Page 26 of Fit for a Duke
‘Then why tell me all this?’
Ezra spread his hands, unable to think of a response.
‘It is obvious to me that you require my help. I live here and no one takes any notice of my comings and goings. I hear all sorts of things without arousing suspicion. You, by comparison…well, your every move will be noticed and remarked upon.’
Ezra shook his head, knowing when he was beaten. ‘If we are to be partners then you should call me Ezra, at least when we are alone. And to prevent you from torturing it out of me, I will admit that I suspect Lord Brennan, my mother’s lover.’
‘Ah, that would explain the sudden display of reticence.’ She grinned at him. ‘You thought my sensibilities would be offended by talk of lovers, but nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone knows about the shockingly liberal attitude among those who are married, which would be the ruination of someone in my situation.’ She sniffed indignantly. ‘Most unfair. Anyway, Adele and I make a game out of observing the couples who come here to dine, trying to guess who is involved with whom.’
‘Do you indeed?’ Ezra couldn’t recall the last occasion upon which he had been so comprehensively entertained. ‘How do you discover whether you have got it right?’
‘You imagine, I suppose, that Lord Brennan would have no scruples in wiping out your family so that he can swoop in and help himself to the substantial spoils left behind.’
‘It seems more likely than Silas being the culprit. Besides, if it is Silas then he would be unwittingly clearing the way for Brennan—a fact that will not have escaped his notice. Silas is many things, but stupid is not one of them.’
‘There is something else.’ She sent him a considering look. ‘Tell me.’
‘I did wonder about the sudden appearance of my nemesis,’ he said with patent reluctance.
‘Captain Salford?’
Ezra nodded. ‘The very same.’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘It did not occur to you that he might actually have come in order to pay court to me.’
‘Oh yes, he would be a fool not to,’ he said softly, sending her an intimate smile imbued with a wealth of feeling. ‘But is he doing so for the right reasons?’
‘Killing two birds with one stone, I take it you mean.’ Clio didn’t appear to have taken serious offence at the suggestion. ‘Earning a fat payday by bumping off a duke…’
‘Except that he was not in the country when my brother died,’ Ezra replied. ‘We were both serving with the regiment at the time.’
‘Which makes him an excellent choice to continue someone else’s work, since you yourself can vouch for his whereabouts when your brother’s death happened. There is a twisted sort of irony in the killer’s choice of assassin, if that is the case.’
‘Salford was constantly borrowing from his fellow officers, that much I do know, and had to be reminded of his obligations more than once,’ Ezra said, ‘which implies a permanent shortage of funds.’
‘Even so, killing a duke…’ She mangled her lower lip between her teeth. ‘I cannot imagine how desperate he would have to be to take the risk.’
‘Even a duke against whom he bears a massive grudge?’
‘Well,’ Clio said, getting to her feet and brushing down her habit, ‘in that case, I had best make myself agreeable to him and complain about your high-handed manner. Then perhaps he will let something slip.’
Chapter Seven
Clio had lingered too long in the duke’s company, making it seem as though she was encouraging his interest in her. If Beth wasn’t to his liking, she reasoned, then she herself stood no chance. Not that she had any particular desire to impress him, but she would at least like to win his respect. Respect, yes, that was the best she could hope for.
‘Slow down!’
His voice behind her caused her to turn sharply and her foot slipped from the worn stone she had placed it on. A strong arm circled her waist, preventing her from taking a tumble and twisting her ankle. She let out a startled little cry as her body collided with his and the air left her lungs in an extravagant whoosh.
‘Careful,’ he said, his voice as smooth as velvet as his breath peppered the top of her head and his dark eyes glowed with an unfathomable emotion. ‘This place is rife with dangers.’
Clio was unable to find her voice but nodded, agreeing with him for reasons that probably didn’t coalesce with his own thinking. He was slow to release her but when he did so he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and insisted upon conducting her back to the horses.
‘I cannot help but wonder how I have managed to negotiate these stones so many times alone and not come to grief,’ she said in a sweetly sarcastic tone.
‘You will have to learn to accept gentlemanly gestures before you take yourself up to London for your season.’
‘I will do no such thing!’ she replied, thinking she probably sounded as immature as she felt at that moment, totally out of her depth when exchanging verbal barbs with this elegant sophisticate. And yet smiling and simpering and agreeing with every word he spoke simply wasn’t her way, so she would be herself and let him think what he liked. When she stumbled again, he took matters literally into his own hands by muttering something beneath his breath, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her the rest of the way as though she weighed nothing at all.
