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With a quick dip, she scurried away before he could respond. However, before she reached her sisters, Luke joined her on the path.
Undecided as to whether to hasten on or slow her pace and demand answers of him, she instead did a tiny stumble, and he snatched her arm swiftly.
She righted herself, removed her arm from his grip and forced a smile falser than the one she had offered Lord Bainbridge. “Good afternoon.”
“What did Bainbridge want?”
She looked back at the man whose expression had grown quite sour. Arms folded, he watched their exchange despite having joined his group of friends. Cassie rolled her eyes. Why any of these men thought they owned her movements she did not know.
“To converse.” She paused and pressed her lips together. “I think.”
“You think?”
“Yes, Luke, I think. We were interrupted by you.”
“You seemed to be hastening away actually.”
“Well, I—” She released a frustrated breath. “I might have spoken with him longer had I not seen you.”
A dark eyebrow lifted. “You did not see me.” His jaw worked and she eyed the pulse, unable to quite fathom what it meant. “Too engrossed in the Lord Bainbridge were you? Too eager to toy with him perhaps? That’s why you were running away.”
“Toy? Luke, you know I have no interest in the silly games that debutantes partake in to increase a man’s interest, and I fail to see why you would insult me so. I have done nothing wrong.”
The muscles in his jaw continued to flex for a few moments before his posture relaxed. “Of course. Forgive me. I came to ask...” He glanced at the grass. “That is...”
She held her breath. Perhaps he did want her after all. Perhaps his silence had been him mulling it over and had they not been interrupted, he would have taken her up on her offer.
“Theodore Parsons.”
“Theodore Parsons,” she repeated.
“Yes. I was thinking on how we might find out more about what happened to him.”
“Oh. Yes. Of course.”
“I was speaking with a friend who it seems might have been the last man to see him and it occurred to me it might be useful to retrace his footsteps so to speak. From that night.”
She nodded. “I had been considering such a step. I had rather hoped to find some more solid evidence first, but it seems this company will not lead us to him.”
“So we are agreed?”
“Yes, I think it the next logical option.”
“Excellent.”
Someone called her name and she glanced over her shoulder to see Chastity gesturing to her. Lord Bainbridge had joined her sisters again and she grimaced. The man was most determined.
“It seems Lord Bainbridge wants to finish your conversation.”
“Well, he can wait.” She waved away Chastity’s wild gestures and ignored the frustrated look her sister gave her. Cassie grinned. No doubt Chastity would loathe having to bite her tongue and not tell his lordship to scarper. Her sister had little tolerance for men like Lord B.
“Perhaps we can take a stroll,” Luke suggested. “There are other things I would like to discuss.”
She weighed her options. Walk with Luke and spend far too long dwelling on what a fool she had been to even broach the subject of…well, them…or go back to Lord B and his potentially wandering hands.
Oh, who was she kidding? She’d rather have Luke’s company any day, even if she had embarrassed herself beyond measureandthey did need to discuss if he was to continue aiding her. Her sisters were watching her far more carefully now and she had need of his help more than ever.
“So what shall we do next? Go to this club?”
