“I can read it in your eyes,” he said.
She lowered them.
“Talk to me, Sophie.”
“Are you promised to another?” The words came out in a rush.
His brows drew together. “I beg your pardon?”
“I’m not saying it again,” Sophie said, looking around them to see who was watching.
“You believe, after what we’ve done together and what we’ve shared, that I could be promised to another woman?”
“I—”
He turned and walked away from her before she could finish, and Sophie knew she’d been a fool to listen to gossip and had now hurt the man she loved. An honorable man.
CHAPTER 29
Patrick looked at the blunt-faced private investigator seated across from him.
“No one is invisible, Mr. Hatchett. There must be some trace of Jack Spode.”
“The room at the Black Swan where the boy and nanny were kept was empty. Everything had been removed. No one would speak about Jack Spode either, all denying his existence.” Mr. Hatchett blew out a breath. “Only a dangerous, powerful man can silence everyone with fear, my lord.”
“So it seems. Keep digging, Mr. Hatchett, and hire anyone you need to assist you. It is imperative this man is found and stopped.”
“I will, my lord, but I just wanted to keep you abreast of things.”
“Of course, and thank you.”
Patrick left the offices of Hatchett and Maynard and walked out into a cool gray day. London seemed to be mirroring his mood.
Are you promised to another?
He wasn’t a man to anger quickly, but he’d done just that after Sophie had asked him that question. He’d then walkedaway from her. It was later, when he was home lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling, he realized he’d never given her reason to trust him.
He’d believed her to be a liar and questioned her constantly, then taken her innocence. If, as he suspected, she’d heard gossip about him being promised to another woman, why would she not believe that about him?
Because I saved her brother?Should that alone have given her doubts as to him being someone who would take a woman’s innocence and then walk away to marry another?
He’d challenged her right to stand in society as the Countess of Monmouth, which, as it turned out, was accurate, but he now understood why she and Lady Carstairs had done what they had. They were protecting themselves, and he could not fault them for that considering Myles Dutton’s personality.
Patrick’s problem was his arrogance. It was never good to see yourself clearly, but in that moment, he did. He had always forged his own path, and to hell with anyone standing in his way. Long ago, he’d vowed no one would tell him what to do ever again. He was used to being in control. Patrick said and did what he wished, and with Sophie it was no different.
“Nephew!”
Stopping at the shriek, he looked around and saw three ladies seated in the small garden next to Petal’s tea shop ahead of him. One was his aunt, and two were her closest friends. Raising a hand, he prepared to walk on.
“Nephew, come here!”
Christ.
Resigned, he opened the small white gate and entered.
“Aunt Lavinia,” he said, bending to kiss a paper-thin cold cheek. “Mrs. Spooner, Lady Nigel.” He bowed. “You do realize it’s cold out here, don’t you?”
“You young folk are not hardy,” Mrs. Spooner said.
