Page 11

Maggie froze as she tried to digest the widow’s words. “Your…plan?”

“Well, I needed to get you into Lord Cadwell’s arms somehow. He’s a very elusive sort of gentleman. There was no other way.”

“So…are you saying I was pushed? Did one of your wolves push me?”

Mrs. Dove-Lyon gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. “Did you feel someone push you?”

“I can’t say for certain, but why else was Titan standing at the ready below me?”

“Precaution. One can never be too careful,” the widow said, lifting her teacup once more to slip it under her veil again. She gave a sigh of what sounded like satisfaction.

Maggie stared at her, calmly sipping her tea and enjoying it as if she was at a ladies’ luncheon. Is she perhaps mad? “I could have been seriously injured,” she said.

“No, you could not have. I just told you that Titan was in position to catch you or one of the others should someone have fallen.”

“That was no guarantee!” Maggie said.

“There are no guarantees in life. Therefore, you must learn to trust the right people. I trust Titan. He has never failed me before.” She set the cup down again with a resounding click. “You are not injured, are you?”

“I’m shaken to the core.”

“But there is not a scratch on your person, is there? A bump? A bruise?”

Maggie shook her head. “No. Not a scratch.”

“Excellent. All is going to plan.”

“What is the plan?” Maggie asked. “I am certain the gentleman thinks I am a clumsy fool and will turn and run next time he sees me coming his way.”

“No, my dear. Take it from me, it will be quite the opposite. He will be back, if not tomorrow, then the day after, and he will be asking for you.”

“How can you know that?”

“Because I know men, my dear. And that man has your smell, your eyes, and the feel of your body against his imprinted on his brain. More importantly, by coming to your rescue—not once but twice—he has turned himself into your hero, and that will make you irresistible.”

“Twice?” Maggie said.

“Yes, do you recall the gentleman who intervened the night Lord Tidworth tried to gamble you?”

“That was Lord Cadwell…the same man who saved me tonight?”

“Indeed. I saw an opportunity for you, and I took it. That is what you paid me for, is it not?”

Maggie paused. He had saved her that first night. He was the only man who’d said anything in her defense. Still, she had doubts. All the men she’d trusted had betrayed her. She’d once believed Lord Tidworth was a good man. He’d pretended to rescue her from a life of drudgery and told her lies about his “wife,” and she’d believed all of it. And then there was her papa, who’d sold her for a bag of coins. How could she be certain of any man?

Maggie looked to Mrs. Dove-Lyon for an answer. “And you believe Lord Cadwell to be a man of good character?”

The widow folded her gloved hands together and leaned forward on her desk. “Why did you come to me, of all people, for help? What was it that drew you here?”

“I’d never seen a woman command respect from men the way you did that night. I felt that you could offer me something—advice or protection. And you did.”

“Only because you paid me handsomely for it. I am not a charity house for mistresses or otherwise discarded women. I provide a service, and as such, I expect those who engage my services to trust me.”

“Of course. I mean…I do trust you.” Maggie lowered her gaze. Her uncertainty made her feel ashamed. She’d come to the widow for help; why now was she doubting her? Other than the fact that she’d been bodily made to fall about fifteen feet to the floor below, of course, at the woman’s directive.

“You, of course, must make up your own mind about His Lordship. I will not force you to marry a man you dislike or fear. I have delivered him into your hands—or I shall very soon. And if you decide not to take this opportunity to marry, I will consider my end of the bargain fulfilled. Then you will be left to fend for yourself. There will be no refund.”

Maggie thought of Lord Cadwell’s strong arms reaching to catch her, closing around her as he broke her fall, and the way her body slammed into his as the two of them tumbled to the ground. If anyone should have any bruises, it should be him. And the whole experience had been both terrifying and thrilling. She’d been frightened out of her wits, yet in that moment she’d felt safer than she had at any other time in her life. “I think you’re right about him,” she said, looking up at the widow.