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“Ah ha! That’s why no one was sitting over there. I bet he tampered with all of those chairs with the intention that your daughter would end up sitting in one of them. He wasn’t trying to harm her, but he was trying to embarrass her.”
“And what would be the purpose of that? He wants to be my son-in-law.”
“If your daughter doesn’t attract any suitors, then he will secure the marriage, will he not?”
Her father snorted. “She hasn’t attracted any suitors at all. There have been no missives from gentlemen seeking to visit her. It’s why I’m going to demand the Duchess of Ashbourne pays me back.” He straightened his waistcoat, not hiding his annoyance. “I’m beginning to think you’re not any good at this job. You aren’t any closer to resolving this situation than you were the day I hired you, and what’s worse is that you recommended the duchess who turned out to be useless. You are hereby dismissed.”
Eleanor jumped to her feet. “Father, you can’t do that.”
“I can do anything I want,” her father argued. “It’s my money I’m using for these services. I don’t have to keep paying it.”
She went over to him. “But how can we find out who pushed me at the theatre or tampered with my carriage wheel?”
Her father gestured to Byron. “It’s no good having him figure it out. He’s obviously incapable of doing it.”
“Just because the Duke of Winnett is good about hiding evidence,” Byron began, “it doesn’t mean I won’t find something at some point.”
“And how many years will this take?” her father snapped. “You didn’t find anything tonight as you searched through his townhouse, did you?”
After a moment, Byron admitted, “No, I didn’t.”
“That’s all I need to hear.” Her father waved for him to leave. “I suppose I owe you something since you did at least pretend to be my daughter’s suitor and made sure thatLadies of Graceis a safe group for her to belong to. I’ll send the final payment to your residence tomorrow. I’m too upset to work through the ledger tonight.”
“Father, you shouldn’t be so quick to get rid of him,” Eleanor protested. “He didn’t figure out Stacey was innocent right away. It took him time to do that. Surely, you can give Byron some more time.”
Her father blinked in surprise. “Since when do you refer to him so informally?”
She hadn’t expected this to anger her father, but by the way he glared at Byron, she realized it did. She wasn’t sure if she should answer his question or ignore it in hopes that he would calm down.
“Is this why you wanted to meet his sister?” her father asked her.
“No,” she began. “I wanted a friend.”
“You don’t need his sister to have a friend. You’re a member ofLadies of Grace. Those ladies are the only friends you need.” Her father turned to Byron. “Now I see that all of those times you put on a show of being interested in her, it was more than an act. She will not marry you. She’s going to marry a titled gentleman who has some standing in the Ton.”
“You’re wrong,” Eleanor argued. “He’s not interested in me that way, Father.”
“Don’t tell me I’m wrong,” her father told her. “I’m older than you, and I am a gentleman. I can see what’s going on. It’s my fault I allowed you two to speak when I wasn’t in the room. If I’d been careful, this wouldn’t have happened.” He turned to Byron and pointed to the door. “You aren’t welcome here anymore.”
Byron glanced at her, and she caught the blend of worry and tenderness in his gaze before he left the room. Her eyebrows furrowed. She’d never had anyone look at her that way before. He did care about her. That much was obvious. But did he care more about her than she had assumed?
Her father released his breath then directed his attention to her. “IfLadies of Gracewill still allow you to be a member after tonight, we’ll be lucky. At the moment, I can’t dwell on that. Right now, I need to find someone who’s qualified to be a detective to investigate the person behind the incident at the theatre and the carriage.” Without waiting for her to respond, he stormed out of the room.
Her eyebrows furrowed. What if Byron was right about the Duke of Winnett? What if the duke had done those horrible things? But why would the duke want to harm her if he was hoping to marry her? It didn’t make sense. She hadn’t even known him when those things had happened at the theatre and with her carriage. And if he wanted to get into her father’s good graces, why would he embarrass her the way he had? Could Byron be right about him doing it to make sure she wouldn’t attract any suitors?
Making sure her father wasn’t coming back into the room, she went to the window. Byron was walking down the street. He was heading in the direction of the Duke of Winnett’s residence. Her heart leapt with hope. Maybe he wasn’t going to stop searching for clues even though her father had dismissed him.
She tapped the edge of the window. If he was still pursuing the investigation, it meant he must care for her. Her heart leapt again, but this time for another reason. And this was a reason she didn’t understand.
