Percy took the envelope and stared at it. “How can you be sure your quarry will attend?”
“My family has an extensive collection of artwork, and to ensure our thieves will make an appearance, I will add a Ravenmore to the docket.”
He had one left, the final painting his sister had created before her death. Parting with it would be difficult, but once the collectors learned the mysterious Ravenmore had allowed a painting to go up for auction, they would swarm the viscount with demands for invitations. Every private collector in the country would be at his doorstep, and he’d interrogate each of them until he got to the truth.
They won’t get away with it.
His sister’s paintings belonged in museums, where they could be seen and enjoyed by all. Private collectors did not deserve to have Sabrina’s works gracing their walls, not after they had rejected her from their ranks.
He sighed. “It is time for Ravenmore to retire.”
Percy sloshed brandy over the edge of his glass. “My lord, I must insist that you not act so rashly, and leave this matter to me—”
A crash from outside interrupted them. Percy set down his drink, then scurried to the door, throwing it open as a familiar feminine voice shrieked, “Release me, you beast!”
Leo was on his feet and at the door before he could think.
Saffron Summersby stood on the sidewalk, holding the front of her skirts in both hands, attempting to tug it out of the snarling jaws of a mottled, brown-and-gray mutt.
It took all his strength not to lunge forward and scoop her into his arms, away from the danger. What was it about the woman that called forth his protective instincts that had remained dormant for so long? He resolved to keep his distance.
Then she pinned him with an accusing look. “What are you waiting for? Help me!”
Propriety be damned.
He shoved Percy aside and clasped his hands around her waist, lifting her off the ground, out of the reach of the dog yapping at her heels. She struggled in his grip, the feathers in her hat brushing against his face as he breathed in the smell of cinnamon and vanilla, like baked apple pie, straight out of the oven. It shocked him enough that he held on to her longer than was appropriate, and she struggled harder.
He moved her away from the door, then set her down on the floor behind him.
You didn’t want to let her go. What would you have done if you were alone?
“Lord Briarwood.” She dipped into a quick curtsey without lifting her head. “I didn’t expect to find you here.”
He chuckled. “I could say the same, Miss Summersby. I am unaccustomed to the role of savior. Perhaps I should accompany you home, lest you find yourself in another difficulty.”
“Ah, thank you,” she said. “That will not be necessary.”
“Odd thing for a mongrel to do,” Percy said, having chased the dog away with shouts and claps of his hands.
“It’s my fault,” Saffron said, falling on the bench near the door. She picked at the tattered remains of a petticoat, which was, by Leo’s estimation, damaged beyond repair. “I passed a butcher on the way here and stepped in something dreadful. The hound must have smelled it.”
Percy cleared his throat. “Miss—”
She fluffed her skirts, rose to her feet, and curtseyed. “Summersby. I apologize for the intrusion. I would not be here if it were not a matter of some urgency.”
“You’ll have to return another time, Miss Summersby,” Percy said. “I am otherwise occupied with a client.”
She turned her head so her bonnet obscured her face. “Then I will wait here.” The spray of golden feathers bobbed above her head. “Go on. I have important matters to discuss, and I do not have all day.”
Percy frowned. “Miss Summersby, I cannot assist you today. Perhaps you could return tomorrow with an appropriate chaperone?”
The glare she gifted Percy was so venomous that Leo had to pretend to muffle a cough to hold in his mirth. She was like a lioness stalking an injured prey, determined and unwilling to back down. Percy withered before her ferocity.
Is this the same woman who shuddered in my embrace not two nights ago?
“That is unacceptable, Mr. Percy,” she said mulishly. “I have come all the way from the other side of London. You will not throw me out because this man demands all of your time.” She folded her hands in her lap. “I must speak with Ravenmore.”
The rush of panic that followed those words choked Leo’s throat. She couldn’t know, not unless Percy had done him a disservice. It had to be something else. But what?
