Morris roared with laughter. “Commonplace minds? Peter, you are a peculiar fellow. The likes of us ought not to care about the minds of those women. They’re conveniences, and those fine lords like to pay handsomely for their company.”
“Those gents. Fancy themselves all prim and proper as they sit in the House of Lords doing Prinny’s bidding, taxing the common man out of house and home, while getting richer and richer themselves. And then, at night, when nobody’s looking, they sneak off to St. Giles and enjoy the services of these so-called Birds of Paradise. I’d never.”
Winnie’s face burned with embarrassment. She would have been disturbed by their talk if she’d been alone. With Seth standing beside her, she was downright mortified to have to listen to such an address.
“Who are these men?” She whispered to Seth to do away with the awkwardness between them.
“Peter, you are one of a kind. Surely have high standards for someone in your line of work,” Morris said up ahead.
“I do what I must to support myself and my family,” he replied. “Now, gimme some more of that ale. Don’t hog it all.”
“I’m not hogging anything, and this ale is mine. Get your own.”
“It ain’t yours. Now, gimme!” The voices grew louder as the two men argued back and forth over the ownership of the ale.
“They’re useless to our purposes,” Seth quietly said. He was so close to her goosebumps covered her arms, and then his deep baritone voice filled her ear. “Come on, let’s go.” He took her by the arm and gently nudged her toward the back door. Suddenly, the sound of chairs screeching across the floor from the kitchen drew both their attention.
“What piffle,” Seth cursed and yanked her backward. She stumbled and grabbed on to Seth and righted herself. For an instant, her fingers curled around his muscular arms. “Are you all right?”
She nodded as together they huddled pressed against the wall of the study, neither of them moving, neither of them daring to breathe. The door to the kitchen opened with a loud creak, and footsteps sounded.
“Come on then, Elton wants us at the square. We’re already late,” the one named Morris said.
“It ain’t my fault we’re late. You’re the one who insisted on counting your coins three times as if I’d cheat you out of your share.”
“Done it before, haven’t you?”
“Balderdash, leave me be. I’ve had enough of you and your mawkish mood today,” Peter moaned as the two men passed by the study. Their voices faded as they made their way to the front door. One man grunted as he lifted the door, opened it, and then popped it back in place.
Seth and Winnie stood still for another minute to make sure they didn’t return, and then Winnie turned to Seth.
“What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same. I’ll tell you but not here, not now. Come on, let’s get going.” He nodded for the back door and pushed past her. There was something odd about him. As if he were not entirely unhappy to see her. And at the same time, he was irritated by her presence.
Winnifred frowned and followed Seth outside. As the sunlight enveloped her once more, she blinked. Before her, Seth was but a silhouette. Her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the day.
“Winnifred, what were you doing here? I told you I didn’t want you joining me in my investigation. I was very clear—I must do this on my own. You could have ruined everything,” Seth’s tone was full of accusation, which in turn enraged Winnie.
“You did make yourself rather clear, crystal clear, I declare. But ‘pon my honor, I did not trail you. I didn’t know you were here. I came here following my investigation and my clues.”
He crossed his arms in front of his broad chest and blinked at her. His bright eyes sparkled with a mixture of curiosity and suppressed anger.
“And what, pray, where those clues?”
She tilted her head to one side and, for a split second, considered not telling him. After all, he refused to help her, so why should she share anything she knew? However, she realized how silly that was and how damaging this attitude might be to her brother’s safety.
With a sigh, she yanked up her reticule and retrieved the folded-up note she’d found among Leo’s belongings. She handed it to Seth, who took it with a groan. As he unfolded it, she watched his eyes move as he read the words before him. His mouth opened, first only a slight bit, enough to see a hint of his white teeth, and then it hung agape. When he raised his eyes again, he was entirely pale.
“What is it?”
He swallowed and slipped a hand into his waistcoat pocket. Seth pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Winnifred without saying anything.
Chapter 6
“They’re identical,” she said, as she scanned the words on the sheet he’d found among his sister’s papers. Rose was a rather scatter-brained young lady, and her writing desk reflected this state of mind. It took Seth several hours to work his way through the entirety of her messy desk, and he had yet to search the rest of her bed-chamber or her dressing room. He didn’t look forward to the prospect, not wishing to violate his sister’s privacy.
It was Seth’s hope this letter would lead him to where he’d find her, avoiding the need of having to go into her chamber to look around in detail. Alas, it seemed this was a dead end. Not only had he wasted the entire afternoon, he now had to contend with Winnie.
