“Ah ha! That’s why no one was sitting over there. I bet he tampered with all of those chairs with the intention that your daughter would end up sitting in one of them. He wasn’t trying to harm her, but he was trying to embarrass her.”

  “And what would be the purpose of that? He wants to be my son-in-law.”

  “If your daughter doesn’t attract any suitors, then he will secure the marriage, will he not?”

  Her father snorted. “She hasn’t attracted any suitors at all. There have been no missives from gentlemen seeking to visit her. It’s why I’m going to demand the Duchess of Ashbourne pays me back.” He straightened his waistcoat, not hiding his annoyance. “I’m beginning to think you’re not any good at this job. You aren’t any closer to resolving this situation than you were the day I hired you, and what’s worse is that you recommended the duchess who turned out to be useless. You are hereby dismissed.”

  Eleanor jumped to her feet. “Father, you can’t do that.”

  “I can do anything I want,” her father argued. “It’s my money I’m using for these services. I don’t have to keep paying it.”

  She went over to him. “But how can we find out who pushed me at the theatre or tampered with my carriage wheel?”

  Her father gestured to Byron. “It’s no good having him figure it out. He’s obviously incapable of doing it.”

  “Just because the Duke of Winnett is good about hiding evidence,” Byron began, “it doesn’t mean I won’t find something at some point.”

  “And how many years will this take?” her father snapped. “You didn’t find anything tonight as you searched through his townhouse, did you?”

  After a moment, Byron admitted, “No, I didn’t.”

  “That’s all I need to hear.” Her father waved for him to leave. “I suppose I owe you something since you did at least pretend to be my daughter’s suitor and made sure that Ladies of Grace is a safe group for her to belong to. I’ll send the final payment to your residence tomorrow. I’m too upset to work through the ledger tonight.”

  “Father, you shouldn’t be so quick to get rid of him,” Eleanor protested. “He didn’t figure out Stacey was innocent right away. It took him time to do that. Surely, you can give Byron some more time.”

  Her father blinked in surprise. “Since when do you refer to him so informally?”

  She hadn’t expected this to anger her father, but by the way he glared at Byron, she realized it did. She wasn’t sure if she should answer his question or ignore it in hopes that he would calm down.

  “Is this why you wanted to meet his sister?” her father asked her.

  “No,” she began. “I wanted a friend.”

  “You don’t need his sister to have a friend. You’re a member of Ladies of Grace. Those ladies are the only friends you need.” Her father turned to Byron. “Now I see that all of those times you put on a show of being interested in her, it was more than an act. She will not marry you. She’s going to marry a titled gentleman who has some standing in the Ton.”

  “You’re wrong,” Eleanor argued. “He’s not interested in me that way, Father.”

  “Don’t tell me I’m wrong,” her father told her. “I’m older than you, and I am a gentleman. I can see what’s going on. It’s my fault I allowed you two to speak when I wasn’t in the room. If I’d been careful, this wouldn’t have happened.” He turned to Byron and pointed to the door. “You aren’t welcome here anymore.”

  Byron glanced at her, and she caught the blend of worry and tenderness in his gaze before he left the room. Her eyebrows furrowed. She’d never had anyone look at her that way before. He did care about her. That much was obvious. But did he care more about her than she had assumed?

  Her father released his breath then directed his attention to her. “If Ladies of Grace will still allow you to be a member after tonight, we’ll be lucky. At the moment, I can’t dwell on that. Right now, I need to find someone who’s qualified to be a detective to investigate the person behind the incident at the theatre and the carriage.” Without waiting for her to respond, he stormed out of the room.

  Her eyebrows furrowed. What if Byron was right about the Duke of Winnett? What if the duke had done those horrible things? But why would the duke want to harm her if he was hoping to marry her? It didn’t make sense. She hadn’t even known him when those things had happened at the theatre and with her carriage. And if he wanted to get into her father’s good graces, why would he embarrass her the way he had? Could Byron be right about him doing it to make sure she wouldn’t attract any suitors?

