Page 64 of The Notorious Lady

He shrugged. “It seems that I did.”

“How dare you,” she gritted through her teeth.

“I am not going to stand idly by and feed into the delusion that you’re going to solve Harmony’s disappearance at the expense of yourself,” said the arrogant boar. “Especially since I do not believe anyone actually took Harmony.”

After speaking to Thomas and inspecting the house, she had come to a similar conclusion. Although she refused to believe it fully. “What are you talking about?”

“Think about it rationally and look around.” He waved a hand at their surroundings. “No other rooms were ransacked but yours. Whoever stole the documents from beneath your floorboards knew exactly what they were looking for and where to find it.”

Grace wasn’t stupid, despite what Ford thought of her. She already knew this. “She could have been forced. In fact, I think your thief-taker friend, the one who was supposed to protect us, was the one who did it.”

Ford grimaced. “They were together on this. They were lovers. Didn’t your harlot friends tell you this?”

Grace had noticed this, too. But she’d seen too much in her lifetime to just immediately think the worst of Harmony. Women in her situation could be easily manipulated by a few empty platitudes and rosy promises. She was no mastermind. She was just a woman who thought she was in love.

She might have left on her own two feet, but she was taken—manipulated into leaving her friends, people who truly cared about her.

Either way, the moment the thief-taker got what he wanted, he would no doubt discard her. And Grace wanted to be there when it happened to save Harmony from further heartache.

“The real issue here is not Harmony,” she said. “There is no way she would’ve done any of this if it weren’t for your thief-taker, Jamison.”

Ford threaded his fingers through his hair. “There is no time to deflect blame. The question is, what will they do with the documents they stole? What is so important that they ransacked your room and fled?”

Grace pursed her lips. The logbook, the deed to the brothel declaring her the owner, every other document that proved her identity thereby putting her in danger from both the Brotherhood and the King’s men. But Harmony didn’t know they were there. She’d seen Grace cover up the hole in the floor and no doubt had thought that Grace had money in there. She wasn’t wrong. And they took it all.

The documents were likely a lucky mistake. Grace only prayed they didn’t realize their significance.

She couldn’t tell Ford any of that. “Just the documents that revealed my past criminal dealings with Hades,” she lied. “Enough to have us both hanged.”

“For Heaven’s sake, Grace! You are talking as if they are old soup recipes!” He scrubbed his face, fidgeting with his hands increasingly in irritation. “The documents that revealed your criminal dealings involving Hades,” he muttered to himself. “What about Madame Tricheuse? Any dealings involving her?” There was a glint of some feeling in his eyes. Grace could not identify it.

She swallowed. “Her too.” Technically, it was all about her.

Ford shook his head. “And they know where you live now. They, no doubt, sold this information to the Crown. You should not be here.”

Grace let out a sigh. “I have nowhere else to go.”

Ford shook his head once more, like an old man disapproving of an insubordinate youth. “You should have come to me. The moment the documents were stolen—”

“Why would I have come to you?” she exploded. “I have no reason to trust that you—the thief-taker—would not give me away in a heartbeat. Especially after one of your friends fled with one of mine after stealing from me. I can’t trust anyone.”

“I don’t see that you have a choice,” he growled. “I am all you’ve got right now. Hades is away on his late wedding trip. William is always looking out only for himself. The only person you have to help you is me. So, you either have to trust me or I don’t foresee you surviving for much longer.”

She took a step back and raised her dagger. His threat didn’t sit well with her. He arched a brow and waited for her next move. Grace tempered her breaths and replaced the dagger to its sheath strapped to her waist. “What do you propose?”

He scratched his jaw thoughtfully. “We need to find Jamison. Perhaps he didn’t have time to sell the documents yet or even to read them. I don’t know if he’ll realize their significance right away. We can intercept them and perhaps you’ll be able to plead your case to Harmony. Either way, Jamison cannot live beyond this night.”

A shudder went through her body. “You are going to kill your friend?”

The stare that Ford gave her was answer enough.

“So… no second chances?”

Ford raised a brow. “Would you like to find out if he stabs you in the back for the second time?”

Grace shrugged. “I’ve seen plenty of people make mistakes. I won’t pretend like I haven’t made any. Have you?”

“Not the kinds that led to the death or arrests of the people who put their trust in me.” He gazed deeply into her eyes, the intensity in them making her shiver. “I take care of the people under my protection, and right now, that includes you…” He paused, a weighty silence settling between them, until he said, “And Triss.”