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“A bloody waste,” Alec grumbled. “All of it.”
“I’m going to ignore that remark because you have every right to be angry with me. But be that as it may, I still have a few questions of my own. Starting with how the hellLottie Carlisleended up in Venice. Withyou.”
Alec let out a breath. “She was taking a tour of Florence and disappeared. Made it look as though she had run off with someone.”
“Naughty girl,” Rafe said with a smirk, then immediately winced. “Dammit,” he hissed, then gestured to Gianni. “Something cold, pronto.”
Alec gave him a rather satisfied smile before he continued. “Sir Alfred telegraphed me asking for help.”
Rafe pressed a cool glass of ice against his bruised skin and groaned with relief. “I’m sure that must have cost him a great deal of pride to ask such a thing of you.”
“Hardly. He knew exactly what he was doing. That I would immediately set out to find her,” he murmured.
“How did you manage to track her down?”
“A hunch. Her parents had spent their honeymoon touring Tuscany. Lottie always talked about someday visiting a particular village where they stayed. I asked around and someone remembered selling a train ticket to a woman matching her description. And it fit.”
Rafe raised a skeptical eyebrow. “It seems you’ve been having a number of fruitful hunches lately.”
Alec stilled, remembering his words from yesterday. In the tumult of this morning he had entirely forgottenwhythey had arranged this meeting in the first place.
“So you arrived in this village and there she was. I take it there was no man about?”
Alec shook his head. “She was alone.”
“Well, then she must have been happy to see you.”
Alec recalled the thunderous look on her face. He should have turned around and left right then. He could have told Sir Alfred where she was and been done with it. “What makes you think that?”
“She went with you, didn’t she?” Rafe shrugged. “Or maybe she had tired of her little adventure and wanted another.” The sly grin returned, slightly diminished. “She did look freshly tumbled this morning. I thought you didn’t sleep with virgins.”
Alec gripped the empty grappa glass so hard the stem cracked.
Rafe let out a surprised laugh. “My God, I was only teasing. But thank you for answeringthatquestion. She’s game for anything, though, isn’t she?” Rafe’s eyes glinted with a kind of admiration. “Slapped me clean across the face when I got too fresh. She’s not at all how you described her.”
Alec didn’t like his knowing tone one bit. “What do you mean?”
“You always made her sound so angelic. Like she needed protection from the big bad world.”
Alec bristled. “Well, that was more the case when we were children.” But up until a few days ago he had still believed that about Lottie, hadn’t he?
Rafe looked thoughtful as he set down the glass. “You know, it’s rather surprising that she never entered the field herself,” he mused. “Many women can be an asset. And she certainly has the character.”
“Sir Alfred never would have put her at risk. She’s his only family. It’s one of the few things he values.”
“But there are plenty of things she could do that wouldn’t be dangerous. She could gather information.” Then Rafe’s gaze narrowed. “Say, during a trip to Italy.”
Alec’s neck heated. Remembering his earlier suspicions, he chose his next words with extreme care. “What are you suggesting?”
“Only that it sounds rather convenient to me,” Rafe said a little too casually. “She goes through all the trouble of leaving Florence, cooking up a delicious story, and settling in a placeyoujust happen to know about—then drops everything as soon as you appear.”
“You’ve got it all wrong—”
“Do I?” Rafe asked sharply. “Because whatIsee is a woman loyal to Sir Alfred Lewis accompanying you on a mission. And then distracting you at theworst possible moment. Sir Alfred doesn’t have the influence he once did. And he isn’t content to fade into obscurity, like his contemporaries.”
Alec’s voice grew deadly quiet. “Lottie hates this business, and she came to Italy in part to escape him.”
“Then why did she leave with you?” Rafe pressed.
