“What’s not to love?”
His pranks, for one thing. Yet with a power akin to gravity, he drew Eleanor into his orbit, the invisible tug impossible to ignore.
“There have been times lately when I could have whacked him with a skillet.” There were times when she could have locked lips with him until dawn. “But you’re right. There’s something endearing about him.”
Mrs Maloney patted Eleanor’s chignon. “He’ll light up your life if you let him, though his battle with his conscience will be his downfall. He’s chained to this place and will never leave Aaron here alone.”
Eleanor remembered him confessing his greatest fear. He didn’t worry about his own future. He would happily push his dreams aside out of love for his eldest brother.
Mrs Maloney gave a weary sigh. “Do you know my first thought when I saw those poor mites on my doorstep, faces dirty, eyes sad with lost dreams?”
“That you were desperate to take care of them?”
“I thought, Maura, it will take a strong woman to fix this family. I was the first to help set them on the right path, but I’ll not be the last.”
Mrs Maloney did not elaborate but helped Eleanor into the bottle-green dress and matching pelisse she had shoved into her valise three days ago.
“Thank you for your help, Mrs Maloney, for pressing my clothes and caring for me these last three days.” If Eleanor’s mother had lived, would she have been someone Eleanor could depend upon? “I’m unused to such kindness.”
“Then guard your heart, dear,” Mrs Maloney said with a chuckle. “When you see what my boy has done with your shop, it will be like a hit from Cupid’s arrow.”
One question burned in Eleanor’s mind as she sat opposite Mr Chance in his family’s elegant equipage. Well, maybe more than one. But she did not want to know how long he’d sat watching her sleep. She would rather not think about him stripping to his shirtsleeves and padding about barefooted.
“Mrs Maloney said you spent time at my modiste shop.”
Mr Chance relaxed back against the squab. His confident grin could move mountains, yet she sensed his unease. “I wasn’t sure you would recover from your fall and feared—”
“I didn’t take you for a pessimist.”
He held her gaze. “I prayed I wouldn’t lose a worthy opponent, not halfway through the game. And something told me it wasn’t the end of our friendship. I only wish I had been there to prevent the accident.”
Her shoulders tensed. “It wasn’t an accident.”
He paused, tilting his head. “Not an accident?”
“Someone or something pushed me.”
Mr Chance sat bolt upright. “Are you certain? The door was locked. We were the only people on the premises.”
She had replayed the chilling moment in her mind a thousand times. Those few seconds were still a blur. “No, I’m not certain. I saw a shadow before someone shoved me in the back.”
He shuffled to the edge of the seat, his knees a fraction from hers. “You said someone or something. Surely you’re not speaking about a ghost. I credit you with more sense than that.”
“I don’t know what to think. Emily is the only person with a key, so why would she not show herself?” She had given Emily a door key weeks ago and had not thought to ask for it back.
Mr Chance gave a mocking snort. “Because she stole your silk and returned to take whatever else she could carry.”
Had she stolen the silk or simply taken it for safekeeping?
“Emily is barely five feet tall and so petite people mistake her for a child. Surely the person who pushed me was much stronger.”
“Then one of your devious clients entered the premises intending to steal back their note.” He shoved his hand through his mop of golden hair. “Daventry was right. Only the dead keep secrets. Perhaps someone means to silence you, Miss Darrow.”
His remark forced her to face a truth she had been avoiding. But what did she know that was so damning? She knew the identity of those sending secrets but nothing incriminating.
“Thankfully, I had the foresight to hire someone to guard your shop,” he said, alluding to his mysterious machinations. “Daventry’s man Gibbs has taken residence. It’s the only way to protect your property.”
Eleanor’s heart softened. He was determined to restore her reputation, determined to keep her in London. Did his motivation stem from guilt?
“Perhaps me being incapacitated was a blessing,” she said. “I would have insisted on returning home and tackling the problem myself.” In the process, she might have paid the ultimate price. “You chose well. Mr Gibbs has the strength of three men. I know Delphine valued his help when searching for the truth about her parents.”
“I had the locks changed yesterday,” he confessed.
“Oh.” She was unused to a man taking care of things. “Another wise decision.”
“And I supervised the cleaning of the shop yesterday. You would hardly know the place was ransacked a few days ago.”
Eleanor swallowed past a lump in her throat. The thought of tidying the rooms had filled her with dread. “You didn’t need to do that.”
“Miss Darrow,” he began firmly, “I’ll not rest until things are as they were before the day of the shooting.”
The pang in her chest proved confounding.
Shouldn’t she be happy he wanted to put things right?
And yet she didn’t want things to be as they were. The empty compliments and endless teasing. The feeling they were worlds apart, practically strangers who knew nothing about each other at all.
