“That’s where you’ve seen her, Gabriel,” Miranda continued.
“Pardon?”
“The girl in the drawing, she looks like Miss Lamier’s assistant.”
So, Miranda had not only noticed Ginny, but had noticed the drawing. I didn’t miss the strange look that Lady Alice and Lady Whitfield shared. A silent communication.
I glanced once more at my pocket watch as we started up the path. The restless feeling had not diminished and I knew why…I wanted to see Ginny.
When I looked up, it was to find Lady Alice at my side. How odd that she would single me out. And she had. For what purpose? Chris walked ahead with Miranda and Lady Whitfield, flirting to his best ability.
“According to your fiancé, you’re all kindness and heart, are you, Lord Chambers?”
There was amusement to her tone, but also something more. A hard bite. A question. A condemnation. “Of course.”
Her gaze took on a flinty look. “That’s not what the gossips have claimed.”
Without another word, she hurried forward, falling into step with the others, and I was left to wonder what, exactly, the woman had heard about me, and why she cared.
****
Ginny
“Do you truly believe he’d have you followed?”
I let the curtain drop back into place and stepped away from the windows, feeling uneasy, and vulnerable, and angry all at once, although I didn’t want Violet to know how I felt. “Yes. I think. Maybe.”
Truth was, it didn’t seem like something Gabe would do, but how well did I truly know him? I cuddled Izzy closer. Who else would send a man to watch me? To follow me?
I’d noticed him yesterday as I’d gone to the shop, and this morning when I’d been getting ready and had peeked out the window of my bedchamber. I had yet to tell the Lamier women. They’d done so much for me; I didn’t want to trouble them. Hesitating, I had to resist the urge to look again. Had Gabe sent him?
Violet leaned closer. “What about the dowager? Or Mr. Wrolf?”
A shiver of unease whispered down my spine. While Gabe made me angry, he didn’t truly frighten me as they did. I understood Gabe; I knew what he was about. He wanted to win. It was truly that simple. I was a game to him. Life was a game to him.
I didn’t understand the dowager or Mr. Wrolf, or what they wanted with me. I patted the baby’s back in slow, circular movements. “Perhaps. But she doesn’t know my location, that I’m aware of.” I sighed, hugging Izzy close and breathing in her sweet scent. “When did my life become a gothic novel?”
Vi gave me a sympathetic smile.
I settled next to her on the settee. “Vi, are you ever going to tell me why you left the Landcaster estate?”
She flushed and looked away, busying herself with folding the baby’s blanket. “Lady Alice merely had a better offer. Her entire house is run by women, you know. It’s quite refreshing.”
“Indeed,” I murmured, watching her closely. “I’m sure it is.”
Something had happened, and if I had to guess, it had something to do with the Landcaster heir. The woman was usually an open book. But once in a while she would close like a clam, and not even I could get a word out of her. I knew Violet would land herself in a heap of mess the moment I’d met Landcaster and his friends. Gabe’s friends. I should have done more to warn her. To help her. I should have stayed there and protected her.
“Perhaps…you were right. Perhaps I should be wary of titled men. Perhaps all men.”
A sick feeling of dread washed over me. “Vi, what…”
The bell above the door rang. We didn’t have any appointments, which is why it was such a surprise when two smartly dressed, and obviously titled women appeared on the threshold.
“Really, dropping the drawings was quite well done,” a blonde woman whispered.
“Hardly planned,” her dark-haired friend replied. “Was merely the good lord working in our favor. But did you see his face?”
For one startled moment, Vi and I sat there on the settee, the baby on my lap. They reeked of wealth, privilege and money. Women who were so sophisticated, it felt as if they belonged to an entirely different world.
The women paused just inside the door. Their lovely gazes swept the room before landing on us. Both stared long and hard… at me. These were not debutantes. These were established, important women, and for some reason their interest remained centered on me.