“Not if the girl is Sanctimonia Fitzwilliam and I’m in charge of her protection under the punishment of being flogged. As you know.” He gave me a pointed look.
Guilt roared back to life. He’d be tortured if something happened to me. “I admit I’ve been selfish. I don’t like the idea of you having to suffer because of me. Had I known, I wouldn’t have left you behind.”
“Yes, you would have.” He smirked, flashing his straight teeth. “You don’t have to take care of me. It’s the other way around.” The kindness in his voice melted a frozen spot in my chest that I didn’t know was that cold.
“I’ll tell you what I did in Tunis if you tell me what the Royal Occult Bureau is,” I whispered. “Is it the department where my father works?”
After a long pause, he opened his mouth, but the knock on the door shut him up.
“Steele?” Detective Norton spoke from the other side. “I’m sorry to trouble you, but it’s urgent. I need to talk to you.”
“I’m coming,” Rennie shouted towards the door. “Quick, hide,” he whispered to me, straightening.
“What—” Right. There was no need to ruin my reputation by being discovered half-naked in mycousin’scabin. Wrapped in the blanket, I tiptoed towards a corner where Norton wouldn’t see me.
After I hid in the dark spot, Rennie opened the door. “What happened?” he asked, his voice a little breathy.
“It’s Mrs Francis, the woman who was attacked by the phantom Scot. She’s disappeared. The members of the crew are sure she returned on board yesterday.” Norton paused, his breathing coming out in raspy sounds. “She was seen by many witnesses in the dining hall. Her husband confirmed she was on board, but when he woke up in the middle of the night to take a drink of water, she wasn’t in the room. He didn’t worry about her immediately, thinking she must’ve got up for some reason. But this morning, she wasn’t in the cabin, and no one has seen her.”
“Dammit.” Rennie scrubbed a hand on his unshaven chin.
I suppressed a gasp. I hadn’t taken Mrs Francis seriously when she’d described the attack from the hunky Scotsman. And now she was missing.
“I know it’s not your job,” Norton said, “but would you mind giving me a hand? I’m doing everything alone here, and it’s become a bit overwhelming. I don’t usually need any help. Nothing has ever happened on board until now.”
“Of course. I’ll help you search the ship. Give me five minutes,” Rennie said.
Norton must have nodded because his footsteps echoed from the corridor.
“I want to help,” I said after Rennie shut the door.
He pointed at a chair. “Your clothes are over there. They should be dry.” There was a moment of heated silence between us. Likely, he was thinking of when he’d taken those clothes off me. He cleared his throat and rubbed his chest, drawing attention to a triangle of golden skin visible between the lapels of his shirt. “I’ll leave you alone, so you can change. Then we’ll search the ship together if you feel strong enough.”
“Thank you. I’m all right.” Not that he hadn’t seen the whole of me already.
He opened the door and paused. “Our conversation isn’t over.”
“No, it’s not.”
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, I’d changed clothes twice. The dress I’d been wearing yesterday stank of dust, sweat, and green potion. So I slid it on to walk to my room and then changed into a fresh morning dress. Rennie followed my every move, leaving me alone only when I had to undress. I didn’t protest. He was risking his life for me, and I’d nearly died yesterday. When I was ready, I left the cabin and walked next to him in the passageway. His harsh expression softened when he gazed at me and the dark-blue dress hugging my body and giving the illusion I had hips.
“What did you do in Tunis?” he asked without preamble.
I exhaled and reminded myself of his contract. “I met Sandro.”
“What?” He skidded to an abrupt halt.
I winced. “Edward told me Sandro was in Tunis, and I met him. We had a chat and nothing happened.”
“Aside from you nearly dying.”
“That was my doing. Sandro didn’t hurt me.”
“What did he tell you?” He had the tone of a copper.
I shrugged. “Not much. He said a band of anarchists wanted him dead, and that was why he had to leave.”
He shook his head. “Don’t meet him again.”
