“Of course. I’m going to sneak into his house and look for whatever information I can find.”
“You’re going to sneak in?” she asked, incredulously. “That sounds extremely dangerous.”
“I’ve done it before. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to ensure that he is out of the house, and I’ll disguise myself as a servant.”
“I have a better idea,” she said, and now, it was his turn to look incredulous.
“Oh, do you?”
“Yes, and I thought it would be obvious.”
“And what is that?”
She smiled wickedly, enjoying his annoyance. He clearly didn’t like being told his plan wasn’t any good. “You use your reputation, of course!”
He blinked at her. “What do you mean?”
She scooted closer to him on the bed. “You are known as the Beast of Carramere, right?”
His jaw tightened, but he nodded.
“Well, the Beast of Carramere is known as a ruthless man, is he not? And while I have never heard you tied to any criminal activity in the past, it probably wouldn’t be much of a stretch for someone to believe that a man of your reputation would get into the opium business.”
“I would never?—”
“I know, but what I’m suggesting is that we use Lord Redfield’s perception of you to trick him. You go to him and propose becoming involved in the opium trade—tell him you’ve heard he is the person to hook you up. You could even pretend that you want to use opium for medical purposes now but imply that you eventually would like it to become a recreational drug, especially for those in your duchy—that you hope to profit off of the addiction of others. Though perhaps you could phrase it in a more… veiled way.”
She held her breath, waiting for her husband to be offended, but to her surprise, the Duke looked intrigued.
“That could work,” he began slowly.
Rosalie nodded eagerly. “And then, you slowly ingratiate yourself, perhaps offer to invest in the business. Once you are business partners, it will be easier for you to spy on him and gather whatever information you need to report him to the authorities. It would be a much more effective way of getting inside information than merely snooping around.”
The Duke was quiet for a moment, and she waited, hoping that he would see the brilliance in the plan. Energy was coursing through her, and she hadn’t felt so excited in a long time. She really did feel as if she were in on one of the schemes that Lizzy “Nobeard” Seacliff and Captain Blackthorn might dream up.
But then, the Duke shook his head. “It’s a good plan,” he said, meeting her gaze, “but I don’t think I could pull it off. I don’t know anything about opium or the drug trade. And while I’m known for being ruthless, I’m also known for being morally unimpeachable in all my dealings. That’s why Scotland Yard originally approached me.”
Rosalie thought about this for a moment then an idea struck her. “That’s why you should bring me!” she said, eagerness lighting up her face. “I know all about opium, not only from books I’ve read about it but also from my father. He was involved in the trade, and there were many times when he talked somewhat openly about it when friends were visiting.”
The Duke looked uncertain. “Even then, there is my reputation…”
“But we can prove to Lord Redfield that I have corrupted you even further,” she said, breathless with excitement. “All we need to do is convince him that I am truly my father’s daughter and that I took advantage of your reputation and convinced you the best way forward is to lean all the way into what people think of you: since they already think you’re a beast, be one. We can make it out like it was my idea to get involved in opium.”
She could tell that the Duke was tempted. He had the same eager tautness in the way he was sitting that she did.
“It would be a rather remarkable feat if we pulled it off,” he said slowly. “And it’s not an unconvincing story.”
“I think it would work,” she insisted, and at last, the Duke laughed and relented.
“All right,” he said. “We can do it. But I don’t want you getting too excited. We’re not doing this for the adventure; we’re doing it to help our tenants and all those affected by the opium trade.”
“You’re right,” she said demurely, but she had a feeling, as he went to blow out the candles, that he was excited as well. She could see it in the small smile on his lips and the glint in his eyes.
He leaned over the candle to blow it out, and as he did, his shirt gaped, and she caught a glimpse, again, of the scars on his shoulders.
Quickly, she turned away in order to hide her shudder. It wasn’t that the scars disgusted her, but they did disturb her. And they were a good reminder of the seriousness of what they were planning to do: there were bad people in the world, and they had to be stopped.
The light was blown out, and the Duke settled down in the bed, pulling the covers up around him. She did the same. The bed really was very small, and their bodies were so close to oneanother that she could feel the heat emanating from him, even though they didn’t touch, and it made goosebumps run up and down her arms.