  Making sure her father wasn’t coming back into the room, she went to the window. Byron was walking down the street. He was heading in the direction of the Duke of Winnett’s residence. Her heart leapt with hope. Maybe he wasn’t going to stop searching for clues even though her father had dismissed him.

  She tapped the edge of the window. If he was still pursuing the investigation, it meant he must care for her. Her heart leapt again, but this time for another reason. And this was a reason she didn’t understand.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It had been a late night. Staying out of sight in the shadows had been easy enough, but nothing of interest had occurred. This time, the Duke of Winnett didn’t go off to see his mistress. Byron stayed at his residence until four in the morning when it became clear the duke wasn’t going anywhere for a while.

  All through the night, Byron cursed himself for not getting to those chairs before the servants burned them. He shouldn’t have wasted that time talking to the duke. If he had gotten to even one of those chairs, he could have gone to Eleanor’s father and convinced him that the duke had sabotaged them. But now, as things were, Byron was the one who had lost credibility with him, and it was likely her father would agree to a marriage between Eleanor and the duke.

  That last thought kept Byron up well past dawn. He couldn’t recall the last time he tossed and turned in bed. He wasn’t prone to letting an investigation keep him up like this. There was no point in denying his feelings for Eleanor anymore. He was in love with her, though he could never marry her. She was the daughter of a wealthy duke while he was a Runner who was doing good to make ends meet. He could be content with living a life wondering what might have been if there wasn’t that risk Eleanor’s father would force her to marry the Duke of Winnett. If he had to lose her, he’d rather lose her to a gentleman deserving of her.

  He finally drifted off to sleep as the people outside his small home went about their day. The noise never bothered him, and on this particular morning, he found an odd sense of comfort in it. People talking, children laughing, and horses passing by reminded him that, though he had no wife and children, he wasn’t alone in the world.

  ***

  Eleanor was walking down the stairs when she saw the footman talking with the Duke of Winnett. She retreated to the top of the stairs and hugged the side of the wall that would prevent them from seeing her.

  “May I have a word with the Duke of Dormondton?” the Duke of Winnett asked. “I have something important I wish to discuss with him.”

  “Wait here, and I’ll see if His Grace is up to receiving visitors,” the footman replied.

  The duke nodded as the footman headed for the library.

  She debated whether or not she should retreat back to her bedchamber. The last thing she wanted to do was see the Duke of Winnett, especially after what Byron had told her and her father last night.

  After a tense minute, the footman returned to the duke. “His Grace will see you.”

  Her gut tightened in dread. This couldn’t be good. She was sure the duke was here to ask for her father’s hand in marriage, and given how things had transpired at the ball, she didn’t think her father would refuse him this time.

  The footman led him to the library. She waited until the two were gone before emerging from her hiding spot. She tiptoed down the stairs, and, after making sure, no one was around, she made her way to the library. The door was closed, as she had expected. She pressed her ear to the door so she could hear what her father and the duke were saying.

  “I know it’s not your fault that the incident occurred,” her father said.

  “I still feel bad about it,” the duke replied. “I should have known better than to leave old chairs in the ballroom. I want to assure you that I have gotten rid of every old chair in the place, and I have tested the other chairs to make sure nothing like this will ever happen again.”

  “I appreciate that. And really, that’s all you can do.” Her father let out a heavy sigh. “I just don’t know what to do now. I’m not sure I can let my daughter go out in public after this. I’m tempted to send her back to the country.”

  Her eyes grew wide. Her father hadn’t said anything about that when they ate in the drawing room that morning. She didn’t want to go back to the country. She’d just gotten to the point where she felt comfortable being in London, and better yet, she’d finally made some friends.

  “I don’t think that’s necessary,” the duke told her father. “People will understand she was the victim of an unfortunate accident.”

