“Only time will tell.” He picked up the book to sit down. Another man had claimed her heart and chances were, he still held a piece of it. A letter fluttered out. He scooped it off the ground and handed it back to her.
She took it, her lips tightening perceptibly. “My father wishes me to return posthaste.”
“When must you leave?” He was disappointed. When they first met, he hadn’t anticipated spending so much time with her. Every night he found himself in her company at some event or another. Had he not been sleuthing on her behalf, he would have attended those events with his family, as was his duty. However, none of them would have been memorable without her there.
“My aunt insists I stay for a tea party tomorrow afternoon.” She scooted to the end of the bench to allow him space to sit down. The dress pulled at her rounded hips until she tugged at the skirt. The ring flashed in the light. She hadn’t mentioned her husband at any length, which pricked his curiosity. Asking seemed too personal, thus he kept his questions to himself in that regard.
He plucked one the blooms and offered it to Elizabeth with a flourish. Had he been courting her, he couldn’t think of a more appropriate flower to present her with. The color and texture reminded him of her lips, pink and velvety. “That is a pity.”
Elizabeth brought the flower to her nose, the delicate color enhancing the paleness of her cheeks. “That’s why it is imperative we visit Mr. Pike’s office tonight.”
All romantic notions fled from his mind. His jaw dropped open at the sheer tenacity of the woman, coupled with the absurdity of even thinking about her in such a manner. While he was mooning like a green youth, she was plotting another ill-advised excursion. “Mrs. Adare—”
“—hear me out, Langdon.” She lifted a palm to halt his objection .
Debate raged inside his head. He could simply decline to hear her scheme, but she wouldn’t drop the subject. He might fight it all he wished, but if he refused to go with her, she proved what would happen. At least with her by his side, he needn’t worry if she was off looking for more trouble. With a heavy sigh, he inclined his head in concession.
“There was an account in Mr. Pike’s office that matches an entry in Randell’s study.”
“Was it that Jones fellow you saw the invoices for in the packet?” he asked, watching her face closely for a negative reaction. She had claimed the invoice he had questioned her about involved a man named Jones. After he had looked at the invoices, the one with Zander’s name had been gone.
She blinked several times, her head tilted to the side. “No, that name is not connected to the account in question.”
“I see.” He offered a shrug and avoided her direct gaze. Old suspicions continued to haunt him. Elizabeth was not Maria. Zander’s name on the invoice had been wishful thinking on his part. He had been watching her actions. At no point would she have an opportunity to hide the invoice, unless he had missed something. Whenever he was around her, she proved a distraction. He hated the sense of doubt that continued to plague him. “Please go on.”
“According to my uncle, Pike represented a man who had bilked a few members of the gentry out of their living two years ago. In Randell’s ledgers, he invested heavily in an adventure about the same time. Logically, his income should have been drastically reduced like the other investors, yet his accounts don’t reflect the loss. The entry I found listed money from a venture involving the Zander Trading Company.”
Langdon nodded and tapped his thumb against the leg of his breeches. Time to ask some hard questions of her. Every time he heard the man’s name, it triggered a sense of foreboding. He had asked around and nobody knew anything tangible about him. Even those who had done business with him had never actually met him. “Are you acquainted with Zander?”
“From my understanding he is very elusive,” she said, dropping her gaze to her lap.
“That is not an answer but an observation.” He stared at her bent head, silently begging her to answer no.
“No, I am not acquainted with him.” Troubled eyes lifted to his. Black lashes rimmed emerald irises made larger from the bright afternoon sunlight. She wore no hat, and her exposed curls were a midnight hue. “My uncle informs me that he only does business with those he knows can afford the loss.”
“Then why would he be doing business with Randell?” He had asked her and she answered, albeit in a less than enthusiastic manner. The tempo of his thumb increased. He was still uneasy with her physical response to his query, which spoke more about a lack of faith in his judgement than her character.
“My question exactly,” she said, her tone gaining in strength. “Why would a man like Zander have any business with a small-time solicitor like Pike, unless Pike was using his name as a cover up for Randell’s illegal funds?”
“Hold on.” He wanted to believe her, but he had a hard time reconciling her knowledge with the short time she had to look at the ledgers. Granted, she might have had more time to inspect the ledgers at Randell’s country residence, but their time at his London residence had been cut short and yielded no tangible proof he had seen. “Pardon my skepticism, but how did you come to these conclusions from the brief glimpse you had in both Randell’s study and Mr. Pike’s office?”
A rosy flush rushed to the apple of her cheeks. Forehead creased, she licked her lips. Her sudden nervousness made him uneasy. He prayed she hadn’t somehow misled him into thinking she knew more than she did just to gain his aid. “Elizabeth, Mrs. Adare, how did you know all this? You did not return to Randell’s house, did you?”
She tilted her head, nose wrinkling at his question. “Now when would I have the opportunity to do that?”
“I wouldn't put it past you to find a way to be in two places at once,” he said. She was industrious; he had to give her that.
Light laughter met his comment, and she shook her head. Despite the smile she wore, an underlying uneasiness continued to show. “If I tell you, you must promise not to think ill of me. It is not something I have told many people.”
Intrigue over her secret overrode his other thoughts. She was about to admit to something profound; he could read it in every nuance of her face. “I give you my word as a gentleman.”
Elizabeth twirled the peony in her hand one last time. Shoulders squared, she handed him the book. “Here.”
“A book? This is your secret?” He accepted the book, his bare fingers touching her cooler ones. A barely audible intake of breath issued from her parted mouth. Good, he wasn’t alone in feeling the spark of need caused by the intimate contact. Clearing his throat, he read the title from the ton’s newest gothic novelist. Now was not the time to give in to temptation. He raised a questioning eyebrow and held up the volume.
“Pick a page.” She sucked on her bottom lip, white teeth biting into the plumpness.
“You wish for me to read to you?” If he was courting her, such behavior would be expected, but given his need for her, he wouldn’t waste precious time on reading to her when he could be devouring those lips. He wasn’t courting her, however.
