Chapter 14

The more time they spent together among the people, the more Frederic couldn't take his eyes off Lilian. She hadn't stopped surprising him since the moment they set off. She had to be on her fourth or fifth drink, but you wouldn't guess it from looking at her. She was holding her liquor like she'd done this before. More than that, she was easily engaging in conversation with the people they met like it was the most natural thing in the world.

It was almost hypnotic.

They were sitting in the fifth tavern of the evening when Lilian drew in a sharp breath. She turned to him and tapped his arm.

"Do you see that man over there?" she whispered. "That's him. He's the one I saw from the alley that evening."

Frederic carefully schooled his expression into a mask of neutrality. "Are you sure?"

She stole another discrete glance. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"All right, I'm going to try and get a look at him."

Lilian cursed. "It's too late."

"What?"

"He just left." She looked up at him, eyes shining with mischief. "Do you want to try and follow him?"

To his surprise, Frederic couldn't help but smirk down at her. "Do you think you can handle it?"

"Do you think you can?"

He snorted. "All right, let's do this."

The pair followed the man out the door, but by the time they made it outside, he'd already disappeared from sight.

"Looks like we lost him," Frederic sighed.

"Not yet. He's not getting away that easily."

"Unless you can figure out where he went, it looks like he already has."

"Give me a moment." Lilian spent a few minutes glancing around then pointed. "This way."

The pair raced along the streets as fast as they dared without drawing attention to themselves. It wasn't long before they found themselves creeping closer and closer to the docks. It was only when they stepped onto its well-worn planks that Frederic stopped, turning to Lilian. By this point, the moon was already high in the sky, a few stars forcing their way into view.

He grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. A frown settled on his face. "We should stop and go back home."

She shook her head. "But why? We've already come so close. We can't stop now! We could still catch him!"

"Have we come close? We may have caught a glimpse of him in the tavern, but we have been racing around on a wild goose chase ever since."

"Oh, really? Then why didn't you say anything before we got close to the docks?" She pouted, planting her hands on her hips.

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Lilian, please, be reasonable here. I'm trying to protect you."

"I don't need you to protect me!"

"Really? Because your judgment here makes it seem like you do. I—" He cut himself off as they heard approaching voices.

Lilian groaned, shaking her head. "Frederic, what?—"

"Hush!" he cut her off, heart sinking with dread. "Someone's coming. We need to get out of here."

"What?"

"There's no time! Come on."