Page 5 of With Good Grace
‘I’ll have to take your word for that.’
‘Why would anyone want to break into a theatrical agent’s office?’ Jake asked, not expecting an answer. ‘I don’t suppose there is anything of sufficient value kept there to make the risk worthwhile.’
‘Try telling that to Drake,’ Henderson replied, shaking his head. ‘It was ransacked but the agent says nothing has been taken.’
‘Hmm.’
Jake knew frustratingly little about Olivia’s family circumstances. He was aware that her lawyers handled the sale of her husband’s theatrical agency and that she was not on good terms with any of Grantley’s family. Jake couldn’t blame her for that. He had met the brother and sister-in-law at the time of Olivia’s imprisonment and it would be hard to imagine two less supportive individuals. They obviously thought, or hoped, that Olivia was guilty.
‘I assume Drake lives in expectation of making an arrest,’ Jake said with a wry smile. ‘Any suitable candidate will do.’
‘He doesn’t stand a chance of finding out who did it; not if it really wasa random burglary,’ Henderson replied. ‘I don’t suppose there’s much you can do either; not with so little to go on. It’s just that Grantley’s death eats away at us both, still to this day. It was a ridiculous risk to break into a Belgravia house on the off-chance. I know the occupants were not supposed to be at home, but the point is, theycamehome and the burglars were trapped inside. They could easily have hidden until the house settled for the night, but they didn’t do that. Why?’ He shook his head. ‘If you ask me, Grantley’s older brother Sir Hubert knows more about the entire affair than he ever let on.’
‘Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention,’ Jake said, draining his glass and standing, ‘It just so happens that I am engaged to dine with Mrs Grantley this evening. Perhaps I shall ask her.’
Henderson stood also, his boyish face alight with amusement. ‘Remember me to the lady and send her my compliments.’
‘That I will most certainly do.’
Jake and Henderson shook hands on the steps to the club and went their separate ways. Jake’s coachman was waiting and drove him swiftly to Cheyne Walk. As he alighted from his conveyance he noticed a lady leaving Olivia’s house and climbing into a waiting Hansom. She was gone before he could see her face but he was fairly sure he knew her from somewhere. Before he could decide where, Green materialised and took Jake’s hat and gloves.
‘Good evening, my lord. Mrs Grantley is in the drawing room, if you would care to follow me.’
‘Thank you, Green.’
Jake paused on the threshold of the room, taking a moment to drink in the sight of Olivia in her gloriously becoming gown. She was standing with her back to him, muttering to herself, and it was evident that she was agitated. About something her visitor, who had chosen a most unusual time to call, had imparted?
‘There you are, Jake,’ she said, turning as she sensed his presence. She sent him a distracted smile, her face unnaturally pale but for two patches of colour high on her cheeks.
‘Olivia.’
He crossed the room, took her hand and kissed the back of it. ‘You look ravishing.’
‘I am very glad your duties have allowed you a spare moment to dine with me, at last,’ she replied, a note of light censure in her tone.
‘My duties, you will be glad to hear, are at an end.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Excuse me if I do not believe you. I am well aware that you thrive upon solving governmental intrigues.’
‘I am unsure if a government can actually be intriguing, but that is no longer my concern.’ He permitted his surprise at her reaction to show. ‘I thought you would be delighted.’
‘I would be if I could convince myself that you really meant it.’ Her expression was resigned but a devilish light took up residence in her remarkable eyes. ‘Oh, I dare say you believe what you say at this precise moment. It is obvious to me that the past two months have been a great inconvenience and frustration for you.’
Jake choked on a laugh. ‘Precisely so.’ But, he thought, probably not for the reasons she supposed.
Olivia sent him a challenging smile that somehow managed to arouse every cell in his body. ‘Your intention, I suppose, is to retire to Devon and settle down to a life of tedious respectability, tutting at accounts of the government’s latest scandal in the newspapers and spending your days growing prize roses?’
Jake shook his head in puzzlement. ‘Roses?’
‘Roses,’ she repeated emphatically. ‘But then some dastardly individual will do something to threaten the future of the Empire, Thorndike will call upon your patriotic duty to save the day, and what will become of the roses then?’
‘You overestimate my usefulness, to say nothing of my horticultural skills.’
‘Not me, I have a perfect grasp of your abilities.’ Olivia absently reached out a hand to stroke the back of her cat, which was sleeping peacefully on one of the most comfortable chairs in the room. ‘It is Thorndike who seems to think the country cannot function without you.’
Jake fixed her with a provocative look. ‘Are you deliberately trying to goad me, Olivia, or is it that you are feeling restless and seek to entertain yourself at my expense?’
Her smile was sweetly innocent; yet at the same time it conveyed a wealth of meaning. It brought to the forefront of Jake’s mind their exploits in his mansion a couple of months previously, causing him physical discomfort and making him feel distinctly disadvantaged. ‘It is never necessary for me totry,’ she replied.
