Derrick blinked, shocked that he had misread the situation so entirely. When he didn’t answer immediately, Barber stepped forward, shooting him a pointed look as he said, “Well, Your Grace, that is a consideration we must make on many of these cases. To reveal or not to reveal.”
“And why would you…not, if you don’t mind my asking,” Roseford pressed.
Derrick shook off his reactions, his bad assumptions, and focused. If he didn’t, it was only going to cause more trouble. “The Winfords were not the ones who hired us, Your Grace. We are simply using the threat against them in order to find the Faceless Fox.”
Roseford nodded. “I understand that and it makes sense on one hand. But on the other, these people are my guests, even if they are not my friends. They are coming to my home with a certain expectation of security and safety. I’m a bit uncomfortable with knowing there is a threat against them, but not telling them the truth. The danger is real, is it not?”
“The Fox has never been violent. In fact, just the opposite. Even in tricky situations, he uses his cunning, not weaponry or his fists. Not a single victim has ever been in physical threat of any kind, even the smallest.”
Barber sniffed behind him. His partner always complained that Derrick was too quick to defend the Fox. Where Derrick respected some of the man’s clever methods, Barber only saw a criminal.
He ignored the sound of derision and continued, “I understand your concerns. They speak very highly of your respectability.”
Roseford laughed at that. “Perish that thought. Certainly never spread it around, I have a reputation to uphold, you know.”
Derrick and Barber both laughed at the quip, and it was genuine. It was impossible not to like the man.
“For now,” Derrick continued, “I’d like to leave what we’re doing a secret. If only so that Lord and Lady Winford act naturally and don’t alert the Fox to the truth about our presence here. The fewer people who know the truth, the less likely it is that he’ll realize we’re right on his tail.”
Roseford seemed to ponder that for a moment, then nodded. “Very well, that makes sense. I assume if anything changes, we’ll reevaluate at that point.”
“Indeed,” Barber said. “And keep you apprised about anything that requires your assistance.”
“Thank you. I’m not trying to be troublesome or interfere in something I know nothing about. I just feel a certain obligation to my guests and my family.”
“Understandably,” Derrick said, his mind flashing to one of Roseford’s family members in particular. The man would be furious if he knew Derrick was allowing Selina to flit around in this investigation. And kissing her. And wanting to do far more than kiss her.
“I’ll leave you to your work,” Roseford said. “I need to see my wife, and then we’ll ready for the arrival of our final guests. Until later, gentlemen.” He inclined his head, then left the room.
When he was gone and they were alone, Barber speared Derrick with a sharp gaze. “What were you concerned about when he came in?”
“Concerned?” Derrick said with a scoffing laugh he hoped covered the truth. “What could I be concerned about?”
“I saw your face,” Barber pushed. “I know you.”
“Damn but you do, it’s annoying as hell,” Derrick said with a chuckle. “I like Roseford, I do. He seems a decent fellow. I just don’t want him interfering, even with the best of intentions.”
Barber narrowed his gaze, and Derrick could tell he didn’t completely trust the lie. But he sighed as he retook his place and pulled his paperwork back toward him.
“You’re not wrong,” Barber said. “And that’s why we don’t generally involve outsiders in investigations. It only ever leads to trouble.” He glanced up. “Also, you’re a bloody awful liar, at least to me. But you can keep your counsel on your troubles if that’s what you like. I just hope it won’t endanger our case.”
Derrick forced himself to meet Barber’s eyes. “It won’t,” he promised. “I’ll be sure of it.”
That seemed to appease Barber, for he went back to organizing his notes. But Derrick’s own words did nothing to appease himself. He knew the trouble he was in. He knew the cause of it. And he knew he had to get back into total control now or risk more than this case.
Selina stood on the drive beside her brother, watching as a carriage came up the long road from the gate toward the estate house. Her heart jumped as she watched it, because she knew her quarry was inside. The necklace she had been longing for since she heard of its existence, the woman who deserved the loss of such a beautiful thing—everything was coming together at last, and she could barely keep from bouncing with excitement.
As the carriage pulled onto the drive, she hesitated, for she felt a prickle up the back of her neck. Like she was being watched. She turned and looked up at the house. The front parlor window had its shades pulled open and there, standing at the glass, was Derrick Huntington.
Not a huge surprise considering her quarry was tied to his own investigation. Of course he would come to watch the arrival, read the situation as he so frustratingly could. Except he wasn’t. He wasn’t looking at the hustle and bustle on the drive.
He was watching her. His gaze burned into her from behind the glass, and she felt her body react even if it shouldn’t. Even if she didn’t want it to. When he looked at her with that stern, focused stare, she wanted things that went beyond a seduction to gain control. She wanted more than sex for fun or to make her true motives invisible to him. She wanted pleasure. She wanted burning, powerful sensation. She wanted all the promises she saw in those eyes, the ones he tried to fight. And it had nothing to fucking do with a necklace or the Faceless Fox.
Just like the previous night in the Winfords’ chamber hadn’t been about the jewels or his investigation. She had…told him things. About her life, about her past. Things she didn’t speak about to anyone. Why?Howhad he drawn that from her without effort?
Was it the darkness of the room, where confession felt safe? Was it the strange, powerful energy that seemed to course through them? Was it the thrill of the hunt, one she rarely shared with another person? Vale might be her associate, but she only did research, distraction when necessary. The Fox worked alone. Until last night when Selina had searched the room alongside a man bound to hunt her down.
In the end, perhaps it didn’t matterwhyshe’d whispered about her past, her father, to Derrick. She’d done it, and now she was…vulnerable. She couldn’t be vulnerable. Not with what was to come.
