Page 113 of The Lady Needs a Rogue
Finn resisted the urge to chuckle. “I had a flair for language in those days.”
“Ye still do. And ye’re still full of hot air.”
“Bloody hell, Logan, this is hard enough.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “I won’t stand in her blasted way.”
“When Amelia was planning to leave for America, ye didn’t think I was being noble. Ye thought I was a fool. I might say the same of ye.”
“I have to face facts.” Finn drummed his fingers in an even rhythm. “This is what she wants.”
“Tell me this, and then I’ll leave ye be,” Logan said. “Do ye love her, Finn?”
Love.
The word seemed so simple. One blasted syllable. Yet it was the most complex, complicated, difficult word in the world to utter.
“Yes,” he said, facing the truth. “Yes, I do.”
“Then ye know what the answer is, my friend,” Logan said. “Ye bloody well know what to do.”
Suddenly, a familiar female voice drifted over the casual sounds of the pub. Finn turned to the sound. Mrs. Johnstone strode toward them with Nell at her side. Why in blazes were they here?
“Amelia thought ye might be here,” Mrs. Johnstone said. “Have you seen Macie this afternoon?”
“Here?” Finn didn’t try to hide his confusion. “Ye know the lass would rather spend a night in the Tower.”
“Oh, dear,” Nell said. “She had planned to meet Professor Aylesworth for tea, but when Mrs. Johnstone and I went to the café, she had already left.”
Logan nodded his understanding. “With Aylesworth?”
“That would appear to be the case,” Mrs. Johnstone said.
Tension gripped Finn’s chest, but he affected a cool demeanor. “Macie is an independent woman. She comes and goes as she pleases.”
“It is not her independence that concerns me.” Mrs. Johnstone shook her head. “It would appear Professor Aylesworth is not the man she thinks he is.”
Finn read the concern on her features. “What are ye saying?”
“I’ve been making inquiries about the man,” she explained. “I presume you are aware he served as Macie’s grandfather’s research assistant for some time.”
“It’s no secret,” Finn replied. “Macie first met the man when she was a young lass.”
“This is where it gets interesting. And rather troubling,” Mrs. Johnstone said. “Aylesworth has ties to both of the men Macie encountered.”
“Both of the men who died,” Nell added grimly.
“Some years ago, Aylesworth studied under Professor Smythson,” Mrs. Johnstone went on.
“And Neville?” Logan asked.
“Hiram Neville was kin to Aylesworth—his uncle, to be precise.” Mrs. Johnstone appeared to choose her words carefully. “Yesterday, I was taking tea with friends who are devotees of a ripping good mystery, when one brought up the unfortunate experience at the theater. Between bites of watercress sandwich and sips of tea, Lady Vivian casually revealed her husband and Neville had belonged to the sameclub. Evidently, Neville had not been himself in recent weeks. He’d begun to imbibe quite heavily, and one night, the man revealed an ugly secret. He was deeply concerned for someone he did not name—someone who had been like a son to him. Mr. Neville feared the man had committed a crime and was growing desperate to avoid imprisonment. Or worse.”
Finn saw the concern on her face she could not hide.Bloody hell.“He was referring to Aylesworth.”
“At this point, we cannot be certain. I did not make the connection until I learned the family ties between the two men.” Mrs. Johnstone’s tone was taut with tension. “But if I’m right, if Neville was distraught over his nephew’s desperate path, he might have been killed to silence him. And Macie—”
“Good God.” Finn’s blood ran cold. “I’ve got to find her.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
