debilitating pain that followed was almost her undoing. She had let her guard down and allowed herself to feel safe here because she was amongst people of her own standing: people who pretended to care about her and had gone to a lot of trouble to find her. An odd, recurring sensation in her mid-section had made her wonder if there was a connection between her and Lord Isaac that was stronger than her own will, transcending every modicum of common sense.
Such thoughts ought to have shocked her. Instead she found them exciting, stimulating, and sinfully tempting.
Now she knew she was nothing more to them than a means to an end. What a fool! Had she learned nothing during the years of her marriage? Never confide and never trust because no one cared two figs about her. These gentlemen were better bred than her husband, hid their purpose behind an elegantly polite façade, but when it came down to it they were no different than William. They planned to use her to get what they wanted.
“You want to me return home and spy on my husband,” she said, drilling Lord Isaac with a hostile gaze. “That is what this is all about, is it not?”
Chapter Five
“She’s not returned yet,” Stoneleigh informed William. “We have people posted all over Whitechapel so we know she’s definitely not in the district.”
“Then where the devil is she?”
Stoneleigh shrugged. “No one’s seen hide nor hair of her since this morning.”
“Damn it, man, track down the jarvey who picked her up and find out where he dropped her off.”
“We’re trying, but dozens of cabs use that route. It might take some time.”
“Don’t bother me with details, just do it.” William, pacing his study, turned on his heel and glared at Stoneleigh. “I want to see the room she rented. There might be a clue there. Take me there now.”
“Right you are, but there’s nothing that will help.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” William sent his man a damning glance. “You imbeciles are getting nowhere with your dithering. I had best see to the matter myself.”
William and Stoneleigh made the journey to Whitechapel in taut silence. William glanced out the window as their conveyance left the wide, leafy streets of the smart part of town in which he resided and the roads rapidly became narrower, noisier and a great deal dirtier. William had grown up in this sort of squalor, pulling himself out of it by dint of his own wits and stark determination. His Eva, on the other hand, had never set foot in such a district. He thought of the million and one fates that could so easily have befallen someone as out of place as she would be and his blood ran cold.
Aware of Stoneleigh sending him covert glances, William kept his expression passive, but his mind churned in harmony with his gut. Unless she could persuade one of her upper-class friends to take her in then she would have to return to William eventually. That was the thought he had been holding onto, relying upon, this past week. Now, her continued absence had obliged him to think the unthinkable. Would she actually sell herself in preference to returning home? A single man of means could easily set her up as his mistress somewhere beyond William’s reach.
William clenched his fists, rage surging through him in unstoppable waves. He would find her if he had to scour every corner of the country. If he couldn’t have her, no one would. All the time he didn’t know what had become of her, he imagined increasingly wild scenarios that drove him demented with worry and jealousy. At a time when concentration was vital to his future prosperity, he couldn’t think about anything other than finding his wife. Eva may not love him as passionately as he did her–he accepted that–but she also had no reason to complain about her life. She had every luxury at her fingertips and a daughter upon whom she doted. No, she would never willingly walk away from Grace. Presumably seeing a man beaten to death had
Such thoughts ought to have shocked her. Instead she found them exciting, stimulating, and sinfully tempting.
Now she knew she was nothing more to them than a means to an end. What a fool! Had she learned nothing during the years of her marriage? Never confide and never trust because no one cared two figs about her. These gentlemen were better bred than her husband, hid their purpose behind an elegantly polite façade, but when it came down to it they were no different than William. They planned to use her to get what they wanted.
“You want to me return home and spy on my husband,” she said, drilling Lord Isaac with a hostile gaze. “That is what this is all about, is it not?”
Chapter Five
“She’s not returned yet,” Stoneleigh informed William. “We have people posted all over Whitechapel so we know she’s definitely not in the district.”
“Then where the devil is she?”
Stoneleigh shrugged. “No one’s seen hide nor hair of her since this morning.”
“Damn it, man, track down the jarvey who picked her up and find out where he dropped her off.”
“We’re trying, but dozens of cabs use that route. It might take some time.”
“Don’t bother me with details, just do it.” William, pacing his study, turned on his heel and glared at Stoneleigh. “I want to see the room she rented. There might be a clue there. Take me there now.”
“Right you are, but there’s nothing that will help.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” William sent his man a damning glance. “You imbeciles are getting nowhere with your dithering. I had best see to the matter myself.”
William and Stoneleigh made the journey to Whitechapel in taut silence. William glanced out the window as their conveyance left the wide, leafy streets of the smart part of town in which he resided and the roads rapidly became narrower, noisier and a great deal dirtier. William had grown up in this sort of squalor, pulling himself out of it by dint of his own wits and stark determination. His Eva, on the other hand, had never set foot in such a district. He thought of the million and one fates that could so easily have befallen someone as out of place as she would be and his blood ran cold.
Aware of Stoneleigh sending him covert glances, William kept his expression passive, but his mind churned in harmony with his gut. Unless she could persuade one of her upper-class friends to take her in then she would have to return to William eventually. That was the thought he had been holding onto, relying upon, this past week. Now, her continued absence had obliged him to think the unthinkable. Would she actually sell herself in preference to returning home? A single man of means could easily set her up as his mistress somewhere beyond William’s reach.
William clenched his fists, rage surging through him in unstoppable waves. He would find her if he had to scour every corner of the country. If he couldn’t have her, no one would. All the time he didn’t know what had become of her, he imagined increasingly wild scenarios that drove him demented with worry and jealousy. At a time when concentration was vital to his future prosperity, he couldn’t think about anything other than finding his wife. Eva may not love him as passionately as he did her–he accepted that–but she also had no reason to complain about her life. She had every luxury at her fingertips and a daughter upon whom she doted. No, she would never willingly walk away from Grace. Presumably seeing a man beaten to death had
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