Page 69 of Of Fate and Phantoms
"Tell me tomorrow," he said.
He led me up the stairs to my room. I leaned back against the closed door and placed my hands on his shoulders, gently drawing him to me. His hand cupped my waist and he lowered the lamp.
"Orange blossoms." His whispered breath tickled my ear.
"Hmmm?"
"You smell like orange blossoms."
"I had a bath."
His lips brushed the skin of my neck. He drew in a deep breath then suddenly stepped away. I grasped his shoulders tighter in an attempt to keep him there.
"Kiss me," I murmured.
He hesitated. "We shouldn't."
"I don't care."
He glanced along the corridor and leaned toward me. His face was near mine. His eyes were two dark wells, as he stared at me.
"Kiss me," I said again, circling my arms around him.
He pecked my cheek. "Goodnight, Charlie."
I sighed and considered making a scene to get my way. But that was something the old Charlie would do, not this one. This one was more patient, more mature, and knew that she wouldn't get her way on this. "Goodnight, Lincoln."
* * *
"Ican't makemy mind up about him," I said to Lincoln as we drove toward Clerkenwell. He and I sat in the cabin while Seth and Gus sat on the driver's seat so we could discuss Buchanan's visit in private. "Is he a selfish, unscrupulous prick or is he trying to do the right thing by Lady H?"
"Don't try to understand either of them," Lincoln said. "They're driven by forces unlike any that drive you or I."
He'd listened impassively while I told him how the conversation with Buchanan had evolved. He didn't even seem surprised when I told him that Buchanan had been the one to notify the papers.
"You knew he did it, didn't you?" I asked him now.
"He was on my list of suspects, but not at the top."
"Did you warn her? Did she even know you had a list of suspects?"
"No. I wasn't investigating, merely surmising. Not for any particular reason," he added. "The exposure of her secret means nothing to me."
"I know." My heart lifted a little to hear him deny it, even though I already knew there was nothing between them now. "Shall we invite her to dinner parties we may have in the future? I suspect Lady V will wish to have a dinner for her friends, with eligible gentlemen on the guest list for Alice and ladies for Seth."
"If you want to invite her, then do so."
"I don't. Not really."
"Then we won't."
He wasn't being very helpful. "I'll worry about it when we decide to host something."
We stopped outside Clerkenwell and walked to the hole in the wall that led to the hideout. I slid the planks of wood aside and wriggled through.
"It's me," I announced to the guard on duty. "Charlie."
Finley grinned back at me, his gap-toothed smile just visible by the dull light. "You come for your answer?" he asked without preamble.
