They gained the flagged terrace along which a number of couples were strolling. She tried to slide her hand from his sleeve to put greater distance between them. His fingers tightened; she knew better than to tug. "You'll start people talking," she hissed as, acquiescing, she continued to glide close beside him.
"No more than they're talking already of you and the aspirants to your charms. Why on earth do you surround yourself with them?"
"I assure you it's not by choice!" After a moment, she added, "I suspect Serena's been busy on my behalf, despite the fact I made it plain that this was Mary's and Alice's Season and I have no interest in attracting a husband. Well"-she gestured to her braided cap-"how much clearer can I make it? Can't they see?"
Eyeing the cap with savage dislike, Gabriel bit back the words "Probably not." Her caps offended him at some elemental level. There was, now he thought of it, one sure way of getting rid of them once and for all. Considering the prospect of never seeing another cap covering her hair, he guided her toward the shadowy end of the terrace, presently deserted. "Did Wiggs report on his meeting with the judge?"
Reaching the balustrade at the end of the flags, they surveyed the thick bushes beyond the stone barrier, then turned and leaned against it, hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, in oddly companionable comfort.
"Yes. It seems we can ask for a decision declaring the note invalid through a petition directly to the bench, without evidence or deliberations being heard in open court."
"Good. That'll make things easier."
"The judge said the speed at which a decision would be given will depend on the quality of our evidence. The more detailed and complete the evidence, the quicker the judgment. If the case was cut and dried, a decision could be formalized in a matter of days."
Gabriel nodded. "When we're ready, I'll alert Devil. He'll make sure it gets immediate attention." Alathea's sudden grin caught his eye. "What?"
She glanced at him. "Just the way you operate." She waved. "Just like that-throw a duke into the equation."
He shrugged. "If one has a duke to throw…"
Her grin fading, Alathea asked, "Have your people learned anything more?"
"No grand revelations, but Montague is making headway with all those figures and projections Crowley spouted. Needless to say, they don't add up. My contacts in Whitehall are still checking the claims he made about various foreign government departments and officials, and the permissions he said the company had already received. The more things that are false, the wider the front on which the company's claims are disproved, the easier it will be to convince the court."
"But a witness-an eyewitness as it were-would be the definitive proof. Have you heard anything more about the captain?"
"Yes and no. Mostly no. There are so many shipping lines, and at too many I have no contact from whom I can discreetly inquire. We can't risk any overt search, not even for the captain. Crowley's too powerful. He may well have contacts who'll report any unusual queries in all shipping lines dealing with his present area of interest."
"Is he that omnipotent?"
"Yes. Don't underestimate him. He may not have attended any recognized school, but he knows how to play his connections well. Witness Archie Douglas." After a moment, Gabriel stated, "Whatever we do, we must never forget Crowley."
The words disturbed Alathea. Frowning, she shook them aside. "There must be some register of the ships and their captains, surely?"
"There is-it's kept by the Port Authority. There are two registers we need to look at-the log which lists all the ships as they enter the Pool of London along with their captain, and the main register of vessels, which shows which shipping line a particular ship sails for. Unfortunately, there was a scandal involving the last port registrar. Consequently, his successor is exceedingly resistant to the idea of allowing anyone access to either the log or the register."
"Exceedingly resistant?"
"Short of an order from the Admirality or the Revenue, there's no way to view those books."
"Hmm."
Gabriel glanced at Alathea. "Don't even think of breaking in."
She focused on him. "Why? Because you've already considered it?"
"Yes." His lips twisted. He looked back along the terrace, then straightened. "The office is manned around the clock. At present, searching the log and register is impossible."
Following his gaze to Lucifer, strolling through the shadows toward them, Alathea murmured, "Nothing's impossible when you're twelve years old."
Gabriel shot her a look as Lucifer, brows high, joined them.
"What are you two doing out here?"
What do you think? burned Gabriel's tongue. He hadn't yet had time to steer their interaction into the arena he'd intended.
Alathea waved at him. "He's looking into something for me. An investment."
Turning his head, Gabriel looked at her; her gaze fixed on Lucifer's face, she ignored him.
Lucifer was looking at him. "I think the twins have noticed. They're bubbling and fizzing and exchanging glances like fury. God knows what they'll do once they realize it's true."
"Once they realize what's true?" Alathea asked.
Lucifer turned his dark gaze on her. "When they realize he's not watching them anymore."
"He's not?" Alathea looked at Gabriel. He'd developed a consuming interest in his manicured fingernails.
The damned man had listened to her. Listened, and allowed her to influence his direction. She felt slightly giddy.
"He's not. And, at the moment, I'm not, either." Belligerently disapproving, Lucifer looked from her to Gabriel and back again. "I just hope you know what you're doing. That bounder Carsworth's sniffing about their skirts."
Gabriel looked up. "Has he approached either of them?"
The question was mild, the underlying tone anything but.
"Well, no," Lucifer admitted.
"Have either of the twins encouraged him?" Alathea put in.
Lucifer's expression turned mulish. "No. He intercepted Amelia-not overtly approaching her, just happening to come upon her in the crowd."
"And?"
His reluctance was palpable, but eventually he conceded, "She put on an act like Aunt Helena. Looked him down, then up, then stuck her nose in the air and swanned past without a word."
"Well, there you are." Straightening, Alathea slipped an arm through his. "They've been very well trained. They're perfectly capable of managing, if you'll only let them."
"Humph!" Lucifer let her turn him up the terrace. Arm in arm, they strolled back toward the open doors spilling light and noise across the flags. Although she spared him not a glance, Alathea was intensely aware that Gabriel prowled very close on her other side.
"Carsworth's a worm-no real threat." Over her head, Lucifer exchanged a glance with Gabriel. "But what happens when they try that trick with someone with a bit more"-he gestured-"savoir faire!"
Gabriel shrugged. "So they'll learn."
"Learn what?" Alathea asked as they stepped back into the ballroom.
"Learn what would happen if a lady tried such a ploy on, say, one of us," Lucifer replied.
Alathea raised a brow at Gabriel.
He considered her, then flicked a glance at Lucifer. Confirming his brother's attention had wandered, he looked back, into her eyes. "Try it-and you'll see."
There was something in his eyes that reminded her forcefully of a tiger; the purr in his voice underscored the connection. Recalling what had happened the last time she'd tried, nose in the air, to brush past him, Alathea stiffened her spine and lifted her head. "The twins will manage perfectly well."