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.After their angry parting earlier that morning, it stunned her that her heart still fluttered uncontrollably at the sight of him.She took a step away from him.A light breeze feathered his hair across his forehead, making him amazingly attractive, and she winced from the emptiness in the pit of her stomach.A deep frown creased his forehead and around his eyes.“Why am I not surprised to see you here?” he asked.She took in another deep breath to fortify herself.“Probably for the same reason I am not surprised to see you here.I do not take kindly to your following me, my lord.”He raised his eyebrows.“Following you? Is that what you think? I wasn’t, but I can see that I should have.I came here to see if Smith had closed his shop and escaped London with my grandmother’s pearls.What excuse do you have for being here?”She had to admit that, once again, the circumstances made her appear guilty.“Perhaps it was your grandmother’s dear friend, Lord Chesterfield, who said, ‘Looks can be deceiving.’”Concern edged his features, and he said, “Susannah, the man inside that shop deals with criminals.If you had nothing to do with the theft of the pearls, you should have no dealings with that man.”“If?” she exclaimed.She held out her empty hands, unable to keep from defending herself yet again.“Do I look like I have any pearls on my person? I have no pockets on this cape and none on my dress.I don’t even have a reticule with me today.” She untied the satin ribbon that held her cape together and flung it off her shoulders and draped it over her arm.“And as you can see, I have no pearls around my neck.”“Then what are you doing here?”“Do you really not know, my lord?” she asked incredulously.“I am here because I know I do not have the pearls, and the only way I can prove I don’t have them, or that I don’t know who has them, is to find them myself, which is what I intend to do.If you suspected Mr.Smith might have the pearls, reason should tell you that I would suspect the same thing.”Race’s gaze pierced hers.“This is a dangerous game you are playing.”She whipped her cape around and fitted it onto her shoulders again.“But play it I must.” She remained firm and collected.“And have no doubts that I am playing for keeps.I intend to find that necklace, and when I do, mark my words, my lord, I will keep it.”“Did you tell him the pearls had been stolen?”She blinked rapidly.“Of course not.I merely asked to see what jewels he had, and he has no pearls, because Captain Spyglass bought them all.”Race stepped closer to her, his gaze fixed tightly on hers.In a low voice he said, “I will not let you put yourself at risk over this.”Anger rose up inside her.Anger for the way he had made her feel last night.Anger because he was now pretending to care about her well-being.Anger because she had an aching sense of despair because she would never feel his touch again.Susannah suddenly jerked her head so close to Race’s face he flinched.“How dare you think you have any control over me.You cannot stop me from doing anything I choose to do.I am mistress over my own life, and I can take care of myself.I will thank you to stay away from me.”Susannah heard the door jingle behind her and knew Mrs.Princeton had come out of the shop.She glanced over her shoulder to her companion.“Come along, Mrs.Princeton.The day is getting late, and we have a party to get ready for.”FourteenMy Dearest Grandson Alexander,I found these words in an old letter Lord Chesterfield once wrote: “I am now privileged by my age to taste and think for myself and not to care what other people think of me in those respects, an advantage which youth, among its many advantages, hath not.”Your loving Grandmother, Lady ElderRACE SAT IN THE FAR CORNER AT THE TAPROOM OF The Rusty Nail, feeling a loneliness he had never experienced before.He felt cold and empty inside, and he hadn’t been able to shake the fact that, no matter how he tried to convince himself differently, he had behaved like a first-class bastard to Susannah earlier that morning and not any better when he’d seen her coming out of Smith’s Antique Shop just a few hours ago.It was late afternoon and raining.The damp air held a chill, and he was mindlessly watching a servant stoking the fire he’d just built in the fireplace, and listening to raucous laughter and balls pinging together in the billiards room nearby.Race was still trying to swallow the bad taste his encounter with Susannah left in his mouth, but not even his drink was helping.Perhaps he hadn’t had enough wine.Yet.No doubt as the evening wore on that would change.Perhaps it had been a justifiable reaction at first that he had considered her an accomplice to the theft, but why hadn’t he simply believed her when she’d denied it? He should have.Perhaps it was the fact that the evidence pointed to her as being the most likely suspect.But now he was rethinking that, and the guilt he felt for accusing her so fiercely bore down on him like a heavy weight.After he left her house that morning and returned home to dress, he’d found himself stopping whatever task he was doing, be it buttoning his riding breeches or tying his neckcloth, and he would start thinking about his night in Susannah’s arms.It staggered him that, on the one hand, his body felt immensely satisfied from their lovemaking, and on the other, he desired her once again with an all-consuming fire that defied his being able to explain it.He couldn’t get the memory of their night together off his mind.Somehow, she had bewitched him.He swirled the dark red wine around in his glass.Race shook his head, cleared his throat, and took another sip of his wine.It was past time for him to compose himself and to deal with Susannah and the theft rationally.For some reason, uncharacteristically, he hadn’t yet put all the facts into perspective.Susannah had truly looked shocked when he accused her of stealing the pearls.She was definitely angry he had stormed into her bedchamber without thought for her reputation.She had been right when she told him the theft was his fault
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