Page 40 of To Love A Spy
“Very much,” she murmured.
“Well, prepare yourself for another treat. Supper will be another feast for the senses.”
Folding her fan, she slapped it lightly against his sleeve. “You are whetting my appetite, sir.”
“You are in Paris, madame. A city that offers pleasures for every palate. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
“How gratifying to hear it, Mr. Mersault.” Lynsley moved between them. “Like our previous president, Mr. Jefferson, I am quite fond of your country’s claret. You must recommend a wine merchant so I may order some cases to take home.”
“No doubt you will also wish to order some champagne as well, Monsieur Daggett.”
“On the whole, I find the stuff too frivolous for my taste,” said Lynsley gruffly. Taking Valencia’s arm, he turned away. “Come, my dear. The carriage will be waiting.”
It wasn’t until the wheels started to roll over the cobblestones that the marquess spoke again. “Just a reminder, Valencia.” He had made no mention of the coming challenge until now. “Don’t do anything rash.”
Her chin rose a notch. “Is that an order?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied calmly. “As a matter of fact, it is.”
In spite of her resolve to remain detached, she bristled. “And suppose I disobey?” She knew she shouldn’t seek to stir up trouble, but that air of calm and logic kept goading her to challenge his authority.
“Then I shall be forced to take steps to ensure your insubordination doesn’t compromise the mission.”
“Should I take that as a threat, Thomas?”
“No. It is merely a statement of fact. But I trust it won’t come to that. You gave me your word, and I have faith in your integrity, Valencia. And your sense of honor.”
Damn.He had her neatly boxed in.
“Very clever,” she muttered.
A glimmer of a smile curled on his lips. “How else would I survive a school full of strong-willed females?”
“By locking us in a dungeon?” she quipped.
“The thought had occurred to me on several occasions,” replied Lynsley.
“Most likely all of them included me.”
Valencia thought back on her days as the top Merlin. She had been brimming with youthful hubris, sure that she was invincible. How very naïve such self-confidence must have seemed to him.
“There have been others who have come close to matching your spirit,” said Lynsley.
“But none so stubborn as to defy your every lecture on common sense.” Her lips quivered, unsure whether to form a smile or a scowl.
“Perhaps I learned a few lessons,” replied Lynsley.
The admission surprised her. “Such as?”
He didn’t answer right away, but leaned back against the squabs, as if deep in thought.
Lynsley was not only a master of the rhetorical, she realized. He was a master at withdrawing into the shadows. To a place where his inner self was hidden. And no one else was allowed to follow.
Valencia bit her lip as she slanted a look at the shroud of darkness hiding his face. Had anyone ever penetrated his defenses?
“Confine you flirtations to Mersault tonight,” he finally said. “Let us not show too obvious an interest in Rochambert.”
“I haven’t forgotten all the lessons from the past,” she said.
