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“I do. I love it! The members ofLadies of Gracewill be here tomorrow, and I think they’re going to ask me to join their group. This is perfect! Now I can say yes and know you won’t ruin things for me.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad that Stacey isn’t the culprit.”
She picked up her tea and took another sip. It would be nice to have friends. “I finally feel like I belong in London.”
He took a good look at the doorway before he lowered his voice and asked, “Would you like to meet my sister? I can assure you that she and Mr. Duff are decent people, and they’re within your social and economic group. Once your father realizes that, he’ll say yes anyway.”
This came as a surprise. She didn’t think Byron would do anything without her father approving it first. Did that mean she would be able to get him to listen to her instead of relying on her father’s opinion about something?
She would like to be able to do something independent of her father. She had a mind of her own, and she’d like to use it. Maybe meeting Byron’s sister would be a way to start doing that. She nodded. “I’d like to meet your sister. When will you take me to meet her?”
“You saidLadies of Gracewill be here tomorrow, so why don’t I arrange for you two to meet the day after that? One of the members inLadies of Graceis Mr. Duff’s sister.”
“Really? Which one?”
“Lady Powell, or, as you think of her, Heather. If you’re going to be a member of her group, I see no reason why she wouldn’t agree to introduce you to my sister.”
“If she takes me to your sister’s, will you be there? I’d feel more comfortable if you were. I barely know Heather, and I don’t know your sister at all.”
“I can be there. And I think it’s a better idea for Heather to come by here to take you there so that your father doesn’t question it.”
Of course, if it turned out Eleanor wasn’t going to be invited to joinLadies of Grace, then this whole plan was going to be moot. But if they didn’t want her to join the group, wouldn’t they just write her a missive or simply ignore her? She took a deep breath to settle her nerves. So much depended on how tomorrow went.
“Is something bothering you?” Byron asked.
“I didn’t realize how anxious I was about tomorrow,” she admitted. “I’m assuming that they’ll let me in the group. I really don’t know if they will or not.”
“They seemed to like you at the dinner party. I’m sure you’ll get in.”
“Was there something one of them said or did that makes you think so?” He was a Runner. Maybe he noticed something she didn’t.
“Well, you impressed their husbands, especially Piers. I’d think half the battle of getting into the group is meeting the approval of the husbands. Why else would they have the dinner party where everyone was together?”
She considered that angle as she sipped her tea. He might be right.
Her father came into the room and offered Byron a greeting before he shut the door. He approached them but spoke to Byron. “Did you discover anything about the person who intends to harm my daughter?”
Byron set his cup down as her father sat in the chair next to him. “I removed someone from the suspect list. Lady Whitney has no ill will toward Eleanor. That means she is safe to joinLadies of Grace.”
“But there is someone who tried to harm her,” her father protested.
“Yes, I am convinced that the fall at the theatre and the wheel on the carriage weren’t accidents.”
“You’ve been to two balls where you watched her all evening, you’ve been to a dinner party, and you went out for a walk with us. Certainly, something must have caught your attention.”
“Well, yes, but I can’t say who that person is until the time is right.”
Eleanor’s eyes widened. There was another suspect?
“If you suspect someone, I have a right to know,” her father argued. “I’m paying you for this.”
“I realize that, but if I say something right now, I might jeopardize the case,” Byron replied, his tone pleasant but firm. “I take my duties as a Runner seriously. One thing I can’t do is give away any piece of information until the time right.”
Her father didn’t look pleased, but Byron’s expression was so resolute that her father ended up backing down. Eleanor was impressed. She hadn’t seen anyone who had managed to get her father to relent. Her father was a wall of stone. When he decided something should be a certain way, there was no changing his mind. Not unless one’s name was Byron, anyway.
“When will you tell me who this other suspect is?” her father asked.
Byron shrugged. “I don’t know.”
