“The Grand Duke deserved every ounce of embarrassment he had coming his way.” Did she know that for certain? No. She was making that up. But that was the fun part of fiction, she supposed. Taking her coffee into the drawing room, she sat down. She was still in her dressing gown, and entirely naked underneath—which would bescandalousin any normal scenario. But she couldn’t care less.
And it seemed neither did James. Though his eyes lingered on her legs as he sat across from her, sipping his own coffee. “To be frank,Irene, I do not know what to expect. And that is rare for me. I dislike variables in my life and I have found you are one.”
“That sounds awfully like a threat.”
“To some, it would be a death sentence.”
“And to me?” Great. Did she get her own ass killed? That was a fun plot twist.
He furrowed his brow, as if considering it. “No. Your…unpredictable nature is one of your assets.”
“My dear James, careful—if you flatter me much more, I will worry you are becoming enamored of me.” She sipped her coffee. It was so easy to play the game. To let herself fall into the story. To justpretend.Like this, she didn’t have to worry about Sasha and Sidney and their war with Vile. She was just an actress on a stage.
“There is no worry of that happening. Fear not.” He chuckled. “Though can you imagine the papers if we announced our wedding?”
“The papers? Imagine Sherlock’sface?”She laughed. “You would have to invite him to be your best man. Can you imagine the awkwardness?”
That had James howling in laughter. “If thistrolleybusiness of yours fails, perhaps we can think that over. The photos we would have from the event alone would make the whole endeavor priceless.” His smile faded. “No, Irene. I do not think I wish you dead. I find you easy to exist beside.”
“And that is a compliment I know you do not pay lightly. I am…sincerely touched.” She was. It was a low bar for most people to hit—easy to exist with—but for Moriarty? It was a mountaintop. She’d take it.
“To business, then.” He leaned back against the cushion of the sofa. “The crown is getting ready to unveil a new train line. It is set to have its ribbon cut in two month’s time, but construction is not yet finished and testing is underway. It would be the perfect site for such an…accident.”
She nodded. “And a perfect fit for one of your schemes.”
“How so?”
“At first, it seems pointless, until you consider it pits two groups of people against each other who already have high cultural tensions. It digs deeper trenches between them, so a simple match later down the line ignites the fire of social unrest.” She paused. “You really must get more productive hobbies, James.”
That made him laugh again. “Mm. We all have our small joys in life.” He placed his own empty cup in front of him. “How do you plan on luring the two gentlemen into the train yard? Simply stroll in, late at night, and let them follow you?”
“No. Sherlock will suspect something. If you and I are brazen enough to meet in public, why would we now be meeting in a construction site? He might follow, but he would keep his distance and his guard would be raised. You would have a difficult time trapping him, I think.”
“What do you recommend, then?” It was clear he had his own ideas. But he was lettinghercome up with a suggestion first. She’d be flattered again, except for the fact that she knew it was still a game to him. Like everything else, this was just another piece sliding on the chessboard.
“I will ask Sherlock to meet with me in a place of my choosing. And I will tell him precisely what you intend to do with the trains.” She smiled at him. “It is difficult to deduce a lie from the truth.”
His brow furrowed for a moment in thought before he looked away, tapping his finger on his chin as he considered her words.
In his silence, she continued. “I will express to him my dismay at your actions. That I originally pursued a romantic relationship with you to spite Sherlock’s involvement in my life. But that I,a weak and foolish woman,am now in far beyond my depth and cannot stand idly by and watch as you take innocent lives in your personal quest to sow chaos. And that I knew that only he could stop you. He will march into that train yard entirely unaware of the trap that waits for him and his dear doctor.”
When he looked back to her, there was just the faintest glimmerof purple in one of his eyes. “We do makequitethe pair, Miss Adler…there is a devil within you.”
Yes. They did. And maybe he was right. Maybe there was.
And that should bother her more than it did. Because at the moment?
All she could feel was a sense of pride in the way that Moriarty and Vile were looking at her.
Sidney couldn’twaituntil they got out of this bullshit Sherlock story. She hated it.Hated it.Between having a pain in her knee that never went away and playing opposite a handsome man that wantednothingto do with her,in a time period she was completely uninterested in, it was a recipe for misery.
And the last they left off?
“Watson” had gone down on Sherlock as he had watched Moriarty do terrible things to “Irene Adler.” Who was in reality her sister, Sasha. Who was in the middle of having a fight-slash-fuck-fest with Vile. And Moriarty.
She’d taken advantage of Sherlock, in truth. He had been swept up in the moment, in the eroticism of it all. But neither of them had been inebriated. They were bothsober.And he hadn’t once told her no. In fact—though she’d been denied the glorious full awareness of the moment and had been relegated to a fade-to-black scene—she remembered his hand twisting in her hair as he urged her to quicken her motions.
His motions.
