Before she could pull away, his hand closed over hers. He pressed her fingers to his chest, steadying them against the thrum of his heartbeat.
Every other sound—the crowd, the cheering, the pounding hooves—faded until only the warmth between them remained.
He was watching her lips. She could feel it, knew just how close they were to crossing a line they might never return from.
Not here. Not now.
Perhaps never.
A groom’s pail clattered against the side of the canopy. Daniel jerked back, and the moment was broken.
A cheer from the crowd marked the race’s end, and Lucy felt the urgency to retreat.
“I must go,” she breathed, trying to mask the pounding of her heart. “Joshua might be looking for me.”
She slipped quickly back into the throng, blending with the crowd before Daniel could respond.
Part of her regretted leaving, for part of her ached to stay, but she knew the danger. They could not lose control, not here, not in public. To kiss him would be a great risk, without any guarantee of the future she longed for.
And yet, even as she moved away, her mind clung to the heat of his hand, the closeness of his body, the silent promise in the way he had held her.
She wondered if she would ever have the strength to resist these moments, or if, when the next opportunity came, she would simply surrender.
Daniel knew that Lucy was becoming addictive. His mind kept wandering to her. So, while the hunt no longer felt as urgent, he decided that pursuing it would ease his longing for her.
Therefore, two days after the last ball in which he had been close to baring more of his soul to her, he was back with Silas. The man had quickly become his most trusted among those under his employ.
“Your Grace, we found the location of the warehouse,” Silas declared, his voice devoid of emotion.
He was always matter-of-fact, almost to the point of being cold. However, he did his job well.
“It’s near the East India Docks,” he continued. “The place is not known for active trade but more for storage, old crates, and rot. The men who work for Gordon are not afraid to inhale the stench and disease, or are too desperate to want something better.”
“Are we certain about this?” Daniel’s pulse was pounding in his throat, but he calmed himself down.
“Yes. The place barely saw any business, and yet the lampsare lit every night. Also, my men saw Moses Gordon himself frequenting that warehouse.”
“Mmm.”
Daniel studied the map Silas had spread across his desk. He knew that place well enough. It was where people disappeared in the fog quite easily. No wonder Gordon liked it.
“Did you find any clues about who paid him to burn the house in Suffolk?” he asked.
“No sight of Gordon’s paymaster yet. However, we plan to follow Gordon. I know he is a rough man, but we are rough men too. We will squeeze the information out of him if we need to.”
Daniel had an idea that the squeezing would also be physical. He clenched his jaw at the thought.
No, he was not opposed to it at all. Memories of his uncle and his cousin steeled his resolve. Of course, the thought of Lucy also gave him that little push. If he pursued whatever it was between them, he didn’t want either of them looking over their shoulder.
“Let us prepare for a confrontation, Silas,” he ordered, his voice steely. “We must finish this as soon as we can.”
Silas’s eyes gleamed. Eventually, he tipped his hat to Daniel and slunk out of the room. The staff at Stonewynn had been made aware of his identity and possible constant presence.
Alone again, Daniel thought back to Lucy. He had been seeing her in quick flashes at a time for the past two weeks. He wondered if he would finally have a chance at peace, and Lucy a chance at freedom.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Finally, it seems that Melody has found a match, Lucy!” Victoria exclaimed in delight. “And it’s you!”
