Niall stood in the garden across the street, waiting for Toby Payne to leave so he could talk to Bree. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he did know one thing—Bree would never jilt him over his supposed penchant for gambling. Something was up with her uncle, and he meant to find out what.

And dared he believe that her words about their being an “old married couple” were intended to reassure him about their future together? God, he hoped so.

The door opened and he held his breath. When he saw Bree being urged down the stairs by her uncle, a cold rage seized him. Payne was carrying her off somewhere, damn it!

Though apparently not against her will. They seemed awfully comfortable together as Payne motioned to a waiting hackney and helped her in. Then he heard Payne order the driver to take them to the address of Sir Oswald’s town house.

As the coach drove off, Niall considered how to proceed. He could go to Sir Oswald’s after them, but once there, what could he do? He had no concrete evidence of Payne’s involvement, let alone the power to order an arrest. So the last thing he needed was to put Payne on his guard by accusing the man.

He could go to St. George’s instead and meet with Fulkham as planned, to report on what he’d learned so far and see if Fulkham had more information. If they’d gathered enough to build a case against Payne, Niall would urge Fulkham to strike now. Because instinct told him Payne had a reason for convincing Bree to jilt Niall so summarily, not to mention for persuading her to go off with him. Niall just hadn’t figured out what the reason was yet.

The only problem with heading for St. George’s was that it meant leaving Bree with Payne for a while, which didn’t sit well with him. He couldn’t be entirely sure that she was safe with her uncle. And while her father did seem to care about her, would he make any attempt to protect her?

After all, he had allowed his brother to talk him into brokering that marriage. And Sir Oswald might just be desperate enough for cash that he would do whatever Payne demanded of him.

But Bree wasn’t some simpering miss. She could handle her relations. Hell, she’d already handled a great deal more than Niall had realized. Perhaps it was time to trust her to look after herself. Because if she’d wanted him to “save” her just now, she would have said so. She was no fool.

Besides, if after all they’d been through with this scheme, Niall ruined everything by blundering in too soon, she would bloody well kill him.

His mind made up, he emerged from the garden into the street, only to be nearly mown down by a woman walking at a brisk speed toward him.

“Margrave!” Lady Pensworth cried. “What are you doing here?” With a disapproving frown, she peered into the garden. “Is Brilliana with you?”

“I’m afraid not. She left here a few moments ago with her uncle.”

“Toby Payne? How peculiar. She told me he was in London, but I had no idea they were so friendly. Why on earth would she go off with him? And why are you lurking about out here in the garden?”

He had no time for this. “Forgive me, Lady Pensworth, but I need to—”

“Do you know where they were going? How long she intends to be gone? Why he fetched her?” She shoved her spectacles up her nose. “This is most distressing. It’s not like Brilliana to go running off without telling me where she’s headed, if only because of Silas. I wonder if she left a note with the servant. I do not like this at all. It sounds entirely too havey-cavey.”

Her concern and outrage gave him pause. “It does indeed.”

And in that moment, he made a decision. He needed to be in two places at once, which he couldn’t manage without help. Why not enlist Lady Pensworth?

She, too, was a clever woman capable of handling herself in a difficult situation. She had Bree’s best interests at heart, and she was perfectly capable of creating a believable distraction. Not to mention that she despised Sir Oswald for what he’d done to his daughter.

And Bree had always been bothered by the necessity of keeping the truth from her. So by including Lady Pensworth in the scheme, he’d be doing Bree a favor.

Best of all, the baroness owned an equipage. “Lady Pensworth, if you’d be willing to carry me in your coach to St. George’s, I will explain exactly what’s going on with Bree and her uncle, to the extent that I know it. When I’m done, I hope you’ll agree to assist me in my attempt to save my fiancée from a criminal who may wish her ill.”

“A criminal? Hmm.” She eyed him over the top of her spectacles. “Will you also reveal the truth about why you and Brilliana are engaged to be married? And none of that fustian you told me the night of your announcement, mind you. I want the real reason.”

A clever woman, indeed. Rather scarily so. “Yes, that would be part of the explanation.”

She cast him a cool nod. “Well then, sir. Let us call for my carriage.”

Lady Pensworth’s landau halted just outside St. George’s Club. Niall had given the baroness a succinct explanation of how he and Bree had ended up betrothed as part of Fulkham’s scheme. Then he had explained that it had turned into something more. Fortunately, the harridan possessed a talent for grasping particulars and had also deduced some of the truth about him and Bree on her own.

He wasn’t able to reveal the details concerning the duel, but she’d seemed content to accept that it was none of her concern. She’d been far more interested in determining whether he and Brilliana did intend to marry. And he’d told her he hoped so, since he was in love with the blasted woman.

