Page 34 of The Bride Wore White

“There will be some drama,” Prudence warned. “Clara Dover is not the subtle type.”

“She’s not the one I’m most concerned about.”

“Says the man who has never met her.” Prudence folded her arms and watched the road unspool in front of the Packard. “She isquite capable of hiring a professional hit man. I can only hope she will discover that good help is as hard to find in that line of work as she seems to think it is in every other category of service.”

“I realize Clara will cause us some problems, but we know a lot about her. That gives us an advantage. It’s the person who murdered Gilbert Dover and set you up as the Killer Bride we need to worry about. We don’t have nearly enough information about him.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“YouguessI’m right?”

“Never mind.” Prudence glanced at him briefly and then turned her attention back to the road. “On the plus side, you’re a good dancer.”

“Thanks. It’s been a while.”

“It’s been a while for me, too.”

“How long?” he asked, because he could not stop himself.

“The last time I danced was the day I got married in Reno,” Prudence said. “Julian and I went out to a nightclub that evening. Nothing fancy like the Paradise, of course, but there was a band and—”

“What?”The chimes clashed so loudly he could scarcely think. “Luther never said anything about you being married. There was nothing in the papers about Madame Ariadne being married, either.”

“The marriage didn’t last long.” Prudence unfolded her arms and widened her hands, a magician calling attention to a clever trick. “About three weeks. And then, one day, it just disappeared. It was as if it never happened.”

“Three weeks?” he said. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. This was important, and he had not seen it coming. That was... disturbing.

“The truth is that it ended on my wedding night, but it took three weeks for the annulment to come through,” Prudence said. “Before you ask, it wasn’t Julian’s fault. I’m the reason for theannulment. Enough about me. Let’s talk about you. Why haven’t you danced in a very long time?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“You’re damn right, I am. Tell me why you haven’t danced in a long time.”

He hesitated, wanting answers. But he knew she would shut down if he pushed too hard.

“I was engaged,” he said. “And then this happened.” He took one hand off the wheel long enough to gesture toward the scars. “And then the engagement ended. Haven’t danced since. Not until tonight. Satisfied?”

“Something tells me there’s a lot more to the story,” Prudence said.

“Something tells me there’s a lot more to the story of your annulled marriage.”

“Everyone has a right to their secrets.”

“True,” he said. “But I should remind you that my career is based on learning other people’s secrets.”

“I grew up in the psychic dream reading business. I’m very good at learning other people’s secrets, too. I’m also very good at keeping them.”

“I’ve noticed.”

He downshifted for a curve. Somewhere in another dimension the chimes were still clanging. He would give a great deal to know more about her annulment, but that was not her most important secret. It was another question that required an answer.Can you really kill a man with your psychic energy, Madame Ariadne?

Chapter 15

She had spent the evening dancing in a hot nightclub with the most fascinating, the most infuriating, the most intriguing man she had ever met. Now, tonight, she was sleeping in his bed.

Okay, now she was overdramatizing the situation, Prudence thought. Yes, technically speaking, the bed belonged to Jack Wingate, but he was nowhere near it. He was in another bedroom located at the far end of the other wing of the big house. She was very much alone in the big bed, and that’s how things had to be. If her annulled marriage had taught her one thing, it was that she could never again risk going to bed with a lover.

Not that Jack had shown any indication that he was interested in becoming her lover. He had made his opinion of her clear. In his eyes, she was nothing more than a fraud who happened to be his client.

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