‘Perhaps you might leave a note, to be delivered to her on her return,’ Jaimie suggested, wishing he could magic the blasted woman out of thin air and cheer Tess up. He gave the old fellow an encouraging smile. ‘When is she expected back?’
‘Next week, I should think.’
‘She has journeyed far?’
‘To Eynsford.’
‘The next village over?’ A scant two miles away.
The old fellow nodded grudgingly.
‘Lady Tess, since you are expected back in town, why don’t I deliver your note?’
Tess nodded, but there was little enthusiasm in her expression as the old man saw them out of the door.
‘You don’t have to bother, you know,’ she said on their stroll down the drive. ‘Chasing after Mrs Leggat, I mean. There really is no point. I don’t believe my plan was a very good one after all.’
It had been a dashed strange one, to be sure, and unlikely to succeed, but the misery she was trying to hide did not sit well in his gut.
‘Let us try this last thing, before we give up entirely.’
Her look said she thought he was flailing at windmills.
It wasn’t long before he had her safely delivered to the inn and the care of her maid. He went to the stables and called for his phaeton. He would keep his word and visit the housekeeper, but wasn’t holding out much hope from that quarter. Not when Greydon Hammond clearly did not want to be found. If so, how the hell would Jaimie deliver on his exceedingly rash promise? He needed more time.
* * *
Wilhelmina bustled into the drawing room where Tess was supposedly plying her needle, but was in fact staring out of the window, lost in her thoughts. Illicit wonderful thoughts that made her blush.
‘Oh, my dear,’ her cousin’s wife wailed. ‘Such terrible news.’
Tess froze. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Mr Stedman sent round a note.’ Her lips pursed as if she had tasted a lemon. ‘He is returning to Yorkshire, post-haste. Something to do with his mills.’ She flopped on to the chaise longue. ‘Oh, it really is too bad. Dear Phin was sure he would come up to scratch this week.’
Relief flooded through Tess. It was like a man facing the gallows receiving a reprieve. ‘He has gone?’
‘Did I not just say so? Dratted mercenary beast. A nobleman wouldn’t be dashing off to attend to business matters in the middle of the Season.’
Which was why so many of them ended up in debt. ‘He is expected back, though?’ Tess held her breath. Had he perhaps decided against making her his wife? If so, should she be pleased or worried? After all, he still held her father’s promissory notes. Would he sell them on?
She had heard of such things. The next man to buy them up could be far worse. Yorkshire was beginning to look inviting after all.
‘The note said he would return,’ Wilhelmina said petulantly. ‘But he should have stuck to the plan. Dearest Phin is most put out.’
All right, so while it seemed Mr Stedman would return, it meant she had a few more days for some miracle to occur, like Grey showing up in the nick of time. Oh, yes, that would indeed be a miracle.
Tess slumped back in the chair. Hope was such a fickle creature. Had she not hoped for an offer of marriage, seeing it as a means to get away from Phin and Wilhelmina? Be careful what you wish for. A salutary lesson indeed.
For her family’s sake, the best she could hope for was that if Mr Stedman finally came up to scratch, Phin could drive a hard bargain to clear all of her father’s debts and Mr Stedman did not hold it against her after they were married. She sighed.
Wilhelmina shot her a sharp glance. ‘Why so Friday-faced? It is not every day a penniless woman gets such a flattering offer. Do buck up, Theresa. You could not do any better than Mr Stedman. He is such a fine figure of a man.’
If one liked portly, slightly balding men. She forced herself not to grimace. It was so hard not to compare Mr Stedman to the elegant and masculine Lord Sandford. She must not. What had happened the day before must be wiped from her memory.
Her face heated, her memory not having any sort of shame.
Flattering wasn’t quite the word Tess would have used for Mr Stedman’s offer. She took a deep breath and pinned a smile to her lips, determined to make the best of it. ‘I—’
‘Oh, by the way, the bracelet. Did you find it?’
Tess’s mind raced to catch up. Dash it all, she had forgotten what she had told Wilhelmina about the bracelet. ‘I, um... Yes. The clasp is definitely broken. Mims took it to Rundell & Bridge for repair.’
Wilhelmina frowned. ‘I wish you had spoken to me first. Dearest Phin is quite sure it is part of the estate since it is not mentioned in your papa’s will.’ Wilhelmina’s eyes glistened with avarice, though she was clearly trying to sound sympathetic.
Tess sat bolt upright. ‘It was part of my mother’s settlements. All jewellery was to go to any daughter of the marriage. Father told me so.’
Her cousin’s frown deepened. ‘But since there is no copy of the settlements among your father’s papers, how can we know that for certain?’
‘I do not understand why it was not there. Perhaps Phin could look again.’ She had pulled out the miniature portrait of her mother painted before her marriage earlier that morning. The bracelet was clearly visible. She had wondered whether a skilled jeweller could make a duplicate, then had decided it would be far too expensive. Now it seemed she was going to have to admit that it was lost. Not that she would ever tell them she thought Grey had taken it. Never would she betray him as he had betrayed her.
