And if so, why in the world would she choose to?
Dita held up her gloved palms. “I promise, I’ll explain, but you must go before someone hears you. I have a tea break coming up in fifteen minutes. Go to the shop across the street. I’ll meet you there.”
As distraught as Dita was, Leo could not do anything but agree. She left, taking the stairs in a whirl of confusion. Had she selected the name Susan because her own name, Nivedita, sounded too foreign? She had, after all, been the only employee who wasn’t white. A sinking disappointment filled her as she considered that. It wasn’t like Dita to censor herself in any way, least of all her heritage. But as Leo entered the tearoom across the street and was seated at a table near the front window, she ruminated on how nervous her friend had acted. All because of a name?
The pot of Earl Grey tea she’d ordered had just been delivered to the table when Dita hurried across the street, dodging a carriage and a dray. She came through the door, her agitated state even more pronounced.
“I wish you would have told me you were coming,” she said as she took the seat across from Leo at their table, shedding her coat and gloves.
“I didn’t think it would be so unwelcome,” Leo replied, a little stung. “Susan.”
Dita rubbed her forehead and sighed heavily. “All right. I’ll explain. But you must promise that you won’t say anything to anyone. Especially to my father.”
Leo’s intrigue shot skyward, as did her concern. Dita and her father, Sergeant Byron Brooks, had always been close, especially after the death of Dita’s mother. If she didn’t want her father to know what she was doing, it couldn’t be anything he would approve of.
“I’ll be discreet,” Leo promised.
Dita poured herself a cup of tea, then, cradling it in her palms, whispered, “I’m working undercover.”
The few words took too long to make sense. Leo stared at her friend as they came together in her mind. “You’re…working for the police?”
Dita gave a sour huff of contempt. “They wouldn’t hire a woman, as you well know.” She leaned forward and whispered, “I’ve been hired by Castelan Private Inquiries.”
An excited grin curved Dita’s lips as she waited for Leo’s response. But all Leo could do was gape. At the same time, a greasy spear of envy sank into the pit of her stomach.
“You’re working for a private detective agency?”
Dita nodded eagerly. “This is my first assignment.”
Leo set down her cup of tea. Private agencies often hired women, as there were some places that only women were able to infiltrate without causing a stir or suspicion. A ladies’ clothing department, for instance.
“I had no idea you were interested in being a detective,” Leo said, still trying to grasp Dita’s new vocation. The unsettled feeling in her stomach disturbed her.
“Oh, I wasn’t, not really. When I returned from my aunt’s house, I saw a wanted advert for ladies to assist in investigations, and…” She shrugged. “I thought having been a matron at the Yard might help my chances. It seemed it did.”
“But you don’t think your father will approve?”
Dita scrunched her nose in a doubtful expression. “He doesn’t like the idea of private agencies. I doubt he’d be happywith my working for them, so I figure I’ll see how this first assignment goes. If I like it, I’ll stay on and come clean to my father. If I don’t, I’ll do something else, and he needn’t ever know.”
It was very like Dita to be blasé about things and, of course, to have fun. It was good to see her happy again, especially after losing the man she loved back in the spring. But Leo couldn’t help but be concerned too.
“What exactly are you supposed to be investigating at Gleason’s?” she asked.
Dita looked around—none too casually, either—and leaned closer to whisper, “The owner’s wife hired Mr. Castelan. She is convinced her husband is a serial adulterer, and she wants a divorce. But as you know, women cannot get a settlement if they divorce without evidence of wrongdoing on the part of their husbands.”
The owner of Gleason’s was surely a very wealthy man, and Mrs. Gleason would want her share.
“So, what is your role?” Leo asked. If Dita was to catch him out with his mistress, posing as a shopgirl at Gleason’s would not bring results. The man wasn’t likely to be conducting an affair on the ladies’ floor for his employees to witness.
With a sly arch of her brow and a hitch of her chin, Dita raised her teacup in a dainty pose. “Susanis charged with tempting Mr. Gleason into bad behavior.”
Leo was grateful she’d yet to pick up her cup again. She would have fumbled it. As it was, her gasp drew looks from a table nearby. She waited until the two women there looked away again before practically mouthing, “You are to seduce him? Dita, you cannot!”
Her friend rolled her eyes and groaned. “No, of course I won’t. What kind of woman do you take me for? I am simply to flirt andleadhim to an attempt. Once he arranges a timeand place for us to meet, Mr. Castelan, Mrs. Gleason, and some other third party will interrupt our rendezvous,” she explained, though the plan did not allay Leo’s worry in the least. Her gaping expression must have said as much. “Leo, don’t look at me like that! Nothing untoward will happen. Mr. Castelan has given me his word.”
Leo would ask Jasper his opinion on Mr. Castelan and his agency, but she was already not impressed with him.
“Meeting a man for a rendezvous could be dangerous. What if something goes wrong, and the others don’t arrive in time to extricate you?” she warned. “You could be compromising yourself.”
