Chapter 30

C hapter 30

“After Barlow tied you up,” Drake asked, consulting his notes, “what happened?”

“We cast off,” I said, “and started down the river. I worked the ropes around my hands and managed to free myself.”

“And that was when you decided to grab the painting?”

“Yes.”

Drake laughed. “Brilliant. Truly brilliant, Verity.”

I grinned. “Why, thank you.”

He leaned back in his seat. “Though you might have avoided being captured in the first place.”

I waved that off. “All part of the plan, of course.”

“Of course,” he said, eyes twinkling.

As he jotted down a few more notes, I allowed myself to peek past him out the open door of the interview room. No. 4 Bow Street was as busy as ever, but not for my handsome Sir Chivalry, who paced the main office. Nathaniel had wanted to interview me himself, but Mr. Etchells had insisted Drake do it to ensure as unbiased an account as possible.

Besides, Nathaniel knew everything already. I’d told him all that had happened on the carriage ride home last night, including what I’d learned from Allett about his past and his reasons for stealing the painting.

But selfish though it was, I liked knowing that Nathaniel worried for me. That he wished to be at my side, holding my hand even though I could do this well enough on my own.

Perhaps that was the crux of it. I could do this alone, and he knew it. But he wanted to be there for me even still, lift my burdens if he could. And it made me love him all the more.

Drake questioned me a while longer, but when he at last seemed satisfied, he let me go.

“What will happen to Allett,” I asked as I stood, “if he is convicted?”

He sighed. “His charges are not light. It is likely he will see the gallows, along with Barlow.”

Sentencing in England was harsh and decisive, that I knew well. I was simply glad I was not responsible for such a task.

“See if you can stop Denning’s incessant pacing,” he said, tidying his notes. “The lad is as edgy as a fox during the hunt.”

“What happened to ‘Sir Chivalry’?” I asked as I stood. “Has the nickname run its course?”

He sighed. “It’s lost its appeal. He doesn’t seem to mind it anymore.”

I hid a smile.

I left Drake in the interview room, but before I could take more than two steps toward Nathaniel, a voice spoke behind me. “Miss Travers.”

I turned to see Mr. Etchells at the door of his office, spectacles glinting.

“Might I have a word?” he asked, gesturing back inside his office.

I exchanged a surprised look with Nathaniel, then I followed after the magistrate. He sat behind his desk and gestured for me to sit across from him. He smiled as I smoothed my skirts, easing some of my nerves.

“Miss Travers,” he said, steepling his fingers above the desk. “I have been informed of your involvement in the Harwood case, and I must say I am rather impressed.”

I blinked. That was not what I’d expected. “I—well, thank you, sir.”

“I daresay I am quite tempted to hire you as an officer.” His eyes twinkled. “But I am not sure London is ready for that yet.”

I smiled. “Likely not, sir.”

“Though, in any case, I’ve heard you have ambitions of your own outside of Bow Street,” Mr. Etchells said. “Your brother was just as slippery.”

“Jack?” I straightened. “What do you mean?”

He sat back. “Why, that I offered to reinstate him as a Bow Street officer. About a year ago now. But he kindly turned me down.”

I stared at him. Jack had been given the chance to return to Bow Street and had turned it down? Why? It was all he’d ever wanted.

No , a voice said inside. It wasn’t. He’d found something better. His life with Ginny.

“I hadn’t realized,” I said. “I apologize that we Traverses are a somewhat difficult lot.”

He smiled again. “Not in the least. In fact, I thought to offer you a different position.”

“Position?” My brow furrowed.

He sorted through some of the papers on his desk, unearthing a familiar-looking sketch. Allett’s face leaped from the page.

“Mr. Denning said you drew this,” he said. “Just from a witness’s description.”

My heart quickened. “I did.”

“That is incredible.” Mr. Etchells set the sketch down. “Such a talent could make a world of difference for Bow Street, and for police work in general. As such, I’ve a proposal for you. I hope to call upon you as a sketch artist should we have need in the future.”

I gaped, my eyes wide. Did he mean it?

He took my reaction the wrong way. “It would be a paid consultancy, of course,” he added quickly. “We would happily work around your own cases. But I imagine we could keep you fairly busy, especially once the other offices get wind of you.”

“I ...” I almost laughed, such was my shock. Me, work for Bow Street? This offer could be everything I’d ever wanted. I could use my skill with a pencil to catch criminals. I could work with Drake and Rawlings ... and Nathaniel.

