His shoulders relaxed slightly. “Ah. Relationship, is it? I thought the fair actress was here under your sole protection. I did not realize there were strings attached to her safety. I see now that you are acting the role of the jealous suitor.”
“I would never pressure her to stay here under duress,” Cordell snapped, ignoring the stab about being jealous. Then again, since he’d mentioned it… “I am given to wonder if you are the one who has ulterior motives. If you believe me capable of such treachery, I am surprised you bothered to come to me for help at all, more likely thinking that I would do away with you instead.”
The Wolf lifted a hand and scratched at the new growth of whiskers on his jawline. “Miss Sims is rather comely, and after I learned of her enticing… suggestion the other evening, I admit I was tempted, as well as the possibility occurring to me that you could not be trusted. However, in my line of work, you must be cautious of danger around every corner. But I never thought you capable of murder or anything resembling it, regardless of whether your father was guilty of such wrongdoing.”
Cordell frowned. “Then why give Miss Sims the impression that I was such a monster?”
“Because I felt that she needed to distance herself from you. I could feel the tension in this room when you were together. It was as palpable as a clock in a silent hall.”
Unable to argue with the truth, because Cordell had felt the same awareness flowing under his skin when Aislynn was near. From the beginning, he had been drawn to her. He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Very well. You have made your point, Wolf. But I would appreciate it if you did not make the situation worse by any further insinuations that I am the villain in this story.”
The Wolf lifted a dark brow. “I thought you had thrown yourself into that category years ago. Or am I mistaken?”
Cordell stared hard at him. “Let us just leave it at that.” He started to go but then stopped and glared at the Wolf over his shoulder. “I trust that you will find yourself healed enough to leave my residence this evening.”
He slammed the door on his departure.
Chapter
Twelve
Aislynn thought it was best not to tell Cordell that the performance that evening had been canceled because of the abrupt unrest swirling about London’s theatre crowd. There were several performers who were conspicuously absent. While Cordell would learn about the details soon enough, she didn’t intend on wasting that much precious time. She needed to get to Spades before he could stop her from speaking to Mary in private. She would never be able to rest easy in Cordell’s presence unless she was assured that he wasn’t a suspect in the recent murders.
The Wolf’s cautionary words that morning had been pressing on her so heavily that she was finding it difficult to breathe at times. At least, that was part of it. She could not believe that she could still find Cordell attractive when there were too many doubts and wild speculations running around her head. It was time to settle things once and for all.
Before anyone else got hurt.
First, she had to get rid of her shadow. No doubt John would refuse to escort her anywhere but back to Cordell’s residence. If not, he would surely tell his employer where they had gone and she did not want him to know what her plans were. No doubt Mary would eventually tell him. Rather than trying to evade John, she walked up to the man set to protect her and said sweetly, “Do you mind being a dear and help me reach something on the top shelf of my closet in my dressing room?”
He looked at her skeptically but moved forward regardless of any hesitations he might be harboring. As she started to lead the way into her dressing room, Aislynn acted as though she had stubbed her toe against the door frame. “Ow!” She made a dramatic show of soothing the wounded appendage and would have likely gotten much praise for her performance if she had been on the stage. As it was, she waved John inside and said, “I will join you in a moment.”
The instant he was clear of the door and his head turned long enough for her to act, she slammed the door shut and shoved the key into the lock, turning it and securing him inside before he had time to pound one angry fist on the wood. He shouted several obscenities from the other side and Aislynn sighed heavily. She would have to tell Mary to hire another man for her establishment, because this one was too easily duped.
“I do apologize, John, but I have somewhere to be and I cannot have you forbidding my actions. If I return in enough time, I promise I will come back and release you.”
Hardly, Aislynn added to herself. If he couldn’t figure out how to escape then he deserved to be trapped in there for the rest of the night. By the time he was freed in the morning, perhaps he might learn to not be so gullible in the future.
As Aislynn rushed out of the theatre, she had her purse tucked securely in the pocket of her serviceable gown and as she quickly hailed down a hackney, she handed the driver the requested payment with the instructions to take her to Spades.
She sat inside the interior of the carriage, nervous as she waited to be deposited at the infamous brothel. She never thought she would be willing to visit a house of ill repute, but this was the second time in short succession that she would pass through those doors. Thankfully, not to work. However, the reason for her visit was equally unpleasant. She did not want to think of Cordell in a bad light, and after what he’d confided to her, she certainly understood his hesitations a bit more. But what else would Mary tell her about Cordell that The Wolf believed she knew?
By the time she reached the establishment, Aislynn stepped down from the hackney with trepidation skipping over her skin. What if Mary wasn’t in residence? She had never considered that possibility before but now she was inundated with various scenarios that did not bode well for her.
Glancing around her, Aislynn quickly knocked on the door. It was soon opened by a stern looking man. He didn’t say a word, just stared at Aislynn on the front step. She gathered her courage and announced evenly, “I am here to speak with Mary. I am a friend of Cordell Steele.”
She thought he might invite her to wait in the foyer, but instead, he slammed the door in her face, leaving her standing in the middle of the street. Aislynn raised the hood of her cloak and prayed for patience as she waited to see if she would be received.
When the door soon opened once more and the man widened it for her entrance, she took that as a good sign. “Parlor,” was all he said before he walked away.
Aislynn decided that he wasn’t much for conversation, but at least she had been admitted and Mary was willing to see her on this unexpected call.
As Aislynn walked into the front parlor, the part of the interior that had been filled with revelry before, she held back a shudder as she spied her quarry. Mary was reclining on a settee with a paper in her left hand, her other arm hanging uselessly to her side as she sat casually with her trouser clad legs spread apart.
She must have stared at the useless appendage for too long, as Mary spoke up suddenly. “It is an old injury. Worthless to me but still attached.”
Aislynn felt a stab of guilt. “I apologize. I meant no offense.”
“It is not as though I do not receive the same curious stares whenever I leave my establishment and mingle with the rest of society,” she said with a one-sided shrug. She set aside the paper but retained her casual pose. “But I doubt ye came here to discuss my ills. I find I am curious why ye evaded Cordell’s protection and found yerself back at my doorstep.”
