An Inconvenient Arrangement (The Rose Room Rogues 3) - Page 49
ll while he spoke with Keniel.
She cleared her throat which was silly since the noise of the club would certainly deaden any sound she made. She looked at the wall closest to her. One of the security guards stood watching her, his arms crossed. She nodded in his direction.
He strolled over to her table. “Yes, miss?”
“Please fetch Mr. Rose. I need to speak with him immediately.”
“He’s busy now. Maybe I can help.”
She glared at him. “He is over there,” she gestured with her head, “talking to Keniel. I’m sure if you tell him I need to speak with him, he will heed you.”
The guard looked her up and down with a lecherous glance that had her skin crawling.
“Just go.”
“Are we going to play, or chat all night?” one of the players at the table said.
“My apology,” she answered with a strong French accent, which she’d been using all evening since she’d spoken only French to the Ambassador at his last visit. She began dealing again and tried her best to tamp down her excitement.
Within minutes Dante was standing next to her. “What is it?”
She kept her eyes on the cards. “I need a break.”
He studied her for a minute. “Very well. I will have Malcolm take over.”
She nodded. “If you will join me upstairs in the office?”
He seemed to pick up on her agitation. “Yes. I could use a break myself.”
It took about ten minutes to make all the switches to allow Lydia to raise her hands to the players and step back to leave the table. A couple of the gamers complained that she was bringing them good luck and didn’t want her to leave. Since he’d been losing, the Ambassador was not one of them.
Dante was sitting in the office, his feet up on the desk when Lydia came flying in. “It has happened!” She stopped to take a deep breath. “The contact has been made.”
He nodded to the chair in front of his desk. “Take a minute to catch your breath.”
“I will,” she panted.
Dante got up and poured her a glass of water from the pitcher on the table near the back of the room. “Here, drink this.”
She nodded and took the glass from his hand. After taking a few sips, she placed it on the desk. “We were looking for a man to make the contact with the Ambassador, but it was a woman.”
A woman? Dante raised his brows. “Start at the beginning.”
She quickly went through what had happened at the table. He sat stunned as she went through the scenario. He had to admit it had taken him by surprise. “A courtesan? All this time?” He stood and began to pace. “How the devil does someone like her get Crown secrets?”
Lydia shrugged. “Having very little contact with someone of her ilk, I could not say, but don’t men tend to say things when they are . . .”
Despite the situation, Dante had to grin. “When they are what?”
She waved her hand. “You know.”
He placed his hand on his chest and attempted to look surprised. “Do you think I would know what you’re referring to, Miss Sanford? Me? Innocent me?”
She scowled at him. “Do I need to slap you on the head?”
He pulled up a chair and swung it around, sitting so his arms rested on the back of the chair. “That would have to be the only way she could get secrets like that. Now we have to decide what to do.”
“Go to the theater, of course.”
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