“I fear I must plead a bout of extreme tiredness,” Regina announced, stretching and yawning for more effect.
“Nonsense.” The duke gave his niece a stern stare. “You must visit more with Lord Dryden, here. He offered to take you riding.”
Nicole cleared her throat. “I understand what Regina means. I fancy a nap as well. Regina, won’t you be a dear and help me to my room?”
The duke wasn’t about to argue with the pregnant marchioness. He nodded, and Regina and Nicole said their good-byes to everyone in the room.
“I do hope you’ll allow me to call upon you again, Lady Regina,” Lord Dryden said as Regina wished him a merry Christmas for the last time.
“I’m afraid that’s impossible, my lord,” Regina replied. “We intend to leave for London soon.”
“Not a problem at all.” Lord Dryden smirked. “I’m planning to go to London after I return from Plymouth. I’ll see you there.”
***
That night, after Uncle Edward and Grandmama retired for the evening, Regina, Daffin, Nicole, and Mark met in the green salon to discuss how they would handle the next steps in the investigation.
Mark and Nicole were already in the room when Regina came down the stairs to find Daffin waiting for her outside the salon’s double doors. The man made her toes curl just looking at him.
“How are you this evening, my lady?” he asked, bowing to her.
“Tired. Listening to Dryden will do that. Not to mention I didn’t get much rest last night.”
“That’s funny. Neither did I.” His grin was roguish.
“What did you think of Lord Dryden?” she asked.
“I think I cannot imagine you married to that blowhard.” He offered his arm and escorted her into the salon.
After they entered the room, Regina and Daffin took seats next to Mark and Nicole near the fireplace.
“I didn’t see anything on my outing today,” Daffin began once they were settled. “The woods were empty and there were no new tracks, other than my own.”
“Thank you for looking, Daffin, on Christmas Day nonetheless,” Nicole said.
“Yes, well, scouring the area hasn’t worked.” Daffin shook his head. “It could be anyone. He knows we’re looking for him. He’s managed to sneak in and out of our midst.”
“I don’t want Regina to return to London until we find him,” Mark said. “If he’s eluding us out here, there’s no way we can keep her safe in the crowds of the city.”
“I agree,” Daffin replied. “It would be good if we could lure whoever it is out into the open by making him think Regina is going out.”
Mark narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps we can send out the coach without her in it.”
“He’s too clever for that,” Nicole replied. “He’s watching closely. He’d see whether she entered the coach. Regina must be there.”
“Absolutely not,” Daffin said. He glanced at Regina. “I refuse to put you in danger.”
Regina cleared her throat. “Please let me ride out. I want to catch this man as badly as you do.”
All three heads swiveled to stare at her.
“No,” Nicole nearly shouted.
“No,” Daffin insisted.
“Why not?” Regina asked, warming to her topic. “We can go for a short jaunt into the village just to see if we can lure him out. What harm is there?”
“There could be a great deal of harm,” Daffin replied.
