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“I can distract other buyers. I can make up some fib about the watch to discourage the bidding.”

Adam frowned. That wasn’t the worst idea he’d ever heard. The underground auctions were known to be quite pricey. But the truth was, he didn’t even know if the watch was going to be there. And he had no way of finding out unless he actually went. “I don’t think it’s worth the risk,” he said slowly. “And I know the only reason you’re offering this is that you want to bid at an auction. It’s on your list.”

“Even so, it doesn’t mean I can’t be useful.”

“You might be a little useful, but the risks outweigh the reward in this circumstance. Not only is there no way to know whether my stolen watch will even appear at the auction, but there is no telling how high they’ll start the bidding. I might not be able to buy it either way.”

“Maybe not,” she agreed with a strange glint in her eyes.

“What are you thinking?”

“Well, there’s this book I’ve read.”

“Oh, God, not that again.” Adam covered his eyes with his hands.

“In this book,” she continued stubbornly, “the protagonists steal various items at a crowded ball. Which isn’t the same thing as an auction, per se, but the author details said event diligently. I am sure I can use my knowledge from that book to form a plan.”

“You want…” Adam paused as a bitter laugh escaped his lips. He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with a young debutante. Hell, she wasn’t even actually a debutante. She had never debuted in society. “Let me see if I understood correctly. You want to steal my watch back.”

“Yes.” Her voice was firm, and her expression was utterly serious.

The laughter that erupted from his chest was anything but natural. “I am not going to steal my watch.”

“No, but I will.”

The carriage stopped then, and Adam thanked his lucky stars. “There will be no auction, no stealing, and no further discussion.” He reached for the door handle, but Beatrice caught his hand, stilling the motion. The warmth from her fingers traveled along his entire body and stirred something deep within.

“Allow me to make our deal more agreeable then.”

Adam withdrew his hand and relaxed back in his chair. “Well?”

“It must be quite clear to you that I am not going to leave without finishing my list. If you haven’t frightened me off by a night at the pub, then nothing is going to do that.”

“The pub was just the easiest thing to cross off,” he lied.

She rolled her eyes. “But if you take me to this auction, whether we get the watch back or not, whether it’s even there or not, I shall give up my quest to finish all other items on the list. You’ll win the wager, I will go home, and we shall both return to our usual lives. And then I will marry an old man, and my new life will commence,” she added gloomily.

Adam thought about it for a moment then gave a sharp nod. “I’ll take this under consideration.”

He wasn’t going to entertain such a ridiculous idea. But it was late, he was hurt, and slightly drunk. If they stayed in this carriage any longer, he was bound to do something really stupid.

“I shall call upon you in the coming days. But you have to promise me not to do anything risky, dangerous, or scandalous in the meantime.”

Beatrice gave a wry smile. “Absolutely.”

Chapter 8

It was a complete gamble, but then again, Adam was a gambling man. He thought long and hard about the predicament he was in concerning Miss Beatrice Fowley. He considered taking her to the underground auction—he truly did—but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was a bad idea.

Firstly, he didn’t even know how to gain entrance to such a place. He knew a few people who could, but he avoided asking for their help unless absolutely necessary. Instead, he spent every day visiting every pawnshop in the city, unsuccessfully looking for his watch, while thinking about the next item on Beatrice Fowley’s list.

He realized that the only way to go about their wager was to go through with it, which meant he needed to pick an item that would force her to abandon the entire thing. And the longer he thought about the issue, the more he was convinced that he was going about it all wrong.

The woman seemed to thrive in a dangerous and unruly environment. She’d enjoyed herself at the masquerade, for however short a time, regardless of the fact that she had been accosted by two men. She was invigorated by their time at the pub, although a fight broke out and Adam had even gotten hurt!

Adam bore his wounds without complaint, but the dangerous nature of their outing only convinced her that she wanted to visit another den of iniquity filled with thieves and criminals. The lady was as mad as a March hare.

A part of him suspected that, being a sheltered lady, this all seemed like a big and fun adventure, especially when Adam had always stepped in to keep her safe. But he couldn’t keep throwing her into danger just so she would rethink her ridiculous list. No. He was definitely going about it all wrong.