Page 15 of Devil in Her Details

“Is that so?” A note of greater curiosity heightened Reaper’s voice. “Just what happened in that backroom?”

Dagger cast his brother a dark look. “Mind your own business.”

“You are my business, frère. Or did you forget I’m the one who put you on this trail?”

Bloody hell. “Don’t give me a damn bone and then fight over it.”

Reaper scoffed. “Curious choice of words. I’m merely pointing out a fact.” A short pause. “What’s the plan?”

In short, “Walk up to him, knock him out, drag him back into the carriage, deal with him.”

“Of course,” Reaper said dryly. “There’s just one problem with your plan, frère.”

Why wasn’t he surprised? “What is it?”

“That’s no ordinary man to deal with.”

At his grim tone, Dagger went rigid, his gaze snapping to his brother. “What do you mean? You know that fop?”

Reaper shrugged. “Not personally. Saint threw him out of Peregrine’s a few days ago after he made some sort of scene.”

“Then how do you know he’s hard to deal with?”

“He’s been sending his cronies over and digging into the ownership of the inn. A real shite. He’s also a marquess. Calsington or something.” His brother patted his shoulder. “Not to worry, Saint’s been doing some digging of his own. Apparently, your fop got into some trouble with a duke back in London. He’s probably hiding out here.”

No, not hiding. Pursuing.

Could the duke and Lilly be connected?

“There doesn’t seem to be any connection to us,” Dagger informed Reaper.

“Who? Calsington? Agreed. At least not for now.”

And all the more reason to drive him away from them and theirs before an unwelcome connection could form. “Let’s get this over with.”

Reaper nodded.

That plan died the second Dagger caught movement down the street.

Lilly.

Dagger spat a foul curse, forced to look on as she marched straight toward the marquess, chin held high. He’d have to be blind not to notice that she approached the man with superiority rather than from a place of inferiority. Damn it. What had happened to locking the door after him?

“Interesting,” Reaper murmured unhelpfully.

Not interesting. Troubling. Dagger had the unpleasant suspicion that a doe fancying herself a lynx was about to pick a fight.

Chapter Four

Lilly hadn’t planned to do anything but ignore that cad, Calvington, even if it meant sleeping in her shop that night. But with every ticking second of the clock, her temper mounted until it could no longer be contained and sent her bursting through the doors of her shop.

How dare he harass her?

You pest.

That had been a thoroughly apt description of the coxcomb. Her patience had never been tested like this before. Lord knew she’d tried everything to put distance between her and the marquess. It still boggled her mind how nothing had made an impression on the scoundrel. He simply absorbed her refusals and reappeared, unruffled. There was something uniquely maddening about a person who refused to notice that they were unwelcome. Most people, when made to feel unwelcome, had the basic dignity to feel something about it. Calvington, apparently, did not. Truly thick crocodile skin!

She shouldn’t have stopped her darkly handsome new client from dealing with the marquess when he’d wished to deal with him. Now, her temper didn’t allow her to wait, even though a part of her knew better than to act out of anger.