuality, he had an appointment with Scotland Yard, in the person of Zeno Kennedy, Chief Inspector of Special Branch. Damned intriguing to call a meeting at a music hall.
A sweep of the square through open doors brought a tall, strapping lad into view. Somewhat cheered by the sight of his brother, Finn exhaled. Dressed in frock coat and silk hat, his younger sibling wove a path through the tangled throng. Rare, to see him out of his regimentals. Rarer still, to run into each other at the Alhambra. If Finn recalled correctly, his brother’s tastes ran toward table dancers in the East End. “Hardy!”
His handsome sibling waved and made his way over. “Good to see you out, Finn.”
He ignored the remark. “Ballet girls? Rather tame by your standards.”
“And what might those be?” Hardy grinned.
Finn stared. “Low.” He turned to his circle. “I believe most of you know my brother, Cole Harding Gunn?”
“Gentlemen.” Hardy nodded.
“Sans the lady this evening?” The Earl of Harrow quite directly referenced his brother’s affair with Lady Gwendolyn Lennox, married to the very powerful Rufus Stewart, Earl of Lennox.
Hardy’s gaze quickly narrowed on the earl.
“If you’ll excuse us, gentlemen, I spy our host exiting his carriage.” Finn whisked Hardy away before he did something rash with his fists. A quick jostle through the crowd and they were out of the hall and on the pavement. He hailed Kennedy.
Hardy shrugged off his grip. “You’re meeting Zak here as well?”
Finn stared. “What manner of business could you possibly have with Scotland Yard?”
Zeno Kennedy—Zak, to his friends—greeted them both with an affable smile. “Hardy has applied to the Home Office.”
His brother added another grin. “I hope to resign my commission in the Blues and join Special Branch.”
Hardy often withheld information from him. A younger sibling’s reaction to an overprotective, nosy brother. Still, Finn raised both brows. “And when did all this come about?”
“I didn’t realize I had to ask for permission, Finn.”
He studied his sibling’s uncomfortable fidgeting about. A much-decorated major in the Royal Horse Guards, Hardy had been somewhat adrift since his regiment’s return from Egypt. A restless type and a thrill seeker even as a small child, Hardy could ride faster and fight harder than any man he knew. So why did Finn worry so much about his little brother?
Kennedy cleared his throat. “I managed to score us a box—on loan from Lord Phillips. Shall we?” Several heads nodded their way as the famous chief inspector led them upstairs. Finn spoke quietly. “We shall see how Lady Lennox enjoys the high life on a detective’s salary.”
“Couldn’t be worse than a soldier’s pay.” Hardy shrugged. “I’m under no illusion she’ll leave old Rufus and his four hundred thousand for a Yard man.”
Zak held back curtains and ushered them into their seats. A very attentive waiter entered the box behind them. “Shall it be supper or libations, gentlemen? Perhaps a bit of both?”
They ordered three pints and a bottle of Talisker’s finest, and settled in for the evening. In the privacy of their box, amongst men he knew and trusted, Finn’s nervous condition eased. “Give it up, Kennedy. What has Special Branch got in mind for me? Something interesting, I hope. I could use the diversion.”
Glancing at the stage below, Zak sipped from his glass. “A couple of things, actually.” The Yard man kept his voice just above the strains of music. Finn and Hardy leaned in. “A year ago, Finn, you were involved in an operation for the Naval Intelligence Department, the breakup of a ring of Spanish anarchists—Los Tigres Solitarios.”
“My involvement was limited to tracking a delivery of dynamite in transit from Portsmouth to France via Spain. As operations go, this one blew up, quite literally. The Deuxième Bureau—” Finn clarified for Hardy, “French intelligence—made a mess of it and then pushed the blame off on us. No lasting political ramifications, at least not from our side of the channel.”
“We have reason to believe former members of Los Tigres are here in London, regrouping.” Zak reached inside his coat pocket and dropped a slim pointed object in Finn’s palm. “Have a look at this.”
