"You have to apologize," Max said firmly.

"I have." A cool note sounded in Adrian's voice. The two men sat in a secluded corner in the dim recesses of Adrian's club, a far better place to meet than at the Mayfair house. The old friends had once spent a great deal of time here and no one would comment, or even notice, Sir Maxwell Osgood and Lord Waterston engaged in quiet conversation late in the afternoon.

"Not well apparently. Your wife has moved out."

"I do not intend to allow that to continue for long. It is nothing more than a temporary state of affairs." Not temporary enough, however. Evie had barely been gone a day and already he missed hearing her voice, her laughter, having her beside him in his bed. He found it difficult to sleep if she was not there. Although her absence was not the only thing interfering with his sleep. This scheme he had devised, and all the ways it could go horribly wrong, preyed on his mind. Plus, there was the fact that, depending upon the strictness of one's own moral standards, his plot could be considered the tiniest bit wrong. "How do you know about that?"

"It's my job, remember? I know all sorts of interesting things." Max raised his gla.s.s. "And any number of things that are quite dull."

"All-knowing, all-powerful," Adrian said under his breath.

"You know better than anyone that's not true." He chuckled. "Although I do like to maintain certain illusions."

"Anything new on the file?"

"Since yesterday? Come now. Something like this takes time." He paused. "Our man at Fenwick's says the file simply appeared behind the counter. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. I daresay, anyone could have put it there."

"So until there is a new development, we are at a standstill?"

"Frustrating to be sure, but it is the nature of the game."

"Always has been." Adrian sipped his whiskey.

"Regardless, I hate waiting for someone else to make the next move." Max studied him over the rim of his gla.s.s. "Speaking of the next move, what is yours? Or should I say Sir's?"

"Sir sent Eve roses and a note."

"Did he?" Max nodded in a thoughtful manner. "And what about Adrian? Did he send flowers to his wife?"

Adrian stared.

"A token of his affection perhaps?" Max's brow furrowed. "A letter of abject apology declaring his love and vowing to make her happy for the rest of her days?"

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l," Adrian muttered.

"Perhaps you are incredibly stupid after all." Max snorted. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about how to pursue her as Sir without being too obvious. d.a.m.nation." He tossed back the rest of his whiskey and signaled for another. "It completely slipped my mind that ongoing groveling was called for."

"By her husband."

"Yes, by her husband," he snapped. "Although I do not grovel."

"You know even the most loyal of women, even those most in love with their husbands, might be lured into temptation by a mysterious stranger if their husband is not appropriately attentive."

"I fully intend to be appropriately attentive, I have simply not yet begun." He winced to himself. This failure on his part was a huge mistake. How could he have been so stupid? He didn't want to force her into the arms of another man, even if the other man was him. "It's probably best to give her a day to realize her anger was out of all proportion to my crime."

"Oh yes, because that's what women do." Sarcasm sounded in Max's voice. "They come to such realizations without any a.s.sistance. It's not as if they dwell on a man's transgressions, exaggerating misdeeds out of all proportion, although in your case I am not sure exaggeration is possible. No, that would be irrational."

"Evelyn has always been a rational sort," Adrian said under his breath.

Max stared in disbelief. "You used to be so clever when it came to women. Good G.o.d, man, what has happened to you?"

"Marriage is what has happened to me." Adrian clenched his teeth. "It makes fools out of even the most intelligent of men. I tell you, Max, it is far easier to deal with a flock of women than one single wife."

"Only if one loves the wife in question."

"That does indeed complicate everything." He thought for a moment. "I shall have flowers delivered as soon as I return home. I have a conservatory, you know. And first thing tomorrow I shall select an appropriate-no-an extravagant piece of jewelry-something symbolic and meaningful-to be accompanied by a note."

"It had better be an excellent note."

"Oh, it will." Adrian cast him a smug smile. "I have always been skilled with the written word."

"I thought it was Sir who was so skilled," Max said wryly.

Adrian ignored him. "I shall pour out my heart to her. I want her to have a choice."

"It seems to me she had a choice once and she chose you."

"Did she choose me or did she choose the life I offered?"

Max stared. "Surely you're not talking about wealth and position?"

"No," he said quickly. "She is not the kind of woman to barter the rest of her life simply for wealth. But security and family and belonging, that appealed to her."

Max nodded. "She has no family, no one to turn to, and certainly no financial resources." He chose his words with care. "But it was my observation that the true reason she chose you was love."

"That's what I am counting on."

"It's not too late to stop this right now."

Adrian raised a brow. "Are you being the voice of reason again?"

Max grinned. "I am trying."

"My wife's decision to reside elsewhere, though, does mean this has to be done quickly." He shook his head. "The longer she stays away, the more she will become used to living without me." He drew his brows together. "I do not intend to lose her."

"And yet-"

"I will not lose her," Adrian said firmly. "And considering this all in a realistic manner, I can't really. If she were to choose Sir, I will simply have to confess that I am Sir and we can continue on from there."

"You are mad." Max snorted. "Do you mean to tell me that you truly think that she will not be furious when she discovers that you originally met her as yourself to determine if she were working for someone else? And that said fury will not be exacerbated by this ruse you are perpetrating on her now?"

"She will forgive me," he said with a confidence he didn't quite feel.

"Are you sure?" Max leaned closer and lowered his voice. "You do understand you run the risk of losing her altogether?"

"I won't." He drew a deep breath. "If-when-she chooses me, my doubts will be at an end and she will never know the truth of it all."

Max settled back in his chair. "Because secrets of this nature never come to light?"

"This one won't."

"And if it does?"

"I will move heaven and earth to get her back."

"And I cannot dissuade you from continuing?"

