“But why?”
He couldn’t answer that. Stiles was a man who could ferret out a man’s weakness, and Georgie was just that, whether he like it or not. A weakness, which was why he had to leave her. Billy was never a patient man, and it was taking Rafferty far too long to find the cache. Billy would take his impatience out on someone, someone who mattered to him. She wasn’t safe, and she wouldn’t be if he was around her. That knowledge had been growing inside him, and he’d kept pushing it away, but the ugly truth was that the longer he was near her, the more dangerous her life would be. He had to find the money.
He managed the best answer he could come up with. “A man like Stiles doesn’t need an excuse. For the time being, you should stay put. There’s no guarantee that even I could protect you.”
“So, I’m to be immured like a nun?” she said.
“Just until I deal with him.”
She gazed up at him out of those sweet blue eyes that had a nasty habit of haunting his dreams. “How are you going to deal with him? Are you going to kill him?”
“Yes.” He said it without thinking, knowing it was true. He was a threat to Georgie, and for that alone, he deserved to die.
It should have horrified her, made her shrink away, but she simply nodded. “Good. He’s a bad man.”
Heaven help him! “But right now, you’re going back home and staying there.”
“But where are you going?” she persisted, and he knew she’d follow him. Would she always follow him, wherever he went? And was that a curse or a blessing?
“I’m taking you back home,” he said in his most reproving voice, the one that would make Billy Stiles laugh. “And then I’m going out, alone, to see what can be done.”
“About Stiles?”
“About everything.” He realized with sudden shock that he was still holding her against the wall, his hands on her shoulders, and he was kneading them slightly, almost caressing them. He practically jumped back, watching as she straightened her dress and looked up at him with that beatific smile that lit her face.
He held out his arm, and she took it happily enough. “That’s all right then,” she said. “We can talk while you escort me.”
“Mmph,” he replied as they moved back out among the crowds. He could see Dagger Fanning leaning against a building, a newspaper in his hand. Dagger didn’t know how to read, and Rafferty wondered just how many of Stiles’s men were out looking for him. Him, or Georgie?
“We could talk about the weather,” Georgie said brightly.
“Mmph.”
“Or you could tell me why you lied to Andrew Salton and told him my father wasn’t at home.”
He didn’t even blink. “I thought he was gone.”
“Then you don’t mind if I marry Andrew Salton?”
“Do you want to marry Andrew Salton?” he countered, knowing that was the wrong answer. He should have insisted that it was none of his business.
“You told me I should marry a good man. Everyone says he’s a most eligible man!”
“That means nothing. You shouldn’t have to marry a man who’s clearly wrong for you.”
“Mother says he’ll settle me down.”
“Settle you down? What makes her think that’s important?”
“Because of you. She says my feelings for you are most inappropriate, and a good solid husband will rid me of such fantasies.”
“What fantasies?” He knew he shouldn’t have asked that question the moment the words were out of his mouth, but it was too late.
“That I’m in love with you.”
He stumbled for a moment. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said gruffly. “I’m the butler.”
“So you are. You take excellent care of me,” she added, patting his arm.