  She was surprised to hear this. She didn’t know why, but she thought the duke might agree with him then suggest he marry her and take her to his country estate.

  “Perhaps, but it was still scandalous that so much of her legs were exposed,” her father argued. “That will dissuade any reputable gentleman from wanting to go near her. This has ruined her.”

  “While embarrassing, it hasn’t ruined her. There’s no need to give up on finding her a husband. She’s still attractive. She can produce children, and gentlemen will like the dowry you will provide to the marriage.”

  “It’s not enough. If it was enough, I would have received offers for her hand by now.”

  “I don’t mean to speak out of turn, but I did ask for her hand in marriage.”

  Eleanor could swear her heart stopped beating in that moment. So that was what the duke was getting at. He wasn’t here to smooth things over with her father. He was here to get her father to agree to the marriage he’d been wanting. And why would her father deny him this time? Her father didn’t believe a better prospect was bound to come along—not after last night.

  As she feared, her father said, “Yes, you did. I didn’t forget, but I was sure you wouldn’t be interested anymore.”

  “I am still interested. I’ll be happy to marry your daughter. She can stay in London, and I’m sure I can speak with Lord and Lady Cadwalader and explain the whole thing was my fault for not being careful about the chairs. That will ensure your daughter doesn’t lose her standing with Ladies of Grace. You will still have a chance to meet with Lord Cadwalader. I only recently made his acquaintance, and he’s a fine gentleman. You’ll like him.”

  “You’d be willing to introduce me to him?”

  “Of course. It would be the least I can do for my friend and father-in-law.”

  Eleanor cringed as the two laughed.

  “I’d be a fool to say no,” her father said. “Let no one say that Elliott Hampshire is a fool.”

  Without thinking, Eleanor hurried out of the house. No, she couldn’t go through with it. Her father could control many things in her life, but she wouldn’t let him control this. Whatever she had to do, she wasn’t going to marry the duke.

  ***

  The anxious pounding on the door woke Byron from his slumber. He turned in his bed and forced himself to his feet. He stumbled over to the wall and pulled his robe off the hook. The pounding was getting progressively louder. He threw the robe on. He had just finished tying the straps when he opened the door.

  “Thank God you’re here,” Eleanor said as she slipped into his home.

  Alarmed, he shut the door and struggled to blink the sleep from his eyes. “How do you know where I live?”

  “I asked your sister, and she told me.”

  He hurried to the window and drew the thin curtain aside so he could take a peek outside. How many people had noticed her come into his residence?

  Probably everyone. She had been loud.

  He saw a few people looking at his house. Gasping, he let the curtain fall back into place and took a step away from the window. This wasn’t good. They were going to assume the worst.

  Eleanor darted in front of him. “I need your help. My father is arranging for me to marry the Duke of Winnett. We can’t let that happen.”

  It was then that he realized she wasn’t fully attired for being outside. She was missing the hat and gloves, and if he guessed right, she was wearing slippers unsuitable for the outdoors. “What were you thinking by coming here? Don’t you know how bad this looks? People in this section of town might not be obsessed about propriety like they are in your area, but it’s still in bad form for a lady to come unchaperoned to a bachelor’s residence.”

  He put his hand to his head. He was starting to get a headache. He couldn’t even begin to fathom what was going to happen. Would people think he was assaulting her even though she was the one who came here? “We need to get you back home.”

  “Didn’t you hear what I said?” she demanded as she followed him to his bedroom. “My father is going to force me to marry the Duke of Winnett! This is serious. I can’t spend the rest of my life with him.”

  He stared at her in disbelief. “Don’t you understand what you did? Everyone out there knows you’re here. Word will get around London before the day is up.” What was his sister thinking in telling her where he lived? Didn’t Eris realize how bad things would look?

  “I wouldn’t have come here if the matter wasn’t urgent,” she insisted. “We both know how awful the Duke of Winnett is. You don’t trust him any more than I do. I came here because you’re my only hope. Certainly, you can stop my father from going through with this. You just need to prove the Duke of Winnett is a horrible person.”

