“Er…yes.” She nodded once. Had he done all that just to get her to lash out at him? It seemed so…but why?
He looked away, but she still caught the trace of a smile on his mouth. “If we are to cooperate in this, you should know that I prize honesty and truth above all else. The truth may be ugly at times, but it always comes out in the end, and often appears even uglier after being hidden. But I also value discretion. Nothing you tell me about your father shall ever be repeated except in pursuit of the truth, and then only with as much care as possible.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. Perhaps he had been trying to do that, fluster and disarm her. Perhaps he wanted her to lose her temper and say what she meant to conceal. She stole a glance at him as he drove, and wondered if perhaps he had a better idea what he was about than she thought. Honesty and truth above all else…
“Where may I set you down?” He reined in the horse, slowing to a walk.
She jerked her eyes to the front and realized they had reached town. “Oh—anywhere. Thank you for the ride.”
He stopped the gig in front of the millinery. Cressida grabbed her skirts and jumped down before he could help her. She hesitated, then turned back. “Thank you also for what you said about truth and honesty. I do not treat Papa’s disappearance lightly or carelessly, I assure you. It’s just that…Well, Papa has a penchant for going off without leaving word, and I am reasonably sure this will prove just another of those times if we simply wait.”
He had listened in silence, propping his elbow on his knee to lean down to her. “Are you prepared to wait it out?”
She fiddled with the ribbon of her bonnet. “No. Not any longer.” She looked up at him. He had the most inscrutable face, and a way of looking at her that made her feel utterly exposed, as if he was determined to discover every last thing about her. It was alarming and, she was appalled to acknowledge, a little thrilling. Men did not look at her that way. “But it is a tremendous service to ask of a complete stranger, who must have cares and concerns of his own…” Nervously she stopped. He had to know what she meant.
“But the service is sincerely offered, and any debt you owe is to Hastings, not to me. Remember that as you consider. Three days?” She jerked her head yes. Major Hayes smiled at her, his eyes lit with an unsettling light as he tipped his hat. “Until then, Miss Turner.”
“Yes,” she whispered as he drove away. She gulped in a deep breath and pressed a trembling hand to her cheek. Three days. She had three days to decide if she could endure more of his presence, or if she dared refuse it. Cressida had no idea how she was going to decide. He rattled her…but she felt like a fool turning down any help, particularly from someone who appeared quite capable. He had managed to make everyone think him dead for five years, and avoided being hanged for treason even though everyone knew he was guilty, which must have taken some cunning. Apparently he knew how to steal horses, and he was quite brilliant at making her lose her temper. Compared to all that, finding one missing man would be like child’s play to him.
She sighed and started toward the apothecary. A week ago she would have said it didn’t matter, that she would accept help from the devil himself if it brought back her father and saved them all from ruin. She just hadn’t thought the devil would take her up on it.
Chapter 7
Cressida!” She jumped, startled out of her thoughts, and looked up to see Julia Hayes hurrying toward her. A smile bloomed on her face at the sight of her friend, and she turned to meet her. “What were you doing with him?”
Julia’s tone took her by surprise. “Major Hayes? He passed me on the road and offered me a ride.”
Julia took her arm and turned away, casting a dark glance in the direction her brother had disappeared. “I thought he would have the sense—” She sniffed, and started down the street, pulling Cressida with her. “If only he’d go back to wherever he’s been hiding these last five years.”
Even though she might have wished the same thing, Cressida was shocked to hear it from Julia. She hadn’t seen her since word of the major’s return had spread, but she had assumed Julia would be pleased by her brother’s reappearance—by the fact that he wasn’t actually dead, at the very least. “Why do you say that? Aren’t you pleased he’s returned?”
Julia shook her head. “It would be better for everyone if he had not.”
“But he’s your brother…”
Julia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes. I’m sorry to be so short-tempered.” She made a visible effort to shake off her ire, and smiled. “I should have said I am so pleased to see you. How are your sister and your grandmother?”
“They are both well, thank you.” Cressida looked over her shoulder; the major was long gone. It occurred to her that this was a golden opportunity to ask someone she knew and trusted about the major. “I am very glad to meet you,” she went on. “I wanted to ask you about Major Hayes—”
Julia’s smile faded. “Whatever for?”
“He came to call on us the other day,” Cressida replied, leaving out any mention of his first visit. No one else needed to know about that, if she could help it. “He said he had come to help search for
