“Mr.Reeves is far too handsome,” she muttered.
“Is there such a thing?”Lucy’s eyes gleamed with mischief.
“Definitely.”Luckily for Elizabeth, Hart and Robert returned before Lucy could ask any more questions about Matthew Reeves.The four of them had a lovely visit, filled with cheerful chatter from Robert as he told them all about his new tutor and what stories he had read lately.She had been reading her own worn copy ofGulliver’s Travelsto him at bedtime, and Robert loved the fantastical stories.Hart and Lucy stayed for an early supper before Robert had to go up to bed.
As they prepared to leave, Lucy pulled on her gloves.“We will be in town just for a few days’ respite from traveling.Then we will continue on to Kent to check on Violet.”She turned to Robert.“We will see you again soon, in just a few weeks’ time.”
Robert nodded sleepily against Elizabeth’s shoulder, where she had lifted him into her arms.“Safe travels,” she said to the pair.
After the door closed behind them, she turned and climbed the stairs.Robert’s eyes were already closed, and she smiled.The excitement of the visit had plumb worn him out.No stories tonight.Perhaps she would be able to get a couple of hours of work in before she, too, would be tired enough to go to bed.
Chapter Nine
What was hedoing?Matthew paced past the row house with the discreet sign that saidPiccadilly Press.He was a fool to see her again.He didn’t need the aggravation of dealing with the prickly but alluring Miss Harper.He paused at the corner of her street.Staring up at the Kelleys’ house, he was reminded that Mary Beth’s murder was his responsibility to solve.She had been part of the Blue Angel family.
His conclusion that the murders were connected to gaming establishments continued to niggle at his brain for the past couple of days.And the silk hat, in conjunction with the garrote, also bothered him, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions based on his own unfortunate past.He needed to talk it over with her.Miss Harper was smart as a whip and the only other person who was as invested as he in the murder of Mary Beth Kelley.
Striding back to thePiccadilly Press, he noticed a metal box with a slot at the top attached to the fence in front of her house.What was that for?He continued to the black-painted front door, which was identical to all the others down the row of terrace houses.At his knock, the door was answered by a servant, an attractive woman, perhaps about forty.She wore an austere black dress, but her apron was embroidered with a row of colorful ducks waddling across its border.
The woman smiled.“May I help you?”
“Good afternoon, I am Matthew Reeves.I am here to see Miss Harper.She is not expecting me, but I hoped to have a few moments of her time.”
“Let’s see what she says, shall we?Wait here.”She gestured to a bench against the wall in the narrow front hall.Then she knocked on the first door to the right, then opened it.“Miss Harper, you have a visitor, Mr.Matthew Reeves.”
Through the open door, he could see Miss Harper’s head pop up from where she had been leaning over, deep in discussion with another woman seated at a desk.Her frown spoke volumes, but he wanted to speak with her, and he wouldn’t be brushed off.He quickly strode across the worn wood floorboards of the hall and straight past the startled servant.
“Ms.Harper, I wish to speak with you about the clues we found the other night.I have an idea that I want your opinion about.”
Besides the woman who Miss Harper stood next to, there were two other people working at desks in the room—another woman and the wiry man who had been dressed as her angel at the masquerade.Sweeping off his hat, he gave the room at large a bright smile.
Ms.Harper turned to fully face him; her eyes narrowed.“Mr.Reeves, I am busy with preparations for the next edition.”
“Not a problem.I can wait.”He would wait all day.Well, until four o’clock anyway, when his staff meeting took place.But it was only half eleven.He had plenty of time.
“You are not going to leave, are you?”Miss Harper huffed.
He widened his smile and shook his head.She could huff all she wanted.He could wait until she had a free moment.Curious, he glanced around.There were several desks set one in front of each other down the narrow room.Through the open front window, sunlight flooded the room and allowed in a breeze of warm summer air.
“You can wait over there.”She gestured to an empty desk in front of the window and then turned her back to him, focusing her attention back to her previous conversation.“Lydia, I think if you add more description about the state of the bridge, it will let the reader understand the dire need for the bill to be passed.Start by discussing the poor conditions, then move to what is being proposed to remediate the problem, and lastly, outline the arguments for and against it.This way, the reader is invested in the politics because they already empathize with the problem.”
Lydia nodded.“I see.I will work on it.”
Matthew made his way to the desk and chose to sit in the chair that faced the room so he could observe her in her element.He knew the bare minimum about Miss Elizabeth Harper.Only that she ran the paper and that she was the mother of Seaton’s nephew.When he’d first met her at his club, she caught his attention because of her effortless sensuality.Someone with her beauty could easily have any man she wanted.Hell, she had once seduced a ducal heir.Why did she not have a husband or a benefactor?Instead, she ran a business and raised her son on her own.Not that he didn’t admire her efforts.She clearly knew what she was doing.
“All right.”Miss Harper turned to her other employees.“New story ideas, tell me what you have for Thursday’s edition.”
The young man raised his hand.“I am working on a story about the new modiste du jour.She calls herself Madam Aubert, but I knew I recognized her from somewhere.”He raised his eyebrows.“She is indeed French.Her real name is Aurelie Garnier.She was the mistress to the Royal Duke Fredrick until last spring.My guess is that his parting gift was very generous, and she has used the money wisely.She seems to know everyone in the ton.The shop has been busy.”
Elizabeth nodded her head.“Good, interesting enough.”
She turned to an older woman who wore her hair piled high in a rather messy bun on the top of her head.“Anne, what about you?”
“Quiet in Westminster till the fall session begins.I will have another installment breaking down the pieces of Peele’s Acts.This week, I will focus on the repeal of the Petty Treason Act, and how they are replacing it with the more specific murder charge.I thought it might go nicely with your articles about the murders on the east side.”
“Clever.I look forward to reading it.Lydia, keep working on the piece we just discussed.Nigel, I will hand over the tips that I think will work for this week’s gossip page.Sam and Harry have articles due and are out on interviews this morning.All right, back to work.”
Ms.Harper walked toward Matthew, her expression morphing to annoyance as she approached.Her face was so expressive.With her dark brows lowered and her lips pinched tight in a thin line, she made no pretense of hiding her emotions.Watching her run her staff meeting had given him a glimpse of just how capable she was, and it was damn attractive.