  “First of all, I have been working on that. I spent all night watching his townhouse, and I fully intended to make my rounds through London asking people about him. And second, people are going to assume you and I are doing more than talking right now.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed. “What will they think we’re doing?”

  Oh for goodness’ sakes. She didn’t know? With a bewildered shake of his head, he dipped his hands in the bowl of clean water and washed his face. Let this be a dream. Please, let this be on terrible dream. He looked back toward the doorway and saw that she was still standing there. He groaned and put his face in the bowl. Heaven help them both because he hadn’t been dreaming all of this.

  She urged him to straighten up so he was looking at her. “You have to help me. I don’t care what people think we’re doing. I can’t let my father marry me off to someone who makes me sick to my stomach whenever he’s in the same room with me.” She shook him by the shoulders. “This is serious.”

  He took her hands and placed them at her sides. Then he let go of her and took a deep breath. “You don’t have to worry about marrying him. Your father will make you marry me now.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “What?”

  “It’s either that, or he’ll run you off to a convent.”

  “Mr. Tumilson, I demand you open the door at once!” came a very angry father’s voice, followed by a loud pounding on the front door.

  It was a good thing Byron wasn’t inclined to get drunk. He could only imagine how much worse his headache would be if he was nursing a hangover. He hurried to the door and opened it. He briefly noted that everyone, including the children, were now looking at his house. He gestured for Eleanor’s father to come inside.

  “I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” her father snapped. “The footman said he saw my daughter running off, but I can’t believe you would allow her into your home to…to…” Her father motioned to the lack of proper attire on Byron’s body then to his disheveled hair. “You have soiled my daughter. Don’t think I’ll let you get away with this.”

  Knowing there was a slim chance her father would believe him, he said, “I was asleep when she came here. That’s why I’m in my night clothes. We didn’t do anything. She only came here because she found out you’ve agreed to let her marry the Duke of Winnett, and she wants me to stop it.”

  “It’s true,” Eleanor added as she left the bedroom.

  Byron winced. Despite what she thought, she hadn’t helped his case at all.

  “What do you take me for?” her father asked. “A fool?”

  She approached them. “I can’t marry the Duke of Winnett. Byron is going to find out he’s guilty of sabotaging that chair, and I bet he’ll find out the duke tampered with the carriage wheel and tried to make me fall at the theatre. You were right all along, Father. I’m not clumsy. All of it was done on purpose, and the Duke of Winnett was behind all of it.”

  Her father rolled his eyes. “You’re only saying this because you want out of the marriage. Well, you can stop. I can’t marry you to the Duke of Winnett after all this.” He pointed to Byron and then to her. “Enough people have seen you run in this direction, and even more saw you come into this house.” He narrowed his eyes at them. “Don’t think I’m stupid. I noticed the way you two were looking at each other last evening. For all I know, you two have been sneaking off to be alone at other times. There might even be a child on the way.”

  She put her hand over her mouth and gasped.

  Byron sighed. Unlike her, he’d known that accusation was coming.

  Her father turned to him. “I blame you for this. My daughter didn’t know any better. I kept her innocent to the ways of the world. But you are a Runner. You’ve spent your life in the seedy underbelly of London. I can only imagine how many other ladies you’ve defiled in your time.” Before Byron could say he hadn’t defiled anyone, her father added, “You will not leave my daughter with the stain of fornication on her soul. I might not like marrying her off to someone who offers no value to the union, but you will do right by her. You will get none of my money, nor will you ever be a part of polite society. This is a left-handed marriage.” He spun to face Eleanor. “I hope giving up the comforts of your life will be worth it because your children will not inherit anything. The best we can do for them is make sure they don’t grow up with the stigma of being a bastard. I hope spending the rest of your life in squalor will be worth not marrying the Duke of Winnett.” He gestured to the house.