"No."

"Very well then." Max sipped his whiskey. "I have been giving this plan of yours some thought."

"And?"

"And it seems to me Sir cannot accomplish this attempted seduction through words alone."

Adrian studied the other man. "What did you have in mind?"

"It might well be time for Eve and Sir to meet in person."

Adrian nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

"To that end, I have come up with a couple of options. Scenarios if you will."

"As have I." Adrian narrowed his eyes. "Go on."

"You don't want her to be able to see your face, of course."

"It would be best to avoid that."

"Yet you do want to be able to speak to her." Max thought for a moment. "Under some sort of pretext, Sir could send her away, to Paris perhaps-"

"She does like Paris," Adrian murmured.

"Where, in the dead of night, he-or rather-you could appear in her darkened hotel room, awaken her, and attempt to seduce her."

"Now who is mad?" Adrian stared. "I can't believe you would suggest such a thing."

Max frowned. "Why not?"

"Just off the top of my head, mind you, I can think of any number of reasons why not." Adrian ticked the points off on his fingers. "First of all, I am not going to send my wife to Paris without me. It's a most romantic city."

"I have had some memorable moments in Paris." Max grinned in a wicked manner.

Adrian ignored him. "Second, breaking into her room in the middle of the night would no doubt terrify her. She's never heard Sir's voice, remember. Third, while she was rarely placed in potentially dangerous situations, we did give her a fair amount of training. I doubt I could surprise her in her sleep without her inflicting some bodily harm on me, which would be difficult to explain later. Finally, and perhaps most important, I suspect my wife would be clever enough, when traveling alone, to keep a firearm by her bed. She still owns a pistol." He frowned. "I have no desire to sacrifice my life for this plan. Especially not in France."

"It was only a suggestion." Max huffed. "And admittedly, perhaps not my best. I am not used to plots that involve wives rather than villains. You do understand the idea of planning a seduction designed to fail is a concept that's foreign to everything I believe in?"

"I know this is a challenge," Adrian said in a wry manner. "But surely we can come up with something better."

"It's that whole business of not seeing your face that makes it so difficult." Max paused. "There is an advantage, though, to Sir now being the one giving her instruction."

"We should be able to use that."

"What if we set up a simple meeting ..." Max's eyes widened. "Why not use the confessional at the church in Battersea Park?"

"It wouldn't be the first time I've met with someone at that church while pretending to be a priest," Adrian said thoughtfully. "Although there is nothing to stop her from leaving her side of the confessional and surprising me. It's just the sort of thing she would do." He shuddered. "That would certainly muck things up."

"No." Max's brow furrowed. "It would be better if she were tied up. Oh, and blindfolded."

"It is my understanding that Catholic priests do not generally bind and blindfold those wishing to confess their sins," Adrian said mildly. "That might attract unwelcome attention."

"It would be awkward. Still ... I've got it." Max raised his gla.s.s. "Kidnapping. It's perfect. We have her kidnapped, tied up, blindfolded of course, possibly gagged, and stored somewhere out of reach."

Adrian stared in disbelief. "I am not going to store my wife."

"I'm not suggesting permanent storage." Max scoffed. "Simply someplace where she can be held without discovery long enough for Sir to speak with her without her seeing his face." Max took a deep swallow of his whiskey. "I tell you, it's brilliant. We can have her put in the empty warehouse cellar on the docks. You know the place. We haven't used it for some time but we still own it." He paused. "Certainly, it tends to flood with the rising of the tide, but she will be rescued long before that happens."

"Admittedly, that is better than startling her in the dead of night in a hotel in Paris. But I don't think so. I don't like the idea of putting her in any kind of danger."

"She won't be." Max shrugged. "We'll have her rescued the moment you're done speaking with her. Sir-you-will tell her you have to go but someone will be along shortly. A few minutes later, I will have someone a.s.signed to save her." Max paused. "Even better, I'll save her. Or Miss DeRochette can rescue her."

Adrian raised a brow. "Miss DeRochette? But she's not with the department anymore either."

"Not actively. Remember, her last a.s.signment was to provide protection for your wife should that become necessary. Thus far it hasn't." Max paused. "She has never been officially released from duty, however. I thought it wise."

"How interesting," Adrian murmured. "Still, it scarcely matters. I suspect, at this point, her loyalty lies more with my wife than with the department."

"One would think. So ..." Max met the other man's gaze. "Unless you can come up with something better, I think a kidnapping has a great deal to commend it."

Adrian rolled his gaze toward the ceiling. "I am not going to have my wife kidnapped and stored in a flooding cellar."

"She would be rescued before it floods, but I do see your point. However, I still think it's a good idea and should not be discarded entirely."

"I don't know. There's entirely too much that can go wrong."

"Rubbish. I would use my best men. We do know what we are doing when it comes to this sort of thing."

"It bears further consideration, I suppose," Adrian said thoughtfully. "As long as appropriate precautions were taken."

"As they would be," Max said firmly. "Then, unless you have a better plan-"

"I do have something of an idea." Adrian thought for a moment. "Evelyn provided me with a schedule of our upcoming social events. A schedule that covers the next month." He glared at the other man. "A full month. She expects to be gone an entire month. Can you believe that?"

"You thought she was having an affair and surprised an unsuspecting couple in a hotel room. You didn't trust her and you embarra.s.sed her." Max cast him a pitying look. "If I were you, I would be grateful that a month is all the penance you have to pay."

"Apparently, it's not. She is refurbishing the house Miss DeRochette resides in as well, at great expense no doubt," Adrian muttered. "I don't want her gone for a month. I don't want her gone at all. I-" A thought struck him and he stared at his friend. "How did you know that?"