Page 53 of One Wicked Secret
The fellow produced a plate of chocolate truffles and invited them to indulge themselves while waiting. Elsa tore off her glove and took one.
Daniel watched her bite into the truffle and lick chocolate dusting from her lips. “I’d pay a hundred pounds to see you devouring a sweet treat.”
Her eyes held a mischievous shimmer. “What would you pay to share one without using our fingers?”
“The privilege of being wickedly indulgent with you is worth any price.”
“Do you have a clean handkerchief?”
He frowned. “Yes.”
“Then steal a few for our next picnic. I have room in my reticule.”
While the assistant was busy flicking through a drawer of cards, he placed two chocolate treats in his handkerchief and slipped the package into her reticule. “We’ll share them tonight. When we’ve finished our list of errands for the day.” Daventry was a hard taskmaster. After hearing their confession, he insisted they waste no time searching for answers.
A blush touched her cheeks. “It will be good to think about something other than Lord Grafton’s warning.”
He stepped closer, laying his hand on her waist, the warmth of arousal already coursing through his veins. “We won’t be thinking.”
“We won’t?”
“Rational thought abandons me when we kiss.” This woman was blissfully unaware she had him by the ballocks. “The moment our mouths meet, we’ll forget about the chocolate.”
Despite their troubles, her eyes shone like they had the first night she escaped from her bedchamber when they’d walked in the dark for hours.
“I hope we’ll forget about other things, too.”
She alluded to whatever had happened in Carver’s cottage.
Indeed, her smile suddenly faded. “We mustn’t forget to send word to Mr Daventry with our findings. Are you sure we can trust him, Daniel? Now that he knows the truth, he holds our lives in his hands.”
“Daventry despises injustice.” And Daniel would rather have a man with Daventry’s pugilistic skills by his side when they visited the dockside alehouse tomorrow night. “Trustme. We’d be behind iron bars if he thought we were guilty of murder.”
Hopefully, Daventry’s help would prove invaluable. The moment Daniel saw the note saying ‘Save Elsa Tyler’ he knew the shot fired in the mews was meant to harm her, not frighten them into leaving.
But what had she done to deserve the villain’s wrath?
Were there more secrets to uncover?
Things Magnus hadn’t mentioned?
The assistant returned, gripping a pristine white card, followed by a colleague with friendly eyes and a beaming smile.
“Miss Tyler?” the younger fellow said, squinting to determine if he did know the woman at the counter. “Welcome back to James & F. Green.”
Elsa frowned. “It’s Mrs Dalton,” she corrected.
“Oh!” His shoulders slumped. “Forgive me. My colleague mentioned you were seeking the name of the cologne you purchased for Mr Carver. I’m the assistant who served you that day. We agreed adding rosemary made the perfect blend.”
Elsa shot Daniel a confused look before addressing the man. “I’m sorry, but this is my first time visiting your establishment.”
“Oh! I must be mistaken.” The man’s cheeks turned beetroot red as he struggled to make an excuse. “There must be an error on the card. Such things happen from time to time.”
“Can I see the customer’s card?” Daniel fixed the assistant with a hard stare, daring him to refuse. “It’s not a request.”
With a shaky hand, the first assistant complied. The card had Carver’s name written clearly at the top, though Elsawas listed as the purchaser along with her Chippenham address.
Time seemed to stop for a moment.
