“I do. That is why I help those who come looking for it. Those who are fierce in wanting it.”
“And you saw…this fierceness…in me?”
Bonnet askew, hem muddied, dress creased, just as she had looked that first night. The set of her shoulders, her determined expression, the way her body reacted to mine. There was something about her I found more than beautiful.
Indefinable, beyond appearance and determination—something elemental.
I tipped my head back to rest against the press. “I still do.”
She wet her lips. “Why?”
“You’ll have to trust me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh?”
“What happened at the market?”
Her fingers gripped her skirt. “I ran into Thorne Worley.”
Of course. It had been there, in her eyes. As soon as I’d gotten the information required, I’d started running. Gone around to the kitchen, knowing that something was wrong.
“And what did he have to tell you?”
“That you were the killer. That his precious ‘Lissa’ was next.”
“His precious high ladyisnext.”
“And then it would be my turn.”
Magic skittered, escaping my grip. “You should be nowhere on the list.”
“Perhaps it was his way to scare me.” She gripped her skirt. “It worked.”
“Why did he think you were next?” The wards pulsed as my control slipped. “What did he say?”
“That was everything.”
I walked forward and touched her chin, lifting it. “What did he say?”
She swallowed, her eyes locked with mine. “He said you would kill me, just like you killed the others. He said I had to kill you first.”
“He only mentioned me?”
“Yes.”
I stepped back and opened the linen press door. “I will take you to the house where your brother is. It will take an hour to make sure we aren’t followed. Gather your things now.”
“What?”
I undid the other button on my trousers and reached for a new shirt. A hand curled around my arm and turned me. The shirt dropped to the floor.
“I am not going anywhere.”
I turned into her, letting her hand wrap more firmly. “Marietta, Worley is mad. He didn’t have to kill them in order to do you harm. If he targets you—”
“Why would he? I had nothing to do with—”
I grabbed the hand branding my arm. “It doesn’t matter. We aren’t dealing with someone who has a full set of faculties. What if instead of doing me harm, he decides to hurt you?”
