“Of course. Would you not?”
That innocent tone with aninnocentquestion truly riled her! Louisa used the most sarcastic tone she could muster. “Is that really the point here?”
“If not, what is?” Another “innocent” question.
“It is that you are here at all! Right now! Dressed as a gardener!”
“Are you certain? Is it not that you lost the book?”
Louisa inhaled a deep breath. Very well. She had stepped straight into that jab.
“Lady Louisa,” the duke began, but paused, having the good sense to look a bit—a tiny smidgeon—sheepish. But that look only lasted for one brief second before it vanished beneath a cold shield of indifference. Was this a mask he wore? He wore it well.
But then, did all men not wear one? Women too. Even she lifted a smile for her stepmother while inside her chest her heart scowled. Mortimer should be no different. What did it matter? It had nothing to do with her.Hehad nothing to do with her.
“The book...?” he said, bringing her back to the present and leaving the question itself unspoken.
Yes, that blasted book. “Well, I was searching my father’s study when I caught sight of you through the window.”
He gave a nod. “Which distracted you.”
“Whichreminds me, you still haven’t told me what you hope to accomplish by acting as a garden statue.” Acting all suspicious.
“I am not here to cause trouble, Lady Louisa. I am merely making it easy for you to deliver the book once you find it.” Those sharp, amber eyes searched hers. “It’s rather a mystery, the book’s lack of presence.”
You don’t have to tell me that, Duke.
He didn’t trust her, that much was clear. Still, if he wanted to dress the part so he could stay close, he should also act the part. She jabbed at a nearby shrubbery. “These bushes could use a good pruning.”
The duke adjusted the cap on his head and stepped up to the closest, already neatly trimmed shrubbery, catching a small leaf between his fingers. The corner of his lips inched upward. “Pruning, you say? It’s true that like many things in life, if not pruned regularly, the most beautiful of shrubs starts to grow waywardly and recklessly. Though perhaps not daily.”
She glanced between him and the hardly wayward greenery. “What are you getting at? Is this your way of getting out of gardening duties?”
“Not everything benefits from a quick trim.”
Lawks. Also, do notfightwith dukes, highwaymen, or criminals! “Since you are the gardener, prune it. Some. More. Lady’s orders.”
“No.” Resolute. But why did it seem like his eyes were laughing at her? He picked another leaf. “I respect a craftsman’s touch, and also my limitations.”
“That remains to be seen. However, did you truly have to go this far? Did you have to come here?”
He didn’t hesitate to nod. “Yes.”
Very well, fair answer. It was hard to believe a whole criminal enterprise was being run through the wagers in that book—at least some of them. If Theodosia hadn’t enlightened her as to its secrets, she would have dismissed it as utter hogwash, but she had been persuaded. And Mortimer had been hunting for the book from the start, which was telling in itself.
Drat, she had misplaced no ordinary ledger.
This mysterious organization wasn’t just in need of a pruning, but rather it was a weed that needed to be plucked from the earth altogether. But first things first. “We should show some interest in more of the garden so we don’t raise any suspicions.” Her stepmother’s eyes were everywhere.
“What about that tree? Perhaps we could be discussing it.” He pointed to a huge tree whose branches and leaves hung down to the ground.
She smiled. “Ah, yes. This weeping willow is my favorite tree. As a little girl, I would hide from my governess here.” In fact...
Louisa marched toward the tree, parting the branches with ease as she entered the shelter within. Inside, it felt like a secondrealm, one separate from the world beyond its shelter. A good spot now for a private conversation.
The duke entered after her, his voice cutting through the rustle of leaves. “You must have hidden a lot.”
She turned to him, smiling. “How did you know?”
