Page 97 of The Pleasures of Passion
“I had not expected you to get cold feet so soon, Mrs. Trevor,” he said, matching her formal tone. “But if you insist upon ending this—”
“She does!” Uncle Toby burst in. “And I, for one, say good riddance.”
When Niall’s expression turned deadly, Brilliana cried, “Uncle! Do not be rude.”
Niall fixed Uncle Toby with a black look. “So, whose idea was it to end the engagement? Yours, sir? Or my fiancée’s?”
“Mine, of course,” Brilliana broke in. She had to get Niall out of here before he broke Uncle Toby’s nose or something equally dreadful, which at the moment he looked liable to do. And that wouldnothelp their situation. “Please, my lord, I am very sorry to disappoint you, but I find that we would not suit, after all. So it’s probably best that you leave.”
After casting her a lingering look, he nodded and turned for the door. “Please pay my respects to your aunt, madam,” he said in chilly tones. “Good day.”
Once he’d departed, she wanted to collapse into the nearest chair, but she had to remain standing, if only to get her uncle to depart, too, so she could find Niall and tell him what she knew.
“You see?” Uncle Toby said. “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?”
“I do hope you know what you’re doing, Uncle. I may never find such a fine suitor again.”
“I doubt that,” he said amiably, all smiles now that she’d done as he asked.
“Well, I should go look in on Silas—” she began.
“Not yet. He has a nurse, right?”
Her heart faltered. “Yes. Why?”
“Because I need you to copy that document for menow. It needs to be on a special kind of paper, which I have in my rooms at your father’s. I was hoping you’d come there with me, so we can get the matter taken care of right away.”
Alarm tightened a vise about her heart. Could Uncle Toby be dangerous? A week ago she would have said he’d never hurt her, but now she wasn’t so sure. Of course, if they were at Papa’s, there would be other people around. He’d have trouble doing anything to her with Jenkins and Papa . . . Unless Papa was guilty, too. Or even Jenkins.
Then it dawned on her that if she went with him, she could get the evidence of counterfeiting that they needed! She’d have two copies of a government document and whatever else she could find in his rooms.
Why, she could hand everything over to Niall and Fulkham, all tied up with pretty pink ribbon, and bedonewith this. No more subterfuge, no more lying to Aunt Agatha, no more worrying about who knew what. And she and Niall couldfinallybe together.
That was surely worth the risk of her uncle’s trying to hurt her.
“Of course,” she said brightly. “Just let me get my coat.”
Twenty-One
Niall stood in the garden across the street, waiting for Toby Payne to leave so he could talk to Bree. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he did know one thing—Bree would never jilt him over his supposed penchant for gambling. Something was up with her uncle, and he meant to find out what.
And dared he believe that her words about their being an “old married couple” were intended to reassure him about their future together? God, he hoped so.
The door opened and he held his breath. When he saw Bree being urged down the stairs by her uncle, a cold rage seized him. Payne was carrying her off somewhere, damn it!
Though apparently not against her will. They seemed awfully comfortable together as Payne motioned to a waiting hackney and helped her in. Then he heard Payne order the driver to take them to the address of Sir Oswald’s town house.
As the coach drove off, Niall considered how to proceed. He could go to Sir Oswald’s after them, but once there, what could he do? He had no concrete evidence of Payne’s involvement, let alone the power to order an arrest. So the last thing he needed was to put Payne on his guard by accusing the man.
He could go to St. George’s instead and meet with Fulkham as planned, to report on what he’d learned so far and see if Fulkham had more information. If they’d gathered enough to build a case against Payne, Niall would urge Fulkham to strike now. Because instinct told him Payne had a reason for convincing Bree to jilt Niall so summarily, not to mention for persuading her to go off with him. Niall just hadn’t figured out what the reason was yet.
The only problem with heading for St. George’s was that it meant leaving Bree with Payne for a while, which didn’t sit well with him. He couldn’t be entirely sure that she was safe with her uncle. And while her father did seem to care about her, would he make any attempt to protect her?
After all, hehadallowed his brother to talk him into brokering that marriage. And Sir Oswald might just be desperate enough for cash that he would do whatever Payne demanded of him.
But Bree wasn’t some simpering miss. She could handle her relations. Hell, she’d already handled a great deal more than Niall had realized. Perhaps it was time to trust her to look after herself. Because if she’d wanted him to “save” her just now, she would have said so. She was no fool.
Besides, if after all they’d been through with this scheme, Niall ruined everything by blundering in too soon, she would bloody well kill him.
