A Wicked Conceit (Lady Darby Mysteries #9) - Anna Lee Huber Page 0,73

that would have disarmed me more. I knew how rarely he spoke of his family or his past, including Lord Avonley, his sister’s father and his mother’s last, and probably dearest, lover. From the expression that transformed Maggie’s face, it seemed she was equally flustered. Her eyes shimmered with not only surprise but also anguish and longing. I suspected then that her brother must have also refused to speak of such things even with her. Even when he knew that she had only been three years old when her mother and father had died, so she could not possess many clear memories of them.

“If we uncover anything of importance . . .” Anything he should know, I added as a silent qualifier while I adjusted the drape of my boa. “I’ll send word to you through your men. I know you still have them following us.”

When Bonnie Brock’s expression turned contemplative, I began to puzzle as to why.

“Unless you wish me to send it somewhere directly?”

I had never been privy to the location of his home, though I had heard the outrageous rumors that circulated from time to time. That he possessed an underground palace accessed only through the vaults, and filled from floor to ceiling with a treasure more vast than a maharaja’s palace. That he lived in an unused wing of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, right beneath the nose of the current resident, the abdicated and exiled former king of France, Charles X. Bonnie Brock having been linked to Charles X’s widowed daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Berry, as her lover seemed to add credibility to this theory. But I found the supposition made in The King of Grassmarket to be the most credible—that he possessed a number of residences throughout the city that he rotated among.

A supposition which seemed to be confirmed by his next statement.

“Nay, Maclean and his men are too determined to sniff us oot for me to remain in one place for long.” He turned his head to the side, but even in profile I could see the deep lines of anxiety scoring his forehead. “And I canna be certain any longer precisely who I can trust.” That this worry extended not only to himself but also his sister was made plain by the look he cast over his shoulder at her.

She crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself tightly, and I had to wonder if she had already been threatened in some way, or if Bonnie Brock was merely fearful she would be harmed. After all, she was the last family member he possessed and clearly the dearest person in the world to him. The play at the Theatre Royal had purely speculated on Brock’s motivations for who he was, but more and more I had to concede they might have been worryingly accurate.

In truth, I was somewhat fearful of what he would do, who he would become, if he lost Maggie. He already skirted the edge of cruelty and ruthlessness in his crimes, and the death of his sister might rob him of any remnant of compassion he had left. An utterly heartless Bonnie Brock would be a terrifying thing indeed.

“Would you like Maggie to stay with us?” I asked before I could think better of it. I knew Gage would be furious I’d made the offer, but I trusted that I could talk him around to my way of thinking.

The quickness with which Bonnie Brock turned his head to look at me told me I’d shocked him. However, it was Maggie’s face to which my eyes were drawn. Her shoulders lowered and her mouth gaped, and if I wasn’t very much mistaken, I thought I detected a shimmer of wetness in her eyes. But then she blinked, and it was gone.

Bonnie Brock’s hands clenched and unclenched by his sides, and his Adam’s apple actually bobbed up and down as he swallowed. I’d never seen him as disconcerted as this. Not even when he was lying ill in our guest bedchamber ten months’ prior. It seemed for a moment he was considering my offer. But then he shook his head. “Nay, the protection o’ my sister is my responsibility. I canna entrust it to anyone else.”

I nodded in acceptance, half torn and half relieved. “Well, if you should change your mind, the offer stands.” I transferred the handle of the umbrella to my other hand. “Better here than somewhere like the vaults,” I tried to quip as the atmosphere among the three