The men exchanged glances before Sebastian said, “Nicholas? What do you have to say about my sister’s proposal?”
Nicholas glanced at her and smiled. “If we leave now, we’ll be back before supper. And I support her desire to uncover the truth. I’m in love with her and would pay a king’s ransom to spend a few hours in her company.”
Her heart swelled.
A muscle in Sebastian’s cheek twitched. “If you don’t marry her, I will kill you. You will bring her back to Grosvenor Street upon your return. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” she said before Nicholas could answer.
Sebastian turned to Mr Chance. “You’ll not mention a word about this to anyone. Do you understand?”
Mr Chance raised his hands in mock surrender. “I take orders from no man. But in this instance, I shall concede. Though one wonders where your sister gets these modern ideas.”
“You’ve only got yourself to blame,” she told her brother. “What do you think we ladies do at our Thursday night meetings?”
Sebastian arched a brow. “Based on what I’ve learnt so far, I suspect you’re plotting to take over the world.”
* * *
“Nicholas, why are you smiling?” From the opposite side of the carriage, Helen stared at him through narrowed eyes. “You’ve had a permanent grin since we left Fortune’s Den.”
The memory of Sebastian’s parting words flashed into his mind. “Your brother made me promise you wouldn’t injure yourself en route.” The conversation had been awkward and amusing in equal measure. “Sebastian heard tell of a woman who fell backwards off the seat and snapped her neck. He made me swear I’d be mindful of your safety.”
“I’m not a child. Gone are the days I kneel on the seat and peer through the viewing window.”
“I believe he was referring to riding St George.”
Her brows knitted together. “I doubt he meantthat. He would never say such a thing.”
“Not to you. But you made your intentions perfectly clear when you demanded we travel to Windsor together. When we left, Aaron Chance winked and wished me a pleasant journey.”
A pink blush rose to her cheeks. “Blame Mr Chance. He’s the one who presumed we would do something inappropriate. But then what can one expect from a man who owns an iniquitous den?”
“So, you have no plans to ravish me en route?” Nicholas thought to tease her a little. “Good, as I’m exhausted and hoped to get a few hours’ sleep.” He settled back in the seat, folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes.
He could feel the heat of her penetrating gaze and waited to hear a huff of frustration. Seconds passed, and still she said nothing. He heard her rummaging in her reticule and peered at her through half-closed eyes.
The minx sat scribbling in her notebook, pausing to suck the end of the little pencil. He sat mesmerised as she wrote something else then slipped the implement between her luscious lips.
She looked up and caught him peeking. “Sorry, am I disturbing you? I shall try to be a little quieter.”
“What are you writing?” He might have called her bluff and asked to see the scribbled words, but she showed him the page.
“Questions we need to ask Mrs Russell. We must discover why Esther paid her an exorbitant amount of money.”
“Because they were either blackmailing my mother, raising her child or had lent her a substantial sum.” He doubted his mother had spent all those years repaying a debt. Something important had given her the impetus to drag herself out of bed on a specific day each month.
“If we find nothing conclusive, we shall focus our efforts on Lord Bowden.” She toyed with the pencil, the movements still somewhat provocative. “Perhaps Miss Lavern will make a statement. If Charles Holland found the contract, it gives Lord Bowden a motive for murder.”
“Yes,” he said with a sigh.
A sick feeling in his stomach said time was running out.
The small pieces of information helped to form a story of his mother’s life, but they had barely brought him any closer to finding the villain and clearing his name.
Indeed, there seemed only one obvious way forward.
“If the trip to Windsor gives us no new leads, it’s best I go to France for a while.” He hated the thought of leaving her, but he had few options, and if they were caught together, she would be charged with a crime, too. “The more time I spend in London, the greater the chance they’ll arrest me.”