She caught herself. Her voice had grown stronger, less hesitant, as she had spoken. Her eyes gleamed, and the flush in her cheeks came not from the wine nor the overheated room, but from the fire of her passion.
Leo was enthralled. The quiet beauty of his wife became altogether vibrant. And it wasnt unnoticed. He glowered at several men who sent her admiring glances, and they averted their gazes quickly.
Did your father buy the map?
She shook her head. Such things were unnecessary, and the expense profligate. In truth, she confessed, I never had enough money to buy maps, but I did annoy the shopkeeper by endlessly browsing.
Thus your knowledge of far-flung places.
The same places from which you buy your coffee, cotton, and spices. She waited, then glanced at him, a faint crease between her brows. Well?
Well, what?
This is when you chide me for my decidedly unfeminine interests. My parents certainly did.
Leos sudden, unadulterated laugh drew more curious glances from the assemblys guests. Hell, Im the very last person to lecture anyone on acceptable behavior.
Your opinion might change when I tell you something very wicked.
He said nothing, merely waited.
She lowered her voice. When I was thirteen, I ... After a deep breath, she pushed on, so that her words came out in a rush. I stole a map.
How?
I was in the print shop, looking at a map of the Moluccas. It was beautiful, but so costly. A customer came in and distracted the proprietor. Thats when I did it. Ran out the door with the map. The proprietor didnt even notice, he did not cry thief or summon the watch. Even so, I never went back.
And you threw away the map. Your ill-gotten gains.
Her eyes widened. Lord, no. I kept it under my bed and pored over it every chance I had. Until my younger brother grew spiteful and tore it up. She stared at Leo. Are you not ... shocked? Appalled?
It would take far more than a single act of theft to appall me. Besides, he added, smiling, I like having a secret about you. Its something private, only for us. A darker heat stole into his voice, deepening it.
The blush in her cheeks grew brilliant. In her saffron-colored gown, canary diamonds at her throat and hanging from her ears, she held the pure luster of sunshine.
The way that I know about your coins, she murmured.
He blinked. A few words from her transported him from the radiance of her allure to the shadows of foreseen disasters. Her luminosity to the darkness of his Devil-given power. And Whit threatened everythinghis power, his strengthening relationship with Anne. Yet Leo had no intention of allowing Whit to destroy all that Leo had created for himself.
Like that, yes. Talk of his gift sharpened his resolve. He eyed the guests. Many of them had potential for exploitation, either by benefit of their deep coffers or because they had been vocal in their denouncement of social climbers like Leo. Others he didnt know, but wanted tofor he seldom let an opportunity to make use of someone pass.
Spotting Lord Overbury, Leo turned to Anne. Excuse me for a moment. I want to speak with someone. At her murmured agreement, Leo took his leave and made his way to his host for the evening.
The viscount gave a polite but aloof nod at Leos approach. Annes birth might have gained him entrance to Overburys home, yet Leo and the viscount would never be considered friends.
After giving his own restrained bow, Leo said, My lord, I require your assistance.
However may I be of assistance, Mr. Bailey? Overburys eyes scanned the room, his offer of help hardly more than a token.
I actually possess magical power.
His interest piqued, the viscount raised his brows. You do?
My wife is of similar disbelief. Leo addressed Overbury. The only means I have to demonstrate my power requires a coin. He patted his pockets, making a pantomime of looking shamefaced. All my coins are at home. Play the champion and give me one of yours.
Overbury produced a thruppence from the pocket of his satin waistcoat and handed it to Leo. Show me this magic of yours.
I have the coin here. He held it up for the viscounts inspection, then closed his fingers around the coin. And now,
it has disappeared. His hand opened, revealing that it was, in fact, empty.
The viscount made a sound of astonishment.
Ah, wait, here it is again. Leo plucked the coin from beneath the lace of Overburys jabot, and his host chortled.
Clever, Bailey. You must show me how to perform that trick.
Tis no trick, my lord. Magic. Which I now must show my wife.
With the sounds of Overburys chuckle behind him, Leo wended his way back to Anne.
An ingenious way to get another coin. She smiled, and when Leo performed the same trick for her as he had for Overbury, her smile turned to a charming laugh. I did not know you were a conjurer.
Sleight of hand, nothing more. His words were glib, yet a tempest filled his mind. He saw cane fields washed away by a Caribbean storm, and a plantation house half buried beneath a wall of mud as the people within the house fled and palm trees bent double from the hurricanes wind. The odor of sodden sugar clogged his nostrilsnoxiously sweet and damp. Yet he breathed it in deeply, for it was the smell of privileges destruction.