As he sat on the carriage bench, the driver's feet bounced nervously.
His offer for a ride sounded more like a plea to save his life. Though, knowing whom the carriage belonged to, his life may have very well depended on my acceptance of his offer.
Ridiculous.
"Tell your master that if he beats me in an arm wrestle then I'll gratefully accept a ride," I scoffed, adding a sarcastic curtsey before turning back toward the carriage house.
"W-Wait, Miss!" The man called after me.
"Oh, one more thing.." I paused, igniting a tiny flicker of hope in the driver's eyes. "I'm a married woman, so please stop referring to me as 'Miss'."
The man's face fell.
"Mi-I mean, Madam! Please!"
I waved him away like a mosquito as I reached for the carriage house door. But just as my fingers curled around the handle, a hand popped out from behind me, holding the door shut.
"Arm wrestling? That's not very ladylike."
Ah, so the carriage owner finally makes his appearance.
Much like his transportation, the man was dressed from head to toe in black, save a pair of emerald cufflinks that complemented his brilliant green eyes.
"Why don't you just get in the carriage, Madam?" the man in black asked sweetly, firmly barring the door.
"Make me," I huffed, sticking my tongue out before whirling around.
I heard an exasperated sigh behind me as I began walking away.
"...If you insist."
"Ack! Wha-" I screeched as I felt a sudden pressure on my waist and my feet lifted off the ground. "Hey! Let go of me!"
"Stop being so difficult and just get in the d[omitted]m carriage!" my captor retorted, nodding to the driver as he hauled me inside.
"Hyah!"
The carriage wheels started rolling before I had a chance to dive back out.
With a snort, I settled myself on one of the (unsurprisingly, black) leather seats, and laced my fingers over one knee.
"Well, this works out, because I needed to talk to you about something anyway, Wolf."
"First, can you tell me what the h[omitted]l you did to catch that b[omitted]d Count's attention?" My lackey growled from the other seat.
"Ah…" my cheeks flushed a bit as I recalled the amateur mistakes of earlier. "I'm not quite sure what you're talking about."
"Cut the s[omitted]t, Jer!" Wolf snapped, jumping to his feet.
My eyes widened as one of his hands slammed against the wall next to my head.
He leaned in until his face was close to mine, his teeth bared and eyebrows furrowed—an undeniable semblance to the fearsome animal I liked to call him after.
But, alas, he was a human, not a wild animal, and such behavior was completely inappropriate.
"Oh, for the love of-Sit down this instant, you big brute!!" I shouted, slapping his arm away. "Use your words!"
With drooping ears, Wolf slunk back to his seat.
It's not that I didn't understand why he was so livid. By compromising my identity, I could be putting the job, my entire business, and the livelihoods of everyone involved at stake.
But I had a plan.
If Opaline, the Scandal Maker, never appeared in front of the Count again, that would be enough, right? Eventually, his interest in the strange woman he met on the street would die down and we could continue our work.
"So all I have to do is lie low and focus on my other cases for a while," I shrugged, trying to convince myself as much as my lackey of my confidence.
"Maybe it was a bad idea to get involved with that s[omitted]thead Count, after all," Wolf mumbled.
"You've certainly changed your tune," I sniffed. "What happened to it being 'good to challenge myself' or whatever?"
"I think you've gone far beyond that point," my lackey frowned, crossing his arms.
"Wolf, it's just another job," I said softly, placing my hand on his knee and causing him to perk up immediately. "I'll get through it just like I always do."
But even the excitement of being patted by his master couldn't shake Wolf's apprehension.
"I dunno, Jer," he shook his head.
"I get the feeling things are going to start changing from now on."
As time wore on, however, my lackey's concerns became more and more irrelevant. Just as I had promised, I buried myself in other work, leaving Count Graye's case temporarily shelved.
Luckily, it seemed the Count had never given a second thought to the woman he crossed paths with that day. And after a while, even Wolf himself began to doubt whether there was truly any threat from the man.
The same couldn't be said of my other cases, however…
-Two Weeks Later-
"Ouch."
I groaned as the ropes pinched my skin. Despite how I twisted my wrists, the bindings refused to give.
Wolf lay off to the side of me, bound from head to toe in the same unforgiving knots.
After all the trouble they'd gone to of knocking him out, they still felt the need to wrap him in ropes. It was almost laughable how much they feared my adorable little lackey.
Almost.
Perhaps, it would have been more laughable if the floor wasn't swaying so violently underneath us.
I couldn't see a thing in the dark room we were stashed in, but I assumed we were at least out of the bay by now, headed straight for the open sea.
"Urp."
Oh no, this was bad. I had forgotten how easily I get seasick.
Wolf usually came prepared in situations like this, right? If I could wiggle a little closer, I might be able to untangle a knife from underneath his bindings. (Or at least some peppermint leaves to soothe my churning stomach.)
Before I could get any closer to my snoozing lackey, however, the room's big metal door creaked open.
"Here she is. As ordered, Sir," a silhouette holding a lantern announced.
Around him stepped another figure—a wide, short and bald one.
No way. Viscount Winthrop? Had he seriously boarded the same boat he intended to dispose of us on?
Pffft. What an amate-Ugh.
Again. It may have been funnier if my stomach wasn't ready to empty its contents onto the deck at any moment.
Now, you may be wondering how I managed to get myself (and my useless lackey) into this predicament. I'll admit, it isn't the most ideal situation, but I had a very good reaso-well, several very good reasons that landed us here.
Let me back up a bit…