night. So this is what I’ll be wearing.”
She looked so thoroughly pleased with herself that he didn’t have the heart to tell her that the best time to steal the letters would be in the day.
He’d let her think she’d won that one.
He pulled his picks from his sleeve. “Shall we start with the locks?”
She nodded.
He knelt at her bedroom door and removed the key protruding from the lock. She crouched beside him, so close he could smell the faint scent of roses on her skin. For an instant, he could think of nothing but lying her down on a bed covered with rose petals, of letting them drift over the curves of her body and settle onto the hollows.
Roses. That was rich. He was lucky if the beds he slept in didn’t have bugs.
“So inside this type of lock, there are a set of levers to prevent the bolt from sliding. What a key does is align those levers to the right height so the bolt can slide. Too high or too low and this lady doesn’t open.”
“Locks are female?”
“Damned finicky things needing to be held just right in order to be able to open.”
“They seem rather male to me. They just need a quick twist and they’re done.”
He nearly dropped his pick. “I see I’m a wicked, wicked influence on you.”
Her lips nearly brushed his ear. “Don’t give yourself too much credit.”
Ian showed her the process twice more. Then had her put her hands over his as he worked on the lock to gain a feel for gauging the tension and selecting the right pick. Only years of practice kept his hands from shaking.
He pulled his hands away. “Your turn.”
She accepted the tools from him and lowered her brows in concentration.
“It will probably take a long time to master—”
The lock clicked open under her hands.
“—how to do this. Never mind. Apparently you have more of a talent for crime than I anticipated.”
She beamed like a child just given a new treat. “What else can you teach me?”
Chapter Ten
J uliana had mastered the locks by the end of the second night. After learning the door locks Ian had supplied, the small locks on the desks and cabinets had been simple. It was all a matter of patience, and one thing a princess learned at a young age was patience.
She was feeling rather proud of herself at the start on their third training session. And giddy. Oh, she knew better than to feel that way. This was a serious endeavor. Her whole country could hang in the balance.
But these past few days had been fun.
She couldn’t honestly remember the last time she’d had fun.
She perched on the chair by her window and watched her room. She’d catch Wraith this time when he entered. She’d stacked glasses in front of her doors that would create a clatter if he entered that way. She sat by one window and could clearly see the other.
A horse clattered by below, she only glanced at it for a fraction of a second, but then Ian was there. Three feet from her, twirling one of her glasses in his fingers. “This was a nice touch. Truly original.”
She checked for mockery in his face.
He lifted a brow. “I did mean that.”
“Good. I thought it was a clever idea.”
He set the glass on the windowsill next to her. “You, Jules, are becoming more and more unprincesslike every day. Quite a disturbing trend.”
“I could issue a royal decree if that would make you feel better?”
“Yes, that would actually.”
“Would you honor it?”
“Of course.”
“Then I decree all spies must reveal their true names to the princess.”
He handed her a disassembled lock from his coat and his picks. “Wait,” he said when she would have started. He circled the room extinguishing all the candles. “Now go.”
She slowly tried picks in the lock one at a time until she found one that was the correct size. “You won’t distract me that easily. You owe me your name.”
“I granted you a royal decree and the only thing you want is my name?”
The bolt slid open in her hand. “Yes.”
He stared
She looked so thoroughly pleased with herself that he didn’t have the heart to tell her that the best time to steal the letters would be in the day.
He’d let her think she’d won that one.
He pulled his picks from his sleeve. “Shall we start with the locks?”
She nodded.
He knelt at her bedroom door and removed the key protruding from the lock. She crouched beside him, so close he could smell the faint scent of roses on her skin. For an instant, he could think of nothing but lying her down on a bed covered with rose petals, of letting them drift over the curves of her body and settle onto the hollows.
Roses. That was rich. He was lucky if the beds he slept in didn’t have bugs.
“So inside this type of lock, there are a set of levers to prevent the bolt from sliding. What a key does is align those levers to the right height so the bolt can slide. Too high or too low and this lady doesn’t open.”
“Locks are female?”
“Damned finicky things needing to be held just right in order to be able to open.”
“They seem rather male to me. They just need a quick twist and they’re done.”
He nearly dropped his pick. “I see I’m a wicked, wicked influence on you.”
Her lips nearly brushed his ear. “Don’t give yourself too much credit.”
Ian showed her the process twice more. Then had her put her hands over his as he worked on the lock to gain a feel for gauging the tension and selecting the right pick. Only years of practice kept his hands from shaking.
He pulled his hands away. “Your turn.”
She accepted the tools from him and lowered her brows in concentration.
“It will probably take a long time to master—”
The lock clicked open under her hands.
“—how to do this. Never mind. Apparently you have more of a talent for crime than I anticipated.”
She beamed like a child just given a new treat. “What else can you teach me?”
Chapter Ten
J uliana had mastered the locks by the end of the second night. After learning the door locks Ian had supplied, the small locks on the desks and cabinets had been simple. It was all a matter of patience, and one thing a princess learned at a young age was patience.
She was feeling rather proud of herself at the start on their third training session. And giddy. Oh, she knew better than to feel that way. This was a serious endeavor. Her whole country could hang in the balance.
But these past few days had been fun.
She couldn’t honestly remember the last time she’d had fun.
She perched on the chair by her window and watched her room. She’d catch Wraith this time when he entered. She’d stacked glasses in front of her doors that would create a clatter if he entered that way. She sat by one window and could clearly see the other.
A horse clattered by below, she only glanced at it for a fraction of a second, but then Ian was there. Three feet from her, twirling one of her glasses in his fingers. “This was a nice touch. Truly original.”
She checked for mockery in his face.
He lifted a brow. “I did mean that.”
“Good. I thought it was a clever idea.”
He set the glass on the windowsill next to her. “You, Jules, are becoming more and more unprincesslike every day. Quite a disturbing trend.”
“I could issue a royal decree if that would make you feel better?”
“Yes, that would actually.”
“Would you honor it?”
“Of course.”
“Then I decree all spies must reveal their true names to the princess.”
He handed her a disassembled lock from his coat and his picks. “Wait,” he said when she would have started. He circled the room extinguishing all the candles. “Now go.”
She slowly tried picks in the lock one at a time until she found one that was the correct size. “You won’t distract me that easily. You owe me your name.”
“I granted you a royal decree and the only thing you want is my name?”
The bolt slid open in her hand. “Yes.”
He stared
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