Vanza 02. I Thee Wed by Amanda Quick

Author:Amanda Quick
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, General, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780749908843
Publisher: PIATKUS BOOKS
Published: 2008-10-01T23:00:00+00:00

At the end of the performance, Emma waited in the crowded theater lobby while Edison went to summon his carriage. When he returned to fetch her, she allowed herself to be conducted outside and handed up into the cab. She was aware of the tension in him. It radiated through his hand when he gripped her arm.

Heaven help her, he was going to talk about the Incident.

Edison vaulted lightly in behind her and sat down on the opposite seat. “I must speak with you.”

Emma braced herself. She was prepared, she thought. Her career as a paid companion had turned her into a woman of the world. She could handle this sort of thing. She determined to carry on as though nothing of any great significance had happened. It seemed the wisest course of action; indeed, the only sensible course.

“I am rather tired, sir,” she announced smoothly. “If you don’t mind, I would like to go home.”

“That is an excellent notion.” He sat back, obviously relieved. “I was just about to suggest it but I feared you would argue.”

Sudden anger shot through her when she glimpsed the gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. “If you think that I am issuing a … a carnal invitation of some sort, you can bloody well think again, sir. I have absolutely no intention of repeating the incident that took place in this carriage the other night.”

Oh, nicely done, Emma. Now you have raised the issue of the Incident.

Edison gave her a humorless smile. “Even if I were so fortunate as to receive such a delightful invitation from you, my dear, I would be obliged to refuse it tonight.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Something very interesting has just occurred.”

She realized at once that he was talking about a matter entirely unrelated to the Incident. “What do you mean?”

“A few minutes ago when I went outside to summon the carriage, a street urchin was waiting for me. He had a message.”

“What sort of message?”

“It’s from an old associate of mine, a part-time smuggler named One-Eared Harry. He hangs out around the docks. I occasionally purchased information from him during the war.”

Emma was aghast. “Good heavens. What sort of information would a smuggler have to sell to you?”

Edison shrugged. “News of the comings and goings of ships in the waters controlled by the French. Details of the terrain near the coast. Locations of military garrisons. The usual.”

She narrowed her eyes. “And just why would you want such information, sir?”

“I am a man with many varied business interests,” he said. “I could not allow them to come to a complete halt simply because Napoleon was out to conquer the world.”

“Of course not,” she muttered. It would probably be best not to pursue this line of inquiry further. She was not certain that she wanted to discover that Edison had practiced a bit of smuggling during the war with France. “Intolerable to imagine letting Napoleon get in the way of one’s financial interests.”

Edison looked amused by her frosty glare. “Occasionally some of the information I gained from One-Eared Harry was also of use to the authorities.

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