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“I shouldn’t think you’d need to worry,” Fen said, not looking up from her knitting. “He’s had undercover missions before you.”
“I know.” Archie made another attempt at the first page of The Sea-Wolf, but even the promise of a ripping adventure yarn couldn’t hold his interest when he knew Daniel was elsewhere in the train, out of reach, out of protection.
It would have been useless to continue the argument. They’d already had it, back at Archie’s flat, when Daniel had swept in and announced he’d been, alone, to see Sir Maurice and got a solo assignment.
“I thought you weren’t meant to have solo assignments anymore.” Archie had tried to keep his composure.
“Worry not, my dear. You shall be with me. But it would be rather silly for one of the passengers to follow the conductor about in the train. He’d look quite smitten.”
Daniel had smiled teasingly at him and Archie had allowed himself to be drawn into flirtation then, and he was now sitting on a train headed north into snowy darkness.
“Ah,” Fen said, as the compartment door slid open, “here’s the conductor now.”
“Tickets please,” said a voice, not the impeccable accent Archie knew, but something with less finesse that promised fewer Hs. “Ladies,” Daniel said, touching his cap to Pat and Fen.
Archie took a moment to study him, marveling at his ability to make even the uniform Archie’s gaze had been sliding past his entire life look attractive, brass buttons polished to a high shine.
“Sir?” There was an amused glint in his dark eyes. “D’you have your ticket?”
“Yes—right here.” Archie fumbled in his pocket. Daniel let the compartment door shut as someone went past in the corridor outside.
“Any luck?” asked Pat.
“Not yet, but I’ve only got about halfway up the train. And there’s nothing to say he got on in London.” Daniel’s lips thinned with annoyance. “If he’s taken anything but a first-class ticket… well, we have the cavalry secreted back in the guard’s van, ready for me to summon if necessary.”
“What about the Germans?” Archie asked, at last extracting his ticket from his inside jacket pocket.
“Also no sign, but I would consider them less likely to have already boarded. They are supposed to be experienced agents, while Haskell is merely a sneak thief.” He took Archie’s ticket, their fingers brushing together, sending a spark jolting up Archie’s arm. There was a brief secret smile from those lips he loved so much and then, with a touch of his fingers to the brim of his cap, Daniel was gone again.
“Don’t worry,” Fen said again firmly.
“I’m not,” Archie said, knowing his tone sounded unconvincing even to himself.
“Darling,” she said gently.
“I know.” Archie shifted uncomfortably. He was thinking about Daniel progressing from compartment to compartment, playing the charming conductor, trying to find the man who was about to betray the British government.
After allowing himself a few more moments of fretting, he applied himself to his book again. It really was ripping stuff, though Daniel would have teased him.
Well, he’d at least succeeded in not worrying about Daniel for an hour or so. They were in open country now, and the snow was falling more steadily. It wasn’t long before the night became too dark to see even that, clouds having covered the moon.
“Perhaps I’ll go for a walk?” Archie suggested. “Stretch my legs.” Then, remembering what Daniel had said about appearing smitten, he added, “I won’t seek him out. Just tired of sitting.”
Neither lady said anything, but Fen smiled knowingly. Archie touched his hat and stepped into the corridor. It was deserted; Archie supposed most of his fellow passengers were tucked up in their compartments, trying to stave off the chill. There was no sign of Daniel; Archie hoped that meant he was tucked cozily up in the corner in a different carriage, but more likely he was on the lookout for Haskell. Archie could at least be useful and help with that.
He tried to appear casual as he moved up the carriage, glancing through windows into compartments as though he’d lost his own. Daniel had coached him on looking innocently lost as part of his abbreviated spy training, and he thought he might as well put his skills to use.
He’d come to the end of the carriage and had made up his mind to go to the dining car and get some tea for the ladies, a pretext for exploring more of the train. As he stepped through the gap between carriages, he was hit with a blast of icy wind and a good amount of blowing snow. He’d been without a view outside for some time but he caught a glimpse of the deep drifts that lay aside the line in the lights of the train. He hoped the track was clear.
He had just shut the door behind himself when he got his answer in the squeal of breaks and the jerk of the train. Archie stumbled, steadying himself on a compartment door. Should he go back and check on the ladies? Surely Pat was not the sort of lady that needed checking on, and Fen could fend for herself as well. So could Daniel, for that matter, but Archie wanted to lay eyes on him, especially now that they were stopped.
At least it would not be odd for him to consult a conductor in this situation; people were coming out of compartments in various states of irritation.
As if on cue, Daniel appeared at the other end of the corridor, hands raised beseechingly. “We’re terribly sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there’s been a slight delay.”
“Why didn’t they keep the line clear?” shouted a red-faced man.
“I reckon they tried to, sir,” Daniel said, his voice hardly recognizable as that of the man Archie loved. “But it’s awfully cold out there and the snow’s picked up something fierce.”
“I must be in Manchester at eight o’clock tomorrow,” said the man. “The head of the railway will hear of this.”
“I’m sure he’ll take into consideration that the snow must be stopped,” Daniel said with soothing poison, finally sounding like himself, in tone if not in accent.
The passengers gradually dispersed, but Archie stayed. He was unsure of his object, but Daniel was here, and he wanted to be near him.
“Snow on the line?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” Daniel said smoothly. “They’re working to clear it was we speak.” He touched Archie’s arm with a gloved hand, ever so briefly, setting off that electric spark again that made Archie feel as if his cheeks were burning. “It won’t be long now before we’re able to carry on as normal.”
