The annoying voice outside shattered his fantasy. The threats got louder the nearer they came until the bath chamber door burst open to reveal Lyndon Mather struggling against two of Ian’s footmen. They were Scots lads who’d come with Ian to his hired house in London and looked pleased that at last they had someone against whom to strain their muscles.
Ian shifted his gaze over the three of them and returned it to the muscular calf he’d rested on the side of the tub. The footmen released Mather but hovered warily beside him.
“You cheated me out of that bowl, but it wasn’t enough for you, was it, Mackenzie? Beth Ackerley is worth a hundred thousand guineas, man. One hundred thousand” Ian studied the twisting dark hairs that wound down his leg. “She’s worth a damned sight more than that.” “You mean she has more?” the idiot Mather asked. “I’ll sue you. I’ll have you for cheating me out of all that money.” Ian closed his eyes, seeking his visions of Beth. “Write to Hart’s solicitor.”
“Don’t hide behind your brother, you coward. I’ll ruin you. London will be too hot to hold you. You’ll be running back to Inverness with your tail between your legs, you dungeating, sheep-buggering, Scots pig.”
The footmen growled in unison. Mather yanked a small object out of his pocket and hurled it at the bathtub. Something plopped into the water and sank to the bottom with a soft clink.
“I’ll sue you for the price of that, too.”
Ian flicked his fingers at the footmen, sending droplets of water over the marble floor. “Throw him out.” The lads whirled on Mather, but he turned on his heel and stomped away. The two footmen followed, and when they’d gone, Curry slunk into the bathroom and closed the door.
“Whew,” the valet said, wiping his brow. “Thought ‘e would shoot you for certain.”
“Not here. He’d do it in a dark alley, in my back.”
“Maybe you should leave town for a spell then, guv.” Ian didn’t answer. He thought of the short letter from Mrs. Ackerley he’d received this afternoon.
My lord, I thank you for your kind intervention that saved me from a step that would have caused me great regret. As you may no doubt soon read in the newspapers, the betrothal between myself and the other party concerned is at an end.
I also wish to thank you for condescending to propose marriage to me, which I now realize was to keep my reputation from ruin. I know you will understand and not be offended when I say I must I decline your generous offer. I have decided to use the fortune that fate bestowed upon me to travel. By the time you receive this letter, I will have departed for Paris with a companion, where I intend to make a study of painting, a skill I have always wished to leant. Thank you again for your kindness to me and for your advice.
I remain yours sincerely,
Beth Ackerley
“We’re going to Paris,” Ian said to Curry.
Curry blinked. “Are we, guv?”
Ian fished out what Mather had thrown into the bathtub, a narrow gold band with tiny diamonds on it. “Mather is cheap. She should have a wide band filled with sapphires, blue like her eyes.”He felt the pressure of Curry’s stare. “I’ll take your word, me lord. Shall I pack?”
“We won’t leave for a few days. I have some business to attend to first.”
Curry waited for Ian to indicate what business, but Ian returned to studying the ring in silence. He lost himself contemplating the sparkle of every facet on each tiny diamond until the water turned cold, and Curry worriedly pulled the plug on the drain.
Detective Inspector Lloyd Fellows paused before he rang the bell of the Park Lane home of Sir Lyndon Mather. Detective Inspector, Fellows reminded himself, recently risen from the subordinate gloom of sergeant despite the last chief’s determination to keep Fellows humble. But all good chief inspectors were called to peaceful retirement, and the incoming chief had found it incredible that Fellows had languished so long as a mere sergeant.
So why had Fellows risked all by rushing to Park Lane to Mather’s summons? He’d read the note in rising excitement, burned it, then left the office. He’d grated his teeth at the slowness of hansom cabs until he stood on the doorstep of the palatial house.
Fellows hadn’t bothered to mention the journey to his chief. Anything to do with the Mackenzies was verboten to Detective Fellows, but Fellows reasoned that what his chief didn’t know would not hurt him.
A stiff butler with his nose in the air answered the door and directed Fellows into an equally stiff reception room. Someone had crammed the room with draped tables and costly objects d’art, including photographs in silver frames of stiff people.