Missing: An Elusive Marquess: Victorian Romantic Mystery (Calling all Rakes Book 6) by Tammy Andresen

Author:Tammy Andresen [Andresen, Tammy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Swift Romance Publishing Corp
Published: 2022-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Rebecca returned to the ballroom, making her way slowly through the crowd and toward the exit.

She felt a pang of longing as she looked back at the garden. She knew that Bennet couldn’t be here next to her, but she wished he was. It had been such a thrill to hear the earl’s conversation. But now…she was in the home of the man who’d had Marcus killed, alone…

She gave a shiver despite the heat and continued to push through the crush.

“Lady Rebecca,” a deep voice called from her right, a man’s hand clamping on her upper arm like a vise.

She turned to see the Earl of Shipley smiling down at her. Despite the grin, his eyes were cold. “My lord,” she replied, her heart hammering in her chest.

“May I ask why you’re here?” He leaned closer, his gaze narrowing.

She blinked. It was widely known that she was a reporter and many hosts had barred them from their parties and balls. “I have to confess that it’s not only for pleasure.”

His hand tightened. “Do tell, my lady.” He sneered the last word, making her pulse rush in her ears.

“I have discovered,” she said, attempting not to tremble, “that a certain widow is having a rather illicit affair with a married lord.”

His hand relaxed, but his eyes remained shrewd. “That’s the reason you’re here?”

She shook her head, feigning ignorance. “Why else would I be here? Truth be told, I’d leave society entirely if not for my employer. He insists.”

He pulled her a touch closer, making her jerk back in fear, but he held tight. “Your employer? Not your fiancé?”

Cold fear washed over her. Had he seen Bennet? Knew he was alive? “I’ve not had a fiancé for a long time now, my lord.”

“Yes. I believe he died three years ago.”

She nodded, trying to shake the fear that was making it harder to breathe. This man was asking questions that were dangerously close to the truth. And Bennet wasn’t here. Did he face danger like this often, or worse? Was this what he’d wanted to protect her from? She pressed her thighs together, reminding her of the knife tied about her thigh. She drew in a fortifying gulp of air as she looked him in the eye. “I have to confess, you know a great deal about me, Lord Shipley. Far more than I know about you.”

His eyes roved over her face then, a hungry light kindling in his gaze. He was a large man, tall and bulky, his dark hair slicked back, his features not unattractive but wolfish. He looked as though he might eat a woman alive if she weren’t careful.

She needed to remove herself from this conversation as quickly as possible.

“We could change that,” he whispered. “Shame you are spending your life alone when you could have someone at your side.”

“Are you proposing, my lord?” she asked, her brows going up as though she weren’t frightened half to death. “Usually, a man holds your hand rather than your upper arm when he makes such a request.

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