Sadie opened her mouth to answer, but it was the countess who responded first. “Of course, she’s not going anywhere! We’re in the middle of the Season. Do you want to see the stackof invitations we’ve gotten just today? We’re headed to Almack’s tomorrow, where Lady Castlereigh has asked specifically for us to attend. I swear I would never think of disappointing a woman so important to society or her husband. Do you know Lord Castlereigh, constable?”
Flustered, the man shook his head. “No, my lady. I haven’t had the pleasure.”
“I have,” said Lord Heath. “He’s one who thinks we must be careful not to add bad blood with the Scots. He’s right, of course. There’s plenty to do fighting the French. No need to cause disruption with the Scots without good cause.”
“And proof,” added Connall darkly. “Real proof.” He snapped his fingers as if he’d just remembered something, then opened the door to the parlor. “I almost forgot.” A maid came in carrying two dresses. “Constable, do you think stabbing a man thirteen times would be a messy business? Ladies, are these the gowns you wore last night?”
Both Sadie and Iseabail said, “Yes.”
He turned to the maid. “Have these been washed yet?”
“No, my lord,” the maid said with a curtsey. “I haven’t had time what with preparing their dresses for tonight.”
Connall passed them to the constable. “As you can see, there’s no blood on them anywhere.”
The constable made a show of inspecting every corner of their gowns, but everyone could see he was defeated. In the end, he passed the dresses back.
“I’ll be looking into this deeply now. It’s an important matter when a future baron is stabbed.”
“A very grave matter,” Lord Heath said. “Which is why it’s important to catch the rightman.” The constable’s face tightened at his words. But even the two watchmen could see that they had the wrong suspects.
A little while later, the men left the house, though with lots of sour looks and a clear refusal to apologize. The countess was a lot more gracious than Sadie was. The lady showed the men out and talked blithely about misunderstandings and how appreciative she was that they tried to do a good job. Honestly, it made Sadie grind her teeth, but she knew better than to interfere. Plus, she had something else she wanted to say.
She turned to Lord Heath. “Thank you, my lord. It was very kind of you to help me like that. I am very grateful.”
The man looked her up and down. If he appreciated her looks, he didn’t show it. Instead, he shook his head in disgust.
“Don’t be grateful,” he said. “Stop being a bloody idiot. Even my four-year-old daughter knows not to wander off with strange men. Do you know what could have happened to you?”
“I knew what I was doing,” she said, somewhat peevishly. It had gone off perfectly. Or nearly so. How was she to know that Mr. Barrett was going to murder his unconscious friend? That wasn’t her fault! And yet, Lord Heath was laying this whole disaster at her door.
“You had no idea what you were doing,” the man said, his tone sharp. “When you’re at a ball, you stay at the ball.” He looked at Connall. “I helped today, but you cannot count on that the next time she does something foolish. Hitting a man with a branch! Did you think to send someone to see that he survived? Head wounds are tricky. You might easily have killed him. Indeed, you were lucky that Mr. Barrett decided to stab him first.”
Sadie wanted to argue, except he had the right of it. She’d never guessed someone would murder the man and blame it on her. Still, her back was up.
“You’ve no right to speak to me—”
He didn’t let her finish. He stepped right up next to her, towering over her until she felt like an errant child before him. He didn’t touch her—he didn’t need to.
“I am the man who saved you from the gallows, Miss Allen. I’d turn you over my knee if I thought it would get through to you.”
There was no threat in his voice, but she heard the finality in his tone. Had she really been heading for the gallows? The idea terrified her. She’d lived an honest life. She was a respected woman back home. And yet here she’d come very close to being hanged? The very idea stunned her from head to toe.
And still he stood like a wall of disapproval in front of her. She might have accepted it from Connall. He was her clan leader and the one sponsoring her in London. But this man, daring to suggest he would spank her? That was a step too far.
Forcing strength into her body, she raised her gaze from his neatly tied cravat, then tilted her head back until she faced him squarely, if not exactly on the same level.
With an icy formality she’d learned from the countess, she said, “Your aid will be duly compensated, my lord. I’m sure my lady’s butler will have something for you on the way out.”
His brows arched at that, and she thought she’d scored a true hit. Until his lips quirked in a sardonic smile.
“Miss Allen, you have no idea what my compensation entails.” There was a suggestive note to his words, innuendo that made her cheeks heat even as her eyes dropped in embarrassment. Truly, she was grateful for his help. She’d erred badly last night. But her pride kept her from owning her mistake in front of this man. Perhaps if he stepped back and gave her room to breathe. Or maybe if he weren’t so large or smelled so damned interesting. She loved the scent of Bay Rum.
“Lord Heath,” she began, forcing herself to be gracious. “I do appreciate…” Her voice trailed away as he spun on his heel, then bowed to the countess and shot a look at Connall.
“We’ll talk about that other thing tomorrow.” He glanced back at her. “She’s reckless, and that’s dangerous for a woman on the marriage mart.”
“Aye,” Connall said. He said no more because Lord Heath was already striding out the parlor door, leaving Sadie to stare after him while emotions roiled around inside her.
