Anne had been delighted when she’d heard that. He’d extorted several people, including Anthony, threatening to expose their most dearly held secrets—truths that would ruin and destroy them. In Anthony’s case, he’d gone public with his in order to bring Gilbert down, to save Anne from marrying him. She could never thank him enough.
“Good riddance,” Anne muttered. She abruptly stood. “I’m going out to the garden.”
Jane also rose. “You know I’ll do anything you need? You have only to ask.”
“I do.” Anne gave her a reassuring smile. “Thank you for inviting me to stay with you.”
“Not stay with us, live with us. You don’t ever have to leave.”
Perhaps not, but Anne didn’t want to be the spinster sister who had no life of her own. Which meant she had to find a life of her own.
Anne left the sitting room and descended to the first floor. From there, she continued down the grand staircase to the ground floor. As she reached the staircase hall, she glimpsed a figure standing in the entry hall. At first, she thought it was Tabor, the butler, given the blond hair, but something about the man’s form made her stop.
Pivoting, she crept toward the entry hall in curiosity as the man turned to face her.
A gasp sprang from her lips, and her eyes widened. “Lord Bodyguard,” she breathed.
One of his blond brows arched as her shock was reflected back at her in his cobalt gaze. “Mrs. Dazzling.”
The sight of him made her chest constrict. He was almost unbearably handsome in a green coat and buff breeches, his pristine white cravat nestled beneath the strong, familiar line of his jaw.
“How did you find me?” She sounded quite breathless.
“I didn’t. Not on purpose anyway. I am here to see Lord Colton. He is your…?”
“Brother-in-law.”
His jaw actually dropped, or so she thought. It happened so quickly that she doubted what she’d seen.
“So you don’t know who I am?” she asked.
“I do now.”
“Then you are in a better position than I since I shall still have to call you Lord Bodyguard.”
“Mr. Bowles?” Tabor came into the hall behind Anne.
Mr. Bowles. Anne searched her brain for the name and came up wanting. Why was he here to see Anthony? She had so many questions, and none of them would be answered. Frustration churned in her gut.
“I do hope I’ll see you again, Mr. Bowles,” she said softly as he came toward her.
His gaze found hers with a dark intensity that infused her with heat. “The pleasure will be mine.”
Anne watched as he followed Tabor toward Anthony’s study. She longed to spy on them, but there was simply no way to do so. Overwhelmed with nervous energy, she stalked to the morning room and out to the garden. The day was bright and warm, but she had no appreciation for any of the flowers or birds or anything else. Her mind was wholly owned by Mr. Bowles and the fact that he was here.
Who was he to Anthony? And what had he meant when he’d said he knew who she was now? Something about the way he’d uttered the words had made her heart beat a tick faster.
Did he simply know her name, or was he also aware of her engagement and aborted wedding? She stalked around the path of the garden, growing angry again that Gilbert had turned out to be such a horrid person and that his behavior had unfairly blemished her.
Coming back to the start of her circuit, she stopped and stared at the door to the morning room. She wanted to go inside and barge into Anthony’s study. Once there, she’d drag Mr. Bowles…where? She didn’t care. She just wanted answers. She wanted to reclaim the connection they’d shared, because she’d felt so awfully alone.
And perhaps she wanted another kiss. Or ten.
Hell. It seemed she may not have fallen out of love with him after all.
Chapter 2
Rafe’s body thrummed with anticipation. He needed to focus on why he’d come to see Colton. Instead, he was consumed with thoughts of Mrs. Dazzling—no, Miss Anne Bloody Pemberton. He knew precisely who she was. Just as he’d known her betrothed. Never would Rafe have imagined the poor woman whose wedding had been interrupted by the arrest of her groom was his Mrs. Dazzling.
His?
“I shouldn’t be surprised to see you,” Colton said, standing near the hearth, his elbow resting on the dark wood mantel. “And yet I am. I wondered if you would ever come calling.” He gestured to the pair of chairs situated in front of the cold, dark fireplace. There was no need for additional warmth on this fine summer day.
Rafe took one of the chairs, high-backed, dark blue velvet with arms. Colton sat in the other.
The viscount looked far more relaxed than Rafe had ever seen him. His blue eyes held a warmth that hadn’t been there before his marriage to Miss Jane Pemberton.
Mrs. Dazzling’s bloody sister. Rafe still couldn’t believe it was her.
“Congratulations on your marriage,” Rafe said.
“Thank you.” Colton’s tone was wry. “I presume you’ve come to claim the favor I owe you.”
“Yes. Rather than a list of people I’d like to meet, there is just one man—the Earl of Stone.”
Colton pressed his lips together and flattened his back against the chair. “I don’t know him very well. I am, however, acquainted with his son, the Viscount Sandon. He’s just recently returned from his family’s estate in Ireland.”
“I need to meet Stone. Preferably at his house south of London.”
Colton’s dark brows arched briefly. “Ivy Grove?” He tipped his head to the side. “You want me to obtain an invitation for you to Ivy Grove to meet Lord Stone. Do you realize how difficult that is?”
“I do.” He didn’t, actually, but he could imagine. “Can you manage it?”
Stroking his jaw, Colton let out a breath. “Stone likes to entertain. He’s quite proud of that estate. I can try to put a word in Sandon’s ear—suggest his father should host something to welcome him home from Ireland.”
“You’re making this sound not that hard at all.”
A dark laugh bolted from the viscount. “My suggestion could go absolutely nowhere. It’s nearly the end of the Season. It may very well be too late.”
“I appreciate you trying. You’ll keep me apprised?”
Colton nodded. “I’ll hunt him down at Brooks’s later.” He eyed Rafe, his gaze sweeping over him from boot to brow. “Will you be seeking entry to one of the clubs?”
Rafe had considered it. He was only concerned with establishing business connections. He’d recently invested in a publishing venture and was about to embark on a property scheme. He planned to build housing for the labor class. Good housing that people deserved instead of the hovels that many lived in. “Perhaps. Are you offering to recommend me?”
“That would be a second favor.”
“Or something you would do for a friend.”
Colton leaned forward, a spark lighting his gaze. “You think we’re friends after all that’s gone on between us?”
“I loaned you money, and you paid me back.” A current of energy ran through Rafe. He rested his right elbow on the arm of the chair. “I thought we’d resolved the issue of your parents. I never wanted them—or you—to be killed.”