The men exchanged looks, though it was clear none of them knew where the story was going.
“I’ll spare you the details of how I ended up in a particular situation,” she said, sending a look across the table to Phineas, “but one evening, I found myself in a position to look through Bart’s personal correspondence.” Phin would likely be able to guess that the way she snooped through his office the night before wasn’t the first time she had gone nosing in someone else’s business. “What I found there was evidence of Bart’s involvement in the murders of some men at the Waverly ranch and detailed plans to murder several more of the local ranchers who were holding out against the WSGA.”
“Murder?” Freddy’s hand grew tight around hers.
A look of understanding dawned in Phineas’s eyes as he likely remembered her passing reference to the Waverly ranch during their walk through Hyde Park.
“In cold blood, for the most part,” Lenore continued with a nod. “These are not polite, London gentlemen. Some of them are one step up from gunslingers. And I had the proof of what they were planning in my hands.” She took a breath and went on. “I had the proof in my hands when Bart burst into the room and caught me with it.”
Freddy, Phineas, and Reese all flinched in alarm, as though they knew exactly where the story was headed now.
“Needless to say, I only barely escaped being murdered myself,” she went on, face burning as she left out the most important detail of the entire story. She couldn’t confess to how she’d managed to escape just yet. To reveal that part of the story would only cause a whole other set of problems that she simply couldn’t deal with. “I was supposed to return home to Haskell with some of my friends, but I begged and pleaded with Papa to let me continue on to London with him. I told him I wanted to be one of those women we all read about back home who marries a titled lord and becomes a countess or something. Fortunately for me, Papa is a little on the indulgent side, and he agreed.”
“To bring you here to London to find a husband,” Freddy said, blinking.
“Yes.” Lenore took a breath, but it did little to settle her nerves.
“But you really came here to hide from this Bart person,” Phineas said. His expression hardened. “A murderer who is intent on killing you lest you expose him for attempting even more murders.”
“For all I know, those other murders were carried out,” Lenore said in a haunted voice. “Granted, none of my friends or family back home has written to me about them as of yet, but then again, I don’t hear much about state news in those letters, only goings on in Haskell.”
“A bloody murderer is in London, and in all likelihood, he’s searching for you?” Reese said, incredulous.
Lenore could only nod in affirmation.
“You have to get out of here,” Freddy said, standing suddenly. “You can’t stay in London as long as that man is here. You aren’t safe.”
“I agree,” Reese said, assuming the imperious air that sometimes came over him. Truth be told, Reese was one of the few men Lenore would have trusted to take charge in a situation as dire as the one she found herself in.
“I can take her to Yorkshire,” Phineas said, rising as well. His face was dark with determination to protect Lenore at all costs, but it pinched slightly as he went on to say, “As it happens, it would be wise for me to get out of the city right now myself.”
“Yes,” Lenore agreed. “Det. Gleason is on to you.”
“Who?” Freddy asked, glancing between them.
Phin let out a breath and rubbed a hand over his face. “Lady Hamilton has hired a private investigator to search out the author of Nocturne so that she can bring a suit against him.”
“And what, pray tell, does that have to do with you?” Reese asked, one eyebrow arched.
Lenore gulped, staring at Phin with wide eyes. Phin held his breath for a moment before wincing, as if just realizing how careless he’d been. Lenore was willing to forgive him for a lapse into stupidity, though. At the moment, her problems were much bigger than his.
“Do you think your father and sisters would mind if I came to Yorkshire with you?” she asked, standing in an effort to deflect scrutiny from Phin.
“I think they would understand,” Phin said, glancing across the table at her with a look that said he would take her home and keep her safe, even if they didn’t understand.
“Then you should go to Yorkshire,” Freddy said, resting a hand on Lenore’s arm. “And as fast as possible. There is probably a train leaving tonight.”
“You should pack your things and head to St. Pancras as quickly as possible,” Reese agreed. “I’ll pay for your train fare, if you need me to.”
“Thank you,” Lenore said from the bottom of her heart. She glanced to Phineas.
Phin shrugged. “I’ll pack a bag as well and send a telegram to my sister to let her know we’re coming. I’ll need to inform my brother of the situation as well.”
They all stepped away from the table. Lenore’s heart still raced, but at least she felt as though she had someone on her side. A few someones, in fact.
“I can’t thank you enough,” she told them all, smiling at each of them in turn. “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my reasons for coming to England in the first place.”
“We forgive you,” Reese said as they all stepped into the hall.
“All of our secrets are out in the open now,” Freddy added with a smile as Lenore headed to the stairs.
She sent him a wary look, hoping he wouldn’t see through it. Not all of her secrets were out in the open, and the ones that remained were the worst of the lot.
Chapter 8
Phin had a small suitcase packed within two hours and had informed Mrs. Wallace and Dora that he was making an unscheduled trip to Yorkshire. He told them in no uncertain terms that it was their responsibility to keep his house from burning down or from thieves breaking in and stealing his work. They were amused by his hasty plans, and Phin had the impression they believed he was running home to consult with his father about marrying his overnight guest. He didn’t disabuse them of that notion and played up the lighter side of the situation, but in fact, he couldn’t have felt more serious about fleeing London and taking Lenore with him if they were being chased out by peasants with torches and pitchforks.
“Time is of the essence,” he explained to Lionel when he dropped by the law offices of Dandie & Wirth to let his brother know what was afoot. “There’s no telling how long this Mr. Swan has been in London or how much searching he’d already done.”
“Do you know anything else about the man?” Lionel asked, getting up from the office’s huge mahogany desk where he’d been working and walking around it with a thoughtful look. “Anything other than the fact that he’s a potential murderer who likely has your charming lover in his sights?”
Phin ignored every bit of the innuendo infused in Lionel’s question. That was simply the way Lionel asked questions and gathered information. “I haven’t had time to investigate,” he said, arching one eyebrow in a hint that Lionel could do that for him. “Though speaking of investigations,” he went on, blowing out a breath and rubbing a hand over his face, “Lady Hamilton has hired a Det. Gleason to seek out the author of Nocturne.”