Her gaze lifted at a sound, her heart dropping when she saw Norwood standing in front of her.
“Awake, are we? Took long enough,” he said with a snort as though she had done something wrong. He began circling her, his smug expression telling her that this was a man who believed he had already won the game he had created.
“Why would you take me?” she demanded, even though her voice was a little croaky. “You can never recover from something like this.”
“I can if no one knows this ever happened,” he said.
“There is no good result for you from this,” she insisted. “What are you hoping for?”
“The diamond, obviously,” he said, looking at her as though she were an idiot. “Your husband should bring it to us shortly.”
“Are you certain about that?” she asked, lifting a brow, hoping she could bluff long enough to convince him that his plan was faulty — long enough, at least, for Asher to arrive with a plan of his own. “You know better than anyone that my husband and I are not a love match.”
“Whether or not he loves you, he is not going to leave his wife to me,” he said. “He is far too competitive for that. He will not let me win.”
Norwood actually had a point there.
Evelyn had faith in Asher, except for one very real problem — he didn’t have the diamond.
If nothing else, perhaps she could use this time to get more information out of Norwood. He seemed to like hearing himself talk. Perhaps because his wife wasn’t with them, he actually had the opportunity to do so.
Speaking of his wife…
“I assume I am on your property,” she said. “What does Lady Norwood think about all of this?”
“My wife is so involved in everyone else’s lives, she is oblivious to her own,” he said with a scoff and a wave of his hand. “I sent her shopping today. Told her it was a gift. She was thrilled.”
Evelyn nodded, breathing deeply to stay calm and slow her racing heart.
“Why the Paragon Diamond?” she asked. “Are there not many other jewels that are just as beautiful, if not more so, that you could acquire by more… legal means?”
“It is not the diamond itself that matters,” he said, looking at her as though she had no wits at all. “You must have determined that by now.”
“Why do you think Asher has it?”
“Because he is the only other person who could know why the diamond is truly valuable. No one else would have a reason to steal it.”
Uncertainty flickered in his eyes for a moment, telling Evelyn that he did not possess the confidence he was attempting to portray. The very fact that he had gone to such lengths as to kidnap her told her that he was desperate, running out of time.
“Why would you blame me? Try to force Asher and me together?” she asked, for it was one piece of the puzzle she had not been able to solve.
“I saw you that night near the diamond. I also saw Ravenscar notice you, and it occurred to me that the two of you could be working together. If I could cause a scandal around you, thenperhaps it would distract you enough to draw you out, to bring the diamond to light. I couldn’t see any other reason that he would be interested in you besides your ability to figure out how to get into the case. Was I right?” he asked, his eyes lighting. “Did you help him?”
Evelyn felt a pang in her chest at his comment that Asher would only be interested in her for her puzzle-solving ability. The worst of it was that Norwood wasn’t wrong. Asher had little other reason to ever even notice her. This was very likely what held him back from fully committing to their marriage.
She swallowed her bitter upset, telling herself that there was no point in feeling such a thing, for it wouldn’t help her now.
“No more questions,” Norwood said, his eyes flicking to her as though realizing that it was useless to share so much with her.
“Just one?” Evelyn attempted to look at him, hoping to draw out pity.
“Fine.”
“What will you do if Asher doesn’t come for me?”
He stared at her, as though shocked that she hadn’t come to the realization herself.
The truth was, she had. She just wanted to make him say it aloud.
