“What do you remember?” Graham asked.
He pressed his lips together. “Remind me.”
“Mrs. Dove-Lyon has a bride in mind for you, and your absence at her gaming tables has been noticed,” Graham said.
“Do you know Mr. Tristan Chase?” Amelia cut in.
“Yes,” Alston answered. “Well, I remember who he is, but I don’t know him personally.”
“He’s come around looking for you,” Graham stated.
Alston stiffened. “He isn’t the type I want around. He’s a ghost in the shadows.”
“I agree,” Graham affirmed. “He came here last night after the ball, and he warned us that you hadn’t hired any horses to go north.”
“Why does he think I went north?”
Amelia chewed her lip. “I may have told him earlier.”
“When would you have spoken with a man like him?” Alston asked angrily.
“I was taking my morning walk at the park close by. Where we always take our walks.”
“And he just happened to be there, to stumble upon you?” He turned to Graham. “I thought you were looking after her. Where were you when this was happening?” Alston demanded.
Graham folded his arms. “With you. I didn’t know she’d gone, because it is Amelia, and she does what she pleases whenever she pleases, which you’ve encouraged.”
Alston glowered at his friend. “I asked you to take care of her.”
Amelia stepped in. “He has been. It was my error, and I went straight to him to tell him. It’s my fault I was there alone, Sam. Not his. He’s not my nursemaid, and I am not a child.”
Alston huffed in annoyance.
“Do not distress yourself,” Amelia pressed.
“He isn’t a gentleman. I know that much,” Alston said.
“He isn’t a threat to Amelia,” Graham said. “He’s a threat to our secret. Though I don’t know what he’d do with it. What canhe do? Mrs. Dove-Lyon keeps many secrets. What does she care if you are ill?”
“Secrets are leverage, no matter how little,” Alston said. “If she knows the truth, she’ll use it against me. Somehow.”
“I want to meet her,” Amelia said. “Perhaps if she knew a little of our circumstances she’d soften.”
“You want to tell her the truth willingly?” Graham asked in disbelief.
“No? I don’t know. You know her better than I do.”
“Stay away from the Den, Amelia,” Alston ordered. “Don’t get entangled in her schemes.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
Alston glared at her. “I hope you mean that.”
“Of course I do.”
Chapter Thirty-One
The next afternoonAmelia stepped out of the hired hack and lifted the hood of her cloak over her head. This was the ladies’ entrance, supposedly. It was on the side of the building, cleanly kept, and private, but still not a place Amelia wanted to linger. She knocked on the door, and it opened. A woman stared at her expectantly.
