“For a woman who desires discretion, she is not very discreet herself.”
“Then itisyou.”
“Of course it is. How many Hepplewhites are qualified to conduct inquiries?”
“None.”
That was not fair. “I am eminently qualified. For her purposes, perhaps more so than you.”
“Morequalified? I conducted inquiries for the army. I was trained by experts. I uncovered spies in France and in London have conducted inquiries for five lords and a half dozen members of Parliament. Other than Mrs. Oliver, for whom have you conducted them?”
“Another woman. And myself. You are only annoyed because you don’t want competition.”
“You are not competition.”
“Then why are you so vexed? If I am not competition, you have nothing to worry about.”
“I am worried for Mrs. Oliver. She requires a professional.”
“She requires someone who can walk into shops that cater towomenand learn information that requiresa woman’s sensibilityand knowledge of fashion. That does not sound like you. As soon as you arrive the shop owner will know something is afoot. Tell me, what do you know about lace cuffs?”
He frowned harder.
“As I suspected. You know nothing about them. I am clearly the better choice for Mrs. Oliver since the path of inquiry goes right through a stack of lace cuffs. She thought so too, it appears. Now, I must ask you to move aside. I am very busy and cannot dally here chatting with you.”
He did move, but when she walked on he again fell into step with her. “Is it your intention to try and make a profession of this?”
“I don’t intend totryanything. It is now my profession. I even have cards.”
He looked to the sky in exasperation. “Other than a few women who are misguided, no one will employ you.”
She strode all the harder and turned onto Park Lane. “I think many will, especially women. If you were a wife hiring someone to do inquiries on your husband, would you want to discuss such indelicate matters with such asyou? Of course not. If you were a woman who had written indiscreet letters and needed help getting them back, would you hire—”
“If I were a smart woman I would, in every case.”
“Then I will make my living serving the stupid ones. With time perhaps the stupid men will find me too. I daresay even if I limit myself to stupid clients, I will be very busy.”
Again that hold stopping her. “Minerva—”
She glared back at him. He released her arm. She faced him squarely. “Do not insult me by implying I am incapable of such simple inquiries when I have done harder ones very well in the past.”
A flicker of curiosity entered his eyes. “What ones?”
She had been careless. She pretended even more vexation with him. “Never you mind. Just believe me that I have.”
His expression softened. “As a woman, there are places you cannot go. Society you cannot join. People who will not hear your questions. There are those who will notice if a woman follows them.”
She threw her hand to her forehead and feigned shock. “Truly? Oh, my. What a fool I have been not to think of those things. Whatever will I do?” She walked on, amazed at the small opinion he had of her. “I learned where you live, didn’t I? You had no idea you were being followed.”
His damned boots matched her stride. The mood pouring off him changed to one of thought. “You are not doing this alone,” he said after twenty paces. “You have others helping, including men. You had others at the house as servants and now they will aid you in your future inquiries.”
She just let him chew on that.
“How long has there been an Office of Discreet Inquiries?”
“Not long.” She would never admit just hownot long. Let him wonder.
“I trust you will not be doing anything dangerous. There have been times when I barely got out of a bad situation alive. I would not like to think of you—people can become vicious if they believe themselves cornered, Minerva. Domestic inquiries can be the most volatile. If you persist in this, you must take care.”
