Tobias turned his head very slightly. “I am in no more of a position to ask her to marry me than you are in a position to ask Miss Emeline for her hand.”

He would never get a better opening, Anthony thought. It was time to shift to the second phase of his carefully calculated plan.

“On the contrary,” he said smoothly. “You are not in such dire straits. In fact, I envy you. After all, it is not as if you are totally lacking in resources. You make fat commissions from time to time in the course of your career as an investigator.”

“My profession is a highly erratic and unpredictable means of making a living, and well you know it.”

“Mrs. Dove certainly paid you handsomely for the inquiries you made on her behalf in the affair of the waxwork murders. You came away with sufficient funds to enable you to invest in one of Crackenburne’s ships, did you not?”

“I was able to afford only a single share in that venture. Furthermore, I will have no way of knowing whether or not it will be successful, let alone to what extent, until the bloody ship returns from the East. That will not happen for several months.”

“And in the meantime, you must bide your time and hope that Mrs. Lake does not get swept off her feet by some other gentleman who can afford to support a wife,” Anthony said.

“As you can see, I am not unsympathetic to your plight.”

Anthony shrugged. “If it is any comfort, I very much doubt that Mrs. Lake would ever marry for money.”

Tobias said nothing. He went back to gazing out the window.

“Emeline has discussed her aunt’s feelings on the subject of marriage with me,” Anthony said.

That information got Tobias’s attention. “What did Miss Emeline tell you?”

“She is quite certain that, although Mrs. Lake is always going on about the importance of finances, she secretly possesses a deeply romantic nature.”

“Lavinia? Romantic? Where in Hades did Emeline get that notion?”

“I expect it is Mrs. Lake’s taste for romantic poetry that gave her the notion.”

Tobias brooded on that for a moment. Then he shook his head. “Devil take it, there is no denying that Lavinia is very fond of poetry. But she is far too pragmatic to allow it to influence her personal decisions.”

Anthony sighed inwardly. He reminded himself that, while Tobias possessed any number of excellent qualities, his brother-in-law had no patience with romantic or sentimental gestures, nor had he ever bothered to hone the fine art of charming the ladies.

“Emeline seems absolutely certain that, because of her romantical sensibilities, Mrs. Lake would never be able to give herself in a loveless marriage,” he said patiently. “No matter how financially secure the arrangement promised to be.”

“Hmm.”

Tobias’s air of gloom would have been almost humorous under other circumstances, Anthony thought. But in truth, he actually felt rather sorry for his brother-in-law.

Tobias had indulged in occasional affairs in the past, Anthony reflected, but since they had lost Ann and the babe all those years ago, he had never known his brother-in-law to care enough about a lady to allow himself to be brought to this sort of impasse. The business with Mrs. Lake was serious. Tobias required guidance.

Anthony cleared his throat. “It strikes me that you would do well to take a more romantical approach with Mrs. Lake. I cannot help but notice that you seem to be quite brusque with her on occasion.”

“No doubt because she insists upon arguing with me at every turn. I have never met a more stubborn female.”

“I expect she grows weary of listening to you issue orders.”

Tobias’s jaw clenched. “Bloody hell. I can hardly be expected to transform myself into an imitation of Byron and his ilk. For one thing, I am too old to play the romantic poet. For another, I cannot write verse worth a damn.”

“I am not suggesting that you become a poet. Just that you might try the odd poetical turn of phrase.”

Tobias narrowed his eyes. “Such as?”

“Well, upon first greeting her in the morning, you could compare her to a goddess.”

“A goddess? Have you gone mad?”

“Just a suggestion.”

Tobias started to massage his left thigh. He fell silent for a long moment.

“Which goddess?” he asked eventually.

“Well, one can never go wrong likening a lady to Venus.”

“Venus. That is absolute rubbish. Lavinia would laugh in my face.”

“I don’t think so,” Anthony said softly. “I do not think that any lady would laugh at finding herself compared to Venus in the morning.”

“Huh.”

He had done all he could for the moment, Anthony thought. It was time to shift the subject back to the more pressing topic.

“If I could come up with the necessary blunt,” he said casually, “perhaps Crackenburne would allow me to purchase a share in one of his shipping ventures also.”

“You will not find the money you need for an investment in those infernal clubs where fools seek their fortunes with hazard and cards,” Tobias said. “There is a reason they call them hells.”

The somber shadows lengthened in the carriage.

Tobias’s mouth thinned. “I have told you often enough that you could make an excellent career as a man of business. You have a head for figures and details. Crackenburne would be happy to recommend you to one of his friends.”

“I have no interest in that profession.”

Silence fell.

“I do have another suggestion,” Anthony said. He was cautious now, feeling his way as he slipped closer to his ultimate goal.

Tobias looked wary. “What is it?”

“You could take me on as your assistant.”

“You already perform that function on occasion.”

“But only in the most informal manner.” Anthony warmed to his topic. The notion had been brewing in the back of his mind all afternoon. “I mean to assume a post as your official assistant. A sort of man of affairs for you, as it were. In return, you will teach me the fine points of making private inquiries and conducting investigations.”

“And what do you expect to gain?”

“An income,” Anthony said.

“Instead of an allowance, do you mean?” Tobias asked dryly.

“Precisely. And occasional bonuses would be nice.”

“Wouldn’t they, though? Nothing like an occasional bonus, I always say.”

Anthony sucked in a deep breath. “Will you at least think about my proposition?”

Tobias met his eyes. “You’re serious, are you not?”

“Never more so. I believe that I have a flair for the profession.”

“I’m not sure that there is any such thing as a flair for this line of work,” Tobias said. “In my experience, one falls into this business when other, more respectable alternatives fail to produce an income that is sufficient to keep one out of the workhouse. Rather like the career of streetwalking.”

Emeline looked at Lavinia across the width of the breakfast table. “You are quite certain that this business of seeing Oscar Pelling in the street yesterday has not disturbed you unduly?”

“I admit I was somewhat jolted initially by the sight of him.” Lavinia opened her newspaper. “But I have recovered nicely, thank you.”

Thanks to the fact that she no longer had to conceal her dark secret from Tobias, she added silently.

“You always do.”

“Always do what?”

Emeline smiled. “Recover nicely. Indeed, you have a talent for bouncing back, my dear aunt.”

“Yes, well, one really has no alternative, does one?” Lavinia took a sip of coffee. “And as I said, it was likely that sooner or later I would come across Pelling now that we are back in London. Even gentlemen who prefer their estates, as Pelling does, must come to Town once in a while to tend to their business affairs. At least he did not appear to notice me.”

“I suppose so.” Emeline made a face. “Dreadful man. I trust he will soon return to his estates.”