Heat flowed swiftly up her entire body. She felt her fingertips pulse and her nipples harden against her stays at the possibilities his words held. She sighed. “If only—”
A scream from the entrance way to the ballroom sliced through the room. Cassie searched for the source of the scream, but several other screeches rang out then the dancers dispersed and surged along with the other attendees toward the various exits. Frowning, she rose onto tiptoes.
“Look out.” Luke snatched her hand and pulled her in toward him as a brightly colored bird swept past her head. She felt the beat of the birds wing so close it ruffled her carefully coiffed hair.
“What is going on?”
“His Lordship has a whole menagerie of exotic birds,” Luke shouted over the screams and shouts as they ducked the birds. “It seems someone has let them loose.”
She grimaced. Her aunt had vanished. But would she really do such a thing to engineer a distraction?
The music ceased and glass tinkled. People pushed into them and Luke drew her closer, his hand firm around hers.
“We need to get out of here.”
Mrs. Warner screeched when a bird let loose a dropping on Mr. Warner’s shiny, bald head.
She nodded frantically and winced as a large gentleman stood on her foot. “Yes, we do.”
***
LUKE SHOVED THROUGH the crowd of people scrabbling their way out of the ballroom, his grip firm on Cassie’s hand. He ducked a low flying parrot and kept Cassie close, finally breaking free into the hallway. He glanced around.
Women fussed and men scoffed, pretending they had not been shoving their wives out of the way for fear of being on the receiving end of a bird dropping. Luke smirked to himself as one woman gave her husband an earful for not defending her better.
He shoved open a door and dragged Cassie into the darkened room, shutting the door swiftly behind him. Releasing her hand, he eyed the drawing room. Sheets were slung over the furnishings and bookcases lined one wall, filled with leatherbound books. The shine and glamour of the ballroom had not made its way here and there were no endless flowers or glimmering candles—just a slither of moonlight from between the shutters. Enough to see Cassie.
Not that he even needed to look at her to know how beautiful she was. He suspected he had her engraved in his memory now. The number of glances he’d stolen her way tonight ought to be criminal.
Pearls shimmered at her neck and dangled from her ears. Some were woven through her hair too. Her cream gown overlaid with a sheath of sheer embroidered fabric accentuated the length of her and made his fingers itch to grab the fabric and drag her toward him then remove the pearls and kiss that elegant arch of her neck.
He hissed out a breath. Somehow, he needed to find some self-control. He already regretted talking to her so at the park, but he could not deny he hungered to teach her what he knew. And, frankly, he’d be damned if anyone else did such a thing. Surely it was his duty? To ensure she indulged her curiosity safely and without risk for her reputation?
Duty? Who was he kidding? He just couldn’t wait to touch her again.
“Goodness.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I wonder how those birds were freed.”
“Seems like someone wanted to play mischief maker.”
“I wonder who,” she said with an odd tone. “Anyway—” she strode around the chaise longue and dropped onto it “—what did you find out?”
Luke closed his eyes briefly. Of course the blasted woman could only focus on the investigation. All the while, here he was all tangled up over her words the other day and imagining all sorts of things that he should most certainly not even have in his mind. She had likely forgotten her proposition.
He remained standing. The last thing he needed was to be near her. Near temptation.
“I spoke with a friend at Boodle’s who said he last saw Parsons at around ten in the evening. He remembers because he’d asked why he was leaving so early.”
“And why was he leaving so early?”
Luke shrugged. “Just muttered something about seeing Jane before she retired to bed.”
“So he intended to go home,” she mused.
“It seems that way but maybe it was an excuse. We know he had only just conquered a gambling problem.”
“Did you find out anything else?”
“I went to the gaming hell near where the body was discovered but no one could recall seeing him there that night.”
Cassie’s expression grew triumphant. “I knew it! I knew he would not have fallen again so easily. He had vowed to Jane he would not.”
He cocked his head. “Men often make vows they do not keep.” Like his vow to protect Cassie. He doubted Anton would think him offering to tutor her in the arts of pleasure to save her from other rogues as an honorable act.
“Jane meant everything to him. I do not think he would lie to her.”
“Simply because no one saw him, does not mean he was not there. It’s a busy place.”
She pursed her lips. “You said he was last seen at ten?”
“Approximately yes.”
“It doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t?”
“Did you go straight from Boodle’s to Southwick.”
He nodded.
“And how long did it take you?”
“Hard to say.” He frowned. “Maybe an hour. The traffic is busy in the afternoon.”
“It would have been quieter in the evening to be sure but not that quiet. Theodore’s body was discovered at half-past-ten.”
“Maybe he made quick time.”
“It would have to be quick indeed, especially by carriage—which was never found by the way.”
Luke stilled. “It couldn’t have been his body.”
“I think it very unlikely. I have several friends in that part of London and I do not think I have ever travelled from there in less than forty minutes, let alone walked to one of the clubs.”
“And then been attacked, killed, burned and discovered,” he added.
“It would have to have been swift indeed.” She rose from the chair. “Do you not see, Luke? Jane was right. The body is most certainly not him and he must still be alive.”
