Chapter Twenty-Six

Ellie couldn't tell if her teeth were chattering with cold or with nerves as she, Tess, and Daisy waited at the northern entrance to Hyde Park.

She'd sent a note to Harry, but still let out a sigh of relief when she saw him ambling down the street toward them, the silver top of his cane glinting in the pale moonlight.

It was still dark, although a faint sliver of lighter gray sky over to the east showed that dawn wasn't far away.

Harry swept the three of them an elegant bow. "Morning. Ready for another adventure?"

"Ready to see justice done," Ellie said.

The sight of him had her stomach in knots, but she forced herself to think of the mission ahead, and not how much she wanted to wrap her arms around his middle and be enfolded in a comforting hug.

"Harry, you wait a few minutes, then make your way to the well. The three of us will be hiding in the trees, and as soon as you have the payment for the book, we'll make our move."

"You've remembered rule number three?" he asked.

"Of course. We're all armed. And hopefully you'll just be meeting a single person, so they'll be outnumbered." She glanced at his sword cane. "Do you have a pistol?"

"No. But don't worry, I trust the three of you to protect me. Now off you go. And good luck."

Ellie smiled. "I thought you didn't believe in luck?"

He patted his breast pocket, where the outline of the little book interrupted the perfect line of his jacket. "I have it right here."

They left him at the gate, and took a wide route through the trees, circling the back of the glade where the meeting was to take place.

The drinking well wasn't so much a well as a small spring that rose from the ground that had been edged with wooden planks to form a pool that trickled away toward the Serpentine. The water was said to be sweet-tasting and beneficial to health, and in the summer months an old lady sat at a table beneath the trees, offering glasses to drink from and ready-filled bottles for people to take home.

There was no sign of an attendant now, nor anyone else, and Ellie was glad of her spectacles to negotiate the shadows as they moved silently between the trees. All three of them had dressed in their darkest clothing.

Tess positioned herself behind a large oak, Daisy hid by a stump in a huge bramble patch, and Ellie made her way to the opposite side of the clearing and concealed herself in a thick stand of beech trees.

The silvery light grew brighter as they waited, and Harry appeared between the trees, walking at an unhurried pace. He stopped at the little spring and checked his pocket watch, then leaned against a tree to wait.

A dark figure wearing a long cloak appeared on the narrow path, and Ellie bit back a curse when two more hooded forms followed. She squinted, trying to see if she recognized the person in front, then choked back a gasp as the figure removed their cloak to reveal a dress instead of breeches, and decidedly feminine curves.

The woman came to an abrupt stop when she saw Harry, and her two accomplices—both men—drew blades from within their clothing.

Harry straightened, but didn't appear concerned. His composure was impressive.

The woman was beautiful, with high, angular cheekbones and full, almost pouting lips that curved in a slow smile as she regarded Harry.

" Enrico? Dio, può essere? Tesoro mio, cosa ci fai qui? "

She gave an incredulous laugh as she stepped closer and peered at Harry's face.

Harry's own features relaxed into an easy smile.

" Buongiorno, Sofia. Che deliziosa sorpresa ." He switched to English, presumably for Ellie's benefit. "And I could ask you the same question. The last time I last saw you was at Pauline Bonaparte's birthday party. You were about to steal her letters—and her lover, if I remember correctly."

Ellie's eyes widened. Harry knew this woman! She was another thief!

"I succeeded too," Sofia chuckled. "It was a shame you didn't stay long enough to help me celebrate."

She waved her hand, and her two accomplices lowered their weapons. Her dark eyes roved hungrily over Harry's body, and Ellie felt a sharp stab of jealous outrage. This gorgeous Italian was clearly one of his criminal acquaintances. Had they been lovers, as well as associates? The woman's familiar tones certainly suggested they'd been close.

"But you are not the man I came here to meet," Sofia purred, taking another step closer to Harry, but still maintaining a sensible distance from his sword stick.

Harry shrugged. "I know. You were expecting Willingham, but as you can see, he's not here. I have the book you came for, though."

"He entrusted you with it?"

Harry raised his brows, and she let out a delighted laugh. "You stole it from him! How delicious."

"I'm afraid so. Old habits die hard."

"Let me see it. But first, drop your cane."

Harry released his hold on the silver-topped sword stick and let it fall to the grass, then reached into his waistcoat.

"Slowly," Sofia cautioned. "Paolo and Luca are very good at throwing those knives. I haven't forgotten what a tricky player you are, my love."

The two thugs raised their weapons again, silently warning him not to draw his own blade from his coat, and Harry smiled at their suspicion. He slid his fingers into the front of his jacket, pulled the little book from the inside breast pocket, and flipped open the cloth wrapping so that the golden covers glinted in the dawn light.

"There," he said easily. "I haven't cheated you. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to see the money."

Sofia tilted her head to one side with a wicked little pout. "Money? Why do I need to pay you when I can just take it from you?"

She withdrew a wicked little pistol from her skirts, which she cocked with a click and leveled at his chest.

Harry actually smiled at the threat, as if he'd fully expected her to double-cross him. Perhaps, Ellie thought, he was remembering rule number seven: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. This Sofia was clearly a very slippery character.

"Always so greedy," he chided. "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. I've brought some friends of my own, you see."

He slid the book safely back inside his jacket, then turned to the spot where Ellie was hiding—he must have known precisely where she'd stationed herself.

Ellie obligingly stepped out from behind the trees and pointed her pistol at the irritating woman's heart.

"Good morning," she said crisply.

Sofia gestured at her two accomplices, urging them to do something, but Tess and Daisy also appeared from their hiding places, each brandishing a pistol, and Sofia cursed softly in Italian, clearly realizing she'd been outmaneuvered.

Harry gave a charming shrug. "It seems we're at an impasse ."

Sofia's lip curled, but she didn't lower her aim from Harry's chest. "What do you suggest?"

"You should leave."

"Without the book? I can't do that. The man who's paying me to deliver it will be most unhappy." She slid Ellie a sideways, speculative glance, clearly weighing the odds of being hit from that distance, then turned back to Harry.

"I have to have that book."

Whatever Harry had been about to say, it was interrupted by a dark-clad figure exploding from the undergrowth to Sofia's left.

"Hoi!" he bellowed. "Over here!"

Sofia swung toward the noise reflexively, and her pistol went off as her finger tightened on the trigger.

Ellie recognized Ambrose at the same moment as Harry clutched his chest with a shocked, incredulous shout.

"You shot me!"

He staggered backward and fell hard against the tree, then crumpled to the ground as his legs gave out, and Ellie didn't stop to think. She fired her own pistol at Sofia, just as Ambrose tackled the woman to the ground.