I looked up at Mr. Etchells. I tried to be professional, but the smile that burst onto my lips could have lit the sky. “I gladly accept your offer. I can think of nothing I’d like more.”

He stood and bowed. “Then I look forward to our continued partnership, Miss Travers.”

I was still dazed when I left his office. He’d offered me a job. A Bow Street magistrate wished to work with me.

“Verity!”

I looked up to see a head of blonde curls rushing at me, and then I was wrapped in Elizabeth’s embrace. I hugged her back, so glad to feel her warmth and strength, to reassure myself that she was well. Sir Reginald and Lady Harwood waited near the front door, speaking with Rawlings, who had been conducting their interviews. I’d known they were all here somewhere, but I hadn’t yet seen them.

She pulled back, inspecting me. “Oh, what a relief,” she exclaimed. “Mr. Denning insisted you were all right, but I had to be sure.”

I laughed. “I am perfectly well, Elizabeth. It will take far more than a little dip in the Thames to do me in.”

Her smile faded, some of her joy slipping away. “I cannot believe it, Verity,” she finally said. “I cannot believe you followed Allett and me. It was so dangerous.”

“I could hardly let him steal you away.” I tried to speak lightly, but my voice caught in my throat. We both knew how desperate things had become last night, how close we had come to not seeing today.

Elizabeth squeezed my hands, then looked over her shoulder at her parents, still distracted near the door. She turned back, her expression sober. “I saw Lord Blakely this morning.”

I straightened. “Oh?”

“I told him everything,” she said. “I told him about Rose.”

“What did he say?” My heart clenched.

“He was shocked, to say the least,” she said. “He could not speak for a long while. When he did manage to, he ... well, he told me he did not think that marrying was the best option at present. That perhaps we ought to postpone the wedding.”

“Oh, Elizabeth.” I hurt for her, but I also hurt for Lord Blakely. I certainly did not know him well, but he’d seemed to love my friend. She’d kept this enormous secret from him, and he had to feel pained, hit on his blind side.

“I knew he was only trying to be kind,” she said with a sad smile. “So I released him from our engagement. We parted on ... well, I cannot say they were good terms, but perhaps one day, we might be friends.”

Though her voice twisted, she did not seem quite so heartbroken as I would have imagined. “And you are all right?”

“I am,” she said, sounding rather surprised at herself. “Truly, I am. I care for Lord Blakely, but our entire engagement felt like something of a sham. He did not know the real me. When we parted, I felt pain, yes. But also relief. I did not have to lie to him anymore.”

I knew something of that. How well I remembered Nathaniel’s simple acceptance of my past in the golden meadow at Bibury. How it had felt to realize he knew all of me and still loved me.

“But besides that,” Elizabeth said, her voice quiet but steady, “what I feel for him pales in comparison to what I feel for Rose. I want to be with her, Verity. That is all I want.”

Oh, how I wanted this for her. “And what do your parents say?”

Elizabeth smiled. “Mama is on my side. She insists that we can retire to our country house with Rose, live quietly there. Little towns care far less for reputations than London Society.”

“And your father?”

Her eyes took on a calculating—and slightly mischievous—look. “He has yet to agree, but I have managed to convince him to meet Rose. I’ve little doubt she will win him over in the end.”

“She will,” I assured her. “Undoubtedly.”

She took my hand again, holding it tight. “You’ll come visit us when we are settled?”

“Of course I will.” I swallowed. “I hope you will find such happiness.”

“I hope that for you as well.” Her eyes searched my face. “And may I guess that your future happiness might involve a certain Bow Street officer?”

“It might,” I admitted.

Elizabeth squeezed my hand. “Good. You need someone to look after you while you take on the world.”

There was a new peace in her expression, reminding me for the first time in weeks of the girl she used to be. I could only hope that her healing would continue. And perhaps in her new, quiet country life, there might be a gentleman willing to love every part of her, including Rose.

Sir Reginald and Lady Harwood joined us, and when I tried to apologize for losing The Woman in Red , Lady Harwood hugged me so fiercely that my lungs were nearly crushed.

“You saved Elizabeth,” she whispered. “That is all that matters.”

Sir Reginald nodded behind her, his eyes glassy. “Without a doubt.”

After thanking me so profusely that my face turned red with embarrassment, they left with Elizabeth, and I finally had the chance to seek out Nathaniel.

