The Courtesan's Courtship. Gail Ranstrom

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СКАЧАТЬ distress. The man had saved his life, after all. “I hope not, Harry, but that’s not our business. Her family will look out for her. We need to focus on el-Daibul. Damn! I thought we were onto something with Nell. Now we’re going to have to scramble for information again. I fear I’m making a career out of this case.”

      “Where do you suggest we go from here?”

      “Back to the hells.”

      Harry grinned. “And back to the demimonde, for me.”

      Dianthe perched on the edge of her chair in Lady Annica’s private sitting room, studying the faces around her. Lady Annica, Charity MacGregor and Lady Sarah Travis were staring at her in horror, and even worse, they were speechless! This was bad. She’d never seen them speechless before. These ladies, masquerading as the Wednesday League, a bluestocking group, secretly obtained justice for wronged women. They had seen and heard things worse than Dianthe’s story, but only one had involved one of their own members. Until today.

      At last Lady Annica blinked and closed her mouth. She cleared her throat before she spoke, as if she were afraid she’d lost her voice. “Dianthe, dear, that is appalling!”

      “There’s more.” She clasped her hands tightly in her lap to keep them from trembling. “Somehow, Miss Brookes knew my name. She called me Dianthe. How could that be?”

      “You said you had the same dress?” Lady Annica asked. “Perhaps she asked someone who you were.”

      Dianthe shivered, recalling the horror of the scene last night. “Too many coincidences. It defies logic.”

      “This entire event defies logic,” Charity declared.

      “There is worse. Before I could even leave Vauxhall, the police found a note in Miss Brookes’s reticule with my name and address on it. They stopped me and asked extensive questions and said they would come by the Thayers’ today for a sample of my handwriting.” Dianthe’s stomach clenched with anxiety. “They told Mr. Thayer not to let me out of his sight until they’d had a chance to verify my story, but I slipped away because I knew you all would be frantic once you heard the news. Does that not sound as if they suspect me of something?”

      Lady Sarah frowned. “But that is completely absurd. You would not harm a fly.”

      “No,” she agreed, “but they don’t know that. All they know is what they saw.”

      “Lord Geoffrey Morgan was there?” Sarah asked.

      “He advised me to go home and stay there until this was over. Can you imagine?”

      “That is good advice, Dianthe,” Sarah said. “But rather than go back to the Thayers’, I think you should come stay with me.”

      “Or me,” Annica said.

      “Or me.” Charity nodded. “You should be with one of us. I fear Mr. Thayer would not understand what we are about to do.”

      “What are we about to do?” Dianthe asked.

      “Why, investigate Miss Brookes’s death, of course. Once we prove you innocent, the police will have to leave you alone,” Lady Annica announced with confidence. “And they would not dare to bother you if you are with me and Auberville. He would never permit it.”

      Dianthe warmed with the knowledge of how much these ladies would sacrifice for her. But, of course, she could never permit it. She did not like putting the ladies at risk when it was her problem and her future hanging in the balance. Nor could she tell them about Nell’s last words—that she would be next. Or that she’d promised to stop Nell’s killer. They would never let her out of their sight if they knew that little piece of information.

      She shook her head. “Auberville is rising in government and I would not do anything to jeopardize that. And Sarah, I know your brother is being considered for Lord Barrington’s vacant post, so I would not have my scandal attached to your name. Likewise for you, Charity.”

      Annica frowned, little lines forming between her dark eyebrows. “I appreciate your sensitivity to the matter, Dianthe, but your safety is paramount. We shall write to your sister at once. She and McHugh will return from the Highlands to take charge of this. But that will take two or three weeks. It is possible that Grace and Mr. Hawthorne will return in the interim, but we cannot count on that. Meantime, we must find a safe place for you. And I frankly do not think Mr. Thayer has the necessary connections to provide that. You belong with one of us.”

      Dianthe clasped her hands together to keep them from trembling. Oh, how she wished she could accept Lady Annica’s invitation. But as terrified as she was, these women had been far too good to her family to taint them with her scandal. She took a deep breath and launched her carefully prepared lie. “I have my own plan. I have already packed a small valise and left a note for the Thayers saying that I shall find lodgings elsewhere. No—” she held up one hand to silence their questions “—I shall not tell you with whom. I do not want you to have to lie should the authorities ask. The arrangements are quite proper and I could not be safer.”

      “What will you do?”

      Dianthe fought back her encroaching fear. She took a deep breath and lied as if she’d been born to it. “I will keep out of sight until the matter is resolved. Please, there is no need to worry.”

      Lady Annica sighed. “We shall begin making inquiries, Dianthe. Now the Wednesday League is fighting for one of our own. Someone is bound to find out something.”

      “Do you have the funds you will need?” Lady Sarah asked.

      “I believe so.” Dianthe hedged. She had little more than ten pounds, but if they knew her plan to investigate the murder herself, they’d take her in, tie her to her chair and keep her locked up until her family came for her.

      Lady Annica frowned. “When, Dianthe? When shall we see you again?”

      “Heavens! There may be no need of even a week. The police may find the murderer today and I shall be safely back with the Thayers by tomorrow.”

      “Do you promise to meet with us every other day?”

      That was a small price to pay for their peace of mind. “Promise. But if the police are looking for me, they will watch your houses. Shall we meet at La Meilleure Robe?”

      Charity nodded. “Madame Marie will accommodate us, and we shall put Mr. Renquist on this case at once. A Bow Street runner will be just the thing to hurry this along. Should you need anything—money, shelter or assistance—you know we stand ready to assist you.”

      “Yes,” she said, “I know.”

      “I fear for you, Dianthe. The streets of London are fraught with danger,” Lady Sarah warned. “All sorts of unscrupulous people are waiting to take advantage of an unwary woman.”

      Dianthe stood and smoothed the skirts of her gown. “I shall be wary, Lady Sarah, and quite safe withering away in hiding. If you must be concerned, be concerned over my utter boredom,” she said with a wisp of inspiration.

       Chapter Two

       “I am sorry, Miss Smith, but I cannot let you a room,” the clerk at the desk of Emery’s Hostel for Women told СКАЧАТЬ