Page 24 of Lady Louisa and the Carriage Clock
“It’s one of a pair,” Louisa explained.
Cecil nodded. “That is the legend.”
“You can’t solve the riddle without both clocks.”
She had him there.
“I had hoped that examining the clock more closely would lead to a clue about the whereabouts of the other clock.” He paused. “Or that your clock would give me enough information to guess the identity of a man who founded the RA.”
“And if I reported the clock stolen, the Rogue’s Alliance would look elsewhere for it?”
He nodded.
“You want me to give you the clock, I suppose.”
“Exactly,” he replied smoothly.
The lady raised her chin. “Why should I? I have five male family members in this house, plus numerous servants. I’m safe in my own home.”
“Do you remember hearing about the murder of Lady Sandhurst’s maid? The young woman was killed in a house full of servants in the middle of the day.”
The story of the murdered maid seemed to take the wind out of Louisa’s sails. The lady was quiet for several moments, the ticking clock on her end table the only sound in the room.
“I could tell my parents the clock was stolen,” she finally replied. “I will hide it elsewhere in the house after you leave my bedchamber.”
He wasn’t surprised that she would fight him on the matter.
“I could take the clock,” he said softly.
She lowered her chin and glared at him. “I could scream.”
They looked at one another for several moments. Louisa was as stubborn as he. He felt his lips curl into a reluctant smile. “You won’t let me leave the house with your clock?”
She shook her head.
“How am I to examine it? Shall I stay in your bedchamber a while longer?” The intimacy in his voice took him aback. She was the last woman he would flirt with.
“You are to visit Carstairs on the morrow.” Her cheeks had turned rosy. “I will let on that I’m disappointed in the clock and that the bloom is decidedly off the rose.”
He frowned. “Leopold won’t let me in the house. And if he did, I would need a chaperone we could trust.”
“Bring along Edith,” she suggested with a wave of one hand. “I mean to tell her about this meeting anyway.”
“And what about Leopold?” He raised a brow.
“I’m curious as to why he dislikes you so. He has never mentioned you.”
His lips curled. “He wouldn’t.”
“So you must tell me.” She sat forward on the edge of the bed, her exotic scent reaching out to him.
He didn’t know what harm it would do to explain why he thought Leopold disliked him. “Are you familiar with the Honourable Sophie James?”
She nodded. “Lord Sidmouth’s daughter.”
“Your brother was enamored of the lady some years ago, during her first season. She preferred me.”
“That is all?” Her eyebrows knitted.
