But one look at the man and she could tell that any control that was going to snap tonight had already snapped. There would be no more snapping.
A pity.
She rather liked the duke.
She certainly couldn’t understand why her father loathed the Cavanagh family so. If it had to do with Oliver’s father, she could understand he might have his reasons. But why carry those reasons over onto the son?
The image of a boy, perhaps a young man, flashed in her mind, causing her chest to contract with uneasiness. A face, or rather the suggestion of one, hovered at the edges of her memory, blurred and unformed. Try as she might, she could make out his features. A whisper of soft, cooing words. A distantstirring of pain. A shadowy canvas that disappeared the moment she blinked.
She exhaled, pressing her hand to her temple. What was that? The sliver of a memory? The shard of a dream?
“Is something wrong?”
Mortimer’s voice snapped her back to the present. She glanced up to find his gaze on her, so unreadable and yet so perceptive.
“No.” She forced a smile. “Just a passing thought.”
He didn’t look convinced, staring at her for a full minute before nodding. “Very well.” His focus returned to the ledger.
To distract herself from the haunting chill of that brief flash, she bit her lip and braved his annoyance, sliding into the space beside him, her skirts brushing against his leg, heat bleeding through the layers of fabric. The reaction was instant. His hand faltered on the ledger, fingers pausing mid-turn, the air between them suddenly taut. Did he feel it too? Or was she simply losing her mind?
She cleared her throat. “I want to see as well.” The light wasn’t good in here, but the moonlight and carriage lamps provided enough for determined eyes.
The duke said nothing, merely calmly turned the page.
“Well, at least they aren’t written in the form of wagers,” she said after a moment.
“You went through the betting book.”
“Of course. Who wouldn’t? Though honestly, I only gave it a few peeks and then got bored trying to decipher all the scrawls and confusing abbreviations. This is much more detailed.”
“That is to be expected. Here we have clear dates, details of contraband, routes, but also abbreviations of names.”
How bothersome. “Something tells meyouwill enjoy deciphering these names.”
“I do like puzzles.”
“Of course you do, otherwise we wouldn’t be here, would we?” She glanced from the ledger to his face. “So, will you copy the pages?”
“It would be the clever approach and should be enough to get a clear idea of who and what so that we can cross reference it with the betting book. That, with the betting book, should be enough evidence to dismantle the organization.”
It made sense. “Do you think everyone involved has ledgers like these?”
“I’m not sure.” He paused thoughtfully. “But the barman at my lodgings did say Talbot and your stepmother are visiting coastal towns.”
Louisa pursed her lips. “They are visiting friends, mostly friends of the duchess, so it could be—and I’m only speculating—that she might be visiting her criminal partners. Any friend of the duchess could be part of this club of hers. All hyenas, I tell you. However, my interest in their schedule doesn’t go beyond knowing they’ve left the house and provided me a bit of peace, so I’m not sure.”
“Because of the duchess.” He paused. “You really do not like that woman.”
“And understatement,” Louisa said. Camilla did nothing overtly cruel, spoke no words of open hostility, yet the malice simmered beneath her surface like an undetected poison. “I get shivers whenever I am in her presence. And not the good kind, I might add.”Not the kind of shivers like when you kissed me.
Oh, Lord! What was she thinking?
A sudden thought burst into her head like a bright light. “If Lady Havendish has such a ledger, wouldn’t the duchess have one as well?”
Hot eyes locked with hers, their depths lighting up too. “It is very plausible.”
She read the question he didn’t ask:Would you help me retrieve this ledger if it existed?“Well, then it seems that we shall have to make haste to copy this ledger, trade it for the betting book, and return to Ashford before Lady Havendish discovers her ledger gone and connects all the crumbs that point back to me.”
