“The name is Macfie, yer lordship,” the giant corrected gently, “and I dinnae blame ye for forgetting. ’Tis nae a terribly memorable name for a Scotsman, is it?”
“You neglected to answer my question, Mr. Macfie,” he said acidly, wondering once more at the reason for his summons.
He was a member of Mr. Decker’s club, but their paths had not often crossed. Yet the missive the man had sent to him had suggested he required an imminent meeting. Only for Gabe to cool his heels whilst being bedeviled by the man’s Scottish beast.
Macfie nodded, as if Gabe’s ire was only to be expected. “In truth, yer lordship, Mr. Decker is unexpectedly detained with a matter of grave import, and I am attempting tae distract ye until he is ready for ye. I was intending tae offer cream ice next.”
Gabe was saved from having to respond when the door clicked open to reveal Mr. Elijah Decker.
“Thank you, Macfie, for entertaining Lord Huntingdon whilst I was otherwise occupied,” he said easily. “Please make certain that Lady Jo makes her way safely to the carriage, won’t you? She ought to be leaving my office in just a moment.”
“Aye, Mr. Decker.” The Scotsman bowed and disappeared, the door closing discreetly behind him.
Mr. Decker’s last words revealed to Gabe the nature of his host’s distraction.
“I ought to have known it was a female causing your distraction,” he said coolly, taunting his host with the reminder of his reputation as a rakehell.
“You may want to play nice, Huntingdon,” drawled Mr. Decker. “My wife is aiding you in a most important endeavor.”
“Your wife,” Gabe repeated. “Aiding me how?”
Decker grinned. “She is making a delivery toyourwife.”
He remained nonplussed. “Do not you have servants for such things, Decker?”
“Not with a matter this delicate, no.” Decker’s grin faded. “Would you care to take a seat in my office or here?”
“This will suffice.” Along with his patience, his ability to be polite was also waning. “Are you going to tell me the reason for my presence here, or are you going to continue being coy?”
“Calm thyself, Huntingdon.” Decker gestured to the pair of leather chairs in the corner of the room. “If you cannot be civil, I will force you to sit through another half hour with Macfie. Have a seat.”
Gabe reluctantly sat. “Happy now, Decker?”
His host folded his tall frame into the chair opposite him. “I dare say I could be happier. However, this shall have to do for now, no?”
Gabe resisted the urge to growl. “You are enjoying this too bloody much.”
Decker’s grin returned. “You did have the temerity to flirt with my wife once at a dinner party before we were married. Forgive me if watching you squirm is cause for enjoyment.”
Had he? Gabe could not recall. Lady Jo Decker was a lovely woman, short, dark-haired, and quiet. He favored tall, golden-haired, and reckless.
“My apologies for any flirtation, Decker. Now out with it, if you please.”
His host studied him, drawing out the moment. “Very well. The delivery my wife is making to yours consists of a pearl-and-emerald necklace she lost.”
Gabe knew the piece of jewelry Decker spoke of—the strands of pearls Helena often wore kissing her throat, adorned with the emerald pendant that matched her eyes. “I was not aware Lady Huntingdon was missing it. Did she lose it at a Lady’s Suffrage Society meeting?”
“Indeed not. She lost it at the rooms of Lord Algernon Forsyte, and the maggot was holding it over her head, using it as leverage for blackmail.”
Rage shot through him, and immediately thereafter, a hundred different questions followed. “How did you come to be involved in this matter when my wife failed to mention it to me? How in heaven’s name did Lady Jo come to be in possession of the necklace if Lord Algernon had it? Why am I in the dark about all this when you are not?”
“Because your wife came to my wife and I this morning seeking our help,” Decker explained. “Said maggot threatened to spread damning rumors about your wife, using the necklace as proof, if she breathed a word of it to you. He also demanded one thousand pounds, which Lady Huntingdon requested to loan from me, in payment.”
Gabe was going to kill the bastard.
He started to rise from his chair.
“Do not go running off to slay the spineless weasel just yet, if you please.” Decker stopped him. “This story is far from over.”
