Page 24 of The Miracle of Love
She looked up at him in surprise. “Why are you being so nice to me? I’ve made things worse. And how can you be so sure about me? What if he did tell me and I am lying to you?”
He stared at her and then cast her a melting smile. “I am able to see into your soul, Grace Montford. It is a beautiful soul. Open. Honest. You can hide nothing from me.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” she said in a gentle jest.
“This is why I am so successful as an agent of the Crown, this ability to sense a person’s character and know when I am being fed false information. Besides, you are the worst liar I have ever encountered.”
She cast him a wry smile. “I suppose I am.”
He gave her a light kiss on the cheek. “Don’t ever change, Grace. And don’t ever apologize to me or anyone else for being yourself. You are perfectly lovely just as you are.”
He made certain she was properly bundled up, and then took her arm again to lead her out of the townhouse. They were met with a blast of icy wind. “Damn weather,” he grumbled, hailing down a passing hackney. “Climb in. Quickly, Grace, before the snake tattoo freezes off my arse.”
She tried not to laugh but could not help a giggle escaping her lips.
He settled in beside her, his grin irresistible.
She turned away before she made a moon-eyed fool of herself. This gorgeous man was too clever and quick, easily able to read her thoughts. She peered out the window and pretended to study their surroundings.
The window was smudged, and she could see very little through the blur. Sighing, she removed her handkerchief from her reticule and attempted to clean off the pane. But the dirt was on the outside.
Well, she supposed it mattered little since she had no idea where they were. Whatever she could make out was still unfamiliar to her.
She sat back as their conveyance rolled past rows of neatly maintained homes. Deklan had obviously taken her to a part of town she had never seen before, somewhere not in London proper but on the outskirts perhaps. She did not recognize any church spires or towers off in the distance. “Where are we?”
“Cannot tell you. Best you don’t know.” He turned to stare out of his smudged window. Perhaps these smudges were put there on purpose, not only to keep her from seeing out, but also to prevent anyone from seeing in and identifying the occupants inside.
Perhaps this passing hackney had not come along merely by chance.
Was the driver another agent of the Crown?
She asked Deklan.
He ignored the question, so she asked another. “Where are we going next? Can you tell me that?”
He shifted his big body closer. “Actually, I thought we would just ride around for a while and talk right here. But I could take you back to Aunt Miranda’s if you prefer. It will be noisy, the house turned upside down with all the children running around and Miranda fussing over tonight’s dinner party.”
“Here is fine.” In truth, they needed to talk. Their visit to her father had only raised more questions in her mind. “Do you have any more questions for me?”
He shook his head. “We are going to take another approach.”
But he said nothing further, merely raised the seat on the opposite bench, withdrew a woolen blanket from its storage compartment, and tucked it neatly around her legs. “You looked cold. Does this help?”
She nodded. “Yes, but what did you mean when you said we are taking another approach? I’m ready. What do you wish to know?”
“Tell me about your brother.”
“Richard? Well, he is the eldest of my father’s children. He was eight years old when I was born. We did not see much of each other after he went off to Eton and then to university at Oxford. I’ve already told the Crown agents all this. I also spoke at length to your brother, Rafe, since he is the one who uncovered what my family was doing. He was investigating possible art thefts in Exeter, and the trail led him straight to my family’s London art gallery.”
“I’ve read the reports. It isn’t the same as hearing the story firsthand from you. Would you mind repeating what you told Rafe and the other Crown investigators? You may have revealed something none of you realized was significant at the time.”
She nodded. “Let’s give it a try. Where would you like me to start? I don’t know much about what went on in Exeter. I never accompanied him there. How far back in our lives do you wish me to go?”
“Let’s start with just this past year.”
“That is easy enough. My mother and the younger children remained in the country most of the time while I joined Richard and my father in town. You see, I was preparing for my upcoming society debut and we had scheduled appointments with my modiste. Mama was supposed to join me, but the children got sick and then she got sick…nothing serious, but by the time they had all recovered, it was decided she should stay in the country.”
“So, you remained here alone with your brother and father?”
