Indeed, on one level he was insulted. On another, the fact that she was even considering giving him her trust felt like an incredible compliment. Why would that be?
‘Why are you smiling in that mocking way?’ she asked. ‘Did I say something you find foolish?’
Prickly little thing. ‘I didn’t realise I was smiling.’ But if he was mocking anyone, it was himself. At the way she kept surprising him. ‘And, yes, you can be assured that anything you tell me will remain confidential.’
She drew in a deep breath, drawing his attention to the snug fit of her carriage dress. To the way it moulded to the soft curves and hollows of her petite form. He turned his eyes resolutely to his horses. He was not here to flirt with the woman. He was here because she needed his help, despite that she irritated him beyond endurance.
‘I am trying to locate my father’s bailiff, Mr Freeps. He left for another position shortly after my father died.’
Not what he had expected at all. He had been waiting for something along the lines of the boy she had spoken of, or another sold or pawned item she wanted back.
‘Surely your cousin’s man of business would have this information?’
‘Yes, and he would immediately report my request to my cousin.’
‘I see.’
‘What do you see?’
The defiance in her voice, her wariness of his motives, struck him on the raw.
He gave her an impatient glance. ‘I see why you do not wish to go to your cousin’s man of business. Why exactly do you wish to find this man Freeps?’
‘Why is that any of your concern?’
‘And when I find him, what then?’
‘If you find him, you will provide me with his address. That is all.’ She pressed her lips together.
‘Lady Tess, I realise you and I are not well acquainted and I am sure I have no interest in your secrets, but I do not work for anyone unless I know the full story. For example, should you wish to accuse this servant of theft, I would need to know this, so he is not forewarned.’
She stiffened at the word theft. He pretended not to notice.
‘If, however, it is simply your intention to reassure yourself of this person’s wellbeing, I can include that sort of information in my report.’
Her hands clenched in her lap.
‘It isn’t either of those things, is it?’
‘No.’ Her voice was low and being held under tight control. ‘I need to ask him something. In person.’
He frowned. ‘Something of a private nature, then?’
‘Yes.’
Damn the woman. What on earth was she hiding?
* * *
Lord Sandford was the most annoying creature Tess had ever met. Why couldn’t he simply do as she asked? ‘There is no reason for you to know anything apart from the name of the person I would like found and their last-known address. I would have known this had I not been absent from home at the time of his departure.’
She had been prostrate after her father had died and Cousin Phin had packed her off to an aunt in Bath to recover her wits.
‘Are you implying there is some sort of injustice you hope to redress?’
The surprise in his voice irritated her beyond rational thought. ‘Is that so impossible to believe?’ Unfortunately, it was far more selfish than that. She ignored a pang of guilt. After all, he might be more likely to help her if he thought her reason altruistic rather than self-serving.
A sudden urge to tell him the whole truth, to tell him about Greydon, took her aback. She couldn’t. What if he told Rowan? She dared not take the chance.
His voice dropped to a low seductive murmur. ‘You have not yet heard my price for undertaking this service.’
Her stomach gave a little hop. She risked a glance at his face to find him looking at her with a small smile on his lips as if he was once more amused.
She swallowed. It was the one thing that had kept her awake all night. What on earth would he demand as payment? He had said at the masquerade that he didn’t want money. Heat scalded her cheeks. ‘Tell me.’
‘Before I impart this person’s whereabouts to you, you will tell me the real reason you wish to find him. The full truth. I will have your word on that.’
‘You would trust my word?’
‘Why would I not? I trust until a person proves unworthy.’
‘And if they do prove untrustworthy?’
‘Then I seek retribution.’
A shiver passed over her skin at the hint of menace in his words. She glanced over at him, trying to read his expression, but he seemed completely focused on guiding the horses out through the gate and there was no way of guessing what might be on his mind.
‘Well?’ he asked when they had moved into the traffic on Park Lane.
‘I accept.’ She would simply have to tell him a truth that did not lead to Grey and if he didn’t like it, too bad. She handed him a piece of paper with Freeps’s full name on it and some other bits of information about his family she had remembered that might come in useful. ‘This should help you find him.’
He tucked the note into his waistcoat pocket without even so much as a glance. No doubt he’d be handing it off to one of his minions since it was likely he had far more important clients requiring his services.
Resentment tightened her chest. She took a deep breath. She could not afford resentment. His offer was what she had wanted all along.
Life was becoming exceedingly complex. What with Cousin Rowan and now Lord Sandford, she felt as if she was walking through a meadow full of cows. One misstep would cause no end of mess.
A new topic of conversation was needed. ‘Where is the Sandford estate?’
He stiffened. ‘Why do you want to know?’
Hah! What an interesting reaction. ‘No reason. I am simply making polite conversation. It is something I can easily look up in Debrett’s should I be interested enough. Which I really am not.’
He made an odd sound, like a laugh being turned into a cough. ‘Touché, Lady Tess.’
‘We are not engaged in a battle, Lord Sandford.’
‘Merely a war of words.’ Again that disdainfully amused tone in his voice.
They neared the corner of Piccadilly. He slowed just enough to let his tiger leap up behind them. She glanced over her shoulder. ‘Isn’t that a little dangerous?’
‘Na,
