The man curled his lip. “Don’t believe that lying chit. She led me out here, said she’d let me lift her skirts if I was quick about it.”
“Check his pockets,” Olivia said. “Constance said he had a message.”
Thel was already rooting through the man’s jacket. He found a ribbon-wrapped envelope and held it up. Olivia grabbed it and tore it open.
The man jackknifed his legs and swiped a gloved hand at her legs, but she neatly danced out of the way.
Thel put his hand on the man’s neck and thrust him against the ground. “That’s enough from you, unless you’d like to add a broken back to the list of your injuries.” He glanced at Olivia. “What is it?”
She slipped the envelope into her pocket. “A problem.”
Chapter 14
Dearest Constance,
Please forgive this unorthodox method of communication, but time is of the essence. I presented what we gathered so far to my creditors, but they were not willing to release me from my commitments. If your pin money is insufficient, perhaps there are objects in that house you could sell—statues or paintings gathering dust in dark corners that no one will miss.
Sincerely,
D
“Where did you meet this man?” Thel asked.
His daughter curled into the corner of the carriage, her arms crossed, her neck turned toward the window. Olivia sat beside her, chewing her lower lip between her teeth. Constance had not said a word since he had presented her with the letter they had taken from Olivia’s attacker. When faced with the prospect of being turned over to the Scotland Yard, the man had confessed that an unknown party had paid him to deliver the note.
He’d been unable to give any more information, but Thel was certain the incident was related to the lack of funds in Constance’s account and the letters they’d found in her room.
“How much have you given him?” he asked.
Constance tucked her chin to her chest. “It was my money to give away. John needed it.”
“John who?” Olivia asked. “Do you even know his last name?”
“Of course I do!”
Olivia hummed a sound that was both noncommittal and patronizing.
Constance turned back to the window. “If you must know, his name is John Dawson. I met him in the village.” She cupped her cheek in her hand and continued in a softer voice. “It was the night of the summer festival. I waited for Mrs. Quill to be distracted before slipping away to watch the dancing. Then a handsome man approached me and held out a handkerchief he’d picked up, asking if I’d dropped it. It was so sweet of him to ask, even though it wasn’t mine.” She gave a dreamy sigh. “Oh, John.”
Thel had never heard of the man, and his daughter’s omission of a “Sir” or “Lord” meant he was untitled.
“You might have told me you had a suitor before I engaged a matchmaker,” he said, taking great care to keep his tone level. It was embarrassing enough having Olivia in the carriage with them without resorting to shouting.
“John said you wouldn’t understand.” Constance pursed her lips. “He was right.”
He kept his response to himself. Events were occurring exactly as Olivia had predicted. It followed that an angry outburst from him would have the effect she had described, chasing his daughter further intoDawson’sarms.
“He only needs my help for a few more months,” Constance said. “He’ll have more than enough money once his inheritance comes through. His father owned a rail company in America before he died.”
Thel was doubtful. A man who begged a woman for money, especially in such large amounts, was not a man whocould be trusted to maintain a fortune. Every pound he swindled out of Constance was likely reinvested in the local pub.
The carriage rocked back and forth, the sound of footfalls and horse hooves coming from outside as they made their slow way through the crowded streets. Thel kept one hand near the door, fearing that the mysterious Dawson would throw it open and steal Constance away.
A foolish thought. If Dawson wanted to marry Constance, there were far easier ways to force her hand. They had only to look at young Miss Perry, who had been caught kissing Mr. Rutledge behind the rose bushes last season. Witnesses reported that the young bride had to be forced down the aisle by her parents, sobbing all the while.
The carriage slowed to a stop, and a footman opened the door. Constance flew down the steps and into their home like a blur. Thel stepped out and offered Olivia his arm, which she took. He clutched her close, and she did not complain even when she had to pause at the bottom of the steps for him to release her.
They entered the house, and she followed him to his office. He sulked to his desk and threw himself into his chair.
