Art and Artifice (27 page)

Emily’s skin turned rosy. “Father requested
it.”

After Emily had suggested it, no doubt.
Priscilla knew her friend was enamored of the handsome young
detective, but surely Emily understood the flirtation was
fruitless. Whoever heard of a duke’s daughter marrying a Bow Street
Runner?

“That will be all for today, Jam . . . Mr.
Cropper,” Emily said, dark curls bouncing as she nodded. Her maid
Mary, a plump older woman, rose from a chair at the far side of the
room as if to offer escort out.

Mr. Cropper did not look displeased by his
dismissal. He probably didn’t relish standing so still for the
hours it would take for Emily to paint him. Odd that he could find
the time away from his duties, although Priscilla supposed that
even Bow Street might be willing to acquiesce to a duke’s
request.

“Miss Tate,” he said with a nod before
turning to Emily. “Tomorrow at the same time?”

“Please,” Emily said, blush deepening.

His smile was positively wicked as he touched
two fingers to his forehead. “Until later, then.”

“Until later,” she murmured.

As he quit the room with Mary at his heels,
Priscilla stared at Emily. Her friend was glowing. Her usually pale
skin had a becoming warmth about it, and there was no denying the
light that shone in her dark eyes.

“Oh, Emily,” Priscilla said. “I’m so
sorry.”

Emily raised her chin. “Don’t be. I find
myself rather pleased with the whole situation.”

For now. But what would her father say if he
knew the true extent of his daughter’s feelings? Emily was headed
for heartbreak, Priscilla feared, if her secret love became
known.

The thought brought her own circumstances
thundering back to her. “Forgive the interruption,” she said, her
limbs beginning to tremble, “but I must have your help. Something
dreadful has happened.” She fished the note from her beaded
reticule and handed it to Emily. “I just found this in my
pocket.”

Emily frowned as she angled the scrap of
parchment to the light as if to read it easier. Priscilla felt a
chill remembering the stiff writing.

I no yer secrit. Stay away from the duke or
else.

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Regina Scott started writing novels in the
third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn’t
actually sell her first novel until she learned a bit more about
writing. Since her first book was published in 1998, her stories
have traveled the globe, with translations in many languages
including Dutch, German, Italian, and Portuguese. She now has over
two dozen published works of warm, witty romance.

She and her husband of more than 25 years
reside in the Puget Sound area of Washington State with their
overactive Irish terrier. Regina Scott is a decent fencer, owns a
historical costume collection that takes up over a third of her
large closet, and is an active member of the Church of the
Nazarene.