“When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow. First thing.”
“Could you at least supply me with an opinion piece?” He clutched at her sleeve, his gaze beseeching. “Without both you and Edgar the Snake here to help we are dreadfully shorthanded.”
“I know—but I owe it to Leo not to embarrass him while he is stuck with me, so both K Pendle and P Kendall are temporarily retired.”
“What if we don’t print either name? We could give you another one or just leave it blank? Nobody need ever know that it’s you outside of these four walls.”
“I really can’t, William, as much as I want to. Leo—”
“Need never know either.” Honestly, when Sir William Stowe wanted something, the rogue had sadder puppy eyes than Snifferson. “I desperately need your help, Portia.Equitasneeds your help. Our cause needs your help or I wouldn’t ask. Please.”
The temptation to say yes was overpowering, but so was her needto do right by Leo. “I shall think on it, William, but please do not hold out much hope.”
“I shall hold the column regardless until we go to press tomorrow—just in case you have a change of heart.”
“This is what I have found so far.” Leo slid the two documents across his desk and tried not to notice how the copper in her hair shimmered in the lamplight or how his foolish heart yearned for her. “The first one is a list of every arrest made at the protest and the second is the list of all those who were charged at the jail. Notice anything different?”
“Only that the second one is shorter to the tune of six names and one of those missing is Abigail’s.”
“So if we assume that the other missing five names all had the charges dropped and were released just like Abigail was, it suggests that Constable Nolley had no proof of the guilt of those five and released them. Seeing as we already know he isn’t averse to fabricating proof when he wants it, that strikes me as unlikely.” Leo hoped he wasn’t clutching at straws. “Or it suggests that the other five all came from a similar privileged background to my sister. Or something more sinister is afoot—like bribery.”
“Why do I get the distinct impression that you believe it is the latter?” Portia’s clever eyes were narrowed.
“Because I went to visit every single one of those people this morning and there is nothing aristocratic about any of them. They do all, however, possess fathers with reasonably successful local businesses. The sort who could pay our untrustworthy constable a decent amount to avoid their relatives getting a criminal record.”
“You have proof he has taken bribes?” Her eyes lit up and he tried not to be upset by that. “Because if you do, then we have grounds to declare my first conviction unsound.”
“In theory, yes. But in practice, no, because none of those fivepeople or their fathers would admit to that when I spoke to them. They are all adamant the charges were dropped because they were arrested by mistake and are all the sort of upstanding citizens who would never dream of attending a protest. In other words, Nolley has obviously put the fear of god into them as well as pocketing their money.”
She leaned on her chin with a huff. “They were also probably wary of admitting to a second crime to a local magistrate. Bribing an official is as much an offense to those making the bribe as it is to the constable for taking them. Doing anything to obstruct the administration of justice carries a death penalty.”
“They are more likely to be transported nowadays—but I take your point. Thanks to Nolley, they do not trust the law and I am very much the public face of it here in Bath.”
“And he worked for you.”
“There is that too. Which leaves us with only two options. I either keep digging into his arrest records going way back to find someone who is brave enough to testify against him or I send you to talk to the five and use your talented way with a convincing argument to try to encourage them to tell the truth.”
“Then let’s get started!” She was up out of her chair like a shot, which he supposed would be the exact speed that she would leave this house and him if he granted her an annulment.
“It’s almost midnight, Portia.” Leo managed to catch her hand before she sprinted out the door. “Hammering on somebody’s door at midnight, especially someone already scared, isn’t going to achieve anything beyond scaring them further.”
Instantly, she deflated. “But we leave first thing for London so there won’t be time then.”
“I know,” he said as his thumb stroked her palm in sympathy. “This is going to have to wait until we get back. A couple of weeks isn’t going to alter the facts or change the outcome. A bit of time and distance might even work in our favor as those five people are likelystill reeling from both their arrests and my visits to them today. Besides, for all Nolley’s faults, being a fool isn’t one of them. Rushing into this might tip him off that we are on to him and we don’t want him covering his tracks.”
She opened her mouth to argue, then snapped it closed. “Much as it galls me to admit it, you are right.” She rolled her eyes as if it really pained her and then gave a saucy smile. “But I take comfort that even a stopped clock is right sometimes.” A comment that made him smile too until she spoiled it. “And I suppose I can cope with being a duchess for a few more weeks.”
And there it was.
Another reminder, not that he needed one, that she could not wait to be shot of him. “That’s jolly decent of you.” Because he was still holding her hand like a lovesick fool, he dropped it and in doing so noticed her ink-stained fingers.
He grabbed them again and scowled. “Please tell me you are not writing sedition behind my back again!” It came out sharper than he intended, but his scalp had already started to itch and his throat constrict at the thought of her putting herself in danger again.
She yanked her hand away. “How unlike you to immediately think the worst of me!”
“Well, you do have form, madam, and it is hardly my fault that I do not trust a word you say!”
