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“So, I will pay you a sum and in return you will find my mother’s jewels?” She caught her breath at the next part. “As a cover, we will pretend to be courting?” It allowed her access to the potential thieves as well, though she didn’t share that part with Will.
“Correct,” he rasped in her ear.
“Promise me something too,” she said before she could stop the words.
“What?” he asked.
“I need those stones back. Without them, I’ve nothing of her…” she stopped, for the first time in months, she found herself close to tears again. “Please don’t fail me.”
Will’s chest tightened. Bloody hell, her large blue eyes were huge as she softly bit at her own lip. That light kiss was all he would allow himself. Because he had made a promise and he’d already broken it. But in that moment he wanted to kiss away her worries. “I will help you get those jewels back.” He gave her a squeeze before he shifted so that there was more space between them. She took several shuddering breaths next to him. “Would you tell me about her? Your mother?”
She was silent for a minute and then she cleared her throat. “She was beautiful.”
“I see where you get it from,” he said without thinking.
“Oh no, far more beautiful than me. Her hair was a much lighter blonde and her skin perfect. Even as she aged…” Rose trailed off. “She was kind to everyone and my father fell in love with her from the first moment they met.”
Will raised his eyebrows. She didn’t think herself capable of inspiring the same sort of affection. She hadn’t come out and said it, but it was implied. He supposed he hadn’t noticed the first few days he was here, but she’d gone out of her way to avoid him. To see without being seen. The moment Rose had stepped in front of him, he hadn’t been able to look away. He wasn’t in love, of course, but she was capable of inspiring a great deal more lust than he’d felt…possibly ever. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
She waved her hand as if to dismiss his words. “They loved each other from that moment, until the day she died. Their affection filled my life with love and joy, it surrounded us.” She paused and Will felt a stab of both pain for her and a touch of jealousy. His own childhood hadn’t been nearly so happy. “I know I should be thankful for the time we had. But since she left, I’ve been empty. Waiting to be filled and, I know they aren’t her, but to hold the jewels she loved so much would bring some piece of her back to me.”
If he could have, he would have dropped to his knees and pressed his cheek to her midriff. He’d promised to keep her safe but now, he wanted more than just her safety, he wanted to get the diamonds so that she might be happy. He wanted to hold her close and comfort her. “Rose, I swear—” he started but she stopped him.
“Thank you. You don’t have to say it again. You already promised.” She touched his cheek and trailed her fingers over his jaw. “I just wanted you to know why it was important to me.”
She backed away, but he wanted to continue to hold her close. A noise outside the door distracted him. He brushed by Rose and pressed his ear to the door. Two maids could be heard conversing. “More guests,” one murmured.
“Who is it this time?” another asked. “The house is to near bursting with guests.”
“The Baron and Baroness Bridgeton but a duke and duchess are supposed to arrive later today,” the first maid said.
“A duke?” the other girl croaked.
The other answered but he didn’t hear her response. They had moved down the hallway. A duke and duchess had not been on the guest list. His intuition told him that they were connected to Barrington in some way. Why else would a duke unexpectedly appear at an earl’s house party?
“Who is it?” Rose had come up just behind him and her breath blowing on his back caused the hairs on his neck to stand on end.
Which was likely why, he tried and failed to come up with an adequate answer. “I…I…” he started.
“Who is the Baron of Bridgeton? Do you know him?” For the first time, since he’d met her, he wished she wasn’t so blasted intelligent. Once she’d become more adept at lying and, honestly, sneaking about, she’d make an excellent spy.
“Bridgeton is a…” Did he tell her the truth? He honestly couldn’t seem to formulate a falsehood, which was odd for him. She had just promised to stay out of it. “Former associate of the Marquess of Highwater.”
She gasped and her hands clutched his biceps. He both regretted and rejoiced his choice to tell her. Her touch, the heat of her hands, and the fact that she’d wanted contact with him in her distress made him want to turn and gather her in his arms. “Do you think he might know where my mother’s jewels are? Is he a thief? Are you well acquainted with him? Does he think you’re a thief? Does he know you were just indebted to the marquess? Do you—”
“Rose.” He cut her off as he gently pried her fingers off his upper arm so that he might turn and gather her close. “He might have some details that will help. He is dangerous, which is why you should stay far away from him. He does know about the debt, but he also likely thinks I am a thief.”
“But why—”
“Sweetheart,” he leaned down. “We should get down there so that I might greet him.”
“Oh yes,” she said, fisting his shirt against his chest.
He’d like to strip the shirt off and feel her fingers on him the way they’d been on his cheek earlier. “Let’s go.”
He stopped her. “I will meet you down there, and then as a man seeking your courtship, I can certainly stand with you. But, we likely shouldn’t leave my room together and travel about the halls.”
Her mouth fell open for a second before it curved into a smile. “Thank goodness you are still thinking clearly.” Then her hands loosened from his shirt and smoothed it in the most adorable way. “Shall I go first?”
