He stared at her helplessly. There was implacable resolution in her expression. Christ, she was going to do it. “I can’t talk you out of this, can I?”
She shook her head. “I thought about it a long time last night. It wasn’t an easy decision. I’m not really very courageous, Patrick.”
“You could have fooled me. Have you thought how you’re going to find Dominic once you’re inside the house? He told you he wouldn’t see you.”
“No.” She frowned. “I guess I’ll just have to go looking for him.”
The thought of Elspeth searching diligently through the rooms occupied by Rina’s girls and their customers brought a fleeting grin to Patrick’s face. “That’s not very practical, Elspeth. We’ll have to think of something else.”
“We?” She shook her head. “I won’t ask you to help. I have to learn to take care of these matters myself.” Her expression became distressed. “I hope you don’t think I was hinting you go with me?”
He knew very well the little owl was incapable of such machinations. “I didn’t think that.” He decided to make a final effort. “I could try to talk Dom into seeing you again.”
“It would be of no use. He seemed quite determined.”
Patrick was of the same opinion, but he couldn’t just ride off and leave her, dammit. She would get into all kinds of trouble at Rina’s before she managed to rout Dominic. And when she succeeded in doing that, she might face the biggest mountain of trouble any woman had ever faced. Dominic might go off like a fire cracker on a Chinese New Year. Patrick went still. Then he began to laugh softly. He would do it! Lord, Dominic would be furious, but it would be worth it.
“What in heaven’s name is so amusing?” Elspeth asked, affronted. “I assure you I’m quite serious.”
“I know you are.” His brown eyes were dancing in the glow of the lantern light. “And yes, I’ve just had a very amusing thought. I believe I’ve solved a portion of your problem. Come on, I’ll take you to Rina’s.” He raised his hand when she attempted to speak. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to interfere.” He chuckled again. “I promise I’ll let you confront Dominic on your own.” As long as he was standing watch close by, he added silently.
She gazed at him doubtfully. He had the same wickedly mischievous expression he had worn in the coach when he had told Count Marzonoff those outrageous lies. “I suppose that would be all right.”
He took her elbow. “Fine. Now, come along. It’s starting to get light in the East and I want to be at Rina’s place before dawn.”
“Is it far?” She had to half-skip to keep up with his long stride.
“Far? No, it’s only at the other end of town. It shouldn’t take us more than fifteen minutes to walk there.” He smiled. “But we have a stop to make on the way.”
“Where?”
“Sam Li’s bathhouse. There’s something I want to pick up.”
“Firecrackers?” Elspeth eyed with alarm the stack of slender sticks linked with long fuses. She had been curious about the large blanket-wrapped bundle since Patrick had picked it up from Sam Li’s shack, but she had never imagined it contained anything as exotic as firecrackers. “What are we going to do with firecrackers?” she asked again.
Patrick was busy tying the fuses together. “You said you wanted to get Dom’s attention and make a statement of your determination.” He looked up and grinned at her. “This will make a very resounding statement, I guarantee.”
“I’m sure it will,” she said faintly. She glanced at the large whitewashed house across the street. It was a fashionable two-story wooden building; eaves and cupolas abounded and a long, gracious porch ran the entire expanse of its front. The candles in the two decorative lanterns on either side of the door had burned low, and all the windows were dark. “But I had a more sedate statement in mind.”
“You want Dom jerked from his lair and forced to confront you in the fastest possible way.” His nimble fingers moved to the second string of firecrackers. “This was the only way I could think for you to do it.”
“The only way or the most interesting way?” she asked dryly. “I think you’re planning on enjoying this.”
“Sure, I always did like a good show.” Patrick started on the third string. “If you can think of a more effective idea, we’ll drop this plan and go on with yours.”
Elspeth certainly wished she could think of something else. She had an idea Patrick’s plan had elements more explosive than the firecrackers. “Your uncle is going to be very angry.”
“Yep.”
“But he’d probably be angry at my coming here anyway.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And it’s really his own fault for being so narrow-minded and uncooperative. This is a very important undertaking; it can add greatly to our fund of knowl-”
She was interrupted by his low chuckle. “I think you’re trying to talk yourself into something.”
She grinned back at him. “I think I’ve done it.” She knelt beside him. “Let me help you.”
He sat back on his heels. “They’re all done.” He glanced at the sky that was growing lighter by the minute. “And just in time. Li Tong gets up at daybreak and we don’t want him seeing us and raising a hullabaloo.”
“Li Tong?”
“Rina’s houseboy. Here, you take these two packets and run them from the front door down the steps and into the street. I’ll take the rest inside and string them along the hall on the second floor and down the stairs to the front door.”
“No.”
He lifted his head. “What?”
“I said no. This is my responsibility. I’ll be the one to set the firecrackers inside the house and light them. You’re clearly trying to spare me the risk of being discovered.”
“What I’m trying to do is spare you a sight that might shock the bejiggers out of you.” He hadn’t given a thought to her being inside Rina’s place to witness the chaos that would result from the firecrackers going off. “I think you’d better wait outside until I call you.”
“No.” She took the larger stack of firecrackers from him. “Do I light each one as I put it in place?”
He sighed with resignation. “All you have to do is to light the long fuse on the first packet. Place that one at the end of the corridor on the second floor. The fuse will allow you enough time to trail the firecrackers down the stairs to the front hall.”
“A very efficient plan.” Elspeth shook her head reprovingly, trying not to smile. “I do believe you’ve handled fireworks in this manner before.”
“Well, the boys and I did stage a little surprise at the Nugget last year.” He stood up and helped her to her feet. “But this promises to be even more interesting.”
His enthusiasm was contagious. A tiny flare of excitement began to smolder beneath Elspeth’s apprehension. “Is the front door left unlocked?”
Patrick nodded. “Rina wouldn’t think of discouraging business, be it day or night.”
“Then I guess I won’t have any problem.” She hesitated, then squared her shoulders and started across the street.
“You might have one problem,” Patrick called out.
Elspeth stopped and turned to face him with swift alarm. “What?”
“Matches.” He took a box from his pocket and grinned. “Catch.” He tossed the box across the few feet separating them. “It’s hard to light a fuse without them.”
She caught the box and smiled lightheartedly back at him. She had never experienced this feeling of comaraderie before. “I’ll remember that in the future.” She turned and picked her way across the hard-packed wheel ruts of the street.
Ten minutes later she was standing in the foyer laying the last of the strings of firecrackers on the bottom step. The house was still in half darkness. Only the first gray rays of morning light that streamed through the bay windows of the parlor to her right served to pierce the duskiness. It was warm and close in the foyer, and the house smelled exotically of a mixture of perfume and cigar smoke.
She wished there were more light. She would have liked to have seen if the furnishings of a bordello were as interesting as she had imagined. Perhaps when the firecrackers went off she would be able to see more.
The front door opened quietly to reveal Patrick’s thick red hair outlined against a pearl-gray wedge of sky. “All
