Stealth

11

The next morning they were having breakfast in bed when Rose said, “You’re very quiet this morning.”

“I suppose I am,” Stone said. “My discovery that you are playing on Dame Felicity’s team has confused me.”

“How so?” she asked.

“Well, are you here in my house and my bed and my pants because you have made that choice, or because duty requires it of you?”

“That’s an insulting question,” she replied.

“I’m sorry if it seems so. As I said, I am confused, and while in that state, should not be required to make discerning judgments about the emotional state of others.”

“Would you like me to go?”

“I would not. I would merely like you to familiarize me with your current state of mind and your intentions.”

“My current state of mind is serene,” she said, “when I am not being asked annoying questions.”

“And your intentions?”

“Honorable.”

“May I assume, then, that your presence in my bed and pants is entirely voluntary, rather than specified in paragraph six, line two, of your marching orders?”

“You may assume that my presence in your bed and pants is not only voluntary, but enthusiastic, and unrelated to any orders issued to me by my superiors, if such exist. Would you like a demonstration of that enthusiasm?”

Stone smiled. “Yes, please.”

She rolled him onto his back, took him into her mouth, and did not stop until he screamed, “Uncle!”

“I trust that settles your mind,” she said.

“Entirely,” he replied.

Stone’s phone rang and he grabbed it from the bedside table. “Hello?”

“It’s Dino.”

“Good God! What time is it in your world?”

“Sometime after midnight,” he replied. “Viv has been summoned to London for a few days of business consultations. Would you be annoyed if I parachuted into your current location for that time?”

“I would be delighted to see you both,” Stone said.

“Then look for us on your airstrip late in the afternoon.”

“We will be ready to receive you.”

Dino hung up.

“Are we going to have company?” Rose asked.

“We are indeed: my best friends, Dino and Vivian Bacchetti. She has business in London, but he does not.”

“May I assume that they will have their own room?”

“You will not be required to share a bed with them.”

“I must tell you that, according to the gossip, Dame Felicity is, shall we say, impartial where the gender of her bed partners is concerned. I was a little afraid that more would be expected of me than I might be willing to give — not that she is unattractive.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny those rumors,” Stone said. “But I can tell you that the Bacchettis have no such inclinations, so the only hand you may expect to land on your knee will be mine.”

“I don’t want to seem a prig,” she said. “I have, on widely separated occasions, dabbled in that sort of thing, and with pleasure. But Felicity is not my type, whatever that is.”

“Got it.”

In the late afternoon, Stone got a satphone call from an airplane.

“Yes?”

“Ten minutes out,” Dino said, then hung up.

Stone and Rose got into the Cayenne and drove down to the airstrip in time to watch the big Gulfstream settle onto the runway, then taxi to the ramp. Stone pulled the car up to the aircraft and introduced Rose to the Bacchettis while the plane’s crew loaded their luggage into the SUV. Moments later they were back at the house, and the Gulfstream was climbing.

They settled into the library while Geoffrey, the butler, served drinks.

“Why are you limping?” Dino asked Stone.

“A slight accident,” Stone replied.

“One that totaled a quarter-of-a-million-pound motorcar,” Rose added.

Stone explained what had happened.

“So how did your training go?” Dino asked. “Was it as bad as I told you it would be?”

“Nearly,” Stone said, “but I’m getting through life with only an Ace bandage on my ankle, though I’ve had to give up tap-dancing for a while.”

“Were you able to keep up with the younger kids?”

“The younger kids were in their thirties,” Stone said, “and pudgy.”

“Have you learned how to be a British spy?”

“Only the rudiments.”

“I could still take him with a knife,” Rose said.

“I should explain that Rose, in addition to being a surgeon, may be one of Felicity’s flock. We can’t be sure.”

“Is that convenient for everybody?” Viv asked.

“Well, if she is of that flock, that means she gets paid for being here,” Stone said.

“You should get a bonus for putting up with Stone,” Dino said.

“Oh, he has his uses.”

“I won’t explore that,” Dino said. “Tell me, are the two of you still in mortal danger?”

“Our fearless leader seems to believe that he bagged them all,” Rose said. “But now that you mention it, he didn’t actually claim to have done that.”

“Should I go armed?” Dino asked.

“Why not?” Rose said. “I am.”

“You are?” Stone asked.

She produced a small 9mm pistol.

“Cleverly concealed,” Stone said.

“Don’t ask where.”

“I’m going to need to search you more thoroughly from now on.”

She laughed. “Anytime.”

“Well,” Viv said, rising. “I’m going to have a little nap before dinner.” She looked at Dino. “And you, my darling?”

“Sorry,” Dino said, rising. “I missed my cue.”

“Drinks at seven, dinner to follow,” Stone said.

Rose stood. “I could use a little nap myself.”

“Got that!” Stone said, following her upstairs.