Wilhelmina pursed her lips. ‘Several things went missing when that scoundrel Hammond left. Might he have stolen the documents as well?’
A cold chill walked across the skin of her neck. ‘Nonsense. What would he want with my father’s papers?’
‘Phin said—’
The door swung inwards. Wilhelmina closed her mouth with an audible snap.
Phineas walked in with a smug look on his face, carefully closing the door behind him. ‘Well, Theresa, you are a dark horse.’
What on earth was he talking about?
‘I understand Mr Stedman has left town for a while,’ Tess said.
Phineas shot her a hard look. ‘He has, but that is not why I am here. You have a gentleman caller. I want you to accord him every civility.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘Who knows, perhaps if you play your cards right, you will do far better than Stedman for a husband.’
‘I haven’t a clue what you are talking about, Cousin.’
‘I am talking about Lord Sandford. He has asked for permission to call on you.’
Calling being the forerunner to expressing a serious interest in a lady. What was Sandford about? ‘I...I barely know the man. Why would he be calling on me?’
Phin glowered. ‘I no more know the answer to that than you do. But he has, so let us make the best of it.’
A man like Sandford would be a catch indeed and not just for her. Phin would bask in the glory, too.
‘It is your duty to make the best match you can, after all we have done for you,’ Wilhelmina said. ‘Though what on earth he would see in Theresa I cannot imagine.’
The underlying threat of banishment was not lost on Tess. She stiffened. ‘I will do my duty, Cousin.’ It was her duty. As Phin was her legal guardian, he had the power to ensure she married where he chose, regardless of how she felt about the man.
Phin ran a glance over her and gave a nod of approval. ‘Are you ready?’
She would have been if she had any clue as to was Sandford was up to. She nodded and lowered her gaze, marshalling every ounce of steel in her spine.
He opened the door. ‘My cousin will see you now, my lord. You know my wife, Lady Rowan.’
Sandford had never looked more elegant. He bowed with an inborn
elegance few men could accomplish. ‘Good morning, ladies.’
‘Lord Sandford, I hope you will excuse myself and my lady, we have a prior engagement. Come along, my dear.’
Phin escorted his wife out.
Leaving her alone with Jaimie. How very odd.
Tess took in Sandford’s aloof expression and felt a moment of panic, until she saw the gleam of amusement in his eyes.
She narrowed her eyes on that smug expression. ‘First we hear that Mr Stedman is called back to his home in Yorkshire. Then you ask leave to call on me, like a man thinking he might become a suitor. A very odd set of coincidences indeed.’
He laughed. ‘I might have known you would see through my ploy. I hasten to assure you I do not see myself as a suitor, although your cousin might have hopes in that direction.’
A little pang squeezed her heart. How foolish. She had no wish for him to become a suitor. Not in the least. ‘I do not understand your intentions.’
With studied deliberation, he picked a piece of lint from his sleeve and flicked it away. ‘I promised we would find your half-brother, Lady Tess, but if we are to do so before you receive a proposal from Stedman, which seemed to be the point of the exercise, I need a bit more time. So I arranged for him to have a few issues at his factory. People departing for better places of employment and such rot, necessitating that he be required to go up there himself.’
Mouth agape, she stared at him. ‘How is it possible?’
‘I have my methods.’
She collapsed back against the chair cushion. ‘It would seem so.’ With Stedman gone then there just might be a smidgeon of hope. ‘Then I must thank you. How much time do we have, do you think?’
‘A few days at most.’
A final opportunity.
Chapter Seven
Jaimie hadn’t had quite so much fun in a long time, though it would need careful managing. He didn’t actually want to end up engaged to the girl. She was too much like Hester for comfort and he would not make the same mistake twice.
Well, she was not really the same as Hester, who had been flighty and selfish in the extreme. Tess was practical and loyal, though a little too determined for his liking. She’d also been extremely passionate—
He cut the thought off. He intended to use his brain in all his future dealings with the lady, and to ignore the lust he felt.
‘What is your plan?’ she asked.
‘My plan is to scour London and its environs using the resources at my disposal.’
‘I see.’
He frowned. ‘Your repressive tone does not bode well, Lady Tess. What is it that you see?’
‘That you intend to proceed without my help.’
‘I can assure you I have managed this sort of business on my own for a great many years. I will report back to you with my findings the moment I have anything of use. In the meantime, however, you and I must do the pretty, so as not to arouse your cousin’s suspicions that my interest in you is anything other than honourable.’
‘Do the pretty?’
‘Drive out. Dance at balls. The usual sort of thing that couples testing the waters might do. Though of course you will not dance with me exclusively. There must be no hint of scandal.’
No hint of the sort of thing that had happened at Ingram Manor, he meant.
‘I really think I should help you look for my brother.’
‘It is out of the question, Lady Tess. No lady can go where I intend to look.’
How typical of a man to think her help would be of no use. But what choice did she have? This really was her last hope.
* * *
Duty done, Jaimie strode out for his office. For a tense moment, Jaimie had thought she was going to refuse his help. Quite a shock to his ego, if he was truthful, given the choices she was facing. But he had to admit, while he had offered to find her brother in a moment of weakness, as any man would faced with the onset of tears, he was having trouble keeping his mind off Tess and her glorious body. When he should be focused on finding the Mayfair burglar, he was thinking about the way she had come apart in his arms.
