Zach snorted. She would have looked had it not been.
“Father had told me to knock four times on the door, which I’d thought odd, but as he was writhing in his bed in pain at the time, I did not question him.”
“Not being known for your restraint, I can’t imagine that was easy,” Zach said.
“If you want to hear this story, shut up and stop poking at me.” She glared at him again.
He’d always equated Mary with annoying and therefore had not taken the time to notice how pretty she was. But everything about Miss Mary Blake was sweet, from the small turn of her nose and stubborn chin down to her sturdy walking boots.
“Forgive me, it’s a habit that will take time to break.”
“There is no need to break it, as after tonight we need speak on this no further and can go back to the way things were between us.” Her words sounded just a bit desperate to Zach.
“Nothing will go back to the way it was, Mary, and you know that as well as I do.” He put up his hand as she opened her mouth. “Finish your story.”
She didn’t want to. She wanted to refute what he’d said. “Very well, but nothing need change between us.” Of course she had to have the last word.
“Everything has changed.” Zach was the same.
“I knocked five times because I was nervous, but Geraint answered. I said I was Lord Blake’s daughter and that he’d fallen ill and wanted me to bring the note to the church. He took it with a nod and began to close the door. I still don’t know why I did it,” Mary said, “but I felt the need to push open the door and step inside.”
“I know why you did it, because you’re nosey.”
She poked out her tongue, and it was so like the old Mary, he laughed.
“And Monty…” Her words fell away.
“Who is Monty?”
She drew her mouth into a line once more.
“Viscount Montgomery, perchance?”
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Mary cursed silently for her stupidity. She should not have mentioned Monty’s name. Of course Zach would know Monty was Lord Montgomery.
“I am not discussing who Monty is. The point is Geraint was not the only man in the church that night.”
“And because you recognized Plunge, and clearly, he was out of character, you demanded to know what was going on?”
“I said I would not leave until I understood my father was not in danger or being blackmailed.” She ignored his reference to Monty.
“I can imagine the staid and proper Geraint was horrified at having a woman inside the hallowed walls of the church where members of Alexius have stood for centuries,” Zach said.
He sat across from her composed now. He hadn’t been when he found her and dragged her into the hackney. Anger had radiated off him. His clothes were dark. Black jacket and trousers. Black shoes. He even wore a black scarf to hide his necktie. He looked a bit mean and disturbingly handsome.
Mary did not care for that description or the way her heart gave a little tug when she looked at him. She loathed being aware of this man. Loathed that since their kisses, she wanted more.
“He did not like me in there, it’s true. But I informed him that unless he explained why the other person was there and what involvement my father had, I would not leave.”
“But surely you knew it could be answered simply. A debt? A consortium? There could have been any number of reasons your father needed that letter taken to the church on that night,” Zach said.
“I’m not sure why I was persistent. But I had a feeling that I needed to be,” Mary said softly. “I am aware that makes little sense, but intuition made me stay and continue to demand answers.”
“I understand intuition and have based lots of decisions on just that.”
He didn’t sound angry anymore, just curious. But she knew him and that he would make trouble for her once he had all the information he sought. He was like the others who thought her place was at home, stitching.