Archie gave Daniel a curt nod and stepped back into his own carriage. He was on his way to check on Pat and Fen, out of a sense of what he already knew was unnecessary gallantry, when he saw a figure he recognized step out of a compartment and proceed into the next carriage ahead.
Haskell. Archie swore under his breath. If Haskell’s compartment was empty now, Archie could take a look inside… or he could follow Haskell…
He strode swiftly up the corridor; the blind was pulled down in front of the window of the compartment Haskell had left, but Archie flung it open with all the righteousness of a man who has forgotten where his seat was, exhaling in relief when he found it to be empty.
There was an attache case on the rack. Archie glanced down the corridor and shut the compartment door. Without giving it another moment’s thought, Archie’s hand dipped into the inner pocket of his jacket. Daniel had made his expectations for their next outing quite clear, which was why Archie had gone back into the East End, to a shop even more questionable than the one at which he’d obtained the dark lantern and skeleton key, and bought a small set of lock picks.
He did not think himself equal to a task such as Daniel had tackled at Peakholme, but the lock on the case, which he could just as easily have smashed if he wanted to, yielded easily to the smallest pick in his arsenal.
The plans were still there, and Archie thought it was all of them. He certainly wouldn’t put it past Haskell to dole them out in batches to increase his profits, but Daniel had seemed rather convinced the Germans would pay quite handsomely for the whole set.
Archie folded the sheets crisply and tucked them into his jacket. At least if he had them, they wouldn’t go to the Germans, even if they couldn’t catch Haskell in the act. Archie opened the door to the corridor carefully, to check that the coast was clear, saw two men, and shut it again. He had barely had time to decide when it might be safe to check the corridor once more when the door was flung open. He danced back, tensing for a threat. There was no innocent explanation for barging into a compartment that wasn’t theirs, and Archie included himself in this.
For a moment, he and the intruders merely stared at each other. Then one of them said something to the other in German, which answered for Archie who they were. He thought they might have been wondering if he was Haskell; the reply definitely included Vaizey. Archie was ready when they came at him, twisting away from a right hook and shouldering the second man into the seats. He had a left for the first fellow, but was not quite prepared for the second man to recover so quickly and tackle Archie around the waist. He shouted something in German to his companion and the next thing Archie knew, the outer door had been opened and the dark, cold night outside loomed.
Archie was too off balance to reverse their direction, but he was able to use his momentum to pull his companion outside with him. Suddenly slamming into a snowbank took Archie’s breath, but his blood was hot now, particularly the knowledge that he was was now in distinct danger of being left in the elements with an enemy.
“Archie!” a voice shouted over the wind and the train’s sudden long whistle that sent a shot of urgency through Archie’s veins. He was not letting the train pull out and leave Daniel undefended. One of the German fellows was down and Archie charged at the other, pushing him into the snowbank with him.
“Archie.” Daniel’s shout was more insistent now; the train was starting to move. “Leave them. We have him.”
Archie flung himself off the man he’d been struggling with and charged after the train. He had his advantage in the element of surprise; his opponent surely hadn’t expected him to abandon the fight, but Archie had what he needed in his coat and if Haskell was apprehended, that ended his need to grapple with these chaps.
He was breathing hard, trying to run through deep snow and keep up with the train. Daniel was leaning out of the compartment, wind whipping at his hair. Archie wanted to tell him get back inside of the cold, that he had definitely broken his cover, but he didn’t want to stop and draw breath to shout. He was vaguely aware of someone behind him, and a hand grasped the back of Archie’s overcoat as he reached for the handle to pull himself up. He relaxed his arms, letting the coat slip from his shoulders as he put on a last burst of speed and hurled himself in to the compartment.
“Got the plans,” he said, as Daniel shut the door firmly. “Good thing I had them in here.” He tugged on his jacket to indicate that they were still safely in there. “Did what you said I should.”
Daniel collapsed gracefully beside him. “I never said to fling yourself out into the snow and lose your coat. God, you’ll be cold.” He smoothed Archie’s hair. “You already are. Give me your hands.” He shivered as he grasped them in his warm ones. “You’re like ice.”
“Don’t think conductors are meant to warm passengers’ hands.” It was a bit of an effort to keep his teeth from chattering. Somehow being back in the warmth and being held by Daniel made him feel the cold.
“I’m not a conductor anymore. Haskell’s in custody; we’re finished.” He brought Archie’s hands to his lips. “I should say you did more than I said to. I think I told you to stay in your seat.”
“I had a hunch, and I followed it.” He thought he at last had enough control over his mouth to smile without shivering. “Picked my own lock, in fact. Solved my own problems, more or less. It’s the last thing I haven’t got ’round to yet.”
Daniel kissed his fingers, then draped himself over Archie’s chest to kiss his mouth. “That I should still be able to manage for you.” He sighed and pushed himself up. “But we’d best get you back to the ladies and some tea in you. Once we arrive in Manchester, there will be a nice warm hotel and a return train tomorrow. This is far too much miserable countryside for me.”
Archie thought about saying Manchester was hardly the countryside, but he supposed it wasn’t worth it since they were surely in the countryside now, though it had been too dark to get his bearings.
He slipped his arm briefly through Daniel’s once they were upright. “You did well,” he said, kissing Archie one more time before they stepped back in the corridor. “Now. Tea.”
Archie was beginning to feel warmer already.