He had decided that this would be the best way to end the distraction. Find her brother, get her settled and get back to his work.
Hopefully.
When he entered his office, he found Growler at his desk poring over what looked like another letter from the Home Office.
‘Another burglary?’
‘Three,’ the other man said harshly.
‘Three in one night?’
Growler shook his head. ‘One yesterday evening, two last night.’
‘Our lad is getting bolder.’
‘You think it is one man acting alone then?’
Jaimie took of his coat. ‘Instinct tells me it is. The only pattern is the stealth and the fact that there is no pattern. There cannot be many with his skill. Bring the report in, we will add it to the others.’
They went through to his inner office. Growler added the new crime to the others, marking the map of locations and writing down the stolen items by category and date.
Jaimie stared at the map. Up to now, nothing had made a scrap of sense on that map, but a casual, almost sideways glance had revealed something he had not noticed before.
‘Look,’ he said, stabbing a finger at one of the map’s quadrants.
Growler peered at the spot and frowned. ‘I don’t see nothing.’
‘That is my point, my dear Growler. The robberies are scattered all across the map, all except right here.’
Growler nodded slowly, comprehension dawning in his face. ‘I see what you mean. Do you think he lives in that area?’
‘If he does then he’s no ordinary criminal. He’s a member of the ton, or close to it.’
He stared at the telltale gap on the map. There were other blanks, but they were poorer neighbourhoods. No, the robberies were definitely sprinkled around that empty space set squarely in Mayfair and Jaimie did not believe in coincidences.
‘He either lives there, or is avoiding someone who does.’
‘Someone who might know his face?’
‘That doesn’t make sense. He commits these crimes at night,’ he mused. ‘What was taken in these last three?’
‘A couple of silver spoons. A box of tea. A candlestick from one. A rump roast, some bank notes from the second. A pearl ring and a pound of butter from the third.’
Growler stared at him. ‘Why is he taking food? What is this fellow doing? Setting himself up for a fine dinner?’
‘A gentleman fallen on hard times, perhaps?’
Growler went down the list of stolen items. ‘Almost each and every time he’s taken food of some sort, even when the other items taken don’t come from the kitchen.’
Finally, they had found the pattern they had been seeking.
Now they needed to set a trap.
* * *
‘You know, Mims...’ Tess touched a fingertip to the image of a face she could scarcely recall. Her mother had died bearing the son that would have made all their lives so very different ‘...no one who saw this bracelet would forget it.’ She did not show her the sketch she’d drawn of Grey.
Mims left the clothes she was folding and shuffled over. The poor old dear should have retired long ago. Hopefully Stedman did not feel the way Phin did about pensioning off his elderly retainers. She really ought to ask him. Or add it to the settlements or something. She would have to speak to Phin.
The old lady squinted at the bracelet in the portrait. ‘Your pa had that piece made for your mother after the likeness of something he saw on his travels in India. Heathen, I call it.’
Heathen. Exotic. Intricate. ‘It is beautiful.’
Mims sniffed. ‘I hopes Master Greydon realised its worth, that’s all I can say.’
The only way he
could have done that was to have sold it. Which would mean it was for ever lost. But if he had pawned it, that would be another matter entirely. She had been looking for the wrong thing. Instead of seeking Grey himself, she should have concentrated on looking for the bracelet and that might lead her to information about her brother.
‘Help me get ready. I’m going out.’
‘You are ready.’
She rose to her feet. ‘I wish to change into my mourning gown.’
Mims groaned. ‘You’ll be the death of me, you will, my lady. It is time to stop these mad starts of yours. They can only lead to trouble.’
‘One last try, Mims.’ Sandford had offered to help her, but she just didn’t trust him to follow through. In her past experience, men made all kinds of promises, but only kept those that were to their advantage. No matter how many times Father had promised to stop gambling, he always went back on his word. And besides, even if the bracelet was lost to her forever, she would dearly like to know what had happened to Grey. To assure herself he was well and happy. Any information she could find might help ease her worry.
* * *
An hour later, dressed as she had been when she first went to Lord Sandford’s place of business, she entered Rundell & Bridge. She waited while the clerk attended to a dandy dithering over a tray of cravat pins. How could such a simple thing take so long?
Finally the indecisive twit made a choice and the clerk completed the sale. He smiled as he turned to serve her. ‘May I help you, madam?’
He didn’t seem at all fazed by the fact that he could not see her face because of her veil. She pulled out the portrait from her reticule.
‘I am looking for a piece of family jewellery that I believe was sold some time ago. I wish to buy it back.’
‘It was sold through us?’
‘I am not sure, to be honest.’
The clerk’s lips tightened. ‘We do not deal in stolen property, madam.’
‘No, no. That is not my meaning. A family member sold it.’ Hesitantly, she put the drawing of Grey on the counter. ‘This man. The sale was quite legitimate, but I would like to buy it back for sentimental reasons. It belonged to my mother.’
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