Finn rotated the stickpin between his fingers. The facets of a large diamond caught whatever dim light was available. “Impressive. I’d like to take this bauble home for a better look.”
Zak nodded. “Recently confiscated off a body washed up downriver. We believe the corpse to be the conspirator known as Carlos Jorge Rivera. Likely this chap decided to enrich himself and the brotherhood didn’t take kindly to it.” The detective swiveled toward Hardy. “I thought you might like to shadow this case with your brother. Get a taste for the work, find out if it suits.” Zak caught Finn’s sour expression. “Of course, if you’d rather not . . .”
“I can manage a group of surly anarchists and my little brother at the same time.”
The Yard man leaned closer. “Good. And how goes the gemology consulting?”
“Brisk of late. I’ve been asked for a number of appraisals—all private sales.”
Zak appeared to consider his statement. “Not sure you’ve heard, but there’s a second-story man about. We suspect whoever that person is, may be connected to the anarchists.” Kennedy nodded at the tiepin. “That bit of flash was purchased recently through private sale and pinched little more than a week later.”
Finn twirled the gem. “Ends up on the person of an anarchist floating facedown in the Thames. It’s possible whoever is selling the jewels is stealing them back for a future sale—on the Continent, perhaps.” He pocketed the tiepin. “It’s been done before, an old jewel thief’s ploy.”
Zak grimaced. “Nearly every scenario we’ve considered doesn’t add up.”
“And why is that?” Hardy asked.
“The burglar appears to be rather selective. Takes one piece and leaves piles of other valuables behind.”
Finn tilted his gilded chair onto its rear legs. He gazed at the stage, which had dimmed briefly before the featured act. “I thought you were more of an opera aficionado, Kennedy. Why are we here?”
A wry grin spread across the Yard man’s face. “To reconnoiter with a particular featured dancer.”
From high above the stage a pale glow poured down upon the Master of Ceremonies. “Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et monsieurs. Direct from Paris, the Royal Alhambra proudly presents Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique’s Phoenix Unbound.” The man in formal tails and opera hat tilted his head toward the balcony. “And where in the heavens might we find such a lovely mythical bird?” All eyes followed as the haunting strains of harps, violins, and cellos swelled into something whimsical and evocative—Debussy, Finn thought.
A lone spotlight halted on the lithe figure of a young woman sitting on the ledge of a balcony. She wore a tightly fitted bodice and a dancer’s skirt of filmy, translucent layers, which parted as she rose from her perch and raised a jaw-dropping length of leg slowly into the air—in arabesque. The very term caused a sudden shiver of uncanny intuition. Finn had dredged up the word—arabesque—from distant memory.
The ballerina tilted her head and opened gently waving arms, a preening bird preparing for flight. With each flutter she loosed ribbons of red and gold silk. Her pointe slippers pawed the ledge as she traversed the upper tier, unfurling wing and tail streamers along the way.
&
nbsp; Strains of music built quickly to a crescendo and she plunged off the balcony. The audience gasped as the diving bird swooped down over the audience attached to a delicate golden perch and gilded wire.
Hardy leaned forward. “Nice set of gams, wot?” As if in answer to his brother’s crude observation, every man in the theater lifted his opera glasses to inspect those lovely limbs. She floated across the stage, heading straight for their box. With arms outstretched, she unfurled yet another length of delicate fabric, gaily tossing it ahead of her as she reached the end of her arc.
Before he could stop himself, Finn reached out over the edge of the balcony and caught the ribbon of silk. Their eyes met in shock and surprise. Every fiber of his being came alive.
Catriona.
The roar of cheers from the male audience below barely registered. The trapeze swung the bird back over the heads of the audience and lowered her gracefully to the floor of the stage. The ballerina leaped to earth amongst an eruption of applause, and danced a series of precision pirouettes across the stage into the arms of a male dancer, who lifted her high above his shoulders and rotated her slowly in the air.
