“I’m not trying to leave you out,” he told her again as they snuggled into their bed to nap the hottest part of the afternoon away. “Your safety worries me, and these fellows we’ve been investigating aren’t dangerous, but the next round might be. For now, you’d just be bored. Vi, I won’t have other officers. I won’t have the weight of the law. It’ll be more dangerous, not less.”
“All right,” she said, having already decided that she needed to let him have his way. “Why are you so introspective about everything?”
“How do you investigate when it’s just you?” he asked and she could tell he was bothered. “When you aren’t a Scotland Yard officer?”
Vi laughed at him because she knew he was more than up to the task. She curled tighter as she snuggled into her pillow, still eye-to-eye. “Follow your instincts. Look at what Smith does.”
Jack’s snort had her giggling into her hand and she said, “Maybe you won’t get arrested.”
“The only reason Smith isn’t in Newgate is because he’s slithery as a snake.” Jack closed his eyes. “I can’t get a handle on the man we’ve been looking into. Nothing makes sense.”
“What is he doing?” Vi asked curiously.
“He’s disappeared completely. There’s no trail to follow. No one knows his history. He’s a blank slate.”
“Tell me about him,” she suggested, but Jack shook his head.
“I’m not ready for that. I need to feel him out in my mind. The fellows who hired us have put a pause on the case anyway. They’re not being honest.” He lifted the fan to wave it over both of them. “Tell me about this treasure hunter fellow.”
“You remember those adventuring brothers from the wedding?”
“Of course,” Jack huffed. His disgust was evident when he said, “The men who brought poisons as though it was entirely normal to travel with a Pandora’s box full of terror. Our life is ridiculous. We should come with a warning sign. ‘Beware, madness in the vicinity. There’s all likelihood that someone has arsenic in their jacket pocket, so don’t leave your drink unattended.’”
Vi echoed his sentiment as she added, “They’ll be coming to our party. You might want to stay with Ham. That Edward fellow is so…I don’t know, Jack. There is something there that is quite odd. I don’t like how he’s behaving. He crossed the line into almost…fanatical. I’m not sure Ham should be alone with him.”
“Well since I don’t have a case at the moment,” Jack muttered, “I guess I can interfere in yours.”
Vi gasped in pretended offense. “Sirrah, are you trying to meddle in my work? What’s next? I come to my typewriter and find that you’ve written several chapters?”
“Don’t pretend that you wouldn’t love that.”
“I won’t. Rita is feeling particularly devilish.”
Jack lifted a brow and she leaned in and whispered, “She bought a goblet in London. A theater prop to replace the original. She’s going to see if he notices.”
Jack’s chuckle delighted Vi, but there was something else they hadn’t talked about yet. She elbowed him without force and then curled into him, choosing to be hotter in his arms than outside of them. “Did you hear Ham and Rita’s news?”
“I did,” Jack said with the care of a man who was afraid his answer would upset her.
Vi lifted and turned to face him, a frown in her eyes. “And?”
“I don’t have an ‘and,’ Vi. I’m happy for them.”
“But now all of our friends will have a child.”
“We aren’t racing someone to the finish line of life. Our time will come when it comes, and I’m fine with waiting to have children.”
Vi searched his eyes and found that his penetrating gaze was fixed on her equally. She slowly relaxed against him. “As long as you’re happy.”
He repeated the words to her and it was enough to let her sleep.
Chapter 8
“How many people did you invite?” Jack asked as another auto started up the drive.
Vi eyed the incoming clouds from the open window and the darkness that was starting to cover the sky even though they were hours from sunset. “More than five.”
“More than five?” His arm snaked around her waist, and he pulled her close to him, laying a kiss on the base of her neck. “Looks like a storm is coming.”
“Of course there is,” Vi replied. “We’re having a party and wanted a midnight swim. I had candelabras placed all around the bathing pool and fires laid.”
“Of course,” Jack said. “Still, if the heat breaks, I will take it happily.”
Another auto approached and Vi grinned as Jack groaned. “Do we even have room for all them?”
“Some will stay at Rita’s house.”
“And how will they get there after they drink themselves silly?”
“Hargreaves handles things like that, dear Jack.”
Vi didn’t even feel bad at the exasperation at Jack’s face. She turned back to the closet and pulled out her dress. She had gone for a red dress with ancient mythological style embroidery in black. It was made of the softest, thinnest fabric she had been able to find. She added a headband to hold her hair out of her face, not bothering with anything more than mascara, drawing on her brows, and lipstick. Powder and rouge would melt and sweat off in moments and weren’t worth the trouble.
Vi grinned at Jack as she turned and then added a spray of perfume with the hopes of smelling like roses instead of rancid sweat.
As she’d dressed, the heat of the day grew weightier and weightier. She joined her friends in the dining room and had a light dinner before the guests started to arrive in force. Hargreaves brought them to the ballroom as he opened the last of the French doors. The heat was astounding, but the chance of any sort of fresh air would help.
As the last guests arrived, so did the first crack of lightning, followed by the snap of thunder. A cheer rose up from the ballroom when a rush of air
