false pretenses and had to leave.
A knock at the door made her look up. Was it Mr. Maclean wanting a second chance to argue with her? Or even better, begging for the chance to capitulate completely? She considered what she would do if he did. Would she make him strip right there in her office? Make him come on her desk while she spanked him with her wooden ruler?
“Diana?”
Nico’s head appeared around the door.
She smiled at him. “Come in.”
Her stepson closed the door behind him and took the seat in front of her desk. He wore his usual sober black coat and trousers, brown waistcoat, and modestly tied cravat. His ability to disappear into a crowd and remain anonymous was part of the reason for his success in discovering the kind of information that was never meant to surface. He had an amazing ability to fit the pieces of a scandal together and detect the lies.
She’d liked him from the moment she’d met him and trusted him more than anyone apart from Charlotte. Despite her being his father’s wife, they were almost the same age. They had been mistaken for siblings more than once, which had enraged her husband. But then everything had enraged him by the end.
Nico took out his notebook and placed it on his knee. “What’s going on, Di? Why are you here?”
“Because I needed a job. You know that.”
“But why here?”
“Why not?”
He frowned at her, reminding him rather of his father. “Your interest in the Sinners Club has always been excessive.”
“Then perhaps I am finally in the right place.”
“Di . . .” He sighed. “I’ve already told you. There is nothing here for you. This place wasn’t even established until 1815. The official records, which are very few, start from there. I’ve checked .”
“I know you have. I also know these people are your friends and your employers and I don’t wish to destroy that relationship. You’ve done everything you can. The rest is up to me.” She held his worried brown gaze. “All I ask is that you don’t tell them anything that might lead to them drawing the wrong conclusions.”
“The right ones, you mean.” Nico grimaced. “That’s actually why I’m here.” He consulted a page of his notebook. “I had a message from Alistair Maclean this morning asking if the usual checks on your past had been completed before you were employed.”
“And what did you say to that?”
He looked up. “I haven’t said anything yet. Until I read his note, I didn’t even know you’d taken the extraordinary step of becoming Lady Benedict and the countess’s secretary.” He hesitated. “I wish you’d consulted with me first. I’m very fond of the countess. She has always believed in me.”
Diana fought down a wave of guilt. “I swear I’ll do everything in my power to protect you from my actions, Nico, but I have to know. You do see that, don’t you?”
“I suppose I do.” He fidgeted with his notebook. “Finding my father was the quest that set me off on my investigative career. If it hadn’t been for that, I would never have crossed paths with the gentlemen of the Sinners.”
“What are you going to tell Mr. Maclean?”
“That I can’t investigate my own stepmother.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
“I owe you a lot. You forced my father to acknowledge my existence.”
“Much good it did us,” she muttered, and he grinned. “We were both cut out of his will after that.”
“But we survived, didn’t we?” He paused. “What if you can’t find what you seek?”
“Then I have a perfectly respectable position as a secretary to two peeresses of the realm. I might set a new fashion.” She rose from her seat and went around to him. “I know it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to find anything, but I have to try.”
“What if I just—asked for you, as though the matter had suddenly come to my attention?”
“Because I don’t want to involve you in this.”
“But if you succeed and find your evidence,
A knock at the door made her look up. Was it Mr. Maclean wanting a second chance to argue with her? Or even better, begging for the chance to capitulate completely? She considered what she would do if he did. Would she make him strip right there in her office? Make him come on her desk while she spanked him with her wooden ruler?
“Diana?”
Nico’s head appeared around the door.
She smiled at him. “Come in.”
Her stepson closed the door behind him and took the seat in front of her desk. He wore his usual sober black coat and trousers, brown waistcoat, and modestly tied cravat. His ability to disappear into a crowd and remain anonymous was part of the reason for his success in discovering the kind of information that was never meant to surface. He had an amazing ability to fit the pieces of a scandal together and detect the lies.
She’d liked him from the moment she’d met him and trusted him more than anyone apart from Charlotte. Despite her being his father’s wife, they were almost the same age. They had been mistaken for siblings more than once, which had enraged her husband. But then everything had enraged him by the end.
Nico took out his notebook and placed it on his knee. “What’s going on, Di? Why are you here?”
“Because I needed a job. You know that.”
“But why here?”
“Why not?”
He frowned at her, reminding him rather of his father. “Your interest in the Sinners Club has always been excessive.”
“Then perhaps I am finally in the right place.”
“Di . . .” He sighed. “I’ve already told you. There is nothing here for you. This place wasn’t even established until 1815. The official records, which are very few, start from there. I’ve checked .”
“I know you have. I also know these people are your friends and your employers and I don’t wish to destroy that relationship. You’ve done everything you can. The rest is up to me.” She held his worried brown gaze. “All I ask is that you don’t tell them anything that might lead to them drawing the wrong conclusions.”
“The right ones, you mean.” Nico grimaced. “That’s actually why I’m here.” He consulted a page of his notebook. “I had a message from Alistair Maclean this morning asking if the usual checks on your past had been completed before you were employed.”
“And what did you say to that?”
He looked up. “I haven’t said anything yet. Until I read his note, I didn’t even know you’d taken the extraordinary step of becoming Lady Benedict and the countess’s secretary.” He hesitated. “I wish you’d consulted with me first. I’m very fond of the countess. She has always believed in me.”
Diana fought down a wave of guilt. “I swear I’ll do everything in my power to protect you from my actions, Nico, but I have to know. You do see that, don’t you?”
“I suppose I do.” He fidgeted with his notebook. “Finding my father was the quest that set me off on my investigative career. If it hadn’t been for that, I would never have crossed paths with the gentlemen of the Sinners.”
“What are you going to tell Mr. Maclean?”
“That I can’t investigate my own stepmother.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
“I owe you a lot. You forced my father to acknowledge my existence.”
“Much good it did us,” she muttered, and he grinned. “We were both cut out of his will after that.”
“But we survived, didn’t we?” He paused. “What if you can’t find what you seek?”
“Then I have a perfectly respectable position as a secretary to two peeresses of the realm. I might set a new fashion.” She rose from her seat and went around to him. “I know it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to find anything, but I have to try.”
“What if I just—asked for you, as though the matter had suddenly come to my attention?”
“Because I don’t want to involve you in this.”
“But if you succeed and find your evidence,
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