Free A Study in Silks by Emma Jane Holloway Page B

outfits would connect them with the invasion of the opera house.
Bad planning
.
    It was clear that they weren’t very experienced criminals.
    I need an alibi
.
    Tobias stopped in his tracks and then, after a long moment of contemplation, turned right up a long, winding lane that seemed to have been lost in an earlier century. The street was uneven, the houses tall and narrow with wrought-iron fences guarding them from passersby. His feet found their way to the top of the lane, automatically stopping at a door painted a deep purple—violet for the Violet Queen,who ruled the brothels with a fist of lace-clad steel. A brass lion’s head gleamed against the dark paint.
    Tobias lifted the knocker and rapped softly, knowing there would be a servant listening for callers. As expected, it swung open at once, revealing a Negro boy in a turban and spangled garb that spoke more of theater than of tribal origins. The boy bowed deeply, recognizing a good customer.
    “I’ve come to see Margaretha,” Tobias said.
    The boy didn’t blink, but opened the door wide so that he could enter. It was no less than Tobias had expected—the employees of any of the Violet Queen’s houses could be counted on for silence, an alibi, or anything else that could be purchased for coin. So what if a gentleman at the door was wearing goggles and orange slime, not to mention what was starting to feel like a serious black eye? That would be the least shocking thing they were likely to see on any given night.
    The boy closed the door and made another deep obeisance, causing the bright green feather in his turban to nod gracefully. He spoke in a soft, liquid accent. “Allow me to summon Madame Margaretha to attend you.”
    With a sweep of his arm, he invited Tobias to enter the sitting room through a set of etched-glass doors and then disappeared up the stairs. Tobias strolled through the doorway and helped himself to the selection of brandies on a heavily carved sideboard. The room was unoccupied but for a statue of Venus draped in a net of minuscule lights—an eerie feature of the place. Tobias sank into a thickly cushioned chair opposite the statue and swirled the liquor in his glass, letting the fumes soak through his growing fatigue. Venus stared back, a remote look on her perfect face that reminded him oddly of his mother.
    That wasn’t an encouraging thought. Nor was it helped by the realization that he didn’t particularly want a woman right then. If he could have had the option, he would have chosen someone with a clever wit, someone who could understand what he had just accomplished, and maybe someone who could tell him why his achievement felt so hollow.
    Margaretha was lush and beautiful, but she wasn’t the woman he needed. The only one he knew with that quick mind and gentle heart—one who would listen without judgment—was Evelina Cooper. In some ways, Evelina was so much a part of the family that she had become like another sister—except that not all his thoughts about her had remained particularly brotherly. With every passing day, he was less certain how to approach her.
    He swallowed the last of the brandy, feeling the heat of it flow into his veins. What was he to do about Evelina? Women usually made him lusty, bored, or annoyed—and in that order. The Cooper girl just confused him, but he enjoyed every moment of it—which was simply perverse and inconvenient and intriguing.
    The door swung open, the Negro boy stepping forward with an obsequious bow. “Margaretha will join you momentarily.”
    To his surprise, Tobias found himself shaking his head. “I’m going to sit here awhile. Bring me a cold supper instead.”
    This time, there was the faintest trace of curiosity on the boy’s face as he withdrew. Tobias was glad he didn’t owe anyone under this roof an explanation, because there was no good way to explain himself. He was starting to want a girl he had no business even thinking about, and he wanted her badly enough