“I do see. But it does not mean he is necessarily alive.”
“Why else pretend he is dead? If someone wanted him dead, why not just kill him? London is rife with criminals. It would not have been hard to do exactly what they did to that body.”
He shook his head. “I do not know but it is strange.” He smiled slowly.
“What is it?”
“You are quite unlike anyone else, Cass. Only you would take the words of a grieving woman and believe them.”
“Well, my sisters believed her too.”
“Jane is lucky to have such a loyal and courageous friend.”
She grinned. “Now you are just trying to flatter me.”
“Perhaps.” He moved closer, closing the gap between them. He couldn’t take it anymore. Couldn’t watch her eyes shining with excitement, the way her breaths quickened, without touching her. “You know…now that we are alone...”
“Yes?” she breathed. She titled her head and eyed him.
“We could discuss the other matter.”
“You mean the matter of…” She glanced downward.
“Precisely.”
“Oh.”
“Unless, of course, you have changed your mind.”
She shook her head vigorously. “Certainly not.”
“Good.” He swept a hand around her waist and drew her firm into him. She released a little gasp and he groaned inwardly at the feel of her slender body so close to his. He used his other hand to tilt her chin and he let his mouth linger on hers. Her warm breath danced on his lips. She moaned softly.
A thud at the door made him jolt back. He watched it for a moment, his heart beating a racket against his ribcage. No one entered. No one discovered them.
“This is a dangerous game, Cassie. I do not think you realize
what you are risking.”
“I have not changed my mind.” She stood straight as though rooted in position.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know. Neither have I.” He glanced at the door again. “But not here, Cass. Not tonight.”
Chapter Twenty
Ink stained Cassie’s fingers. She scowled at the offending marks and blew out a frustrated breath. She spread her notes across the writing desk and stared at them until they became a vague blur, and the scribbled writing became even more illegible. The investigation had come to a standstill. No matter how much she wrote or how many times she re-read all she had discovered, she could not fathom what to do next. Whoever had been killed that night, it was not Theodore. That’s all she knew.
Oh yes, and the company that had benefited from the will did not exist either.
None of it helped her figure out where Theodore was, though, and time ticked away for Jane. She’d received word from her just this morning that the banns were to be read soon.
“Chastity is talking about having a meeting—the five of us.” Eleanor came to stand by the desk and peered over her shoulder at the notes scattered across the desk.
Cassie grimaced. “I am likely in for a scolding.”
Eleanor fixed her with a firm look and folded her arms. “Chastity is protective of us, you know that, but she cannot scold you when you are a grown woman. Sometimes I think you are so determined to prove you are not our little sister that you forget it is not us who sees you that way but yourself.”
“I—” Cassie closed her mouth and frowned, her argument gone.
Being nearly eight years older than her Chastity had always been brazenly protective of them—not even minding being open with her threats to others.
For the most part, it amused them, but Cassie loathed the idea of needing to be protected. She had not practiced the art of investigation for nothing. She was a grown woman, and she could do this. But could it be true that none of her sisters saw her as she imagined—young, naïve, and helpless?
Very well, she was a little naïve. She had expected to crack this investigation open within days and find Jane’s brother alive and well with ease. She’d seen her sisters discover a thieving maid within mere hours. Luke made her feel naive too but that was precisely why she needed to learn from him.
“How is the investigation going anyway?”
Cassie rubbed the back of her neck and rolled her shoulders. “I am certain the body was not that of Theodore.” She explained the issues of the timing and the discovery of the body.
Eleanor nodded. “Have you told Jane?”
“I was just penning a reply. The poor girl is getting frantic.” Cassie waved the letter she had received that morning.
Her sister took it, scanned the contents and dropped onto the sofa. “It sounds as though Mr. Harding is forcing her hand.”
Cassie twisted on her chair. “He is keen to have her out of the way.”
“You have considered that he is behind this, have you not?”
“I was not willing to set my sights on anyone just yet—not until I had found more—but he is not the nicest of creatures.” She shrugged. “Was I wrong to ignore him?”
“It’s hard to say. Sometimes the most obvious person is indeed the culprit. Like when Felicity Morgan went missing. It was the last person she had been with—the governess. Yet no one had been willing to consider her.”
“I remember but did you not say that was because she was a woman? No one thought her capable of such a thing.”
Eleanor lifted her shoulders. “One of the benefits of our sex is no one suspects us capable of anything.”
“Not always a benefit, though.”
She smiled softly. “No, not always, but we must use what we can to our advantage.”
Cassie plucked up her copy of the will and stared at it, eyeing the section about Jane’s house. “It is true that Jane’s cousin benefited most from this, but if Theodore is truly not dead, surely his inheritance is at risk? His cousin could come back at any moment and take it all away.”
“Perhaps he is not the cleverest of men or does not have the stomach to kill.”
Cassie let her scowl deepen. “There are always desperate men willing to do anything for coin. He could have hired someone. After all, everyone assumed it was a robbery gone wrong and they’d burned the body in a bid to disguise the accident.”
