Laney laughed, taking Sylvia’s hand in hers.“Do you forget I’m a renowned boxer?I’ll protect Sylvia with my life, have no fear.”
“I wish to go as well,” Heloise said before she knew what she was about.Why?Why did she have to go?But she knew the answer almost immediately: She needed to hear the information, the damning news that would finally harden her heart again, with her own ears.
But Sylvia seemed to have been expecting her request.She shook her head, an emphatic no.“You have enough to do,” she stated.
Heloise, however, was not about to be dissuaded.She could not hear this secondhand.“I will go,” she said, gently but firmly, so Sylvia would know there was no talking her out of it.
Once more Sylvia considered her silently.Though wasn’t there the faintest hint of sadness in her look?Finally she nodded, letting loose a sigh.
“Very well.I’ll inform you once the time of the meeting is agreed upon.”
As Heloise watched everyone rise and take her leave, she knew she should feel some sort of satisfaction that everything was falling into place, that her decision to start them off on this scheme had been validated.
Yet as she silently filed out after them, she felt only a deep sorrow that she had been right.
Ethan didn’t take any particular notice of Keely when he arrived unannounced in his office the following morning.Business between them had reverted to the usual routine, after all, the search for information regarding Heloise coming up empty and the rumors simmering about the club having all but disappeared.Even Keely with his extensive web of connections and informants seemed to be coming up empty now, no rumbles shaking the foundation any longer.A relief, surely.It could very well mean that the rumors had been just that, mere rumors.Wasn’t there always false information to wade through, someone with a grudge against the club who sought to damage it?
The lack of new information was also further proof that Heloise had never been plotting against him.That what they shared could be something true.What that something might be, he didn’t have a clue; while he knew he had fallen in love with her, he was unsure where her heart lay, if her heart was involved at all.But just the fact that their connection wasn’t polluted with intrigue and secrets was enough for him.For now, at least.
It seemed, however, that the quiet days devoid of new information had been just a sweet interlude.
“You might want to sit down for this one, Mr.Sinclaire.”
Ethan, who had been searching through the bookcase behind his desk, stilled, heart dropping like an anchor into the depths of his stomach.“You have learned something new.”
It wasn’t a question, but Keely answered it nonetheless.“Aye.”
Nodding grimly, he went to his chair, sinking down into it.“Well then,” he prompted as the man sat across from him.“Out with it.What did you learn?”And what subject—the cheating rumors or Heloise—is this news about?
The answer to that came quickly enough, thank God.Keely knew not to delay bad news any longer than he had to.
“I’ve found someone who claims to have been a victim of cheating at Dionysus.”
The breath left him in a rush, though he did not know if it was due to shock and despair that they had actually located someone and the rumors surrounding the club had not been a fever dream, or relief that the news was not about Heloise.
Whatever it was, he didn’t have time to coddle it.Pushing it aside, he sat forward, hands planted flat on the desktop.“Have you met with them?”
“I’m set to.Tomorrow, just after sunrise in Hyde Park, beneath the bridge that spans the Serpentine.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Keely started, staring at Ethan with wide eyes.“You want to go yourself?”
“Yes.”
A sharp, surprised bark escaped Keely’s mouth.“Do you think that’s wise?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Ethan scowled at the other man.“I see nothing wrong with it.It’s my club; therefore it’s my responsibility to see this taken care of.”
“Which you can do through me.”
Ethan’s scowl deepened.“And what is wrong with me going?”
Keely shrugged, motioning down at himself.“You have to admit, I’m not the most formidable-looking fellow.If anyone can make this person feel safe enough to tell what happened to them, it would be me.Whereas you…”
His voice trailed off as his gaze tripped over Ethan, the sideways glance and the curl of his lip saying louder thanwords that what he saw didn’t please him a bit.
Ethan knew all too well that people did not look on him favorably, that he would never be invited into a Mayfair drawing room except as an oddity, something to be gawked at.And he had long ago made his peace with that.
