Page 26 of Kissed By a Scoundrel
An involuntary shiver skittered down Katie’s spine at the thought. She shook her head. Too close. He rubbed himself on me. “If only I had heeded Wendel’s order to hand over the pearls.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “Perhaps he would not have been killed.”
“Are you all right?” Sebastian asked solicitously.
“Dear, we can stop this if it’s too much for you,” the dowager said suddenly.
“Thank you, Duchess, but I would like to forge ahead. We have to do this,” Katie said. “So that we can catch him and his cohorts.”
“That nose looks more like a camel’s hump than crooked,” Nelson said, causing Paula to glare in his direction.
“I know what a crooked nose looks like,” she snapped. “If you think you can do better, be my guest…” She held out a piece of charcoal.
Nelson held up his hands. “It was a mere suggestion and not meant as a criticism.”
Katie looked between the bickering pair. For the life of her, she couldn’t reconcile their sniping. It was so unlike Paula.
“What about the mouth, my dear? That’s a very important thing,” the dowager piped in.
“His lips were thin. The white scar was bigger than his lips. I remember that because I barely knew he had lips beneath his large black mustache.” She gasped and her eyes widened. “Oh my, he had a black mustache!”
“Well done!” Sebastian said.
“I can’t believe that I just remembered that.”
“I have seen that before too,” Sebastian said. “Sometimes what is buried in the mind suddenly comes to the forefront when one is in the process of describing a traumatic event.”
“It is extraordinary,” Katie said, feeling encouraged by Sebastian’s smile. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes as she recalled the leader’s face. “I think the mustache looked crooked—as though it might have been fake.”
“So, he was possibly wearing a fake mustache. Did you say his hair was dark?” Sebastian asked.
“Yes. It was black. And stringy. To his collar.”
Paula continued to sketch and after a few moments turned the pad toward Katie again.
“That’s him!” Katie said with a shudder. “It’s him.” Her eyes met Paula’s. “You did it, Paula! You sketched him. That is the leader of the trio of thieves who attacked Wendel and me last year.” Katie embraced her dear cousin. “Thank you, Paula. Thank you so much.”
Paula hugged her tightly. “You’re welcome, Katie. I’m so happy I can help.”
“Here, here!” the dowager said. “I second that. Well done, Paula and Katie.”
“May we see the sketch?” Sebastian asked.
“Of course,” Paula said, handing the pad to him.
Sebastian stared at the sketch and then passed it to Nelson.
Nelson’s eyes narrowed as he examined the drawing. “Hmm…this bloke looks familiar to me, only I cannot recall where and when I saw him.”
“I hope it will come to you, my friend, it would be of immense help.”
Nelson nodded. “Can you describe his stature, Katie?”
“Yes, he was big and tall, with broad shoulders.”
“Didn’t you mention there was another man?” the dowager asked.
“Yes, Duchess. There was. The leader called him Doogan.”
They worked on the sketch of Doogan. Nelson drew closer to Paula’s easel and Katie noticed she sketched faster, almost as if she were hurrying so she could get away from him. Paula’s behavior around Sir Nelson was so unlike her friend. She made a mental note to ask Paula about it later.
