Part 19 (2/2)

”This one won't.”

”And if it does?”

”I will move heaven and earth to get her back.”

”And I cannot dissuade you from continuing?”

”No.”

”Very well then.” Max sipped his whiskey. ”I have been giving this plan of yours some thought.”

”And?”

”And it seems to me Sir cannot accomplish this attempted seduction through words alone.”

Adrian studied the other man. ”What did you have in mind?”

”It might well be time for Eve and Sir to meet in person.”

Adrian nodded. ”My thoughts exactly.”

”To that end, I have come up with a couple of options. Scenarios if you will.”

”As have I.” Adrian narrowed his eyes. ”Go on.”

”You don't want her to be able to see your face, of course.”

”It would be best to avoid that.”

”Yet you do want to be able to speak to her.” Max thought for a moment. ”Under some sort of pretext, Sir could send her away, to Paris perhaps-”

”She does like Paris,” Adrian murmured.

”Where, in the dead of night, he-or rather-you could appear in her darkened hotel room, awaken her, and attempt to seduce her.”

”Now who is mad?” Adrian stared. ”I can't believe you would suggest such a thing.”

Max frowned. ”Why not?”

”Just off the top of my head, mind you, I can think of any number of reasons why not.” Adrian ticked the points off on his fingers. ”First of all, I am not going to send my wife to Paris without me. It's a most romantic city.”

”I have had some memorable moments in Paris.” Max grinned in a wicked manner.

Adrian ignored him. ”Second, breaking into her room in the middle of the night would no doubt terrify her. She's never heard Sir's voice, remember. Third, while she was rarely placed in potentially dangerous situations, we did give her a fair amount of training. I doubt I could surprise her in her sleep without her inflicting some bodily harm on me, which would be difficult to explain later. Finally, and perhaps most important, I suspect my wife would be clever enough, when traveling alone, to keep a firearm by her bed. She still owns a pistol.” He frowned. ”I have no desire to sacrifice my life for this plan. Especially not in France.”

”It was only a suggestion.” Max huffed. ”And admittedly, perhaps not my best. I am not used to plots that involve wives rather than villains. You do understand the idea of planning a seduction designed to fail is a concept that's foreign to everything I believe in?”

”I know this is a challenge,” Adrian said in a wry manner. ”But surely we can come up with something better.”

”It's that whole business of not seeing your face that makes it so difficult.” Max paused. ”There is an advantage, though, to Sir now being the one giving her instruction.”

”We should be able to use that.”

”What if we set up a simple meeting ...” Max's eyes widened. ”Why not use the confessional at the church in Battersea Park?”

”It wouldn't be the first time I've met with someone at that church while pretending to be a priest,” Adrian said thoughtfully. ”Although there is nothing to stop her from leaving her side of the confessional and surprising me. It's just the sort of thing she would do.” He shuddered. ”That would certainly muck things up.”

”No.” Max's brow furrowed. ”It would be better if she were tied up. Oh, and blindfolded.”

”It is my understanding that Catholic priests do not generally bind and blindfold those wis.h.i.+ng to confess their sins,” Adrian said mildly. ”That might attract unwelcome attention.”

”It would be awkward. Still ... I've got it.” Max raised his gla.s.s. ”Kidnapping. It's perfect. We have her kidnapped, tied up, blindfolded of course, possibly gagged, and stored somewhere out of reach.”

Adrian stared in disbelief. ”I am not going to store my wife.”

”I'm not suggesting permanent storage.” Max scoffed. ”Simply someplace where she can be held without discovery long enough for Sir to speak with her without her seeing his face.” Max took a deep swallow of his whiskey. ”I tell you, it's brilliant. We can have her put in the empty warehouse cellar on the docks. You know the place. We haven't used it for some time but we still own it.” He paused. ”Certainly, it tends to flood with the rising of the tide, but she will be rescued long before that happens.”

”Admittedly, that is better than startling her in the dead of night in a hotel in Paris. But I don't think so. I don't like the idea of putting her in any kind of danger.”

”She won't be.” Max shrugged. ”We'll have her rescued the moment you're done speaking with her. Sir-you-will tell her you have to go but someone will be along shortly. A few minutes later, I will have someone a.s.signed to save her.” Max paused. ”Even better, I'll save her. Or Miss DeRochette can rescue her.”

Adrian raised a brow. ”Miss DeRochette? But she's not with the department anymore either.”

”Not actively. Remember, her last a.s.signment was to provide protection for your wife should that become necessary. Thus far it hasn't.” Max paused. ”She has never been officially released from duty, however. I thought it wise.”

”How interesting,” Adrian murmured. ”Still, it scarcely matters. I suspect, at this point, her loyalty lies more with my wife than with the department.”

”One would think. So ...” Max met the other man's gaze. ”Unless you can come up with something better, I think a kidnapping has a great deal to commend it.”

Adrian rolled his gaze toward the ceiling. ”I am not going to have my wife kidnapped and stored in a flooding cellar.”

”She would be rescued before it floods, but I do see your point. However, I still think it's a good idea and should not be discarded entirely.”

”I don't know. There's entirely too much that can go wrong.”

”Rubbish. I would use my best men. We do know what we are doing when it comes to this sort of thing.”

”It bears further consideration, I suppose,” Adrian said thoughtfully. ”As long as appropriate precautions were taken.”

”As they would be,” Max said firmly. ”Then, unless you have a better plan-”

”I do have something of an idea.” Adrian thought for a moment. ”Evelyn provided me with a schedule of our upcoming social events. A schedule that covers the next month.” He glared at the other man. ”A full month. She expects to be gone an entire month. Can you believe that?”

”You thought she was having an affair and surprised an unsuspecting couple in a hotel room. You didn't trust her and you embarra.s.sed her.” Max cast him a pitying look. ”If I were you, I would be grateful that a month is all the penance you have to pay.”

”Apparently, it's not. She is refurbis.h.i.+ng the house Miss DeRochette resides in as well, at great expense no doubt,” Adrian muttered. ”I don't want her gone for a month. I don't want her gone at all. I-” A thought struck him and he stared at his friend. ”How did you know that?”

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