“That would be the simplest solution, indeed. One might then ask what you were doing here as well, since I take it this is not your house any more than it is mine.”
Her jaw tightened, highlighting her rather fetching cheekbones. Not a conventional beauty, but quite interesting to look at when she was angry. “I am here on business.”
“As am I.” I stepped away from the screen.
She resumed her guard; the vase cocked near her shoulder, but I doubted she had the commitment to actually throw it this time. “I do not think I can credit your ‘business.’”
“Be that as it may, a man must eat. Here, now, set that vase down before you drop it. Come, come, the way you are trembling, it will slip through your fingers. Look, here is a fire poker. Would you rather point it at me instead?”
Her eyes narrowed, and her chest rose and fell inside her bodice. Fetching, indeed. I forced my gaze back to her face, but it needed all my resolve. Slowly, she set the vase on an end table. “My uncle is within the house. All I need do is scream.”
“I should think not, for you have already done so, and he has yet to charge in to your rescue. But fear not, for I mean you no harm. Only let me look at that vase there…”
She stiffened. “You are remorseless, sir.”
“I am a man of duty, madam. I have a task to complete. That there will set me up most handsomely when I sell it in London.”
Her eyes darted from the vase she had just set down to the others lining the mantel. “Sell it where? The illegal market?”
“Now, then, you do not think a man who dresses as I do would trifle with anyone but the best, do you? Wealthy collectors would pay a mint for something like this, legally obtained or not.”
Her throat bobbed. “You cannot have the audacity to steal it still, after I have seen your face! And I do not think you are the sort to resort to murder to cover your tracks, or we would not be having this conversation.”
“You are very clever, Miss…”
The lady lifted her chin. “Bennet. Elizabeth Bennet. And you are?”
“Oh, naturally, I have a name, but I cannot give it. You may simply call me… William. Yes, that will do. So, what shall we do about this little problem? For as you say, you have seen my face. Do you mean to turn me in for the crime of trying to steal the vases, Miss Bennet?”
Those expressive eyes flicked once more over the arrangement on the mantel. “I ought to.”
“But you will not, for you have been alone in a room with a stranger, and that could prove problematic for you.”
“Not just any stranger!” she shot back hotly. “A known scoundrel, a thief who steals precious items and then compromises ladies on his way out the door! Your reputation has preceded you, sir.”
What the devil was she talking about? But best to play along, the sooner I might make my escape. “Indeed! I suppose it has. And…” I picked my way closer to her, enjoying how her spine stiffened, and she stood taller with every inch I gained. “What sort of ‘compromises’ am I accused of?”
Her mouth moved. “Why, I do not… it is not decent, sir.”
I raised a brow. “Really? I beg your pardon, but I think the reports have been exaggerated. I would never dishonor a lady.”
“Even as you rob her blind, you would not kiss her until she swooned senseless? I have heard all about you!”
“A clever tactic,” I mused. “One that has its merits indeed. Suppose I leave the vases where I found them. Would that suit?”
Miss Bennet’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “It is the honorable thing to do.”
“Oh, honor, fiddlesticks. What I want is far more important at the moment. How are you with a needle and thread, Miss Bennet?”
She tilted her head. “Lamentable.”
“That is a pity, but I suppose you will still have to do. For I cannot very well see a surgeon about my predicament. No! Not after I was injured in another man’s house, and as you were the one who threw the candelabra…”
“What precisely are you asking, sir?”
“Why, I should think it was quite obvious.” I pulled my hand away from the back of my head to show it to her. “I am bleeding, and it is your fault. Therefore, I am asking you to stitch up the gash you made in my head.”
Her lips formed a perfect “O,” and her eyes widened. I was only just in time to catch her as she fainted dead away.
