Page 18 of The Mysterious Miss Lydia
“There was a woman with red hair,” he admitted. “They saw her going in and out of his rooms.”
Luke should have felt triumphant. Instead, he felt his insides twist and turn.
“One of his neighbors said she was an actress, but he didn’t know her name. Only that she worked in the theater and believed to be the man’s mistress.”
For a second there Luke thought he might be ill at the thought of the sweet redhead with the wide, sparkling eyes meeting that no-good traitor in his rooms.
How had she gotten into this?
And how can I get her out of it?
The thought struck him hard between the shoulder blades, a knife digging in that he couldn’t get out.
“Stay out of this, Lord Galena,” Sir Cedric said. “I mean it.”
Luke’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. Stay out of it? He was already in it. And not just because he was the one who’d discovered the leak in the first place, but because that girl had followed him.
Why?
And how was she caught up in this?
Sir Cedric was still talking, trying to appease him with the fact that he and his team would handle this. But...
She’d been here. Not for him, obviously. She couldn’t have known Luke would be here today, and besides, she couldn’t be that good of an actress that her shock at seeing him had been anything but real.
She’d looked as shocked as he’d felt.
Shocked...and scared.
His heart twisted again, that dagger still caught inside him digging deeper than ever. She needed help. She needed a friend. She needed...
Well, she neededhim, whether she knew it or not.
“Wendell and I will find her,” Sir Cedric said.
The mention of Wendell’s name had his nostrils flaring and that gut instinct surging, refusing to be ignored. “She was here, Sir Cedric.”
Sir Cedric’s eyes widened with surprise. It was possible Luke had rudely interrupted his speech. He stepped closer, trying to make the man understand. “She was coming here, just as Wendell was leaving.”
Sir Cedric glowered.
“How do you know she wasn’t here to meet with him?”
“That’s enough,” the older man snapped. “I know you’re angry at being ousted from your position, but I won’t allow you to cast aspersions on an innocent man because you’re resentful and...well, let’s face it, bored.”
Luke flinched. There was more than a little truth to that statement.
He was bored to tears in London society.
“Wendell will handle this,” Sir Cedric said, his expression grim and his voice hard. “And you will stay far away from these offices, do you hear?”
“Sir Cedric,” he started. His fingers touched the piece of parchment she’d dropped. He hadn’t mentioned it yet.
He likely should...
“You’re not a part of this anymore. It’s in our hands now,” Sir Cedric said.
Any thoughts he’d had of handing over the parchment vanished.
