“I know.” Derrick sighed. “Uninvited guests seem to come to every party. It is the way of Society. But it makes our job so much harder.”
Barber tilted his head. “And who is the uninvited guest here?”
Derrick’s eyes went wide. “A very good question. One I’ll raise with our friend the Duke of Roseford when I next get a moment of his attention. We should also examine those who come with Winford.”
Barber nodded. “It would make sense. If the thief resides with Lady Winford herself, they would want to wait until a larger party to make their move rather than steal the necklace at home. I’ll make inquiries as soon as they arrive. Is that everyone?”
“I don’t know.” Derrick paced the room, restless energy unable to let him be still. “It feels incomplete somehow. Like we’re missing something.”
Barber checked his notes. “If we are, I can’t see it. But I trust your instincts, so we’ll keep digging. We’re going to catch the Fox, Huntington. I feel it in my bones.”
Derrick nodded, buoyed by his friend’s certainty, but before he could respond, the door to the parlor opened and Selina stepped into the room. And when she sent a knowing, playful smile his way…well, it was more than his heart that throbbed. She didn’t make her way toward them, a fact for which he was both grateful and disappointed. She moved to the sideboard to peruse the liquor lined up for the guests and the door opened again as others began to trickle into the room for the pre-supper gathering.
“You still with me?” Barber asked.
Derrick blinked and forced his attention back to his friend. “Yes, yes, of course. I’m fine. I’m here. I’m listening,” he stammered out.
Barber’s eyebrows lifted and he stared at him a moment. Then he nodded slowly. “Yes, you seem very present. What is our game plan, then, for tonight?”
Derrick edged to the side, putting his back to Selina, who was now perched on the edge of the settee, engaged in close conversation with none other than Mr. Grimes. If the gentleman had been standoffish with Derrick, he was certainly not with Selina. Before Derrick cut off his sightline to the pair, Grimes was leaning forward, engrossed by her…or her breasts, for that was where the gentleman kept looking. Derrick fisted his hands at his sides in frustration.
“We…” He shook his head. “We should see who we’re seated next to at supper tonight. That will help guide who we garner information from without arousing suspicion. Then we regroup after the meal and see if we need to dig a little deeper with any one person or persons.”
Barber nodded. “If you don’t mind, I think I will start with Mr. Grimes. It seems Miss Oliver has left his side and he is temporarily alone.”
Derrick pivoted and found, indeed, Selina had left Grimes’s side. She had moved to her brother and sister-in-law and was smiling brightly as she chatted with them. A real smile. Not as playful or cheeky as the one she always gifted him. That smile that was a test…and she probably designed it that way.
Barber continued, oblivious to Derrick’s thoughts. “Perhaps he’ll be more amenable to speaking to me than he was to you.”
“Excellent,” Derrick said, and scanned the room to see if he could find a target as far away from Selina as possible. He found Squire Barton Filligrew at the fire. “I’ll talk to Squire Filligrew. I believe he knows my grandfather, so it’s as good a time as ever to trade on the earl’s good name.”
“He’d love that,” Barber chuckled as the two men parted ways. Derrick crossed the room slowly, trying to maintain a casual air, when in reality, he was massively aware of everything in the room around him. Including the woman across it, the one whose lips he could still taste, even though it had been half a day since he’d claimed them.
Selina traced her fingertip along the edge of her wine glass as she surveyed the room around her. Supper had been uneventful, unlike the previous night. She had not been seated near Derrick this time, so that gave her a little breathing room.
Of course, it also had given her a chance to observe him talk to those around him. She couldn’t hear him, but his body language was fascinating. The way he leaned in when he was curious. The way his cheek twitched just before he smiled. The way it didn’t when the smile was false.
She also got to observe him as he watched the room at large. He was a collector, that much was obvious. Gathering up little bits of information, cataloguing them in his mind. Hunting the Fox.
Huntingher.
And that idea should have terrified her, but when his gaze flitted to her from time to time, when his pupils dilated with what was obviously desire, she didn’t mind being hunted. Captured by a man like that? Oh, the possibilities were endless. An intelligent mind like his would surely find a thousand ways to…punish her. Her body ached even now thinking about it.
She shook her head. Supper was long over now, the men and women of the group had separated and now regathered. There was talk of games and shadow puppets as an entertainment. No one’s attention was on her, even his. A good thing, probably. The space allowed her to collect herself.
And to make a move that had nothing to do with Derrick Huntington. Since Lord and Lady Winford were to arrive tomorrow, she had sent Vale out to speak to the servants and find out which chamber was to be theirs. Her “companion” had come back just before supper with the answer. Tonight, Selina meant to do reconnaissance. This was the time to do it, when the room was distracted by boisterous laughter and the servants moving tables and setting up games.
She stepped into the hall and her shoulders pushed back. She was the Faceless Fox now, and she felt the costume of that persona fall over her. Her footfalls came lighter, her awareness was higher, she focused, forgetting all the things that had been distracting her since her arrival. What mattered now was the chamber. What mattered now was discovering entries and exits, hiding places, all the details that would make her final attack all the more successful.
She reached the guest quarters quickly. Of course it was quiet. Right now the household and its staff were distracted, so it was the perfect time. She stepped up to the door of the chamber and tested it. Not locked, not yet, as no one was staying there. She smiled.
“Selina?”
She froze at the deep voice behind her, saying her name for only the second time. How it moved her, those three syllables in that voice. And terrified her, for she had been right and truly caught.
She pivoted and Derrick stood there, arms folded across his broad chest, staring at her. Her breath caught and she forced a smile.
“D-Derrick.” The missish stammer and heated blush which flooded her cheeks came easily, for the man unnerved her. Luckily they also served as a mask to protect her.
