Page 38 of The Truth Serum
She shook her head. “Mayhaps, I don’t need you.”
“Alas,” he sighed. “I am struck down.” She would not let him into her smuggling operations yet, but he was making progress. And a good spy knew when to push and when to be patient.
The lady chuckled as he finished the last of the squeezes. He’d rushed the sequence, but something was happening outside. He saw several people glance out there before oh-so-casually strolling out.
“I must go,” he said as he straightened to his full height. “Frid, a word, please. I must know exactly how you have been using the salve. Details are important.”
“Of course—”
“Damn, it’s too noisy in here,” he interrupted. “Come outside.” He patted his pocket. “I need to make notes to give to the apothecary.”
The maid waited until her mistress agreed and then followed a half step behind Nate. It wouldn’t be appropriate for the woman to walk by his side. But that also made it impossible for him to have a whispered conversation with her.
There were far too many people between him and the French doors. Rather than wade through them, he motioned to the back of the ballroom. If he remembered the layout of this house correctly, there should be a servants’ hallway just over…
“This way, my lord. Madame has paper and quill through there.”
“A pencil will do,” he quipped as he ducked into the back hall. But the moment he was through the doorway, he looked to the maid. “Heidi, does she export?”
The woman frowned, clearly not understanding.
“Buy goods, sell them in France?”
“Oh!” Frid kept her voice low. “No, but Monsieur might. He brags to her that he will make more money than her soon.”
“Soon? Not now?”
The maid shook her head. “No, not now.”
He wanted to ask more. Indeed, Lord Benedict would be furious if he knew that Nate had given up this chance. But the need to find Becca was eating at rational thought. And he’d just found the servants’ door to the back garden.
“Tomorrow,” he whispered. “Full details.” Then he rushed out the back.
There was quite the crush of bodies here. Not so tight as he couldn’t get through, but whatever was happening had drawn a great deal of attention. He had to skirt the wall, slipping behind some of the trees to get past. He constantly scanned for Becca’s face or—more likely—the baron. Given Becca’s petite stature, the baron would be easier to spot.
But he didn’t see either of them. Fortunately, he didn’t need to. He could hear them.
“I am a god among men!”
That didn’t sound right. Well, the words were fine. Baron Courbis had an ego that befitted the words, but he was usually smart enough not to bellow it out loud.
“Yes, of course you are!” Becca said.
She sounded amused, and that immediately set his teeth on edge. She clearly had no idea that the baron had a vicious temper. He may be amusing right now, but that could change in a heartbeat.
Nate eased forward only to realize that Becca wasn’t the only one amused. Clusters of people stood around chuckling at the display—whatever it was—while they left Becca to handle the obviously unstable Baron.
He just had to slip around this last tree to see…
Well, hell. He did not expect that. The man was naked from the waist up, his clothing scattered onto nearby bushes and rocks. And Becca stood in front of him, her hands on her hips as she tried to reason with a crazy man.
“You will worship me!” the baron commanded.
“Wouldn’t that be fun?” she answered. “But about my question…”
“No questions!” he cried. “Kneel! Worship!”
This was getting out of hand fast. And none of the onlookers seemed inclined to interfere. It was just a show for them, and Becca had no understanding of the danger. Worse, Nate wasn’t at an angle to interfere, not to mention that he wasn’t exactly in fighting form.
