Lie by Moonlight by Amanda Quick Read Free Book Online

to halt the business.”
    â€œYes, but your girls were not packed off to a brothel. They were sent to Aldwick Castle. A teacher was employed. You said yourself the girls’ reputations were to be carefully preserved and guarded.”
    â€œI do not believe that my girls were intended to become ordinary prostitutes. Consider the facts, Mr. Wells. All four of my young ladies were brought up in respectable circumstances. They are well mannered, well bred and well educated. They speak with the refined accents of their social class.”
    â€œIn other words, they did not come from the streets.”
    â€œNo. I am not naïve, sir. I have been out in the world for some time. I am well aware that there is a market for exclusive courtesans who can emulate ladies who move in respectable circles.”
    He managed to conceal his surprise. Her casual acknowledgment of certain realities was oddly disconcerting. Women of her class rarely discussed such matters, let alone in a matter-of-fact fashion.
    â€œTrue,” he admitted.
    â€œHow much more valuable would those women be if they actually came from good social circles and possessed the airs and graces to prove it? To say nothing of innocence, youth and pristine reputations?”
    â€œI will not argue with you on that account. Nevertheless—”
    â€œTonight I overheard Rimpton and his companion discussing some sort of auction that was to be held in the near future. I am certain that they meant that my students were to be sold to the highest bidders.”
    â€œAn auction?”
    Her hand tightened in her lap. “Yes.”
    He hesitated, thinking it through, and then nodded slowly. “You may be right. It would certainly explain a great many curious aspects of this situation.”
    â€œWhat is your interest in this affair, sir? Why were you watching the castle and waiting for Larkin’s arrival?” Her expression brightened. “Are you a policeman? Scotland Yard, perhaps?”
    â€œNo. I am engaged in a private inquiry on behalf of a client who hired me to discover the truth about her sister’s death.”
    â€œYou’re a private inquiry agent?” She was clearly startled. But in the next instant curiosity flared in her fine eyes. “How interesting. I have never met anyone engaged in that profession.”
    â€œI hope you continue to find me interesting, Miss Glade, because we are going to be seeing a great deal of each other for the foreseeable future.”
    â€œI beg your pardon?”
    He left the mantel and went to stand in front of her. “After what occurred at the castle tonight, Larkin will assume that you are aware of some of his plans. He will also want what he views as his property returned. That means that he will do his best to find you and the girls.”
    She went very still. “I realize that he will not like the fact that I spirited the girls away from the castle. That is why I intend to take them into hiding for a time.”
    He reached down, closed his hands around her upper arms and lifted her gently but firmly out of the chair. “You do not comprehend the nature of the beast that you are dealing with. I doubt very much that you have the resources to hide yourself from Alexander Larkin, let alone conceal the young ladies.”
    â€œI was thinking that perhaps if we went to Scotland—”
    â€œYou could take your girls to the South Seas and still not be safe, not if Larkin makes up his mind to track you down. And I believe that he will try to do just that.”
    â€œFor a few weeks or even a month or two, perhaps,” she agreed calmly. “But I cannot imagine that he will waste a great deal of time and energy chasing four girls and their teacher. Surely a crime lord, as you call him, has more important matters to occupy his attention.”
    â€œNothing is more important to Larkin than his own survival. I think it is safe to say that he will not rest until