“Well, I need to get back to work.” Angela stood. “You continue to heal and don’t overdo it again.”
Nicole smiled and stood beside her friend. “Not to worry. I’m feeling much better. I’m really glad you came to see me, and I’m especially grateful for the information you shared.”
“We will get this thief, I promise.”
Nicole walked Angela to the door and waved goodbye. Her nerves were dancing with enthusiasm, and she suddenly wanted to do some poking into Mr. Nickerson’s private life. Sitting around the house wouldn’t help her detective friends at all. And now that there was another suspect in the mix, Nicole was even more enthused about seeing someone arrested...as long as it wasn’t Ashton.
Dinnertime was soon upon her, and she meandered to the dining room. The servants nodded a greeting, but none of them really spoke to her, none but Patsy, anyway. Nicole entered the dining room and stopped. Only two place settings were on the table. She grasped the arm of the serving girl who walked by. “Excuse me, but there are two settings here.”
The girl’s eyes widened. “Yes, Miss.”
“Do you know who is joining me for dinner?”
Just as the girl opened her mouth to reply, a man’s strong voice boomed in the room with the answer, “I will be joining you.”
Nicole hitched a breath and turned sharply. Ashton strolled into the room looking extremely handsome in his dark blue coat, vest, and trousers. Butterflies danced in her stomach.
He motioned to the table. “Is it all right that I dine with you this evening?”
“Uh, yes, of course it’s all right.”
He walked to a chair and pulled it out for her. Graciously, she sat and then watched him move around the table to take a seat directly across from her. She had missed him terribly; missed talking with him like they used to do and missed gazing upon his handsome face and heart-melting smile. When she noticed the flicker of distrust in his eyes as he peered at her, it broke her heart, but it made her more determined to win back his trust, and hopefully, his love.
“You are looking much better than you did the other day,” he said, lifting his glass of wine and sipping.
“I feel much better, too.”
“Splendid.” He nodded. “Then I suspect you are strong enough to tell me what happened at the park?”
“Yes, I would very much like to talk about that.” She cut a small piece of her fish and placed it in her mouth.
“Was there a reason you were coming into town that afternoon?”
“Indeed, there was. I was on my way to locate Mrs. Phelps.”
He arched an eyebrow. “May I ask why?”
After she chewed, she swallowed the bite of food. “I talked with Patsy earlier that day, and she told me some things that left me puzzled. There was a nagging in my head telling me that something wasn’t right with Patsy’s story. I wanted to find Mrs. Phelps to have her do some serious checking into Mr. Nickerson and Mr. Larson’s life.”
Ashton stopped his forkful of food before reaching his mouth as his stare locked with hers. “Glynn and Steve? You suspect them now?”
“Actually, yes.” She sipped her wine. “Patsy said that your father had bribed the railway’s co-owners to bring you on as a third partner.”
Anger lines creased Ashton’s forehead as he slowly lowered his fork back to his plate. Obviously, this was a touchy subject for him.
She quickly continued before he could stop her. “And because of that, it gives both of them motive to make you appear as if you’re the thief.”
Ashton’s gaze dropped to his plate, and his fingers tightened around his utensil. He remained quiet for a few moments. Nicole didn’t dare interrupt his thought process. She’d give him time to absorb the news and figure this one out on his own.
Finally, he heaved a sigh and looked at her again. “What exactly did Patsy tell you?”
“She hinted that your father bribed them to take you on.”
“Did my servant also tell you that my father had worked with them before?”
“He did?” she asked, her interest perking up a little more. “Was your father part of the railway service?”
“No, he was the owner of the largest bank in London. Both Glynn and Steve had accounts in my father’s bank.” He poked his fork into his food, but it never left the plate. “It was during these years when my father became greedy. He wasn’t known for having good business ethics. He made a lot of people upset.”
