A Kiss In The Dark Read Online Free Page B

very real fear there to see in the depths of his eyes.
    She should be relieved. Her true identity was safe. But though she did feel greatly reassured that she wasn’t about to be carted off to a cold, dank cell, her relief was tempered by her honest empathy for the earl’s plight.
    “I’m sorry to hear that, my lord,” she said gently. “But I’m afraid I fail to see how I can be of service to you. Surely this is a matter for Bow Street?”
    Ellington’s face darkened. “The law has been of little help to me.” Getting to his feet once more, he began to pace in front of his chair, and Deirdre found herself distracted by the play of muscles in those powerful shoulders, the ripple and bunch of strong thighs beneath his buff-colored breeches. “The officer I spoke to rather condescendingly insinuated that I was overreacting, that Emily is most likely hiding at a friend’s home and will be back in the morning, none the worse for her ordeal.”
    “Are you so certain he’s wrong?”
    “They don’t know Emily. She has few friends her own age, and I’ve already questioned the ones she does have. They’ve denied any knowledge of her whereabouts, and I tend to believe them. Emily would never be so predictable.”
    “Perhaps a relative …?”
    The earl snorted. “The only close relative we have left is our aunt, the Marchioness of Overton. Emily knows I don’t get along with her, and though my sister might be tempted to take refuge with the woman out of pure spite, the marchioness is not in residence right now. She and her husband departed just this morning for a weeklong stay in the country.”
    Deirdre was at a loss. She was fast running out of suggestions and still had no idea why the man had sought her out in the first place. “I’m afraid I still don’t understand—”
    “We think she’s in Tothill Fields.”
    “Ex-excuse me?”
    The earl stopped pacing and turned to face her, his expression bleak. “When I arrived home from Bow Street, my butler was waiting with the news that one of the footmen found Emily’s portmanteau. It was lying empty and discarded in an alleyway at the edge of the rookery.”
    Deirdre’s heart flew into her mouth. Dear God! If that was true, if the earl’s sister was wandering lost and alone in the Fields, it was only a matter of time before something dreadful happened.
    “Of course, I tore down there straight away,” Ellington continued grimly, “but I’ve discovered the residents can be rather close-mouthed and uncooperative when it comes to being questioned by someone of my … background.”
    Deirdre could well imagine how the inhabitants of Tothill would have reacted to being confronted by an angry aristocrat demanding answers as to the whereabouts of his sister. They would have closed ranks and put up a wall of silence, their distrust of the upper classes banding them together against a common enemy.
    “And you need my help,” she drew out slowly.
    The earl nodded and sank back into his seat. “I’ve been informed that you know the area, that these people trust you and might be more inclined to respond to you.”
    He had a point, Deirdre conceded. Over the past year, she’d managed to win the confidence of the denizens of the Fields. They had accepted her as one of their own, and most would never hesitate to help her in any way possible. But could she afford to lend the earl her aid?
    She studied him from under lowered lashes. Despite the rigidity of his features, his eyes were silently imploring, and part of her longed to reach up and smooth away the lines of strain that marred his forehead. She had no doubt that whatever their differences, the man cared about his sister, and the mere thought of that poor girl surrounded by some of the most notorious criminals in the city filled her with alarm.
    But she couldn’t risk it, she concluded sadly. The more time she spent in the earl’s company, the more likely he would eventually recognize her, and the children