“The rest of it.”
“Fitzwilliam.”
I scowled and shook my head. “If you cannot at least answer a simple question seriously…”
“Thatismy name.”
“And who gave it to you? Who are your people? Where do you come from?”
He shifted against the hay pile as if he were just getting comfortable. “Miss Bennet, you just asked me to steal something which does not belong to me and no longer belongs to you. Why this fuss about my origins when you are suggesting something immoral and illegal?”
“You are a fine one to talk.” I picked some straw off my skirts. “And it is not precisely ‘not mine anymore.’ Payment was not to be remitted until the P… the sculpture was received. I only want to prevent it from being received.”
“And where is it going? How long ago was it taken away?”
I swallowed. “Early this afternoon. I… I don’t know where it is going.”
“And yet you want me to track it down and steal it!”
“Quiet!” I put my hand up and looked back at the window. Lydia and Kitty’s voices had returned. “Will you please stop shouting? I’ll end up stuck with you if my mother ever finds out we were alone up here.”
His mouth twitched into a vague smile. “That fate might not be as dismal as you fear.”
“For you! I don’t even know your name!”
His smile grew wider. “Now you’re the one making the most noise.”
I bit back a huff of frustration. “I despise you.”
“Compliments will get you nowhere, Miss Bennet. Come, I must have some information to work from, if we are to salvage this situation for all concerned. You said it went to London. Have you anyone you know in London?”
I sat back on the straw. “My uncle Gardiner. He is a merchant in Cheapside.”
He nodded. “I know of this man.”
I snorted. “How? Uncle Gardiner has never done an illegal thing in his life. Not knowingly, anyway.”
“I make it my business to know all manner of people. Now suppose I go to this Gardiner fellow and speak with one or two other people of my acquaintance, and we see if we can get this whole affair straightened out?”
“Oh, no, you cannot involve my uncle!” I pleaded. “He was not involved in this transaction, and if he learned it was a f…” I drew a breath.
“A fake?”
“Yes, that. If he knew, he would start to question everything. He would never be easy again! He is innocent of any wrongdoing. I cannot have that on his conscience, please!”
Something in William’s face shifted. It was as if a hardness in him softened, his annoyance bleeding out a little. He studied me for a few seconds, saying nothing, then shook his head and waved his hand. “Very well. We do not involve Mr. Gardiner. But how am I to know how to proceed? I cannot very well ride back and forth to London every time I must speak with someone.”
“I’ll go to London,” I blurted before I could think.
“And do what?”
“I’ll…” I chewed my lip. “I’ll ask my aunt if I might come for a visit. Mama would not object. I could stay in Cheapside, and you could reach me there.”
“And what good would that do me? To be of any use to me, you would have to be with me. I don’t even know what this thing is supposed to look like.”
I gasped. “Withyou? How on earth would we manage that?”
“You will simply have to think of something. Obviously, we cannot reason with your father, and you do not wish me to involve Mr. Gardiner.”