But he’d vanished. I rose on my toes, looking over the heads of the men in the room, and still, I could see no sign of him. Perhaps he’d gone outside. I started for the front doors and—

Someone caught my arm and pulled me into a darkened interview room. I gasped, instinctively raising my hands to defend myself until I saw Nathaniel’s dancing eyes and wide grin.

“Dash it all,” I breathed. “Why did you have to scare me like that?”

He closed the door behind us. “Because you are constantly surrounded by people, and I was desperate for a moment alone with you.”

Instead of calming, my pulse took off like a bird in flight as he approached and stopped just an arm’s length away.

“You hardly need to steal me away,” I said, trying to sound unaffected. “I am more than willing to make time for the handsome officer who saved my life.”

“Are you?” Nathaniel asked, a sly look in his eyes. “As I hear it, that is the quickest way to a lady’s heart, and I am quite intent on yours.”

A pleasant tingle skittered up my spine as I remembered Jack’s words of advice to him that night at Wimborne. “It certainly does not hurt. Although it seems it is becoming a habit of yours. Wasn’t that how you earned your nickname in the first place, pulling a woman from the river?”

“Ah, well,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching. “So many ladies are falling into the Thames these days, I can hardly keep up.”

I made to smack him on the shoulder, but he grasped my hand instead and pulled me against him, grinning playfully. I let him, relishing the solid feel of his chest beneath my gloved hands and the way his gaze slid slowly down to my lips.

“How shocking you are, Mr. Denning,” I whispered. “Do you plan to kiss me right here in the office?”

“I am generally a man of restraint, Miss Travers,” he replied, leaning in. “Except ...

“Except ... ?” I tilted my face up, tempting him.

“Except when it comes to you.” He let his lips brush the curve of my ear, and I shivered. “Every minute I spend with you tests my self-control. It only takes one look, and I’m consumed by my need to kiss you.”

Heavens. It did not seem fair that Nathaniel was attractive, intelligent, and had a way with words. But I was not about to complain. Not when his lips were tracing a line along my jaw, from my ear to my mouth, and I forgot what words were altogether.

He pulled back suddenly, brows lifted. “I’d almost forgotten. What did Etchells want with you?”

I stared dazedly up at him. “Good heavens, man, you cannot threaten to kiss a girl and then not follow through.”

“ Threaten ?” He pulled back farther, eyes narrowed in jest. “Is that really the right word for this situation?”

I laughed, my head tilted back. “It is your fault. You’ve stolen my words. I haven’t any left.”

“Perhaps just a few to tell me about Mr. Etchells?” he said in a teasing voice.

“Very well.” I allowed myself a smile. “He wishes me to work with Bow Street as a sketch artist.”

Nathaniel’s mouth dropped open. “Truly? Verity, that is wonderful.”

“I know,” I said, my voice softening. “It’s more than I could have imagined for myself.” I tugged the lapels of his jacket straight. “Every part of my life right now feels like more than I could have imagined.” I looked up at him. “Especially you.”

His throat bobbed, his eyes searching. “You are everything to me, Verity Travers,” he whispered, brushing his knuckles against my cheekbone. “Everything I could have hoped for, and everything I never dared dream of.” He moved me against the wall as he slid his arms around my waist. My hands tightened around his lapels, and my stomach floated like a feather on the wind.

“I want to ask you a question,” he said quietly. “And you must answer honestly.”

My eyes widened. Did he ... did he mean to propose? I knew I loved him, but was I ready for more? For marriage ?

He seemed to sense my panic, because he smiled gently. “Will you let me court you, Verity Travers?” he asked, his voice like velvet. “Danger is all good and well for falling in love, but I want to know you in every facet of your life. I should like nothing more than to take you to assemblies and laugh over dinner and bring you flowers.”

I could not help my smile, and I certainly did not try to stop it. “It is fortunate, then, that you already know my favorite flower.”

“But of course,” he said, grinning wickedly. “I made sure to secure that information long ago.”

I tugged on his cravat, pulling him close. “If you should come courting,” I whispered, “then I should be the happiest of women.”

I’d never felt like this. Like spring after a long winter. Like a rainbow after a storm.

Like a woman absolutely and completely in love.

He kissed me, his lips capturing mine so fully and deeply that I had to cling to his jacket. I felt the trueness of this, the surety that even if the world around us twisted and tore apart, I would have Nathaniel, and he would have me.

And that , I realized as Nathaniel swept me away in yet another dizzying kiss, was love.