That had seemed to satisfy her at last, leaving him free to explain what he wanted of her. Which he’d just finished doing.

He laid his hand on the door to the carriage. “So, you understand your mission, right?”

“I’m to go to Sir Oswald’s and engage in a subterfuge to delay and thwart the gentlemen in their criminal enterprises until you arrive with reinforcements.”

“Precisely. But you mustn’t behave so obviously or outrageously that either man grows suspicious of your appearance there.”

“Of course.” The gleam in her eyes told him she was looking forward to her part in the plot. “I should hope I am perfectly capable of managing the likes of Sir Oswald and his scurrilous brother.”

Niall rather thought she was. “I shouldn’t be long. Fulkham will already be waiting for me with more information. If he won’t act on it, I will. I’ll go find what I need in that house by hook or by crook.” His heart caught in his throat. “Just make sure Bree is all right until I can do so.”

Hiding her concern for Bree behind a sniff, she opened the carriage door. “For pity’s sake, go do your part. I will look after my niece.”

“Thank you. You won’t regret this.”

“I’m sure I won’t. A lady needs an intricate scheme now and again to stimulate her constitution and keep her brain sharp.”

Taking her by surprise, he kissed her papery cheek before jumping out and shutting the door.

“Such a rogue,” she muttered, but a faint pink rose up her neck as she ordered her driver to go on.

Niall found Fulkham in the deserted reading room, and Fulkham immediately slid the counterfeit note across the table at him. “This is identical to the others we had. And you’re sure it came directly from Sir Oswald?”

“I am. But there have been new developments.” He explained his suspicion that Toby Payne might be involved in the scheme and why.

When Niall was done, Fulkham muttered a low curse. “That does clarify something the new French ambassador told me. It seems that our Mr. Payne has been having financial difficulties in Paris, what with the recent overthrow of the government—again—in France. The new regime isn’t as amenable to British merchants, so he’s been scrambling to pay his various creditors.”

“With counterfeit notes.”

Fulkham frowned. “We can’t prove that. Sir Oswald is the only one passing them along so far, so only he can be charged with a crime.”

Niall had expected this. “I know in my bones that Payne is guilty. What if I can guarantee that there’s proof in Sir Oswald’s house of Payne’s involvement? Would that be enough to search it?”

Fulkham eyed him suspiciously. “Can you?”

“Not half an hour ago, Payne coerced Bree into jilting me. After he thought I was gone, he carried her off to her father’s house. He wants her there for some reason. And given that he’s been framing her father for the counterfeiting, it’s conceivable that he needs her help for that.”

“How?” Fulkham scoffed.

“I don’t know, but why else make her go with him? For that matter, why make her jilt me at all?”

“Unless he didn’t make her. Perhaps she just jilted you all on her own, because she’s had it with our machinations. Perhaps the fact that her uncle was visiting had nothing at all to do with why she jilted you. For all we know, her deep love for her uncle made her rethink her willingness to help get her father arrested.”

“Oh?” Niall crossed his arms over his chest. “Then why did she give my incessant gambling as her reason for jilting me, instead of our more personal issues? Payne was coaching her on what to say—that much I am sure of.”

Niall hardened his tone. “And now he has her in his power, for no apparent reason other than something criminal. So if you don’t go in there now with constables and officers to search the place, I’m going to go there myself, if only to make certain she’s all right. Which will probably ruin your investigation and make it impossible to charge the real culprit. Is that what you want?”

Fulkham leaned back to assess him. “If you do that, I can have you jailed for interfering with a criminal investigation.”

“I don’t care. If I lose her because her uncle does something to hurt her or her father, I might as well be in gaol.” His heart twisting in his chest, he gazed out the window. “As it turns out, you were right—the course of true love never does run smooth. But it’s the only course worth running. So if I lose the race before I even finish the course, nothing you can do to me will compare to the hell my life will be from now on without her.”

That seemed to take Fulkham aback. “She means that much to you.”

“And more.” He released a shaky breath. “I lost her once. I can’t lose her again.”

“You do realize that if we go in there with all the power of the magistrate’s office and we find nothing, we’ve squandered our chance to capture the bastard.”

Niall fixed him with a fierce look. “Have I ever let you down before? Sent you on any wild-goose chases? Given you bad information?”

Fulkham rubbed his temples, then let out a vile oath. “No, but you can be a bloody pain in the arse sometimes.”

“I learned that from a master,” Niall quipped.

“Fine,” Fulkham grumbled. “But it will take me an hour or two to get my men together. Are you comfortable with that?”

Now that he’d convinced Fulkham, he was comfortable with anything. “Don’t worry. I have a trick up my sleeve, in the form of a very annoying female. Payne won’t be going anywhere for a while—even if he wants to.”