Page 36 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
“Come away from the window, Miss Prince.”
The frown she shot back at him was full of irritation.
“Why is the man here, Detective Inspector?” Gibson had resumed his spot behind the main counter and stared at Ben expectantly.
“That’s a very good question. And believe me, I intend to ask him.” Ben offered Gibson a nod and then turned to Miss Prince. “If you’ll excuse me.”
He meant it as a sufficient leave-taking and immediately made his way to the Princes’ back room, heading for a door that he assumed led into the alley behind the shop.
Behind him, he heard the firm, rapid footsteps of the lady he suspected wouldn’t let him depart without further explanation. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to provide one.
“Inspector, the thief is out front. Why are you back here?”
Shooting a glance over his shoulder, he told her bluntly, “If I approach the man, he’ll bolt.”
“Oh yes. He’d recognize you, wouldn’t he? You must sneak up on him. I quite like that plan.”
He chuckled despite his sense of urgency. “Finally, you appreciate my methods, Miss Prince.”
He’d pitched his voice low without meaning to, and her cheeks flushed the loveliest shade of pink. He liked sparking that reaction in her, liked the way her eyes locked on his, then flicked down to his lips.
Twisting the doorknob, he turned and allowed himself one last look at her. “Stay here, MissPrince. Let me handle this. Demming isn’t a man to be trifled with. I need to determine why he’s here and your lordling isn’t.”
“Of course.” The innocent look she returned didn’t truly reassure him, because her eyes glinted with far too much curiosity for him to believe she’d contentedly remain in the shop.
“I insist you remain here.”
“Do you indeed?” Her arched auburn brow was an enticing challenge. She was a quite untamable lady.
He worried about his ability to keep her safe. But the way she had taken up root in his thoughts and the way his body responded every time she looked his way meant he was the one in grave danger where she was concerned.
“Wait for my return.” The door spilled out into a narrow alley, but there was no obliging passage between buildings. Ben had to go a ways to find a passage out onto Moulton Street. Which was probably a good thing. He was far enough down that Demming didn’t see him as he sprinted across the street and then continued even farther to find a way around the row of buildings so that he could come up behind the thief.
There were no other passages that broke through the line of buildings, so he sprinted toward the cross street and then cut into the mouth of the alley.
Carts, boxes, and other detritus blocked his way in spots, and a recent rain had filled every depression in the muddy throughway with a pond ofmuck. He was forced to proceed slowly and feared Demming might abscond before he could question the man.
Allie nibbled at the edge of her nail as she stood in the shadows along Princes’ far wall and watched the man who watched her shop.
“If he sees you observing him,” Mr. Gibson said in a quiet, steady tone, “the man might hie off before the inspector gets to him, Miss Prince.”
“I don’t think he can see me.” As soon as the words were out, several of their clocks on display chimed once to mark the half hour. “Holcroft is either late or he’s not coming at all.”
“The whole matter of Holcroft and this watcher is odd.” Admitting as much seemed to cost Mr. Gibson a bit of his usual equanimity. “Do these men intend to steal from the shop, do you think?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think they do.” The very idea of anyone invading Princes for nefarious purposes made her feel as determined as she had ever been in her life.
Princes wasn’t just a shop. The rooms upstairs had once been her home. Her grandfather had built the shop’s shelves with his own hands. Her mother had chosen the wallpaper and curtains and every modern fixture.
Stealing the Crown Jewels might offend her sensibilities as an Englishwoman and antiquarian who appreciated the regalia’s history, but the notion that these men might bring harm toher family’s shop filled her with a fierce need to thwart them. However she could.
“I think there’s a great deal more going on,” she whispered as much to herself as to Mr. Gibson.
The nobleman’s visit was sharp in her mind. The pomposity in his voice. His very unique calling card.
Inspector Drake still hadn’t appeared, and the thief in the alleyway had begun looking bored, gazing around the street, his notice drawn by a shapely lady walking a regal-looking hound.
An idea struck and she made her way to the back room, searching the shelf that contained dozens of shop ledgers and several reference books for their thick-spined copy ofDebrett’s. She flipped the pages quickly, searching for Lord Holcroft’s entry.
