Warriors of Poseidon 06 - Atlantis Betrayed

save for later, before Hopkins yells at us again for being late.”
    Hopkins looked up, more off-balance than she’d ever seen him. “Late. Right. Go. We’ll talk later.” He closed his hand around the diamond. “Fiona, we can fund so many programs with this, if it really is what it looks like.”
    “You called me Fiona. This really is a banner day. Diamonds, book signings, and crime solving.” She turned to Christophe. “Life is certainly interesting with you around,” she told him.
    “I was thinking the exact same thing about you.”

Chapter 17
The British Museum
    “Are you noticing a theme, here?” Christophe scanned the Great Court as they entered. “Our relationship is built on museums.”
    “We have a relationship?”
    He was quick with a wolfish grin. “Oh, sweetheart. Are we ever having a relationship.”
    “We need to talk about that diamond.”
    “That was business. It has nothing to do with us.”
    “There’s an us?”
    He didn’t answer, at least not in words, and she decided to ignore the implications of his wicked smile and take refuge in lecturing him about their surroundings. “The Great Court is the largest covered public square in Europe, with approximately two acres of space. It was designed by Lord Foster—well, redesigned, really—just in the late nineties and opened by the Queen just after the turn of the century.”
    “Turn of the millennium,” he pointed out.
    “Well, yes, that, too. You’ll notice the ceiling—”
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    “Oh, yes. I couldn’t miss that ceiling.” He whistled, staring up at the glass-and-steel canopy.
    “They constructed it out of more than three thousand panes of glass and, like snowflakes, no two are alike.” She smiled. “I absolutely love it. I feel a sort of peace in this light, airy space.”
    He surprised her by putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “That’s great news. If you like this, you’re going to love the Great Dome of Atlantis.”
    Fiona started to snap out a retort, but the pleasure on his face as he looked up and around at the wonderful space stopped her. Maybe there really was an Atlantis. Maybe he really was from there. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that they were all scoffing at the idea of vampires, and now there were certain to be some in attendance here tonight. Nothing, it seemed, was impossible anymore.
    Not even Plato’s mythical lost continent.
    “Is it just a city? Or a whole continent?” she whispered, and he jerked his gaze down to stare at her in surprise.
    “You believe me?”
    “Maybe. Maybe a little.” She laughed. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
    “If you—” He paused and his eyes narrowed. “Who’s the dandy on his way over here? He’s staring at you like you’re on the dessert menu.”
    “As did you, earlier,” she pointed out.
    “That doesn’t mean any other man can do it,” he growled.
    “Lord Nicklesby,” she called out. “What a delight to see you here.”
    “Fiona, my dear,” he said, taking her hands in an overly effusive handshake. Now that she thought about it, Christophe was right. Nicklesby was a bit of a dandy. He had more gel in his hair than she did. “I was rather unpleasantly surprised to see you on the telly this afternoon. Bit of a strange situation, hmm?”
    “Are you calling me strange?” Christophe’s smile was all the more deadly for its veneer of politeness.
    Nicklesby blinked. She’d bet he hadn’t had much experience with Christophe’s form of directness. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
    “Certainly not, certainly not,” Nicklesby blustered. “Just—ah, well. Quite right. I see Foster’s new partner—vampire, don’t you know. I’ll just go over and say hello. Lovely to see you.”
    Before she could say anything, he was gone, practically jogging in his haste to be away from them. She finally released the laugh she’d been holding in.
    “How do you do that? Make me laugh when my world is turned upside down?”
    “When better?”
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    He flagged down a passing server with a tray of champagne. “When does the ale come through?”
    The man shook his head. “Sorry, sir. I’m fond of a pint myself, but this is strictly a champagne kind of event.”
    Christophe pulled out a crumpled handful of euros. “This purple one is for you if you find me a pint. Find one