Page 89 of To Love A Spy
Lynsley held the candle closer and adjusted the magnifying glass. The code was complex, but given his extensive experience with such puzzles, he was able to work out some of the basic text.
According to an ancient Chinese treatise on ‘firedrug’, the addition of certain other elements to the basic combinationof charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur produces a potent chemical reaction . . .He read on for a bit, his frown deepening with every word.
Bloody hell.
The technical terms were incomprehensible, but the gist of the data was frighteningly clear. Apparently the opinion of Lady Merton, his expert consultant on scientific matters, had been bang on the mark. While the Oxford professor he had asked dismissed the idea as absurd, she had said that a weapon of devastation was theoretically possible.
Lynsley opened his bag and began sorting out its contents. He could only pray that her expertise in chemistry was equally accurate.
The brass box containing the diabolical discovery was large and unwieldy. To neutralize the danger, he would have to proceed very carefully. One by one, he lifted the flasks of chemicals inside and gingerly rearranged the rows. The next step entailed combining?—
The pounding in his ears was suddenly a good deal louder than his beating heart. Though reinforced with bands of iron, the gallery door shook with the fury of the Frenchman’s fist.
“Open up, Daggett!”
Valencia voiced a different demand. “Don’t do it! He?—”
Her words stopped in mid-sentence.
Drawing a deep breath, Lynsley hurried through his last few measurements.Steady, steady. Just a moment or two longer.
“Daggett! I warn you. Open the door, or I shall start sliding your she-bitch under it, one bloody piece at a time.”
“Hold your blade. I’m coming.” The marquess checked the pockets of his jacket. Deep down inside he had always known it would come to this.Mano a mano.It wouldn’t be easy to fool a professional like Rochambert, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve.
Crossing the carpet, Lynsley drew his pistol, then threw back the cylinders of the special lock and clicked open the latch.
“Step back.” Rochambert shouldered his way inside, using Valencia as a shield. He had her neck in a vise-like grip, and a stiletto poised a hair’s breath from her pulse point. “Throw down your weapon, or I swear, I shall gut her like a fish.”
Lynsley cocked the hammer. “Which will allow me to put a bullet through your brain.”
The Frenchman was far too savvy to allow a clear shot. “Assuming I’m slow and your hand is steady.” He darted back, dragging Valencia behind the leering bulk of the marble satyr.
He felt his breath catch. The move was as he expected, but it took all of his self-control to keep playing this razored-edged game. To his relief, Valencia was wise enough not to struggle.
“As you see, you are no match for me, Daggett. Now, if you wish to see your slut live an instant longer, you will throw down your weapon.”
“Don’t harm her. I’ll do as you say.” The marquess tossed the pistol on the floor.
“You see, I was right,cherie.” Candlelight caught the curling contempt on Rochambert’s face as he slid out from behind the stone. “Your partner is thinking with his prick and not his brain. A fatal weakness for a man who fancies himself a match for a professional.” The Frenchman made a show of tightening his hold on Valencia, forcing her spine to an acute arc. “Now throw down the knife, Daggett. Did you think I would not see it bulging in your pocket?”
The blade spun through the air, its point sinking into the parquet floor with a quivering flash of steel.
“Have you no respect for art?” sneered Rochambert.” I don’t like to see my possessions damaged.”
“Neither do I,” said Lynsley.
A bark of laughter. “Alors, you are not in a position to object.”
The marquess slipped a flask from under his cuff. “No?”
Rochambert narrowed his eyes. “What’s that?”
“Perhaps you would care to hazard a guess.” Lynsley gave it a careless shake, setting the crimson liquid to a bubbling froth. “Hell, if I am going to die, it may as well be with a bang.”
The Frenchman was no longer looking quite so smug. “You have no idea what you are doing, Daggett!Arret—stop!”
“On the contrary, I knowexactlywhat I am doing. I am playing with fire. And I am prepared to burn us all to a crisp if you don’t release the lady.” Lynsley sensed his enemy’s uncertainty.
