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Suddenly Ramsey grabbed her arm.
“What are you doing?’ she hissed. He’d just destroyed countless minutes of her hard work on the lock.
“You hear that?”
She stilled completely—her breathing, her body, her heart. In the distance, she heard faint voices. “Someone is coming.”
“Bloody hell! That damned cursed bracelet!” He jumped to his feet, ran around the desk, and extinguished the lamp she had lit.
Gabrielle was already climbing under the desk. “I hope it’s not Robespierre,” Ramsey said, joining her. He was large and his shoulders jammed into her. She tried to make herself small, and then gave up when he pulled her into his lap. She ducked her head to keep from hitting it on the underside of the desk. It was an uncomfortable position, but at least they were both out of sight if anyone opened the door and peered inside.
The door! She must have drawn her breath in sharply because Ramsey said, “What is it?”
“Did you lock the door again?”
“I don’t recall. You came in after me.”
She couldn’t recall locking the door either. Should she go back and lock it, risking being caught if whoever was quickly approaching down the corridor should chance to open the door? If it was Robespierre they were done for. Ffoulkes had promised he would be gone from midnight until two, but even the Scarlet Pimpernel couldn’t control Robespierre. If the man had changed his mind and returned early from whatever appointment he had…
But if it wasn’t Robespierre…If it was someone looking for them, they might notice Robespierre’s door unlocked and come in to investigate further.
“I’m going,” she declared, crawling off Ramsey’s lap.
“Gabrielle, no!”
But she was already running lightly for the door. She thanked God for the soft carpet muffling her steps, because she could hear the voices now, coming closer and closer. She had to tiptoe at the door. The rug was not so large as to reach it, and she did not want them to hear her there. The men were right outside the room she and Ramsey had hidden in earlier. She could hear its door open, and footsteps as the man—the footsteps were heavy—walked inside. There were two sets of footsteps in and then they retreated.
So they were looking inside offices. She was at Robespierre’s door now, and she reached for the handle. It was locked with a key, and she already had her hairpin in her hand.
She had neverlockedsomething before—only unlocked. She inserted the pin and heard the door to the office next to her close. They were coming. She had mere seconds. She refused to allow her hand to shake. She refused to hear the footsteps approaching, hear them stop outside the door. She turned the pin—silently, oh so silently—in the lock. She thought she felt something give, but she couldn’t be certain. And then the men were outside the door. One reached for the handle, turned it, and she sank back into the wood behind the door. Her heart pounded so hard she feared they could hear it through the thin walls. She could almost feel Ramsey staring at her. She had just either doomed or saved them both.
The handle jiggled but did not turn. Thank God! She had locked it. But then, in the flickering light from the hearth, she saw the hairpin. She hadn’t had time to pull it from the lock, and now it was falling.
It would clink against the wood, making a soft sound. Would the men hear it, or would it be too faint? Gabrielle couldn’t risk it. She dove across the door, reaching her hand out and catching the pin at the last second. She froze, stretched out on the hard floor, hand aloft, until she heard the men moving away. She didn’t dare breathe for several long moments.
Finally, she crawled back to the desk. Ramsey was already working on one of the desk locks again.
“That was close,” she breathed. She was shaking violently and had to give herself time to recover before attempting that small box lock again.
“Too close. I’m telling you—“
She grabbed his coat and turned him to face her. “If you so much as eventhinkabout that curse again, I will rip out your heart and stuff it down your throat.”
He raised a brow, his mouth quirking in a suppressed smile.
She pressed her lips together. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Fear, panic, desperation.” He rubbed her arms up and down. His touch felt good, comforting. “Later I’ll show you a better way to take out your aggressions.”
“I—“
His mouth on hers silenced her. He gripped the back of her neck, holding her still as he plundered her with his lips. His tongue caressed her, and she was so shocked she didn’t think to protest. She opened her mouth, and the sweet assault continued. She shivered when his tongue stroked hers, and when he withdrew she leaned into him for more.
“Later,” he whispered, his forehead touching hers. “Now the bracelet.”
She nodded and lifted the small box she’d been working on. Her hands were no longer shaking, and she lit the lamp and began the delicate process of finessing the lock. When it was finally hers, moments after Ramsey opened another desk drawer and found nothing, she lifted the lid and angled the box into the light. Inside was a ring, a royal seal, and a small packet with the wordsHair of my wife, sister, and childrenthat had been written in an elegant hand.
She lifted the ring then abruptly dropped it onto the floor.
