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Chastity scowled at the full table until Annie waved her stick at the men and they fled to another table like birds scattering at the sight of her. Once seated, the woman rested her cane across her lap and propped her elbows upon the table.
Chastity explained everything. She had a suspicion this woman would appreciate the honesty. Once she’d finished her story, the woman nodded a few times and remained quiet.
“We think one of Daisy’s patrons could be the killer,” Chastity added.
“As I said before, it would not surprise me but a woman like Daisy cannot expect justice.”
“We should like to give it to her,” Aunt Sarah said. “And we are in a better position to do so.”
“I don’t want no trouble here.” Annie gestured about the inn. “These girls still need to earn and far better we control our own fates than have it in the hands of a man.”
“It will not come back upon you, I swear it,” Chastity assured her.
“Charles Reynolds was his name. Obsessed with her he was. He’d been seeing her for some years too.” Annie shrugged. “If it was any of them, I’d say it was him. You know the type…rich, arrogant, thinking they can’t do wrong.”
Chastity shared a look with her aunt. They all knew Mr. Reynolds. Wealthy and good-looking, he was a staple at many events and even with the Season at an end, he’d be in attendance at London events rather than being in the country. Chastity had spoken with him on many an occasion, and he’d been pleasant and respectful, though they certainly were not friends or even knew much of each other.
“We should speak with him.”
Annie cackled before Aunt Sarah could respond. “You think he will speak to you of his liking for whores?” She gestured to Chastity. “Sweeting, I can smell the privilege coming off you. There is no chance a man shall speak to you of such matters.”
Grimacing, Chastity met her aunt’s knowing gaze. As much as she did not wish to admit it, they needed the help of a man. And, of course, there was only one man they could ask.
∞∞∞
Wonderful.
He had done untold lengths of the pond and now he was hallucinating.
Valentine stroked fiercely toward the stone edge, put a hand to the cool, rough surface, and gulped down deep breaths. His lungs burned, his limbs had turned to blancmange, and his skin prickled from the fierce, biting cold of the water.
None of it worked. Even scrubbing a hand over his face and closing his eyes briefly would not remove the image of her or the gnawing tension in his gut as though he was being eaten alive from the inside out.
Guilt was part of it. Guilt that he had not found out what had happened to Julian.
And guilt about something else. Something he could not put a finger upon. Something to do with the woman currently ducked behind a bush.
He shoved out of the water in one push, snatched the towel, then rose to his feet, and scowled.
Wait. Surely if he had conjured Chastity with his imagination, he would have done a better job. She certainly would not be ducking behind a bush or frozen, with a wide-eyed look upon her. If he was honest, she’d most likely be naked and crawling all over him.
Which meant he was not hallucinating at all. He slung the towel swiftly about his hips, snatched up his shirt, and drew that over his still damp chest. Everyone knew not to come near the pond when he swam. Apart from Chastity, it seemed. Her cheeks were rosy, and her gaze skipped about the gardens.
Well, damn it, if she was going to sneak about his property again, she deserved to be embarrassed. And, bloody hell, it wasn’t like she had not seen every part of him. Intimately.
It was different now, he supposed. It was over. At least, he thought so. They had never really discussed it, but they seemed to have both assumed whatever it was between them was done. After all, they had said it would only happen whilst she was working for him.
Now he could not fathom quite why they had come to that agreement.
Striding over, he glanced about the gardens, which remained blessedly clear and would do so until he returned to the house. Unlike Chastity, none of his servants wished for an eyeful of their master entirely naked.
“How did you get in here?” he demanded. A silly question really. He already saw how capable Chastity was at all manner of surreptitious behavior.
Her gaze trailed down his body, her mouth slightly ajar.
“Chastity?” he prompted.
“Uh.” Her throat bobbed and her grip tightened so hard on one of the branches that it snapped.
