‘He is leaving,’ one said without preamble. ‘He made no effort to declare that he had found a lost ring. I think he waited to see if you came back, Mr Vasiliev, and now feels safe.’ He seemed to register Lina’s presence as he spoke. ‘Who is this, my lord?’
‘My servant, Hassan,’ Quinn said. ‘Ah, here comes Tolhurst.’ Lina was left in ignorance of their companions, but she supposed Quinn could hardly be expected to introduce them to a servant, whoever they were.
Tolhurst emerged from the passage, hailing a hackney as he did so. Quinn rapped on the roof and after a moment their carriage moved off, down St James’s Street and left into Pall Mall.
‘A bad business, if you have the right of it, my lord,’ the man observed.
His companion nodded. ‘That is very true, Sir James. His elder brother is a fellow magistrate which makes it all the worse. If he proves to be responsible for this, it will be painful to ask Sir George how he wants this handled.’
‘I would rather think you should ask the unfortunate young woman who has been falsely accused,’ Quinn said with a sharpness that had the magistrate staring at him.
‘When Mr Trevor here approached me as your attorney with this accusation and your novel suggestion for testing it, I did not ask what your concern with the case is, my lord,’ Sir James said. Lina forced herself not to shrink back. Not that there was anywhere to go—she was wedged between Gregor’s shoulder and the side of the carriage.
‘I am acting on behalf of Miss Shelley’s aunt. I am part-owner of The Blue Door.’
‘Indeed!’
‘An unusual investment, I agree,’ Quinn said. ‘But one that gave me an interest when it was obvious an injustice had been done.’
‘And where is the young woman at the moment, might I ask?’
‘I have every reason to believe she is in London,’ Quinn said readily. ‘Certainly that is where I last saw her.’
‘We are going into the City,’ Gregor remarked and Lina made herself breathe.
The carriage stopped and the driver got down and came to the door. ‘The other ’ackney’s stopped—what do you gents want me to do now?’
‘Wait here,’ Quinn said, passing something that clinked. ‘There’ll be more when we return and we may be a while.’ He turned back to his silent companions. ‘Now, very quietly, there are a lot of us to go falling over each other’s feet.’
They got out, staying in the shadow of the carriage. Peering around Quinn, Lina saw a figure descend from another hackney and walk off down an alleyway. Quinn followed, Gregor soft-footed at his back, the attorney and the magistrate behind them. Lina stayed on the magistrate’s heels; if she was out of his sight she might also be out of his mind, she thought, wondering just how perceptive he was.
The alley opened out into a narrow street. There was a public house on one corner, brightly lit and busy. A little further along the light reflected on three golden balls. ‘Pawnbroker,’ Quinn said with an air of satisfaction. Tolhurst was standing at the door and they could hear his knocking from where they stood.
There was only a faint glimmer from the shop, but the light wavered and intensified as someone within approached the door. It opened, there was a low-voiced conversation and then Tolhurst went inside.
Quinn waited until the light had vanished again before leading his four companions forwards over the greasy cobbles. ‘Locked,’ he murmured as he tried the handle. Gregor stooped to the lock. ‘I suggest you look elsewhere, Sir James,’ Quinn added.
‘I am sure he is merely checking it as a concerned passer-by,’ the magistrate whispered back. ‘And look, it is open. I feel it our duty to investigate.’
Gregor eased the door wide and went in, followed by Sir James and Mr Trevor. Quinn bent to Lina’s ear. ‘Stay behind me. When he finds himself cornered, he may be dangerous.’ She looked up and he kissed her suddenly, pulling her to him, his mouth fierce and possessive on hers.
When he released her his eyes held hers for a long moment. It was a look of possession, she recognised, the look of a warrior about to go into battle, fired up, needing to assert his ownership of his woman before the fight began. She found herself responding to it, her blood heating, her tension and fears swept up into that one focus of mouth on mouth, the primitive claiming.
They stared at each other, Quinn seeming as shaken as she was, before he gave himself a shake and followed the others to the back of the cluttered shop.
Lina stood for a moment, her hand pressed to her lips, everything—the shop, the danger, the closeness of a magistrate—all swept away by that one kiss. When she managed to regain her focus she saw that the others were grouped on either side of a door that stood slightly ajar. Light spilled from inside and the smell of someone’s supper perfumed the air with a rich aroma of onions.
‘…if it’s another of those bloody sapphires, you know what you can do with it, Tolhurst,’ a voice said. ‘I haven’t shifted the real one yet, need to get it to Amsterdam once the heat’s died down. And as for that paste ring—if you expect more than the guinea I gave you for it, think again. Best I can hope to do with it is sell it to some travelling theatre troop!’
‘This is real, I’m sure of it,’ Tolhurst said. ‘A diamond, for all that it’s an odd cut.’
‘Oriental,’ the other man said with a grunt. ‘Give it here.’ There was silence. Lina could hear several clocks ticking, the crackle of firewood. Something brushed her ankle and she started, reaching out for Quinn without conscious thought. He caught her hand and grinned as the battered tabby cat abandoned her and went to twine around his legs.
‘It’s a diamond, I’ll give you that. But it’s another flaming stone that’ll have to be recut before I can sell it safely. Why can’t you nick something simple for once?’
‘How much?’ Tolhurst demanded. The other man was muttering, apparently working the price out. ‘What? How much? I need more than that! I was taken by some damned sharp I mistook for a pigeon to the tune of eight hundred tonight and the bastard wants paying on the nail like some merchant. He’s no gentleman.’
Lina saw the flash of Quinn’s teeth as he grinned.