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She wrinkled her nose. “Apart from my gloves.”
“Why are you always getting dirty in my presence, Cassie?”
He clamped his mouth shut and resisted the desire to slap a hand to his forehead. She might not understand the unintentional double meaning behind his words, buthecertainly did and the last thing he needed right now was to be thinking of anything remotelydirty.
She gave a little shrug. “Rotten luck I suppose.”
“What did he say to you?”
A line formed between her brows. “To stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Just to stop or else.” A shudder wracked her, and Luke took her back into his hold and rubbed a hand up and down her back. “His words were most threatening.”
“He had no limp,” Luke mused. “Which means you have drawn the attention of not one but two people.”
“You do not know I was being followed,” she murmured.
He fixed her with a stern look. “I think it is about time you told me the truth, Cassie. Why are you receiving threats and being followed?”
She opened her mouth then shut it.
“I won’t leave your side until you tell me the truth,” he vowed.
There wasn’t a single chance he was letting her get harmed again, regardless of the promise he made to Anton.
Chapter Eleven
Cassie studied her red palms. The sting from her fall lingered. This was no ordinary investigation—no thieving servant or scandalous elopement. She had yet to uncover anything of substance, yet someone thought her dangerous enough to threaten her. She imagined whoever was behind this attack had thought the pampered daughter of a duke would give up after such a threat.
They thought wrong.
It only confirmed her suspicions that Jane was indeed right, and her brother was not dead. This company had to be involved somehow. If only the solicitor did not refuse to give her any information. He repeatedly told her it was confidential and refused to even consider there might be something untoward about the will.
“Cassie?” Luke prompted.
She lifted her head and met his gaze. It would be much easier to ignore his demands of the truth if he did not look so wretchedly handsome. Today, his waistcoat sat slightly askew though that could well have been from when he had lifted her from the ground and drawn her into his arms. Her fingers twitched with the need to straighten the buttons and press a palm against the solid strength of him.
Fingers pressed to her lips, she weighed her options. She could lie she supposed or tell him it was nothing. He could not force the truths from her mouth after all. But she needed to fix this for Jane—and soon. As determined as she was to do this alone, she might need help.
Or at the very least protection.
He did not have to know of her sisters’ activities or how she even became involved in this, and maybe if he saw the scant evidence she had, he might believe her.
Might.
She would have to be persuasive indeed.
She inched up her skirts and Luke swiftly averted his gaze. “Cassie,” the word came out a strangled warning.
Ignoring him, she tugged the will from the hidden pocket sewn inside her skirts.
He glanced down, a brow raised. “A hidden pocket?”
“Where else are we women meant to put things of importance?”
“I would wager few women have such pockets in their skirts—only you.”
