He raised a brow.
“I could run away again,” she insisted, eyes wild. “I’ve done it before.”
“To raging success, I see.” He returned his quizzing glass to its drawer. “Have you any money?”
“No.”
He refolded the missive and replaced it on its pile. “Transportation?”
“N-no.”
His fingers steepled. “Lodging? Food? Protection?”
This time the word was a whisper. “No.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Then I find running away to be a very foolish alternative, to say the least.”
She blinked slowly, as if forcing him into focus. “Alternative to what?”
“Staying here until my brother-in-law’s killer has been brought to light.”
“But my stepfather demanded my return—”
“And I penned a very pretty apology because I am unwilling to give you up until you’ve helped me prove my innocence. You begin today.”
“I do? Does that mean if I do not, you intend to throw me from your house?”
“If you do not, I intend to return you to your legal guardian.”
Her knuckles whitened in her lap. “You’re extorting my help. Temporary freedom in exchange for assisting your personal goals.”
“Was that not your arrangement with Lady Stanton?”
“It was a horrible arrangement. I should’ve chosen a penniless life on the streets of London.” Miss Pemberton stared at him in disbelief. “You’re no better than she is.”
Gavin shrugged. “I never claimed to be better than anyone, merely innocent of this particular murder. I intend to prove this fact before being hanged for a crime I didn’t commit. And I need your help to do so. Do we have a deal?”
“What do you wish for me to do?”
Ah. Progress.
“The last time we were alone, you admitted Lady Stanton orchestrated just such an event so you could touch me and spy inside my mind, did you not? You, Miss Pemberton, have an invaluable talent. I would rather it be used to my benefit than hers.”
“Everybody does,” she muttered.
“You willfully spied on me. Inside my brain. Without permission. Against my will. Surely I can ask for restitution to such a trespass.”
“I did not spy on you.” Miss Pemberton crossed her arms and sent him a baleful stare. “I literally cannot. Besides, you have no call for indignation. Aren’t you asking me to do the same to others?”
“I…I suppose I am.” Unease soured Gavin’s stomach briefly before his desire to escape the gallows returned to the forefront. “Then you agree? You’ll help me prove my innocence in exchange for temporary freedom?”
“No.” Her arms tightened below her breasts. “If we’re negotiating terms of the arrangement, then I should like permanent freedom in exchange for my help.”
“Mr. Pemberton is your legal guardian,” Gavin reminded her. “I cannot keep you here forever.”
“I do not wish tobewith a self-centered extortionist like you a moment longer than necessary,” she bit out. “Once I’ve done my part, I should like enough money to take the mail coach anywhere I choose.”
Gavin stared at the angry young woman on the other side of his desk, surprised that she’d caught him off guard with her response. Of course, she had no wish to stay. She wanted to leave him. Forever. Just like everyone else. How could he have imagined otherwise? Guilty of murder or not, he did not deserve her—or, likely, anyone. After all, he was in fact the self-centered extortionist she proclaimed him to be. And worse.
