Page 42 of Temptress in Disguise
Aramis peeled back the folds and scanned the missive. “It’s from Lydia, though there’s no mention of a forwarding address.”
“What does it say?”
He read it twice, the chill of contempt sweeping through him. “She believes she saw your uncle in the crowd during her last performance at the Belldrake. Fearing what he might do, she fled.”
While his blood boiled for the way she’d been so cruelly abandoned, Naomi sagged in relief. “At least Lydia is alive.”
Her response told him everything he needed to know about her character. She placed the feelings of those she loved above her own.
“She left you to deal with the matter alone.” His brothers would never be that selfish.
“Yes, but it would be dangerous to remain together. My uncle cannot afford for us to challenge the will. If he cannot control us, he’ll want to get rid of us for good.”
Aramis tried to curb his mounting frustration. They should be in Northwood threatening the solicitor, not solving a murder for the fools at Bow Street. Still, proving his wife’s innocence took precedence over money or a personal need for vengeance.
“Lydia suggests you use the small amount of money you saved and find other lodgings.” He handed Naomi the letter. “She explains she is working to secure an offer of marriage and will contact you again soon.”
“She always said we’d need a capable man to help prove fraud. It’s why I approached you.” Naomi lifted the letter to her nose and inhaled. “How strange. Lydia’s perfume is like a calling card. I could map out her day just by following her scent. This smells of nothing.”
“You said she left suddenly, without her personal effects.”
“Trust me. She would have returned to our apartment to collect perfume and rouge.” She read the letter, then snorted. “No wonder Mr Budworth hid it in his journal. She urges me to leave the Belldrake. Explains she will send any future correspondence to Mrs Boyle’s Emporium.”
Suspicion surfaced. Had Lydia seen her uncle in the audience? Or was it a ploy to abandon her sister and seek fame and fortune elsewhere? Had she been kidnapped and forced to write the note? And did it have anything to do with the murdered manager?
Naomi worried her bottom lip. “If my uncle has found us, why has he made no attempt to contact me? In the days before we married, I kept to my usual routine.”
“It’s another question to add to the growing list. Before we leave, we should speak to Mrs Boyle.” Was it a coincidence that the woman’s name had been mentioned three times in the last hour? “It would be helpful to know why Edwin Budworth visited her emporium.”
Naomi nodded and summoned a smile. “I’m sorry for earlier. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t want you to think I had lied.”
“Life has dealt you a poor hand.” There was only one difference between them. He had spent years fooling his opponents and perfecting a disguise. “One can only wear a mask for so long.”
Her playful chuckle eased his tense muscles. “You must teach me how to be a hard-hearted devil.”
“Hard-headed,” he corrected. “I wouldn’t want to change you. I find there’s something endearing about your honest emotions.”
Their eyes locked amid a breathy silence.
He didn’t need to let his gaze fall to the enticing aspects of her figure. Her hypnotic blue eyes seduced him all on their own.
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” She swallowed deeply—an apparent battle with nerves. “As you appreciate the truth, I should tell you that I hope we may do a little more than kiss in bed tonight.”
“I’m quite certain we will.” The urge to haul her onto his lap and indulge every wicked whim stirred his blood. He might have succumbed to his desires and delved beneath her skirts had Gibbs not knocked on the damn window.
The coachman opened the door and dumped the pile of blood-stained papers on Aramis’ lap. “That’s everything from the office floor.” He placed Naomi’s folded chemise beside her on the seat, along with the tatty leather journal. “I spied the fop in the banyan, whispering to a red-haired woman in the corridor. He warned her to keep her pretty mouth shut, or they’d both be dining in Newgate.”
Dining, not hanging? It was an odd choice of words. Whatever crime they’d committed, it couldn’t amount to murder.
Naomi sat forward. “You’re quite certain?”
“People make the mistake of thinking coachmen are deaf and disloyal. The fool slipped me a shilling when I left and thanked me for tidying the papers.”
She faced Aramis. “We should demand an explanation.”
“They’ll deny it. We must find another way to gain a confession. We’ll visit the Dog and Duck. Pray there’s a flaw in their alibi.”
“It’s one more thing to add to the mountain of tasks,” she said, somewhat deflated. “I hope Mr Daventry is right and evidence to prove my innocence will soon come to light.”
