Once the door closed behind Elise, Minerva continued on her way. Again she thought she heard a sound behind her. A soft footfall. She did not look back this time. Instead she worked the tie of her knit reticule, and extracted the two long hatpins that she had woven into its side. Grasping them like the daggers they could be, she walked up the steps toward her door.

As she did so, a figure came out of the shadows. It stood ten feet away but did not advance. She looked at the silhouette, then turned to it. “You.”

“Yes, me.”

“You make too much noise. It is a wonder you can follow anyone in secret.”

“I did not care if you knew I was there. The other woman, however—”

“She had no suspicion.”

“Then I succeeded.”

She jabbed her pins back in the knitting of her bag. “Why are you following us?”

“I wanted to ensure no one interfered with you.”

“Do you worry about Phillip accosting women on the street? I hope he is not so stupid as that. I promise I will not kill him if he importunes me again, but I would make sure he regrets it.”

A low laugh. “I’m sure you would.” He moved a few steps closer. “I also was curious. What did you think of the family?”

“I have not had the pleasure of meeting all your relatives, so I have formed no opinions.”

“You have not met them all, but you have observed them all.”

He knew she had watched them in the drawing room, it seemed. That surprised her only because he had not stopped her from doing so. If he were the one who had closed the first panel, he had chosen not to close the second for some reason.

“Come in. We can hardly discuss this out in the street.” She set her key into the lock.

No sound behind her. She glanced over to see him still standing in the same spot.

“I should not—”

“Are you worried about my reputation?”

“Aren’t you?”

“When a woman decides not to marry, idle gossip about her carries far less of a threat to her. Now, it is almost midnight, the houses are all dark, and I assure you I won’t be the first woman on this street to have a late visitor for unexplained purposes. My feet hurt, so either come inside or I must bid you goodnight.”

After what looked like a shrug, he came up the stairs and followed her inside.

* * *

Far be it for him to worry about her good name more than she did. Chase followed her into the dimly lit reception hall. The normal implications of such a visit made him alert to the warmth of her presence in front of him, and to the subtle scent that wafted while she untied her bonnet. Lavender.