“I would have held him for you.”
Richard looked sharply at Walford and saw the boy at Eton who had often promised to do exactly that same thing for him if he’d ever had a need. They both burst into laughter. They laughed far too long and too hard, and it felt damned good to rid himself of the rage.
“I have little choice but to try to gain the information,” Richard said as they walked their horses back to the woods. “Do I?”
Walford eyed him and shrugged a shoulder. “There’s always a choice. You can walk away from it all. The woman has set herself up for trouble, not you.”
Richard contemplated it for a moment. If it had not been him, it would have been someone else. Walford was right, of course. He had not led her down this path.
“Has she never let any clue drop? No word of who or of comings and goings? Nothing?”
“She is not a woman of many words. Other than about the services she provides. She likes to talk about those.” Walford raised his eyebrows, and Richard scowled at him. “Don’t you dare ask it. I did not and would not partake in anything at a whorehouse, with Patricia or anyone else. I would never dishonor my wife.”
“Speaking of your wife,” Walford said. “You have been caught out in a lie. I presume it was for one of your assignations.”
Richard stopped, his stomach clenching like he’d been kicked.Damn and blast, he’d neglected to tell Walford he’d used him as an excuse to abandon Elizabeth and William.
“Relax, old friend,” Walford said, clasping his shoulder. “I covered for you. While the ladies were in the drawing room with their tea, you came over and discussed some urgent business with me. At her aunt’s place, not our house.”
“Thank you,” Richard said as they both mounted their horses. “I am no good at these covert operations. Too many secrets for my taste.” The wordsecrettwigged a memory:“Luckily, I had no secrets yesterday.”How had he missed it? “Walford, I believe we can narrow the time frame of the informant.”
Walford promised to take the information directly to the Home Office, where they could check the agents’ notes on the comings and goings at the brothel. A bit more optimistic about being able to end his role in this little espionage ring, Richard nudged his horse back toward Rotten Row. One more ride to clear his head before returning to the town house and the only responsibility he wanted to have—his family.