Grace was instantly whipped around, as James reached for her elbow and spun her. His gray-blue eyes were wide with fury and something else. Fear?
“Tell me you did not go to Gallowgate alone?” When she made a grimace, he swore. “Grace, are you aware of what could have happened to you? The only reason I allow you to accompany me there is because I am with you.”
“I am capable enough—”
He shook her slightly.
“No, Grace. You aren’t. No one is. My own presence is only tolerated because I serve a purpose and I know not to open my mouth about things that do not concern me.”
She frowned.
“But that’s dishonest—”
“It’s a reality. I do not pass judgment on them, do not interfere with their affairs, and I’m left alone. Going there without any protection, to purposely try and find something out among them is a death wish.”
“But I did find something out. Something you need to know.”
“What?” he snapped. “What on earth could you have discovered that might be worth risking your life over?”
“The top toy that you brought there for Mrs. Monty’s son to identify. He didn’t tell you where he got it from, did he?”
James’s entire expression froze. He released her at once.
“How do you know about that?”
“Because Mrs. Monty told me you went there searching for answers,” she countered. “Not so unlike myself.”
“It’s different. They know me, trust me.”
“Well then, why didn’t Charlie Monty tell you where he received the top toy from?” James opened his mouth, then shut it, visibly contrite. Grace stepped toward him. “Because he was afraid. Afraid that you might take it away from him. So, he said he found it. But when I arrived, Mrs. Monty forced him to tell thetruth, mostly because she didn’t want me there, but that’s beside the point. Charlie told me one of the men I saw Mr. Roberts paying, he was the one that gave it to him. He said he makes them out of scraps and bits of rubbish and hands them out to children in the neighborhood.”
James’s eyes widened at the revelation and Grace knew something had connected in his brain. His hand came up to his face and he rubbed his beard thoughtfully.
“Bugger me.”
“Where did you find a top toy that would bring you to question Charlie Monty?”
“In the grave of a nun whose body had just been stolen.”
Grace grabbed James’s wrist.
“So, I was right? Those men Mr. Roberts was paying off, they’ve been stealing bodies from the cemetery?” She bit her lip with trepidation. “I knew something was amiss. I bet it was the man who nearly grabbed at me in Gallowgate, although to learn that I was correct, it was almost worth it.”
James’s brow furrowed, blinking several times as if he hadn’t heard her properly.
“Excuse me?”
Grace stood up straight, releasing his wrist at once.
“Nothing.”
“What happened in Gallowgate?” he asked, stepping toward her. She took a step back, but instantly the back of her legs bumped into an end table. “Grace.”
“It was nothing really. My driver was able to beat him off with an umbrella.”
“Beat him off?” he repeated incredulously. “You were attacked?”
A buzzing in her extremities told Grace that it was time to leave. She dipped into a curtsy and tried to move around him, but he reached for her arm and brought it up to his chest. Gracewas breathing heavily as she stared into his eyes, and she had half a mind to push at him, only she didn’t want to. Her gaze fell to his mouth and she thought about the last person she had kissed and how little it had affected her, while just being near James caused a riot in her chest. Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned up on her tippytoes and pressed her mouth to his, suddenly too weak to fight her urges.
