"You think you can bring him down?" Adele bit her lip. "But how? He has the queen's ear."
"Come to my gathering. There are many others like me and you who are ill-satisfied with the way life currently stands. Powerful men. And women. They could help you."
"For what price?"
"We all need a little help," he murmured. "You have the perfect bargaining chip. My friends want to see Malloryn and his ilk cast down. You're in a prime position to assist them. And in return you gain your freedom."
"Widowhood?" she whispered.
A smile. Devoncourt lifted her hand to his lips. "Perhaps."
"But what would I have to do?"
"Just come," he whispered. "Meet them. See what they have to say."
"I don't know...."
"You'll be safe, I promise." He set the invitation in her hand, and curled her fingers around it. "But make sure you bring the invitation. It will grant you my protection. No blue blood will touch you if you bear my mark of protection."
There was a hard lump in her throat.
Adele responded with a saucy shrug, playing up to the image of what he expected her to be. "I'll consider it." She tucked the invitation inside her bodice, knowing she drew his gaze. "Though I won't offer any guarantees."
Devoncourt laughed, setting his thumb on the middle of her lower lip for a heated second. "That's quite all right, my dear. The fun is in the chase."
And from the look in his eyes, he thought he had her on the hook.
Chapter 15
Going to Hardcastle Lane was out of the question.
Malloryn had made it clear she wasn't to be seen there, and if Devoncourt and his allies were watching the safe house, then her cover would be blown.
So Adele sent a message, and settled into his library to wait.
Hours ticked past.
She tried to still her nerves by flicking through the books he'd piled beside his reading chair. Darwin's The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The Origins of Bio-Mechanics by a Thomas Shelby. Sedgwick's Travels Through the Orient.
She'd expected The Prince by Machiavelli to be more his style, but as she continued perusing the pile, she realized Malloryn didn't seem to have any sort of style at all.
Beyond curiosity, it seemed.
Sharp heels rapped on the hallway floor outside, and Adele instantly set The Count of Monte Cristo back into place. She'd recognize that impatient stride anywhere and practically launched to her feet.
Where had he been?
She'd said it was urgent.
Malloryn burst through the library doors, a palm splayed against each door. He wasn't the tallest man she'd ever seen, but his mere presence seemed to swallow all the oxygen in the room. Malloryn drew everyone's eye, simply by existing.
He held her brief missive up between two fingers. "What the hell were you doing with Devoncourt?"
"Flirting," she replied. "And trying to get him to tell me everything."
"Flirting." A cold, hard word. He turned abruptly toward the brandy decanter, as if he needed a moment to gather his emotions.
"It's the only weapon available to me at times."
"I thought I told you to stay away from him. Did you not hear a word I said?" he snarled, turning on her so angrily that brandy sloshed over his sleeve.
"Quite. You were most specific about what you wanted me to do."
"Then why the hell did you disobey me? This isn't a game."
"Oh, silly me. That's precisely what I thought it was."
The swish of skirts had followed him inside the room, but it was only as a woman coughed discreetly that Adele realized he wasn't alone.
His protégé, Miss Townsend, seemed slightly amused as she took in the scene. "Why don't you let her speak, Malloryn? As much as I'm enjoying the byplay, she did say it was urgent. In my experience, your wife's not an idiot."
"Thank you." Adele tipped her head toward the voluptuous brunette, though she wasn't entirely certain what to think of the woman.
"You're welcome."
Adele turned to Malloryn. "Just in case you were interested, I didn't seek Lord Devoncourt out. I.... He was.... Goodness, I should probably start at the beginning." But how? She pressed her fingers to her temples. "It started this afternoon. I went to see my sister—"
Malloryn looked at her incredulously. "Adele, I don't have time for—"
"Can you please let me finish?"
He shut his mouth.
"My father wanted to see me. Something about Lord Corvus officially applying to court Hattie as a thrall, and how I wasn't to make a fuss about it. He was called away for a moment, leaving me alone in his study, and I realized there was a rising sun symbol embossed on his fireplace. Out of curiosity I examined it and the fireplace swung open, revealing a hidden study behind it."
Now she had his attention. Malloryn suddenly looked lethal as he leaned toward her. "The fireplace just happened to swing open?"
"There was a small latch. It caught my eye, and then my curiosity."
"And?"
"There's a secret study hidden behind the fireplace. I spent years in that house and I never even knew it was there," she blurted. "I didn't get much time to examine the place. I knew Father would be returning at any moment. But I saw maps of London on the desk inside, with little red crosses marked over certain places. Hardcastle Lane was one of them. The opera was another. The Ivory Tower. There were some factory schematics underneath it. More detailed drawings that appeared to design some sort of device. I'm not mechanical-minded, so I have no idea what it is. A detailed list of supplies, including large quantities of Nobel's Blasting Powder—"
"Explosives," Miss Townsend said abruptly.