Jace didn’t halt his step. “Right to the heart of a matter, eh? No, Miss Webster, I had nothing to do with Jim’s being unable to guide your party. If anyone did, point your finger at Chad.”
“Can I ask another question?” she continued, ignoring his charge.
“Go ahead.” He halted to lock his gaze to hers.
“How could you get a safari together so quickly?”
He chuckled. “I started Johi working out the details the minute I received Chad’s message on Friday. I handle lots of safaris, so I’m well trained and prepared. I never intended to refuse his job, but I wanted it to look as if I needed plenty of persuasion. I didn’t want him to realize how eager I was to spend so much time with his ward. Does it surprise you that I would accept his curious offer just to be near you?”
That wasn’t the expected response. “Yes, I was surprised. No, shocked. Why would you go to work for an enemy? You don’t appear a man to put himself into a disagreeable situation without a good reason.”
He grinned. “I have an excellent one.”
“Like what?”
Tapping the tip of her nose with his finger, he said, “You.”
“I doubt I’m the reason—or the only one, at least.” Leigh refuted. “Why won’t you tell me about the trouble between you and Chad?”
“Haven’t you heard the old saying, ‘Let old wounds heal?’ If you pick at them, they fester again. Chad and I have made a truce, so what difference does it make?” He started moving again.
“Is that a polite way of saying it’s none of my business?”
“You’re a smart woman.” When she frowned, he added, “I promise to tell you everything after the safari.”
“Won’t it be too late by then?”
“Too late for what?” he countered, halting again.
She didn’t stop. As she moved past him, she tossed over her shoulder, “To be saved from a mysterious rogue like you, of course.”
“Do you want to be spared such a … an adventure?”
“I haven’t decided,” she admitted with frankness.
At the corner of the fortress, he asked, “How long have you known Chad?”
Their gazes fused. “Since I was fifteen. I met him when I visited my grandparents in ‘90. Why?”
“How well do you know him?”
She watched his alert gaze roam her face for clues. “Not well. I spent time with him on my last visit. And, after I arrived in London in February, we spent every day and evening getting acquainted. Too, I had letters from my grandparents about him. I am familiar with his reputation with the ladies, if that’s what you’re referring to, Jace. If you know him, why ask me about him?”
Jace leaned his back against the stone wall that surrounded the old Portuguese fortress. “He’s changed since our old days together.”
Although she hadn’t known the old Chad, to keep Jace talking, she questioned, “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He straightened to depart, as if ending the conversation.
Leigh caught his arm to stop him. “Wait, Jace; we aren’t finished. What evidence does the law have against you?” Noting his surprised look, she continued. “Please, just pamper me with an answer. It will help me understand both of you to know the truth.”
His gaze slipped over her. She appeared sincere. “Two witnesses who claim my father was at the crime scene. A bloody knife with his initials found nearby. A lantern from Elliott’s of London used to start the fire. Papers in his desk tying him and me to Irish rebels. He and Stokely were political rivals.”
“But how can they tie you to those crimes?”
“Are you forgetting about the note from my father implicating me? They proved it was his handwriting, and they knew I was in town. I don’t have an alibi; I was asleep in Alfred’s warehouse, getting ready to work my way home on one of his ships to save money. I sailed the next dawn without knowing what had taken place just miles from the wharf. I had been visiting my father. That’s when I learned about his loan from Webster. I told him I’d pay it off when my crop came in. It didn’t; coffee rust destroyed it. Lordy, I can still remember the day I sighted those yellowish, oily spots on the leaves. By then, I’d studied and learned enough to know what had to be done: all bushes had to be chopped down and burned to prevent its spread. That created a total loss of my investment, and years of labor and waiting.”
He stretched his weary body. “Fortunately, I had enough money left to replant the next spring; young shrubs have to be put in the ground before the rainy season. That allows them to sprout and get strong enough to endure the dry season. As soon as I burned the diseased crop, I sailed for London in December to break the bad news to Father. I docked to learn Father was accused of arson and murder, had committed suicide, and had implicated me.”