Page 48 of The Gift of Patience
“Would you two care to join us? We’ve only just begun and can start over,” Aunt Rosemary offered graciously.
“Unfortunately, duty calls,” Ashley answered.
Patience also waved away the offer with a mutter. “I have a desperate need to wash my mouth with soap.”
Xander took off after one of the balls, and Mr. Cunningham scooped him up with much laughter. “I can hardly blame him when we played fetch with one of these at home.”
“I will return him to the house so you may carry on with your game.” Patience made to go for the pup.
“Oh, can he please stay with us for a while? I’ve scarcely seen him with all the attention to Freddy and her kittens.” Joy was now scratching behind his ears.
“Of course,” Patience said, though Ashley detected some hesitance in her voice.
They walked in silence. He sensed she was more bothered than she let on. “Forgive me for leaving you to Rupert alone. Do I need to call him out?”
She seemed to relax a fraction. “No, of course not. I want to help, truly, but I would be appreciative if he did not touch my person nor continue under the disillusion that we are betrothed.”
“He said that?”
She nodded in the affirmative. “Hopefully, your grandmother disabused him of that notion. She blistered his ears when she came upon him trying to kiss me in the garden.”
“I would imagine so,” he agreed, unaccountably angry that Rupert had kissed her.
“Is there no other way?” she pleaded.
“Certainly he shall never be alone with you again. I will think upon other avenues to try to draw him out.”
“Has nothing else developed?” she asked eagerly.
His initial impulse was to deny her. What place did a lady have in an investigation? But then he checked himself. He knew the Foreign Office did employ some ladies in that regard, and they were quite skilled. “I am not certain what there is to tell that you do not already know.” He turned to look down at her and raised a knowing brow.
“Most of it was being in the right place at the right time.” She did not try to defend herself.
“We do not think there is anything more to glean from Devil. It did look as though Rupert recognized him, but Devil swears he never saw the man’s face, and that Rupert’s voice is too high to be his contact.”
“You cannot truly believe that idiot orchestrated anything but the arrangement of his neckcloth!”
“No. I agree with you, but we have no other leads besides his scheme. Renforth is looking into possible connections. SirLayton’s son might be the only link we have between who had the information about the munitions being on that ship and Greenwich.”
“That still seems a stretch.”
“It is. I am hoping Renforth’s sources have sent word. I am heading now to check.”
“I will not attempt to insert myself, Major, but as I now have a vested interest in avoiding Rupert if possible, would you please inform me what my next orders are to be?”
Ashley could not help but smile. Most ladies would have had a fit of the vapours at what she’d endured only minutes ago, but she was not ready to quit.
“I assure you, I will let you know.” They parted ways once inside the house, and he took to the study to look for his colleagues.
Renforth and Westwood were present.
His commander removed his reading glasses and looked up from the papers he was perusing.
“Any news, sir?”
“Perhaps.” His face did not look convincing. “I’ve received a report from my contact, but there is nothing here that would incriminate Layton’s son or Mr. Fagge of anything more than sewing their wild oats. Women, drink, gambling—those could be attributed to more than half the gentlemen in London.”
“But have they been associated doing those things together?”
