“We aren’tdoing anything, Mrs. Adare. You will stay out of this.” Langdon stared at the willful woman, her jaw tight and her lips taunt with displeasure. He leaned forward to meet her stubborn gaze. “You are no longer welcome in my investigation.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Ibeg to differ.” Elizabeth wrenched her elbow out of his grasp and struggled with a mad urge to run back inside. The invoices she had found were disturbing. Most were standard business transactions, but one stood out because two names were listed; Zander and Jones. Panic rushed along her every nerve, setting her teeth on edge.
“Mrs. Adare,” Gellman said, his concerned gaze passing from Elizabeth to Langdon.
Langdon stared down at Gellman, far from intimidated by her loyal servant
“It is all right, Gellman. Lord Langdon and I were having a discussion.” Elizabeth forced her mind out of its loop of terror. She had a more immediate problem to contend with. Both men were normally reasonable, but that didn’t mean they would stay that way.
“Did not look that way to me,” Gellman crossed his arms over his chest and continued to glower at Langdon.
His defense was touching but unnecessary. Langdon might be furious with her, yet he would never lay a violent hand on her; of that she was certain.
“I assure you while I mean Mrs. Adare no physical harm, we will have words.” He pointed to the hackney carriage pulled by a huge grey dray horse. “I will take you home.”
Gellman simply nodded and stepped back. He hadn’t approved of her plan to begin with, which stung more than it should. Before she left her uncle’s house, she had weighed the odds. Her safety for the truth. Adversity wasn’t new to her. Throughout her life, she had taken the hard road, and it had taught her a few things. She had faith in herself, but by the clipped way Langdon spoke to her, he still doubted her abilities.
“You will ride with me. I have much to say to you.”
The fact she admired him, but he thought less of her, stung. Last evening, she had been his equal, and he even admitted she had helped instead of hindered. She should have realized it was too good to be true. “To me or at me?”
Hazel eyes were chipped with ice and grim lines etched his mouth. “At this juncture, they are the same. I am through indulging your whims. Now get in the carriage or I will put you in it.”
Outraged sparked every nerve inside her body. “You wouldn't dare.”
“Are you daring me?” he countered, his jaw jutted out. His fury matched hers. The man standing in front of her did not differ from her father, always wishing to be in control of everyone and anyone around them. She had long since accepted her father’s hatred of her, but she couldn’t stomach the idea of Langdon’s. It made no sense, nor did it bolster her confidence. “I am not a child to be ordered about.”
Her cousin stepped between them and began to guide her to the carriage. “Then quit acting like one and get in the carriage. This is not the place to air your grievances. We are already drawing marked attention.”
Several provocatively dressed women stood across the street, their heads bent together as they watched what was playing out before them. She hated to admit her cousin was right, but what he said was true. Giving in, she climbed inside the utilitarian carriage and plopped down on the leather bench.
The equipage rocked under Langdon’s weight as he settled in next to her on the horsehair seat. Elizabeth adjusted her position on the lumpy bench, intent on putting some space between them. She knocked her elbow against the wall and rubbed at the abused flesh with her palm. Any physical pain eclipsed the growing ache of disappointment in her chest.
Farnsworth took the bench opposite, the scowl still in play. “Elizabeth.”
The carriage took off, jostling her to the left. She flexed her thighs and anchored her feet to keep herself upright.
“Farnsworth.” She raised a defiant chin. So much for her truce with him. Since her arrival, they had been civil with nary a harsh word. Today, that would all change.
He removed his hat and raked his fingers through his auburn hair. With a sigh, he leaned back against the seat. “What in the hell were you thinking, running around the worst part of London unescorted? And on a foolish errand no less?”
“I think the more important question is why you are here?” Best to turn the tables on him and find out what he knew. From the way he handled himself in Pike’s office, this wasn’t the first time he’d investigated someone. Since her aunt confirmed he was never in the military, he had to have gained the skills somewhere else. The more she found out about the Tenet club, the more curious she was about its members. Her suspicion that Randall might be a member, hence Stanton’s reluctance to probe his involvement in the smugglers ring, intensified.
