Lady Regina Haversham. The powerful Duke of Colchester’s niece, and the cousin of his good friend Mark Grimaldi. A gorgeous, rich lady of theton. One with whom he’d flirted outrageously when he’d met her in Surrey last summer. They’d been drawn to each other, could barely take their eyes from each other when they shared the same space, a fact that was entirely inappropriate because at the time the woman had been in mourning for her cousin.
Lady Regina had worked with Daffin and Grimaldi, along with Grimaldi’s wife, Nicole, to discover the murderers and bring them to justice. Then Daffin had left. Paid handsomely by the duke for his assistance in solving his only son’s murder, Daffin had gone back to his life in London chasing down criminals, and left Lady Regina Haversham to dwell in her countryside mansion with her happy, loving family, fancy servants, and gobs of money.
There may have been an instant connection between them, but Lady Regina was strictly off-limits. Not only was she far above him in class and breeding, but she was his good friend’s cousin. Daffin highly doubted that Mark Grimaldi, the newly minted Marquess of Coleford and the Secretary of the Home Office, would look kindly on his blueblood cousin being courted by a Bow Street Runner. He and Grim might befriends, but their friendship didn’t make up for the impossible gulf between their social ranks. It never would.
Daffin’s flirting with Lady Regina had been harmless, however, and quickly over. In the months since, he had tried not to think of her, albeit unsuccessfully. Now here she was, standing in his offices on Bow Street as if he’d conjured her from his imagination. She smelled like apples. He would never forget her scent. It wafted across the space to him, and he briefly closed his eyes as he breathed it in.
Lady Regina cleared her throat and glanced self-consciously at Paul. “I mean… Mr. Oakleaf.”
Paul turned to Daffin with eyebrows lifted.
Daffin glared at the lad before reverting his attention to the lady. He offered her a formal bow. “To what do I owe the pleasure, my lady?”
Her eyes darted about the room. She bit her lip. “I need to… I… have a proposal for you.” Was it his imagination, or did her voice shake?
Daffin rubbed the back of his neck. He had an idea what her “proposal” would be. Like her cousin Nicole, who’d worked with him years ago, perhaps the lady had taken it in her head to become the next female Bow Street Runner, if unofficially. Nicole had mentioned to him a time or two that Lady Regina expressed interest in the work.
He shook his head. “My apologies, my lady, but we’re not hiring at the moment.”
Lady Regina cocked her head to the side. Her lips twitched. “I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Oakleaf, but that is not why I’m here.”
He frowned. “It’s not?”
“No.” She shook her head again, and he was captivated by the blue glimmer in her eyes. Something about the way shelooked at him made him feel… wanted… admired. He remembered that feeling from Surrey, as if they were both in on the same jest.
“Then… why are you here?” he asked. She’d surprised him. His voice was more curt than he’d meant it to be.
“As I said, I have a proposal for you, but I’d prefer to share the details with you… privately.”
“Privately?” Daffin echoed, rubbing the back of his neck again. It prickled with something akin to suspicion. Something about the way she spoke, the way she looked at him, told him he should be on his guard. Years of dealing with criminals and liars had taught him how to accurately read a person’s movements and gestures, and Lady Regina’s were telling him loudly that he should be prepared for trouble. Just whatsortof trouble remained to be seen.
He took a deep breath and decided to invite trouble back to his office.
CHAPTER THREE
Regina watched the look on Daffin’s face go from slightly annoyed to confused to suspicious. The man had absolutely no idea what she intended to say. Good. Precisely the way she wanted it. The less he knew, the more honest a reaction she would get from him.
He looked as decadently handsome as he had the last time they’d met. His broad shoulders were encased in a crisp white shirt behind his dark red vest, his light hair was slicked back, his green eyes glimmered with intelligence. There was always a smile lurking near his lips, but she’d got the distinct impression that the ubiquitous smile was a veneer. His devil-may-care attitude hid something darker beneath. Something she wanted to discover.
“Yes… privately.” She glanced at the young man behind the desk, who seemed entranced by her exchange with Daffin. The clerk’s dark eyes darted back and forth between the twoof them as he followed every word. All the more reason to speak with Daffin alone.
“By all means.” Daffin waved his hand in the direction from which he’d come. Excellent. He was inviting her to his office. She hoped it had a door. A nice, big, thick one.
She preceded him down a short corridor before he guided her to a room that did indeed have a door. She entered and waited for Daffin to follow her inside, before pulling the door shut behind them. She glanced around. The office housed a large desk that occupied the center of the space with a dark brown leather chair in front of it. It smelled like him in here. A mix of soap and spice that made her want to bury her nose in his cravat. There was a map of London on the wall behind the desk and a mug filled with what looked to be black coffee on the desk next to a set of neatly stacked papers, a magnifying glass, and a… dear God, was that a pistol?
“May I take your coat?” Daffin offered.
“No, I cannot stay long.” Regina glanced toward the door. “My maid is waiting in the coach.”
“Of course. Please, sit.” He waited for her to lower herself to the chair before he walked around the large desk and took his own seat. He slid the pistol off the desk and into a drawer. “Hazard of the job.”
“I understand,” she replied with a nod.
Daffin searched her face. “I’d offer you a drink, but I’m afraid I don’t have any tea.”
“Do you have brandy?” she replied, her voice wavering slightly again.
His eyes widened, which made her smile. “You’dlike a brandy?”
