“The better the opportunity for them to shine.”
“Exactly. Will you help us, Mr. Steele?”
“She could be in Ireland by the end of tomorrow or the next day.”
“Then she will find herself in the hands of our vile cousin, who feels no obligation to the care and well-being of his female relations. Elise is naive in many ways. She doesn’t understand all of the dangers.”
“You do not trust this cousin?”
“I detest him.”
“And Elise didn’t know this?”
“She doesn’t like him either. However, Elise is overconfident in herself. She doesn’t obey all the rules that guide polite society, or feels they should be ignored, often times just on principle. She could walk right into a desperate situation for no other reason than her own boldness. It’s Dara’s and my fault. We have protected her. Perhaps too much.” Then she said in her direct manner, “You must find her.”
It seemed an easy task.
He had come to admire the Lanscarrs. They had set out to marry dukes using their looks and their intelligence. He imagined them as femalepirates, swooping in to gather what booty they could. They had certainly given this Season’s scheming mothers and anxious debutantes a good shake.
However, Beck already had a commission, one that was proving to be frustrating. He had been searching for a missing duke whose family was most anxious for him to be found. All Beck had to do was learn what drove the person, gambling, womanizing, other darker vices? Following their trail was easy after that.
Except, this Winderton case confounded him. He’d caught word of a sighting here and there, but by the time Beck arrived, the man purported to be the duke would be gone. He never used his title and there was no apparent pattern to the duke’s actions. It was almost as if the man was roaming to roam. That meant he could be anywhere in the world since he’d been gone close to a year.
However, this was the lovely Gwendolyn asking for help.
How could Beck resist?
“Of course I will find your sister,” he told her.
She was so grateful, she almost fell into his arms, but she stopped herself, stepping back. “Thank you, Mr. Steele. Please come to the house tomorrow. We will tell you all we know.”
“I shall leave tonight, Miss Lanscarr. You’ve already told me all I need to know. She is heading toward Ireland. What is her exact destination?”
“Wiltham in County Wicklow.”
“Ah, yes. If I am to reach there before your sister, I must ride now.”
Gwendolyn nodded, her eyes shiny with unshed tears of relief.
And it made him feel insanely proud that he could offer this to her.
“Whatever price you want, I shall pay it,” she promised. “Money, another favor. We need your help.” Some paid for his services with coin, but from others he asked favors. Those favors gave him power. They were more valuable than money. Gwendolyn already owed him a favor, one he would soon ask her to act upon.
“We already have a bargain,” he told her magnanimously. After all, he didn’t want to see Elise Lanscarr run into the sort of people he knew preyed on the innocent out there in the world beyond the haven of her family. “I shall be in touch. You need to go in now before you are missed.”
She backed out of the shadows, moonlight turning her white muslin dress to silver. He wondered how long her hair was. Right now, it was piled high on her head, but did it reach between her shoulders? To her waist?
But as she started to turn, Beck had one last question. “How did you know I was out here?”
Gwendolyn shrugged one elegant shoulder. “I don’t know. I just knew.” On those words, she returned to the house.
Chapter Eleven
It is the quiet pigs that eat the meal.
Irish proverb
“Whatisyour story, Kit?” Elise asked. She followed him on a narrow path through a meadow of tall grass.
