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Miss Eloise took a step back, almost treading on Payne’s toes. Two thief-takers flanked the man, but his appearance was so imposing that Olivia hadn’t even noticed them at first, not until Hades—for it had to be him—stopped and stood still as a statue.
His gaze swept about the room and lingered on Miss Eloise. She took another step back and Payne caught her by her upper arms, lest she stumbled and fell. The gesture earned him an icy cold gaze from Hades. The gaze was frosty enough to make Olivia—who stood next to the earl—shiver.
Hades’ eyes were so light, they might as well have been white. He looked truly like the devil himself.
“It is rare,” Hades said in a rich, gravelly voice, while his all-encompassing gaze returned to the thief-taker, “that people bring their women to meet me.”
“I assure you, it wasn’t our intent either,” Payne said and threw an irritated glance toward his wife.
Hades smirked. “You two are testing my patience. This is the last meeting I am going to attend with you two scheming.”
“We are not scheming,” the thief-taker answered. “But I have reason to believe that you captured one of the peers. And I am here to negotiate.”
“As we’ve established before, I am not foolish enough to capture a peer.”
“Not unless you think he killed someone dear to you.”
Hades threw him a menacing glance.
“The girl who was killed during the Kensington masquerade. I know she is someone dear to you. And you think you’re avenging her death, but you are wrong. You’ve got the wrong man.”
“You seem to think you know a lot, thief-taker.”
“I assure you, I do not. But I know enough of little things for me to be good at my job.”
Olivia had trouble following the conversation, but she understood one thing: Hades had taken Jarvis because he thought he killed the girl during the Kensington masquerade.
“Jarvis St. John, is this the man you blame for the murder of the girl?” she asked Hades.
He seemed startled that she dared address him directly. He turned slowly toward her, his opaque eyes causing her to shiver again. Olivia didn’t dare take a step back. “If so, then you have the wrong man. Jarvis didn’t kill her or anyone that night.”
“How do you know that?” he asked, his voice silky.
“Because he was with me the entire evening.”
“Yes, and women never lie to protect their lovers,” he hissed.
Olivia’s neck heated, and the heat traveled up to her cheeks. “I-I am not the only one who saw him that night. He was out in the open, in the ballroom.”
“And I have a witness who assures me St. John disappeared from the ball for a long time before the murder was discovered.”
“He did,” Olivia answered, her face heating even more. She was bound to consign herself to ruin, admitting this in front of so many people, but Jarvis’s life depended on it. “With me. We were… in Kensington’s study… together.”
The room fell silent. Everyone shifted or looked away and even Olivia, who was not the best at discerning social awkwardness, could sense that everyone grew uncomfortable.
Lord Payne cleared his throat. “Look, Miss Olivia is a lady. She just risked social ruin by admitting this aloud.”
There was a beat of silence. “That’s not enough evidence. As I said, this isn’t the first time a woman has lied to save her lover. I can’t take your word for it.”
“You just admitted to a room full of people that you do indeed have the lord imprisoned within your establishment!” the thief-taker intoned.
“Did I?” Hades lifted his brow. “I do not recall such a thing. And if you challenge me, it will be your word against mine and you will quickly find that my word is a lot weightier.”
“What do you want?” Olivia cried in desperation.
“I want the person who killed my Ava to pay.”
“If that is truly what you want, then holding St. John is not going to help you,” Mr. Gunning intervened. “Let us make a deal. You let Lord St. John go. And I shall find whoever is truly responsible for the death of your… Ava.”
