Elizabeth Thornton - [Special Branch 02] Read Free Page A

senses. “A legacy? I don’t understand. Is this a bequest in someone’s will?”
    “No. It’s exactly as I said. Someone who wishes to remain anonymous has settled a tidy sum of money on you.”
    Her heart began to beat in slow, heavy strokes. “Who would do such a thing?”
    “You tell me.” He was watching her with an expression she could not read, but his eyes were narrowed.
    “I haven’t a clue.” Her voice sounded natural, and that surprised her.
    “No secret admirers, Gwyn? No one who feels obligated to provide for you, or who believes they owe you something?”
    “Not that I …” When his meaning suddenly registered, she went rigid. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped. “I’m a widow with a son to support. I haven’t had the time or the inclination for admirers. And where would I find the opportunity? All the men I meet are already married. I teach their children, for heaven’s sake.”
    His smile started at the corners of his lips and gradually filled his eyes.
    That smile irritated her more than his insulting words. It also brought back memories. They were children again, and he had always taken delight in teasing her.
    “How do you know this, Jason? Who told you about the legacy?”
    Before he could respond, Maddie entered, bearing a tray with a decanter of sherry and two crystal glasses. She set it down on the table in front of the fire. Gwyn was given a speaking look, a reproach for forgetting the niceties of entertaining a gentleman caller, and Jason was given a shy smile.
    “Thank you, Maddie,” he said, reaching for the decanter. “You must have read my mind.”
    Maddie murmured something breathless and inarticulate, which was to be expected, thought Gwyn, because Jason had just turned on the charm. In short, he’d given Maddie one of his rare smiles, intimate, humorous, as though they shared a private joke.
    That endearing smile was a lethal weapon that ought to have been outlawed in Gwyn’s opinion.
    She accepted the glass of sherry Jason handed her and waited until Maddie had cleared away the tea things. When they were alone, she said, “How did you hear about this mysterious legacy?”
    “This is excellent sherry,” he said.
    “Thank you.” She didn’t tell him that it was a Christmas present from the father of one of her students. “The legacy, Jason,” she prompted.
    “I received a letter from an attorney in Pall Mall, a Mr. Benjamin Armstrong.”
    “I’ve never heard of him.”
    “So I understand. At any rate, he didn’t know how to find you, and thought I might know. Of course, I didn’t. You didn’t even bother to inform Trish that you’d moved to London. I had a devil of a time tracking you down.”
    “I would have written to Trish eventually.” She stopped, made a choking sound, set down her glass of sherry, and jumped to her feet. “So that’s it! You’rethe one who has been watching me, following me! I thought I was imagining things, and all the time, it was you!”
    Jason frowned up at her. “Someone has been watching you?”
    “Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know! Not you personally, of course, but someone in your employ. What did you hope to gain by it? I have nothing to hide.”
    “Sit down, Gwyn!” he said in an awful voice.
    She swished her skirts, but after a moment, she sat.
    “I am not having you watched. Do you understand?” He waited until she nodded, then he went on, “Brandon told me where to find you. You have a mutual acquaintance, Miss Judith Dudley. When she mentioned her friend, Mrs. Gwyneth Barrie of Sutton Row, Brandon knew it must be you.”
    Her only response was to reach for her glass and put it to her lips.
    Jason said, “Brandon gave me your direction yesterday and I came here today. I have not employed anyone to watch you or follow you.” He sat back in his chair. “Now tell me what’s going on.”
    She looked up at him, then quickly looked away. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It was a stupid thing to say. I