“But it seems they wanted to disguise the identity.”
“Mr. Harding is not a pleasant man, but he does not strike me as reckless. When I last met him, he was exceedingly precise.” Cassie shook her head. “None of this helps me, though. What I need is to find Theodore and he was last seen at Boodle’s. No one else can account for him after that.”
“Perhaps you should speak with some of the servants working in the area. They are most likely to be up at that time of night.”
“Perhaps.”
“But...?” Eleanor asked.
“I rather thought this whole thing would be solved much more quickly with a lot less asking questions of people who do not wish to speak to me.” She nodded toward Eleanor. “I have seen all of you solve cases far more quickly.”
“Do not forget you are doing this alone. Well, almost alone. Though you do not need to. We are more than happy to help.”
“No, I must do this by myself.”
Her sister narrowed her gaze at her. “Yet you are willing to accept Luke’s aid?”
Cassie tried to ignore the little skip her heart gave at the mention of his name. “He practically forced his way into this and besides, it is sometimes useful to have a man assisting one. I could never have entered Boodle’s now, could I?”
She tried not to let her words grow defensive, but she did not want her sisters thinking she could not do this on her own. She could, but it was just slightly easier with Luke’s help. Not to mention it had kept any more threats at bay. No one had pushed her down or uttered horrible words to her since he started acting as her protector. It seemed he had frightened away whoever it was.
“I am not questioning your judgement, Cassie, but be careful with that man. He is quite the rake.”
Cassie cocked her head. “Why does everyone keep telling me that? I am fully aware of the fact.”
And how shocked her sister would be to find out she intended to take advantage of the fact. But Eleanor would never understand. Her sisters were even less interested in men than she was.
Eleanor rose and placed a hand on Cassie’s shoulder. “Because we care for you and you are keeping things quite close since starting this investigation. We used to talk much more.”
Cassie placed her hands over Eleanor’s and patted it. “I know. I’m just busy that is all. But please do not fear for me. I have enlisted his help so none of you need worry for my safety, so you see, I am trying to be sensible.”
“Well—”
The window exploded. Glass shattered and Eleanor cried out. Cassie lifted her hands instinctively as glass speared through the air.
She dropped her hands and gaped at the hole in the window. She leaped from the chair. “Eleanor?”
“Oh Lord, your head.”
Cassie pressed fingers to where she felt something trickle down her face and her fingers came away sticky with blood. “Oh pooh.”
Eleanor fished out a handkerchief and pressed it to Cassie’s head.
“Are you hurt?” Cassie asked.
Her sister shook her head. “I think it all missed me.”
Cassie glanced at the broken glass. “Only just.” Her eyes widened at the sight of a sizable rock resting upon the rug. “And that could have hit you.”
“Do not worry about me. I am perfectly well. But we must get you tended to.” She rose onto tiptoes to peer out of the window. “I cannot see where it came from.”
Cassie took the handkerchief from her sister and pressed it firmly to the throbbing sting. She eyed the rock again. “Is that a note?”
Eleanor crouched and pluck
ed the stone carefully from amongst the broken class. She untied the string and peeled away the note. Her eyes widened.
“What is it?”
“Stop or you are dead. This will be aimed at your head.” Eleanor wrinkled her nose and turned the note toward her. “Terrible rhyme.”
“Terrible rhyme or not, Ellie, I think I might actually be a little scared.”
Eleanor nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Me too, Cass. Me too.”
***
LUKE SWORE HIS heart only started once he spotted Cassie on the sofa. Seated between Demeter and Chastity, her complexion was about as ashen as he feared his own was.
“I came as soon as I heard.”
Cassie spied his glower and waved a hand in his direction. “It’s just a small cut.”
“Small cut,” he muttered. “You could have lost an eye or worse.”
Eleanor handed him a crumpled piece of paper. “This was attached to the rock.”
He read the note. “Did anyone see it happen?”
Eleanor shook her head. “None of the servants saw anyone and Cassie and I were the only ones at the front of the house.”
He hissed out a breath. He had no desire to frighten Cassie and her sisters but whoever had done this would have had to have come onto the grounds, and if Cassie was the target, they would have been watching her. Frankly, he was grateful whoever it was had not come into the house. It wouldn’t be hard to slip into such a big building.
“Does your father know what happened?” he asked Eleanor.
“We don’t want to worry him.”
“He’s going to notice the broken window surely?”
Chastity rose from the sofa and paused to peer out of the window. “I’ve ordered everyone to stay away from the front rooms, but I doubt that will make a difference.” She gestured Luke over. “What do you suggest we do? I am at a loss, I will admit.” She glanced over her shoulder at Cassie. “I cannot let anything happen to them.”
“Hire some men to patrol the grounds. I’m sure some of the runners will be happy to do as much. And ensure the servants look out for anyone they do not know.” Luke grimaced. “We should write to Anton.”
“No,” Cassie protested. “I am not having his honeymoon ruined.”
Secrets of a Duke's Daughter (The Duchess's Investigative Society Book 1) Page 14