His jaw clamped shut.
“Like you, I prefer to stop shilly-shallying and get to the point,” she went on. “Are you going to tell me what you were up to in that study? If not, then let us not waste each other’s time and drive me home at once.”
For a moment she thought he was going to urge his team into a dead gallop. Instead, a reluctant smile toyed on his lips. “I have to admit it is rather refreshing to be around a female who is not coy about what she wants.”
“Lord Dunham, I am not the least interested in your preferences regarding a lady’s deportment!”
“That’s quite obvious.” His hand came up before she could snap out another retort. “Very well, very well. I don’t suppose I have any other choice. Er, do I?”
A scowl was her only answer.
“I thought not.” He cleared his throat. “Recently, I have come to suspect that a certain gentleman is involved in some very unsavory doings. I was attempting to, er, verify my suspicions when you appeared and caused things to go awry.”
“Me! You were the one clumsy enough to fall and cause such a racket as to raise the dead—” She stopped in mid-sentence. “Wait—how did you come to be suspicious of the gentleman in the first place?”
“That’s not important. What matters right now is whatyouwere doing there. I’ve been forthcoming, Lady Augusta. Will you be the same?”
Augusta stared down at her lap where her hands were balled together into a tight fist. After a considerable silence, she let out a sigh. “I am looking into a … crime committed against one of our tenants at home.” That was close enough to the truth, she decided, without revealing the whole.
“A crime? Why haven’t you simply gone to the authorities?”
“Because the authorities don’t give a fig for a lowly tenant, in case you haven’t noticed! But then again, you’ve probably been too busy with other pursuits to have a care for how those less fortunate live.”
He flushed slightly, but didn’t respond to her harsh words. Instead he asked quietly, “Can’t you voice your concerns to … some male member of your family?”
“My father is away indefinitely in Vienna and my brother is dead!” She sought to control the tremor in her voice. “I’m the only one who can help.”
Marcus was silent for a moment. “Did you learn anything definite from the papers you took?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “There are certain accountings which look rather incriminating to me, but the way they are written, it would be hard to say they are conclusive evidence.”
“Would you let me have a look at them?”
She hesitated.
His jaw tightened. “I see,” he said with some asperity as he made ready to turn the phaeton around. “It seems that in addition to being stubborn, willful and provoking, you are also opinionated, unbending and unwilling to accept that you may be wrong about anything. Come, I will take you home.”
Augusta reached out to stay the reins. “Lord Dunham, why is it you are taking an interest in all of this? Why are you offering to help me?”
“Why ask? You do not wish to hear aught but what may reinforce your own smug assumptions.”
She was startled to hear the raw edge in his voice, as if she had scraped some vulnerable spot. “I … that is, if I have truly been so blind and stupid, then I deserve your scorn, sir.”
His head jerked around in some surprise.
“Please accept my apology, ” she went on in a near whisper. “I suppose you are right and I have been just as guilty as those I rail at. I shall try not to be so quick to judge in the future.” She drew in a breath. “But you must understand that my reluctance to discuss this matter stems not from any disrespect for you, sir, but from a desire not to expose anyone but myself to whateverdanger there might be. Since I believe the person responsible for these crimes is a gentleman of some rank, I am well aware that I must be very, very careful who knows of my suspicions. Any misstep or slip of the tongue could ruin all efforts to bring about justice, and perhaps even put those who have helped me at risk.”
“I am glad to see you show that much sense at least. However you may rest assured I can take care of myself.” The earl’s tone was still a bit strained, but the rigid set of his features had softened somewhat. “Who else knows about what you are up to?“
“I’ve spoken only to my sister and Jamison about it.” That, she told herself, was not actually a lie. Though she had decided to reveal certain things to the earl, her correspondence with Tinder she meant to keep secret from anyone.
“I suggest you keep it that way. You are quite right in believing that this is no mere game.” He regarded her intently. “You know, it seems to me there is a possibility that, for whatever the reasons, we are in pursuit of the same man. It might be to both our advantages not to be at daggers drawn and to share our information.”
Augusta’s lips compressed in a tight line, then she made what she hoped was not a foolish decision. “If you are coming to the Turnbridge’s ball tonight, I shall bring the papers.”
“Thank you, Lady Augusta,” he said quietly.
Some others words sounded under her breath.
