“Yes, I suppose we should,” Lisa agreed quietly as he walked her back across the terrace. They were nearly to the doors when movement out of the corner of her eye made her glance to the side. Her step faltered and her eyes widened slightly when she saw the man watching them. Robert. Stock still and silent in the shadows, his expression unreadable. It seemed Charles’s friends hadn’t been able to keep him busy for long at all. She wondered how long he’d been there . . . and why he hadn’t intervened this time as he had the others . . . and what he was thinking as he watched them slip back into the ballroom.

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

“It seems your Mrs. Morgan took her carriage north and sailed from Dover,” Smithe announced, lifting his tea to his lips for a sip before continuing. “The ship was heading for Calais. I have passage booked for myself and two of my men leaving tomorrow morning. We will search for her, follow if she traveled across land from there, or question her if we find she is still in Calais.”

“Good,” Robert murmured, thinking this could all be done and dusted quickly if Mrs. Morgan was staying in Calais. The sooner they found out who the suitor was, the sooner he could handle the man and get the hell back to his own life and stop being tortured by watching Lisa with her gaggle of gentlemen callers.

After having to witness her dancing with nearly every other single man in London last night, not to mention being forced to stand by and watch Findlay paw and kiss her out on the terrace, Robert didn’t think he could stand much more of this job he’d given himself. He’d rather hoped that today Daniel or Richard would be here to keep an eye on her so that he could go visit his mistress and work off some of the excess energy and frustration that was presently building in him.

However, none of them had expected this turn of events and today, like yesterday, Richard and Daniel already had prior engagements, meaning Robert was once again on duty. Even Christiana and Suzette were away again at one of the charity teas they had taken to aiding in. Not that he would have left Lisa with just the women to watch her, but their presence in the parlor would have meant he could at least avoid it himself and simply watch from the office with that door open to be sure Lisa didn’t try to slip out with her admirers for another phaeton race or some such thing.

“Of course, I doubt Morgan stayed in Calais. Paris is much more likely a place for her to set up trade again,” Smithe commented. “I suspect traveling to Calais was just a red herring to try to lead us off the trail.”