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Chapter Two
The door to the outer office slammed shut with enough force for the gentlemen gathered around the table to halt their discussion. They shuffled the papers they examined out of sight into a drawer and each of them took a seat at their own desk and pretended interest in their individual paperwork.
Reese Worthington strode into his brother’s detective agency with purpose and pointed a finger at Worth. “I am finished. She is yours to deal with for the season.”
Worth chuckled. “What has she done now?”
Worthington threw his hat on the desk and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “The correct question is what has Maggie not done the past two months since we arrived in London.”
Barrett Ralston, Graham Worthington’s business partner, chuckled. “Gemma told me over breakfast this morning how Maggie asked Lady Burrows during her luncheon when she was due to give birth and then continued to describe how a mare gave birth.”
Worth frowned. “I did not know Lady Burrows was expecting.”
Worthington growled. “She is not with child.”
Dracott tried to hold in his snicker but failed, which only infuriated the earl and earned him a glare. “My apologies.”
Worth stood and urged his brother into a chair. “Stop trying to intimidate my assistant.” He nodded at Ralston to pour his brother a drink.
Once he calmed his nerves, Worthington made his demands. “You are to escort Mother and Maggie to the Sinclair Ball this evening. Not only are you to escort Maggie, but you must never leave her side. Under no circumstances is she not to be within your eyesight. If she accepts a gentleman’s offer to dance, you are to watch her from the sidelines. However, it is doubtful she will since she has refused every offer since our arrival in town. Then you must question why she accepted the dance because it is her way of escaping your clutches. I will admit this only once and I will deny it if anyone ever repeats it. The conniving minx has outwitted me on more than one occasion.”
Ralston shook his head. “I sympathize with you. However, Maggie’s antics are hilarious and I enjoy hearing about them.”
Worthington scoffed. “Just wait until your sisters make their debut. From what I hear, they are a handful in their own rights.”
Ralston sobered. “Ah, damn.”
Worthington took another gulp of his drink. “Exactly.”
“I cannot escort them this evening. We had a break in a case, and I am needed elsewhere,” Worth interjected.
Worthington leaned back in the chair with a confident smile and crossed a leg over his knee. “I knew you would find an excuse. So I will only mention one name that will make you understand my demand clearly.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Worth snarled.
Dracott’s gaze flipped back and forth between the brothers. Who held the power to sway his boss into abandoning his plans for the evening? He slid forward in his seat, eager to hear.
“Eden,” Worthington answered with the dare.
The office grew silent when Worthington declared the name of the lady who held the strings in their investigation. If Worth pulled Eden from her latest assignment, then the plans they had put in place would have been for naught. Even now she held a pivotal position, and they couldn’t afford to replace her with anyone else.
Worthington continued with his threat. “I have allowed Eden to amuse herself by playing detective with you because she enjoys the thrill and it hasn’t tarnished her reputation. So much that I have even covered her absence with Mother when needed. However, if you recall the promise you made that if I needed your help, you would make yourself available or else Eden must partake in the season to find a husband.”
Silence settled over the office while Worth and Ralston weighed their options. If Worth didn’t escort the ladies this evening, they would lose Eden. She was their eyes and ears at all the functions, finding out information none of them could gain elsewhere. Dracott had only met Eden Worthington a few times, but he admired her fierce determination to the cause. However, if Worth attended the ball, then they must wait before they implemented the next stage in capturing the leader of the thievery ring tormenting England.
Dracott noticed the slight signal Ralston gave Worth. To most people, it was a twitch, but to the trained eye, it spoke of something far more valuable. An unspoken message explaining the understanding between partners.
“Very well,” Worth answered his brother.
Worthington rose. “I thought you would see reason.”
Worth growled. “You did not leave me much choice.”
“I am curious about one aspect of your hesitation.” Worthington strolled to the door, and Worth waited for his brother to comment, not bothering to ask what stoked his curiosity. Worthington turned, keeping his hand on the doorknob. “What case is Eden involved with that you cannot release her from?”
Dracott frowned when Worth and Ralston both avoided Worthington’s stare. Ever since Dracott joined the organization a few months ago, Worthington had stopped by on occasion and they had discussed their cases openly, even seeking his advice on how to proceed with them. It was on the tip of his tongue to mention the intel they had received about an old case. But Ralston shot him a warning to stay silent. So Dracott dropped his head and pretended a renewed interest in the paperwork spread across his desk.
“A recent case that I do not wish for her to blow her cover on. It involves a missing necklace,” Worth explained.
