her wits. The man exuded physical confidence, even when he knew he was in the wrong. She had not absolved him yet. His good manners and intelligence only added to a natural charm that allowed him to get away with far too much, she reflected, willing herself not to smile back when he ventured to smile at her.
She gave him a severe stare, which required her to look up slightly. He was too tall to be truly humble, of course. Carlyle Jameson towered over people even sitting down. But she would not be intimidated or impressed by such things.
The difficulty was that she found him so attractive. But she could ignore that for a few minutes. “Shall we begin?”
He nodded. “Certainly. Should you have any questions about the techniques of interrogation, I would be happy to answer them.”
That took her off guard. “Whatever do you mean?”
“It is part of an officer’s training. I know that you are a novice at this sort of thing.”
Susannah vowed not to show her irritation at his mocking tone. She folded her hands upon the table and kept her voice calm. “I know that you have the diamonds.”
He gave a deep sigh and pulled a balled silk handkerchief out of his coat pocket. “I do. Here they are.” He didn’t unroll the silk, just pushed it across the table to her.
She had not expected to be presented with them. Susannah’s curiosity got the better of her. She unfolded her hands and carefully opened up the balled handkerchief. Six big, brilliant diamonds sparkled up at her.
“Keep them,” he said amiably.
“They are no more mine than they are yours, Carlyle.” She rolled them back up again.
He took back the handkerchief and stuffed it into his pocket. “You are right.”
“You cannot keep them either.”
He leaned forward and looked into her eyes. Susannah was momentarily mesmerized. “Indeed, Susannah,” he said softly. “From the moment I found out what Lakshmi had done, I have been on constant watch. What if an agent for the maharajah should appear in London?”
She sighed and folded her hands upon the table. “I believe that one has.” She told him of her meeting with Mr. De Sola and his face grew thoughtful.
“The game is reaching its end.”
She sat up very straight, every muscle in her body tense. “It is an ugly one.”
“How much did Lakshmi tell you? I know she was forced to confess that she was the go-between in an illicit love affair involving the maharajah’s young favorite and a palace guard.”
“Yes.”
He shook his head and a raffish lock of dark hair fell across his forehead. “And did she explain that she came to me and implored me to help her? Her unfortunate mistress was imprisoned in a pretty cage of wrought iron and sentenced to death. Can you imagine that, Susannah?”
“I can. I lived all my life in India.”
“Then you know that Lakshmi would have been next.”
Susannah only nodded.
“I said I would help her, knowing nothing of the gems she’d concealed. She hoped to find safety and begin a new life in a distant land and she was desperate. I have ever been a fool for a woman’s tears.”
“Is that merely foolish?” She felt a flash of chagrin. He had often comforted her when she cried for her father, finding the right words to assuage her unbearable grief, and speaking with genuine compassion. The memory of being held in his arms, close as could be to his warm, manly-smelling chest was dear to her. Perhaps that was why she had given in so readily to the kiss.
He shrugged. “I had other concerns, of course. I knew you might be less lonely accompanied by a servant whom you knew. And Lakshmi would serve as a chaperone of sorts. My ultimate loyalty was to you, not to the maharajah, although that august personage seemed to expect all men and women to bow to his will.”
She pressed her lips together, not about to argue that point.
“I suppose the woman told Lakshmi to sew them into a corset?”
“I have no idea.”
Carlyle looked out the window before continuing, his mind elsewhere. Susannah’s tension eased slightly. She knew he was not lying about what had happened-Lakshmi had told her much the same story. But the details he provided were interesting.
“I immediately thought that we might be followed by agents of the maharajah-who would not necessarily be Indian. Most maharajahs keep a few Englishmen around and not for decorative purposes.”
She could not argue with that either. The shadow who had appeared in the lane by Mr. De Sola’s shop had not revealed enough of himself to tell. But she was troubled by a sudden question. “Yes-that’s so. But how did you come to be at the maharajah’s palace? You never said and no one ever told me. Not even my father.”
“I was on assignment. The Rajput kings and princes think it best to keep an eye on the nominal rulers of India-us. Our old fellow limited himself to your father, whom he trusted, and by extension, me. But neither of them knew that I was also an agent in the Queen’s service.”
“Oh.” Susannah’s eyes widened. Lakshmi had not known that either.
“The monopoly enjoyed by the East India Company is coming to an end, and it is in the interests of the empire to keep the peace in India. Therefore, we spied upon maharajahs and nawabs who in turn spied on us. All very gentlemanly. Except for the occasional chap who gets found out and fed to the tigers.”
Susannah just stared at him. So Carlyle had not merely been taking his exercise when he went out riding in the Rajasthan hills. And his visits to the maharajah’s palace had not been just social calls.
“How very interesting.”
“I would have to say that things got a little too interesting. The court and the women of the zenana expected the maharajah to punish Lakshmi as severely as the favorite, but he seemed to have decided that if the bereaved daughter of his dear friend Mr. Fowler wanted her, good riddance. The execution was put off until after our departure. I made an attempt to plead the woman’s case. The maharajah was interested to hear that erring wives were no longer routinely done away with in England-at least not since the reign of Henry the Eighth.” He frowned and began to tap his hand upon the table again. “But as I have said, my chief concern was for you.”
She did remember Carlyle’s watchfulness. Traveling by train over the scorching plains, boarding the ship in Calcutta for the endless voyage home, even here in London, he was rarely far from her side.
“Thank you.” Small words, said in a small voice. She had underestimated him.
“Susannah, I do think he will want the diamonds back. They once belonged to a Mughal emperor, and they have come down through his ancestors. They are worth more than all the rubies and sapphires together.”
“Well,” she said at last. “What now?”
He thought it over before replying. “It will take months for a proper exchange of letters and a trustworthy courier must be hired. I suppose I could do it. I will be sent back to India eventually.”
That was not something she wished to hear. She had shared one of the best years of her life with Carlyle in India, and though she might never go back, she could not imagine London without him. She and Carlyle had been close from the day they’d met and they had drawn closer still in the months after her father’s death, when she’d relied upon him unthinkingly-and somewhat ungratefully. She realized with a rush of feeling that the extraordinary kiss had been a mere taste of what might happen between them. He had never meant to test her trust. The decisions he had made concerning the gems might not have been the best, but he had not stolen them and never intended to enrich himself by their sale.
“I wish you would not go,” she said tenderly.
Carlyle looked at her with surprise. “Oh?”
He stood and began to pace the room. Back and forth he went as Susannah watched, twisting her hands in her lap.
“My dear Susannah,” he said. “Is there a better way to protect you? The gems must be returned.” He had risked much. He was ready to risk more.
“I will go with you. Marry me.”
“No. But I do want you. With all my heart-and if you must know, my body.” His voice was a little rough around the edges. “However, I am not the marrying kind.”
“Neither am I,” she said suddenly.
