Free What Wild Moonlight by Victoria Lynne Page A

comforting.”
    “I did have an edge, after all,” he continued blithely. “I witnessed you employ your considerable talents on the road to Monte Carlo.”
    She studied him with a puzzled frown. “I’m afraid you’re quite mistaken. I didn’t perform any magic on the way here.”
    “Really?” An odd light filled his eyes as his enigmatic smile returned. “I believe you have something of mine, Miss Alexander.”
    Katya’s first thought was that he was referring to the Stone. Then she noticed that he had held up his right hand, subtly indicating his third finger. His glove and ring, she realized with a start, reaching into her reticule for the items. She passed them to him with a murmur of apology.
    “They came off in my hand when you tried to pull me up the cliff,” she reminded him.
    “Did they?” There was a note of condescending disbelief in his tone, as though he were humoring a small, corrupt child.
    Her brows snapped together. “Are you suggesting that I deliberately stole your possessions?”
    “You needn’t take offense, Miss Alexander. It was a natural assumption after I witnessed you deftly remove that black pouch from Lady Stanton’s bag. Granted, you were far smoother onstage this evening, but it was an impressive display nonetheless.”
    Katya’s thoughts spun in a tangled disarray. He believed she was a thief. She had assumed that Nicholas Duvall had sought her out in order to find some resolution to the ancient feud that existed between their families. Instead, he was under the misguided notion that she was a common pickpocket.
    “You needn’t look so stunned, Miss Alexander,” he said smoothly. “What else could I have thought? Particularly after you pointedly told me nothing of yours had been taken.”
    “I hate to disappoint you, but you are entirely mistaken, Lord Barrington. What you saw, that is, what you think you saw, was merely—”
    “You recovering your own goods,” he finished. “Though I hold that didn’t occur to me until I saw you on stage this evening. You’re quite talented. Amazing, really. Rather than admit to me that you’d been taken, you simply chose to remedy the crime on your own.”
    “I assume there’s some point to this.”
    “I have a proposition for you. One that will benefit both of us.”
    “I’m not interested.”
    “There is an object I need recovered,” he continued, as though she hadn’t spoken at all. “I have reason to believe the person who stole it is here in Monte Carlo. Someone of your abilities could make the task of finding the object considerably easier for me. In turn, I could make your stay in Monaco considerably more profitable for you.”
    “You’re asking me to
steal
for you?”
    “Quite the opposite. I’m merely asking you to recover an object that rightfully belongs to me—just as you recovered your possessions from Lady Stanton. I’ll take care of everything after that.” He paused, a look of somber reflection on his face. “I have a few ideas as to who might have stolen it, but I’m not certain. The item is small enough that whoever has it might very well be carrying it on his person. Then again, he may have secreted it in his residence. I’d like you to discreetly search both the men themselves and their rooms.”
    His voice sounded vaguely distracted as he spoke, as though he were discussing ledgers and accounts, rather than the astonishing suggestion that he employ her as a thief.
    She stared at him in incredulity. “You can’t be serious.”
    “Can’t I?”
    “I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time, but I couldn’t possibly—”
    “I’ll double the amount Monsieur Remy is paying you. Triple it, if you like. Your fee is of little consequence, so long as we are successful..”
    “I see.” Katya sank into the chair beside him, her thoughts careening in clumsy turmoil.
Triple
what Monsieur Remy was paying her?
    He removed a timepiece from his breast pocket, frowned at the hour, and shifted impatiently