Page 61 of Lady Gambit
“I know,” she said wistfully. “I love Aaron dearly. But once we uncover the truth, I cannot go back to hiding in the shadows.”
A life without purpose was no life at all.
“No,” he agreed. “It must be frightening … getting closer to knowing who you are after being in the dark all these years. I pray you’re not disappointed.”
Her stomach roiled at the prospect of what she might find. “What could be worse than being left on the streets and spending a year in Mrs Haggert’s hen house?”
His expression turned as grave as her thoughts. “Just promise me you’ll remember you have a home. Whatever happens, you will always be part of this family. To me, you will always be Delphine Chance.” He swallowed hard. “I don’t want to lose you.”
She blinked back tears and gripped his hand. “You will always be my brother, Theo. Someone dear to my heart. Someone I cherish and adore.”
“I couldn’t love you more if we shared the same blood.”
In the still seconds that followed, affection flowed between them.
She stood before she wept again and became a bumbling wreck. “Well, there’s no rest for the wicked. No doubt Miss Darrow is waiting outside with your breakfast tray. Be kind to her. We know nothing about her background, and I’m sure she thought she was doing a good deed when she allowed me to meet Mr Flynn.”
Theo pursed his lips and nodded. “What are your plans for today? Return to Bethlem and interview Powell?”
“Yes. If Mrs Haggert can be believed, and I am Caterina, then Nora Adkins knew me. We need to know who blackmailed Lord Meldrum to keep her locked away all these years.” It might be the only hope they had of finding Nora.
“You’re sure the letters Meldrum showed you are genuine and he’s not involved?” Theo’s disdain was evident. He often referred to the lord as an obnoxious prig. “Perhaps his father wrote them in case the truth came to light.”
“Anything is possible.” And Lord Meldrum did seem overly keen to marry her when he had plenty of other options. “That’s why I have an appointment with Monsieur Chabert this morning. The mesmerist helps people unlock hidden parts of their memory.”
Nerves pulsed in her throat. It was Dorian’s idea. Despite her distrust of mesmerism, he had called in a debt to secure a meeting.
Theo jerked as if he might leap out of bed. “What the blazes? Flynn is not to leave you alone with the fellow. I’ve heard all kinds of horror stories, tales too lurid to repeat.”
“Mr Flynn assures me he won’t leave my side.”
“Daventry better be there,” he said, a little panicked. “Other than Aaron, he’s the shrewdest man I know.”
“He will be.” She offered a confident smile, not one filled with doubt. Mr Daventry was to meet them outside Monsieur Chabert’s abode at eleven o’clock. The question was, would he show? “You can trust Mr Flynn. He would not see me harmed just to solve the case.”
“Flynn has his own agenda. All men do.”
She ignored the comment. He didn’t know Dorian the way she did, and her brothers were suspicious by nature. “There’s no need for concern. I’ll put your mind at ease the moment I return home.”
“Home? How strange you should call it that.”
“It was a mere slip of the tongue,” she lied.
Home was Mrs Maloney’s bookshop or the opulent Fortune’s Den.
Home had quickly become a beautiful manor known as Mile End.
Home was anywhere belonging to Dorian Flynn.
Chabert’s Physiology of Mental Disorders
Seymore Court, Covent Garden
The peel of St Martin’s bells echoed in the distance, marking the strike of the eleventh hour. There was no sign of Mr Daventry, whose office was a short walk away. No sign of his agent striding briskly towards them carrying a note.
“We should proceed without him.” Delphine scanned the length of Chandos Street, trying to distinguish the gentleman’s top hat amongst a sea of heads. “Perhaps Mr Daventry arrived earlier and is waiting inside.”
Dorian’s hand came to rest gently on her back like it had yesterday when he held her naked body in his arms and kissed her tenderly. “Or perhaps Daventry knows how much we value these precious moments alone.”
