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house.”
    “Sweetheart,” Jed said, “I was thinking of a nice long boat ride. She’d be safe at sea and she could stay there till the situation was settled.”
    “Me, I get seasick,” Lajli stated.
    “But you’d be safe.”
    “She would be safe in my house, too. Jed, you know Father built the house to be secure. Plus there are servants around all the time. I’ll borrow Owens’s hellhound from the sanctuary, and it can patrol the grounds. I have a pistol and I can teach Lajli how to fire one, too.”
    Gupta looked alarmed.
    “And if you’re still not satisfied we’ll be safe, Jed, then you can move in, too!”
    “Thereby adding scandal to our other problems. Esme—” He bit off the plea to be reasonable that had got him into trouble yesterday. He drew a deep breath. It seemed she’d forgiven him, and that was the whole point of this scheme. He’d be a fool, indeed, if he ruined it by losing his temper. Owens, the surly manager of the animal sanctuary Esme funded, and his monstrous dog could defend Fort Knox, but that wasn’t the point.
    Dammit all. The idea had been to give Esme an adventure with little danger attached, but what kind of man was Nazim? Lajli could be tangled up in anything. Harboring the impudent thief would put Esme in danger—and would definitely endanger her reputation.
    “I’ll be busy. I can’t afford the time away from my workshop to guard you.”
    Her lush lips thinned at the inference she couldn’t protect herself and half the world. “You can build the prototype at my house.”
    “No.”
    “No, no, no,” she mocked him, impatient and derisive.
    He flattened both hands on the table. “Lajli cannot stay in your house.” And when her chin went up mutinously, he reached for arguments. In all conscience, he couldn’t allow her to harbor a thief. Besides, she had to see things from his perspective—or what she assumed was his perspective. “Hellfire, Esme. I could use your help examining the papers and researching the physics of sound to assess the threat to the prince, but I want you safe. You’re important to me, and that makes you my weak point. If I am to investigate this matter—if we are to investigate it—you must stay safe.”
    Gupta wriggled uncomfortably and tugged at his tie.
    Lajli leaned forward, fascinated.
    Esme raised her brows and her voice. “Your weak point? Jed Reeve, that is an unfair argument. I am part of this, and partners don’t push other partners aside. Claiming that worry for me would distract you is contemptible.”
    “It’s the truth. Do you have any idea how much I worry about you? Signing up for crazy dirigible flying lessons. Riding around the colony in outrageous bloomers.”
    She gasped. “My bloomers are perfectly respectable, and I’ll thank you not to mention them in mixed company.”
    “Uh, I m-must…” Gupta pushed back his chair, intent on escape.
    “Wait,” Jed ordered.
    The young man subsided reluctantly.
    Esme, contrarily, stood and gathered her gloves, slapping them together. “You’ve made it clear you don’t require my assistance in this matter, so I’m leaving. Lajli, if you need sanctuary, you are welcome in my home. Gupta, goodbye.”
    Jed’s chair grated as he stood. “Where are you going? I’ll escort you home.”
    “Thank you, but I’ll be quite safe in daylight on the public roads.”
    “Esme.” How the heck had his scheme fallen apart so fast? He’d asked of her only what was reasonable in the circumstances he’d outlined. He’d envisaged quiet intimate sessions in her library, just the two of them, studying the notes, researching the physics of sound.
    “Jed.” Her smile was more a baring of teeth. “Gupta, Lajli.”
    He watched her march back through the Chai House, heard her respond to the waiter’s farewell, and slumped back in his chair. “Tarnation.”
    Lajli looked thoughtful. “This Miss Esme Smith, she is very rich?”
    “Her father is the wealthiest man in Australia,” Gupta