She hesitated. “You haven’t given me an answer to my offer.”
“We’ll discuss it on the way to the ship. We can’t stay here. Birdie’s waiting for you.”
Understanding crossed her face. They had a few moments where no one would be listening.
As she threaded her arm through his, Ian fought the instinct to pull her closer. At the restaurant, right before she sat down at the table, he’d momentarily forgotten there wasn’t a gulf of past mistakes and present perils between them. He wanted that moment back.
“If you refuse to accept my proposal,” Diana said, “you must know I cannot allow you to stay aboard my ship if your sole intent is to steal the emeralds.”
“That would put me in a tight spot.”
“There is a room for you at the inn across the way.” Diana paused at the edge of the harbor and nodded to the row of taverns. “You can stay there while you decide your next move.”
“And if there’s a traitor among your mission comrades, who will help you in San Sebastian?”
The message the waiter had delivered wasn’t difficult to decode—Ian would have to scold her for that later. San Sebastian was a two-day sail on theEver Hart.Diana’s organization could ferry the passengers there before they traveled on somewhere else. It was possible many of them didn’t have papers; papers left a trail. And laws were unkind to women, as Henry constantly reminded Ian. Hisown mother had been trapped in a dangerous marriage before she’d met Ian’s father.
“Amelia and I can watch out for each other,” Diana countered. “We’ve been in this together from the start.”
“She has a brilliant mind, like her father. But we both know there are situations where Miss Hunter can’t defend herself. Or you. And the longer you hold on to the emeralds, the more likely one of those scenarios will occur.”
Diana observed the ships in the harbor for a long moment before her eyes found his again. “I don’t know how to solve this while keeping everyone safe.”
“You can’t.” He gentled his voice, hoping it would make her listen. “Too many things are in motion. Keeping the emeralds makes everyone around them a target.”
“It’s nothing we can’t handle.”
“With respect for all you do, it is. And it’s something I very much want to handle.”
He didn’t downplay the threat from his tone, and when Diana’s cheeks turned pink, he couldn’t help himself from pulling her a fraction closer. “The only thing either of us can do now is prepare ourselves for what may be coming.”
“Offering to protect us while we complete the cargo exchange won’t make me any more inclined to hand over the emeralds. Without them, I’ll never uncover the traitor.”
“I understand,” he conceded, so she would know that he’d heard she wouldn’t surrender the jewels. “Let me help you.”
“You’ll only try to take the necklace later.”
When he didn’t deny it, she gave a faint growl. “It doesn’t matter. My organization will never allow it.”
“They would if I were part of it. What would it take to join your cause?”
Diana uttered a low laugh before her expression sobered. “You’re serious.”
“I am.”
She hesitated. “You’d have to take a vow. An oath of loyalty to our organization.”
“What if I pledged my loyalty to you instead?”
The rain drummed against the umbrella. Ahead of them, theEver Hartrose above the pier like a beacon in the inclement weather.
After a long, contemplative moment, Diana said, “Amelia and I will need to talk before I divulge any more details about our organization.”
“I would expect nothing less.”
Apffftnoise sounded from her throat. “Uncovering who wants the emeralds will involve an operation. The unwise kind.”
The dangerous kind, she meant. A hot thrill ran through him. “As I mentioned before, I have a unique set of skills that could be of value.”