He slanted a glance down at her. “Home.” He guided her to their carriage and helped her inside. “You to the apartments. We’re done for the day.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped. Done, and they hadn’t learned much at all. She arranged her skirts and settled onto the seat. “Does all detective work go at such a snail’s pace?”
He didn’t answer.
Juliana tilted her head. “Mr. Duffy?”
“I wouldn’t know.” He looked off to the side. “You were my first investigation.”
“Oh.” She flopped back in her seat. Having a new detective on her case wasn’t optimal. Her father deserved someone more experienced. But Duffy had discovered her whereabouts. She nodded. And he had her as a partner now. They were sure to succeed.
They rolled to a stop, and Juliana peeped out the window. The three-story stone building the agency’s apartments were in stood next to them. “Your woman who keeps the apartments, she said she would have roast duck for dinner tonight. Join me?”
Brogan turned his hat in his hands. “No, thanks.”
“Do you have other plans?”
“No.”
She sat, waiting for further explanation.
None was forthcoming. “Then why, pray tell, don’t you want to eat with me? I may not be a diamond of the first water, but I am not a wholly unappealing dinner companion, I hope.” Her heart twisted queerly. It wasn’t as though Brogan Duffy’s regard mattered. She was his employer, in a manner of thinking, and as long as he performed his duties well, she could have no complaints.
His regard shouldn’t matter; but it did.
Something about this large, blunt man was…endearing. She liked him. Was it too much to hope he liked her in return?
“It wouldn’t be smart,” he said.
Her shoulders relaxed. He was worried about impropriety. He wasn’t rejecting her company.
He stepped down and turned for her hand.
She took it and hopped to the ground. “Nonsense. We will discuss the case. Assess where we’re at. Besides,” she said, laying a hand on his arm, “I don’t like to eat alone.”
He looked at her hand, looked at his boots. He slapped his hat on his head. “Dinner. But I can’t stay for dessert.”
She hid her smile of victory. She’d always been prone to making snap decisions, and tonight was no different.
She turned for the front door to the building, leading Brogan to the staircase. Brogan Duffy seemed like a man who had been denied too many desserts.
It was time someone sweetened his life up a bit.
Along with discovering who was after her father, Juliana saw no reason she couldn’t also make Brogan’s life happier in the process.
And there was no time like the present to start.
Chapter Ten
The agency’s apartments were on the third floor. Which meant three floors of watching Lady Juliana’s hips sway enticingly in front of him as she climbed. Forty-two steps of watching her arse shift back and forth.
She had a most smackable arse.
Juliana took his hat, removing her own gloves and coat and handing them to the older woman who bustled into the entry as they stepped into the apartments. The agency’s rooms took up the entire third floor of the building. Mrs. Forster had her own rooms a floor down, but she came up to cook and clean for whoever might be staying in these.
“Evening, Mr. Duffy.” She slapped at the dust on his hat. “Staying with us for dinner?”
He nodded.