Zak and Finn’s brother joined in the applause. Without taking his eyes off her, Finn gathered the firebird’s fluttering silk ribbon. She was everything he remembered, only more so. Finn sunk into his chair. He had never seen Catriona dance in Spain, or France for that matter. In fact, he had hardly gotten to know her at all. Tall and willowy with large sapphire eyes and raven hair, she was so . . . achingly beautiful. Mesmerized by her every move, his mind returned to a night of unforgettable passion they had shared—Christ, how long was it now? Well over a year, at least.
Most provocatively, she slipped back down to earth in the arms of her partner. Finn was quite sure every man in the audience was aroused by her slide down the male dancer’s torso. Twirling and leaping across a stage flooded with moonlight, her body moved with a light, ethereal quality—a sensuous grace—as if her feet had no real need to touch ground. Gravity did not apply to this lovely creature.
She arched her back and swept an arm in the air, signaling farewell. One could feel the enchantment as everyone gasped a collective sigh. Waves of energy rippled through the room as the audience stood in ovation. She took her bows amongst a host of bravos and applause.
Zak leaned forward. “Though she dances with the Paris ballet company and has taken a French stage name, she is actually—”
“Catriona Elíse de Dovia Willoughby.” Finn worked at holding himself together as he met Zak’s gaze. “Born to a Spanish mother and British father, raised in both countries, attended finishing school in France. Much to the family’s dismay on both sides of the channel, she auditioned for the Paris Opera Ballet and was accepted.”
Hardy raised both brows. “I say, Finn, you know her?”
Zeno poured them each another dram. “According to the dossier your brother compiled on Miss Willoughby, I’d say he knows her rather well.”
Finn shot Zak a cautionary glower. “Never thought you were the type to read between the lines, Kennedy.”
“Quite a stunning young woman, Finn. Hardly surprising there was an affair.” The Yard man gazed from one brother to the other. “My wife informs me the ladies quite often throw themselves at both of you.”
Finn’s gaze flicked over to his brother. “To my never-ending relief, Hardy gets most of the attention.”
Zak pressed on. “As you well know, Catriona is the only sister of Eduardo Tomás de Dovia, better known by his nom de guerre, Tigre Solitario, Lone Tiger, the most recent and celebrated martyr of the anarchists. Killed in Béziers, a casualty of your operation, Finn, from a dynamite explosion.”
Invisible bands tightened around Finn’s chest, but he otherwise remained in control of his affliction. He stared at Zak. “You suspect she’s working with the anarchists.”
“A tool perhaps, or she could be a cunning operative. We need you to find out.” Kennedy tossed back his whiskey and set the glass down.
“And what would you have me do with her”—Finn stuffed the silk ribbon in his coat pocket—“once I find out?”
“Befriend her. Gain her trust. Turn her if you can. Both the Admiralty and Home Office would like nothing more than to have a mole on the Continent.”
Hardy sat back, nearly agog. “This Scotland Yard business beats the Horse Guards by a length and a half.”
Zak grinned. “Most of our cases aren’t nearly this—”
“Ravishing.” Finn rose from his chair. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen. I believe I have a stage door to knock on.”
Chapter Two
By the thunderous applause Cate knew she had done well tonight, though she couldn’t remember much about the performance. One of the girls in the wings handed her a towel. “Merci, chouchou.” Cate dabbed at perspiration and wove a path through a blur of diaphanous pastel skirts. The corps de ballet awaited the strains of music that cued their entrance.
A rapid pulse and labored breath was normal after such a strenuous dance, but she did not recall ever being this . . . stirred up. Her mind continued to whirl a continuous fouetté rond de jambe en tournant. And her stomach flutters were—dear God, her body purred inside.
He had reached out and nearly touched her. A tremor vibrated from the tips of her breasts to the depths of her womb. He had caught one of her streaming ribbons, much to the elation of an audience brimming with men. The front rows were always full of randy toffs who pursued the dancers—les abonnés, they were called in Paris.
