Chapter 40
ELLA DREW A sharp breath and summoned every ounce of courage she could muster as the Keatley Hall carriage drew to a halt.
She looked through the dirty window and across the sun-drenched London street at the Rowe Solicitor Office.
She might be one to shirk convention generally, but even she knew that it was brazen, if not scandalous, to call on a man without at least a chaperone.
She squeezed her eyes shut, as if by doing so she could drum up more confidence. But she needed—wanted—to see Gabriel, and if she did not take advantage of this opportunity, she did not know when the next one would present itself.
She gathered her reticule and gloves and prepared to place her bonnet back gingerly on her head.
The Keatley Hall carriage driver opened the door and helped her down.
The afternoon was hot for such a late day in September, and she squinted in the brightness.
She was expected at Hawthorne House by nightfall, which left her plenty of time for a quick visit.
Once at the office’s main door, Ella turned the doorknob firmly, which jingled a bell and captured the attention of the clerk, whom she recognized from her first visit.
“Miss Wilde!” he exclaimed with a bow. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”
She fought the nerves firing through her. What might Gabriel think of her showing up unannounced and unchaperoned? She did not need to respond, however, for as soon as she spoke, the door to Gabriel’s office opened.
“Miss Wilde!” Gabriel exclaimed, his light brown eyes wide. “I was not expecting you! Come in, come in.”
Feeling oddly bashful, she stepped in farther, fussing with her reticule as she did.
As if sensing her discomfort, Gabriel eyed the clerk, who went back to his task, and Gabriel approached her and lowered his voice. “What a surprise to see you! Is everything all right?”
“Yes, it is.” She suddenly felt foolish, as if following her heart here had been a huge mistake. What if she’d misconstrued their time together? What if his attentions toward her at the symposium were for naught but sport and he truly had no desire to see her?
Even with these concerns, the sight of him reignited her desire.
She steadied herself. She would do exactly what she did every time she was faced with such a situation.
She would feign confidence until she felt it.
“I’m on my way to Hawthorne House, but I couldn’t resist coming by to see if you had learned anything else about Mr. Bauer. ”
“Oh.”
She tried to read his expression. Was he appalled? Shocked? Disappointed that he was not the reason for her visit to London?
“Actually, there is something I’d like to show you,” he said with a grin. “Come with me.”
She followed him through the door to his office and assessed the dark chamber afresh.
How different it felt to be in his personal space now that she knew him.
The first time she had been in this chamber was brief, but now she took a fresh note of the painting on the wall and the oilskin coat hanging on a hook right inside the door.
The satchel he had been carrying when he left Keatley Hall was on the floor just beneath it.
His words recaptured her focus. “Just this morning I visited with one of the staff at the gentlemen’s club Bauer frequented—a man by the name of Blanton.
” He lifted a piece of paper from the top of his desk.
“Apparently he’d seen Bauer home on a couple of occasions when he was too incapacitated to make it on his own. He gave me the address.”
“So this is the address of where he is living in London?” Ella clarified, looking at the paper.
“Well, where he had been staying. I doubt he’d return after what has happened, but I’m going to visit it later today to see if there is anything I can learn.”
Her nerves fell by the wayside as the injustice of what had transpired flared afresh, and she pushed away a bonnet ribbon that had fallen in front of her face. “I’ll go with you.”
He chuckled at her enthusiasm and tucked the paper in his pocket. “I’d expect nothing less, but this one I should do by myself. It’s in an area of town you should probably never see.”
“Oh no,” she protested eagerly. “I’ll be fine.”
At this his smile faded. “Are you not expected at Hawthorne House?”
Even though he was probably trying to protect her, his resistance seemed like rejection. She felt . . . silly. She tried to decipher his countenance but couldn’t. She’d never seemed to have a problem reading him while they’d been at Keatley Hall. “I understand. If you prefer me not to go, then I—”
“It’s not that I don’t want you to go,” he stammered. “Of course I want to spend time with you. It’s that the area is dangerous. I have no idea what or who we’d encounter when we arrive, and I don’t want to subject you to something we both might regret.”
Her opportunity to participate seemed to be slipping away from her.
She had to convince him how intent she was on seeing this through.
“Gabriel Rowe, this man took advantage of my family. My friends. I fully intend to do everything within my power to help find out the truth about him. Now, you can allow me to assist you, or I will try to find out such information on my own.”
He chuckled and tucked the paper in his coat.
“I’ve no doubt you would do just that. And it’s only because I think you’d be safer with me than out on your own that I will take you with me.
Are we clear on that matter then? Do I have your word that you will not try to track down anything or anyone without me? ”
She hated relinquishing any freedom, but perhaps it was an acceptable compromise. “Very well. You have my word.”