“Are we in danger?”
Ian couldn’t deny his belief that someone had come after Jared. It could have been whoever loaned him money. Or someone his brother had crossed in theprofessional sphere; their business was a competitive one, barely removed from the work of cutthroats and smugglers.
He also couldn’t discount the enemies their father had made over thirty years ago. Jared might have encountered any of them if he’d been stupid enough to mention the emeralds in the wrong circles.
There was no solid evidence pointing to a suspect, but Ian couldn’t lie to Polly about her son, so he turned to the one person who was better at it than he was.
“There’s no threat that we know of,” Diana said smoothly. “But we are worried about Jared. If you help us find out what happened last night, it could help you. And Johnny.”
“He had debts.” Polly shrugged. “Most gents do. But I’ve no idea who held them. Or what we’ll do if they come looking for us to settle them.”
She started to cry again, this time more quietly, and that was Ian’s undoing.
He turned to Lady Cora. “Contact Henry Eden. You can find him at chambers on Fleet Street. Ellison and Carter.”
Lady Cora nodded. “Yes, I know the name.”
“You may use mine as a reference. We’re old friends.”
When Polly sniffled again, Diana crossed the room and handed her a handkerchief. She peered down at the baby and asked Polly, “Do you love him?”
A sudden hush fell over the room.
Polly looked quizzically at Lady Cora, who glowered silently at Ian.
There was an unspoken acknowledgment among all three of them that Diana was confronting cogent evidence of the betrayal of the man she was supposed to marry. On her wedding day. Reasonable women would have blazed a trail of scorn and fury in the wake of such revelations.
It made Diana’s unfailing composure seem more dangerous than ever.
Polly gave a short cough. “You’re asking if I love Jared?”
Diana nodded.
“I depended on him. He’s the father of my child. Our time together is always short. Never in the open. He insists on it that way.” With a shake of her head, Polly added, “I love him the only way he’ll let me.”
Ian had never had an amorous affair that lasted longer than a week. Never wanted one either, for exactly the reasons that were playing out in this small flat off a shadowed lane in St. Giles. He’d know what a burden he’d been to his mother in the years before his father’s return, and he’d never wanted to exact that on any woman, particularly one he cared for.
Until he dealt with the emeralds, he couldn’t promise anyone his name, or his life.
But for the first time in years, he allowed himself to question what would happen if he could. And those thoughts only ever took him in one direction.
To one person.
When Diana caught his eye, and hers widened slightly, he was momentarily terrified he’d revealed every thought and fear as explicitly as taking out an advertisement on the side of a building.
“Thank you for the hospitality, Mrs. Wren,” he said stiffly. “I shall send word to Henry to expect your call.” He tipped his hat and opened the door to allow Diana through.
She paused by the small window to evaluate a stray raindrop that tracked along the glass. “Mrs. Wren, where did you say Jared was before he arrived here?”
“The Swan’s Nest.”
“That’s the public house down the lane? We passed it on the way.”
“I would not recommend it,” Lady Cora quipped. “Not dressed as you are.”
Outside, a deluge assaulted the cobblestones.
“Should have believed me about the rain,” Ian couldn’t resist remarking from the doorway. Mostly to assure himself that he was right about something and that his intuition was still functioning.