How dare Hugh Curzon?
And yet, how like him.
She slipped down the backstage stairs crowded with up and down traffic, and made her way into the green room. The featured dancer’s dressing rooms surrounded a wide corridor that served as kind of gentlemen’s salon, where admirers could approach a dancer after her performance. Some came with flowers, others with offers of a late supper.
She collected several bouquets, conversing pleasantly with her followers, men who were often nearly speechless on first acquaintance. Tonight, Cecil Cavendish, 11th Baron Burleigh, stationed himself near her door.
“Good evening, Miss de Dovia.” His bow brought him close enough to whisper. “Or may I call you Cate?”
“Of course you may. We are friends, are we not?” She offered her hand, which he kissed in Continental fashion. She had allowed him to take her to dinner once and to “show her off” to prominent acquaintances at a few elegant soirees. When she had confessed her real name and revealed her dual heritage, his interest had moved from mildly amused acquaintance to something more ardent and worrisome.
“Join me for supper, my dove.”
She raised a brow. “Should I allow you to occupy so much of my time, monsieur? Are we not to attend the Beauforts’ ball tomorrow night?”
With a plea in his eyes, Cecil’s mouth formed the male version of a pout. “A quiet dinner—just the two of us?”
Cate hesitated. In actuality, she was famished. But she was also running out of expensive gowns to wear to fancy restaurants and balls. “Not Verreys. Perhaps something less public—Bertolini’s?
“Molto buono, mia bella ballerina.”
“Give me a moment.” She flashed a smile and pivoted toward her dressing room. Cate took one last glance around the corridor. A wave of melancholy washed over her. If truth be told, she felt a bit deflated. Hugh was nowhere to be seen.
Cecil prowled after. “I would be honored to wait for you inside, listen to the rustle of your clothes—imagine what you look like behind your dressing screen.”
“I’m afraid my dressing room would disappoint—terribly cramped.” Cate deftly opened her door and winked. “Not nearly as provocative as one might imagine.”
Once inside she threw the latch and rested her forehead against the door. She waited for her breathing to shift from gulps of air to something steadier.
“Must be tiring—fending off such persistent admirers.” She whirled around. The tall figur
e stood in the doorway to the adjoining storage room. He leaned that impressive physique of his along the frame molding and stretched. Sculpted muscle flexed under perfectly tailored clothes. Her small dressing room was suddenly airless. This man had an essence about him—something wild and fierce beneath the gentlemanly facade.
With his knee bent and his hand on a raised hip, there was an unsettling intimacy in his relaxed pose. It was as though it had been hours, not months, since they last saw each other. Yes, everything was familiar about him. Even those smoldering dark eyes that made her tingle all over.
Cate looked him up and down. “One gets used to it.” A bit wobbly, she sidestepped over to the vanity bench and unpinned a crown of silver and white feathers. She met his gaze in the looking glass as her heart beat a series of petit jetés in her chest.
He pushed off the wall and moved in behind her. “You are even lovelier than I remember.” His fingers moved down the row of hook and eyes that fastened her costume.
She shifted away. “My dresser will be here any minute, she will—” Persistent fingers gently loosed the back of her bodice. Even as her cheeks flushed with heat, cool air wafted over skin moist with perspiration. His knuckles brushed against the flesh of her back, causing a shiver she failed to conceal.
He looked up from his unfastening duties. Deep brown eyes, the color of steaming French coffee, met her gaze in the mirror. How could she possibly have forgotten the lightness of his touch? She reacquainted herself with his strong chin and jawline, a bit swarthy, perhaps, but wonderfully—dangerous or wicked. Which one was it? Did it really matter?
Reverently, he bent and kissed her shoulder. “Tell me, Cate, do you respond to lines like: ‘. . . listen to the rustle of your costume and imagine what you look like’”—his breath drifted over her ear—“‘naked in my bed with those long, shapely legs wrapped around my waist—’”
A Lesson in Chemistry With Inspector Bruce Page 12