Joshua eyed her narrowly. She tried not to swallow, not in front of him. Still, she could not help but wonder if he saw a pin out of place.
“You could not have been there moments ago,” he accused quietly.
“Oh, I was, Joshua. You must not have searched well enough. This search is not normal, though, even for a sibling. Have you thought of that? I don’t see any other sister or brother doing the same thing.”
His eyes flashed. She did not usually talk back to him. She was often very obedient.
“Please do not test my patience tonight. Of course, you are my responsibility, and I must look after you.”
Thankfully, that was the end of that. At least for that night. Still, restlessness had filled Lucy’s heart.
She had never craved freedom quite like this before. Her mind drifted back to Daniel. She wondered what that moment between them meant.
Or if it meant anything at all.
Chapter Nineteen
“It’s a pity Daniel could not join us this morning,” Daphne remarked as she poured tea into her cup.
The following morning, the grandeur of the previous night all but faded into grey. Guests gathered for one last breakfast, although a few had already left home the night before.
One thing was for certain: there would be a massive exodus back to London later. The Redmoor ball was a success.
Lucy would rather be anywhere than there. She could barely eat the bread and butter in front of her, much less the various pastries served with eggs and milk. Her mind was still running through the events of the night before.
Not the music. Not the dance.
She thought more of her encounter with Daniel and how she had navigated that secret passage to get back to the party without being noticed.
She sat next to her brother, as usual, and she knew her life would be back to how it was—dreary and restricted. She did entertain herself by glancing at the doorway whenever she thought Joshua was not watching to see if a certain tall man with broad shoulders would pass by. She kept her expression unreadable, hoping that she would be able to look at him with polite indifference, although just the thought of him made her body heat up.
All of Lucy’s hopes were dashed. Her hand faltered, and her spoon fell into her bowl, which was thankfully full of porridge.
“Stonewynn left?” Joshua asked, wearing the same mask of polite indifference his sister had been trying to master earlier.
“Yes, our dear brother left at dawn,” Victoria confirmed. Interestingly, her expression was also neutral.
Everyone knew that the Duchess of Hawksford was not the sort of woman who would do that. She was always unafraid to express her feelings, everyone else be damned. Was she hiding something? Was Daniel hiding something?
“It’s, uh, a matter of business. Once Daniel has a task in mind, he wants to start on it as early as he can.”
Lucy’s stomach sank. She knew she should not have gotten her hopes up. Daniel was a duke. Why would he give her, a spinster prone to wearing dowdy clothes, any attention at all?
She should be thankful that he had helped her find a way out of last night’s predicament. It could have turned into a scandal, and Daniel would have been able to get away with it unscathed, while her reputation would have been ruined.
If he ever offered marriage, she could not, in good conscience, accept. She would have to banish herself. A life in a convent was preferable to living with Joshua for a few more years.
Two days later, Daniel was inhaling coal smoke in London. He supposed he should not mind. The whole atmosphere matched his mood. He didn’t like the fact that he had to leave Redmoor so urgently, but he didn’t have a choice. The mystery of Moses Gordon and the fire still held him hostage. There was no moving forward until he solved it.
Adrian stood with him. He looked out of place, with his fine wool coat, but his demeanor would make anyone reconsider. After all, he used to deal with the underground despite his title.
Silas, his contact, stood across from them. He was small and dressed in rags, but there was something about him. Something sharp. This man could possibly fit himself into tight spaces if he had to. To save himself or to spy on others.
Daniel knew what he had to do. He pulled a leather pouch from his pocket, letting the gold coins clink.
Temptation, that was what it was, and he held it in his hand. He would not hesitate to pay for information and, eventually, for justice.
“I want to know everything that happens in Warehouse fourteen. The activities. The people involved. We also need to know the times they usually come and go. Of course, Moses Gordon is at the heart of this investigation. We need to know who he meets when it gets dark. If a marked carriage comes, I also need to know. We may find out Gordon’s benefactor.”
