agreed.
“Especially considering the circumstances,” Westfield said, in a confidential tone.
She frowned. “Circumstances?”
The earl leaned closer. “There is some speculation that the rope securing the statue might have been deliberately cut.”
“No!” Her hand went to her throat. “Why would anyone do something so heinous? Especially to Miss Martin.”
“I didn’t say she was the intended target,” he qualified, straightening. “She might simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Well, there is some small comfort in that.” She exhaled audibly. “Deliberately cut, you say. I wonder why?”
She looked away and worried her lower lip with her teeth.
“I wouldn’t dare speculate,” Westfield said. “It’s rarely good to have one’s name associated with such sensational tales.”
“True of us all,” she said gravely, dipping into another curtsy. Miss Tolliver excused herself, and Jasper followed her with his gaze. She headed directly to a group of women.
“She spreads the tale,” Westfield murmured, turning his back to her.
“That’s no proof of innocence. In fact, a clever person might assume that bearing the news to others would lighten suspicion. After all, what reasonable person would air their misdeeds to all and sundry?” Jasper intended to have both Tollivers followed for a time. He would not take any chances.
“Excellent point.”
“What do you know of the investment pool managed by Lord Collingsworth?”
“I participated for a time, but Collingsworth is too conservative for my taste. You might feel similarly.”
How like Eliza to be cautious. Money was vitally important to her, not for what it could buy, but for the measure of freedom and control its possession granted her. “Do you know who the other investors are?”
“A few. Not all. Why?”
“Miss Martin is one of them.”
“Truly?” Westfield’s brows rose. “Wasn’t aware of that. Does that make me a suspect?”
Smiling, Jasper said, “Possibly.”
The earl grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing servant. “How delicious.”
“Not if you’re at fault.” Jasper moved forward.
“Was that a threat, Bond?”
“Not if you are at fault,” he said again. “In that case, it would be a promise.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the card room. Perhaps the scent of desperation will lead me in a new direction.”
“You never answered my question about what you’ll do once you own Montague’s property.” Although Westfield was the public face of the wager that secured the property, Jasper hadn’t revealed why he wanted it.
However, he had no hesitation in revealing what he would do with it. “I will raze the house, then leave England.”
“For parts unknown?”
“Didn’t I tell you?” Jasper looked at him. “I’ve purchased a plantation in the South Seas.”
“Good God.” The earl choked on his champagne. “Only you would find peace living among savages.”
“I think similarly about your life.”
A brilliant shade of sapphire blue in the periphery of Jasper’s vision caught his interest. He turned his head to catch Eliza moving toward one of three sets of French doors leading outside to a wide veranda.
She shot him a look over her shoulder. It was not the calculated look of a practiced flirt. It was simpler and more sincere, betraying pleasure at seeing him and the hope he might follow.
He smiled and inclined his head in acknowledgment.
“I will go ahead without you,” Westfield murmured.
“I’ll only be a moment.”
“You disappoint me, Bond. When a beautiful woman looks at you in that manner, you should need far more time than that.”
Eliza moved toward the nearest exterior exit with the hope that her dark gown would blend somewhat with the darkness of night and provide her a brief spell of anonymity. She felt Jasper’s stare following her and fought the urge to quicken her pace. Not because she wished to avoid him, but because it was
“Especially considering the circumstances,” Westfield said, in a confidential tone.
She frowned. “Circumstances?”
The earl leaned closer. “There is some speculation that the rope securing the statue might have been deliberately cut.”
“No!” Her hand went to her throat. “Why would anyone do something so heinous? Especially to Miss Martin.”
“I didn’t say she was the intended target,” he qualified, straightening. “She might simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Well, there is some small comfort in that.” She exhaled audibly. “Deliberately cut, you say. I wonder why?”
She looked away and worried her lower lip with her teeth.
“I wouldn’t dare speculate,” Westfield said. “It’s rarely good to have one’s name associated with such sensational tales.”
“True of us all,” she said gravely, dipping into another curtsy. Miss Tolliver excused herself, and Jasper followed her with his gaze. She headed directly to a group of women.
“She spreads the tale,” Westfield murmured, turning his back to her.
“That’s no proof of innocence. In fact, a clever person might assume that bearing the news to others would lighten suspicion. After all, what reasonable person would air their misdeeds to all and sundry?” Jasper intended to have both Tollivers followed for a time. He would not take any chances.
“Excellent point.”
“What do you know of the investment pool managed by Lord Collingsworth?”
“I participated for a time, but Collingsworth is too conservative for my taste. You might feel similarly.”
How like Eliza to be cautious. Money was vitally important to her, not for what it could buy, but for the measure of freedom and control its possession granted her. “Do you know who the other investors are?”
“A few. Not all. Why?”
“Miss Martin is one of them.”
“Truly?” Westfield’s brows rose. “Wasn’t aware of that. Does that make me a suspect?”
Smiling, Jasper said, “Possibly.”
The earl grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing servant. “How delicious.”
“Not if you’re at fault.” Jasper moved forward.
“Was that a threat, Bond?”
“Not if you are at fault,” he said again. “In that case, it would be a promise.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the card room. Perhaps the scent of desperation will lead me in a new direction.”
“You never answered my question about what you’ll do once you own Montague’s property.” Although Westfield was the public face of the wager that secured the property, Jasper hadn’t revealed why he wanted it.
However, he had no hesitation in revealing what he would do with it. “I will raze the house, then leave England.”
“For parts unknown?”
“Didn’t I tell you?” Jasper looked at him. “I’ve purchased a plantation in the South Seas.”
“Good God.” The earl choked on his champagne. “Only you would find peace living among savages.”
“I think similarly about your life.”
A brilliant shade of sapphire blue in the periphery of Jasper’s vision caught his interest. He turned his head to catch Eliza moving toward one of three sets of French doors leading outside to a wide veranda.
She shot him a look over her shoulder. It was not the calculated look of a practiced flirt. It was simpler and more sincere, betraying pleasure at seeing him and the hope he might follow.
He smiled and inclined his head in acknowledgment.
“I will go ahead without you,” Westfield murmured.
“I’ll only be a moment.”
“You disappoint me, Bond. When a beautiful woman looks at you in that manner, you should need far more time than that.”
Eliza moved toward the nearest exterior exit with the hope that her dark gown would blend somewhat with the darkness of night and provide her a brief spell of anonymity. She felt Jasper’s stare following her and fought the urge to quicken her pace. Not because she wished to avoid him, but because it was
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