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“No, you did not. And despite what happened in the past, you need to trust me. I’m not here to take advantage of you in any way.”
He expected her to say something else but she said, “I know.” And then she smiled at him. The certainty in her words made him want to take her in his arms again. He had won her trust again. He felt relief and something else flood through inside. He couldn’t help but wonder if she thought about the kiss the same way he did. Alone in his room, at night in bed, that was all he could think about. There was nothing gentlemanly about those thoughts.
“Were you able to discover more about the mysterious note in the pendant?” he asked. He had promised himself that no matter how bad he wanted her, he wouldn’t touch her until she allowed him to. So far she gave no indication that she burned for him the same way he did. But at least they were back to the easy camaraderie they had before.
Ariadne shook her head. “No, but there is something even more worrying. Since you know about the note, I suppose I can tell you about the letters.”
“The letters?” Edward asked. From the tone of her voice, he could gauge that they didn’t represent anything good.
“I’ve been getting these threatening letters ever since you left. They have been getting more and more aggressive in tone.”
It was far worse than he had expected. “How many have you got so far?”
“Five,” Ariadne said, “with no clue as to who’s sending them. We wagered it could be our landlord, but we don’t know her motivation.”
“What do the letters want you to do?” Edward asked. It sounded like blackmail to him but why? Ariadne had no riches or anything else to offer.
“They want me to leave with my family and never come back. They want me gone from here,” Ariadne said.
Someone didn’t want her here. But why? Ariadne pressed her thumbs against her forehead and Edward drew nearer instinctively. “You should have told me about this before,” he murmured.
“How will that help?” she asked with, her shoulders hunching. He could see what she was going through and wished to lessen her burden somehow.
“We can go get a constable,” he said. He wouldn’t let her go alone.
She shook her head. “That won’t help. They don’t care about us either.”
“Ariadne,” he said, stepping closer to her. As soon as he did, he was bathed in her scent. She smelled so sweet. Edward inhaled deeply. When she didn’t look up, he put his finger under her chin and made her meet his gaze. Every instinct in him told him to lean down and kiss her. Her eyes flickered to his lips and stayed. She licked her bottom lips. Edward almost groaned.
But before they could move, the door flew open and Leda walked in.
