Ned jerked a little at the question. It was as though he had received a shock from the words.

“I never meant to hurt the lady,” he gasped. “I swear it on my mother’s grave. I was only going to put a scare into her, that’s all.”

“What sort of scare?” Tobias asked, lowering his voice a bit more.

Ned was clearly terrified now. “I. I was to tell her to stop asking questions, that’s all.”

“Questions?” The information shook Lavinia. Until that moment she had assumed that Ned was no more than a common footpad who had singled her out as a woman alone and therefore an easy victim.

Tobias, however, did not appear surprised by the answer.

“What sort of questions was the lady not supposed to ask?” he said to Ned.

“I don’t know what sort. I took a commission, ye see. The lady paid me, half before, the rest to follow’

“Lady?” Lavinia moved a little closer.

“Describe this woman who hired you,” Tobias said evenly. “If you value your life, you will give me every single detail that you can recall.”

“I don’t. I don’t. I can’t think…” Ned’s features tightened in terror. He was clearly struggling hard to remember, but his fear of Tobias had tangled his tongue.

This approach would gain them nothing, Lavinia thought. She reached up and unclasped the silver medallion she wore around her throat.

“I suggest that you allow me to question him, sir,” she said quietly to Tobias.

Tobias glanced at the medallion, hesitated, and then gave a small shrug. “Very well. I want to know everything there is to know about the person who hired him to frighten you.”

“Sweet Ned, look at me,” she said gently.

But Ned appeared unable to drag his gaze away from Tobias. He was riveted by whatever it was he saw in the other man’s eyes.

“Look away from him, Tobias,” Lavinia said quietly. “He is trans fixed by you. You must release him before I can deal with him.”

“I’m watching him.” Tobias did not take his eyes off Ned. “I don’t want any surprises.”

“For heaven’s sake, you’ve got him in a sort of trance,” she muttered. You must break it. He can’t. Look away for a few seconds.

“I think that will do it.”

“What the devil are you talking about? He’s not in a trance. He’s terrified, that’s all.” Tobias smiled coldly at Ned. “And with very good reason.”

Ned did not move. He did not even blink. He lay there on the ground staring at Tobias.

“Tobias, please,” Lavinia said, a little desperate now.

“Very well.” Tobias took his attention off Ned and looked at her instead. “But if this does not work, I’ll take charge. Is that understood?”

She glanced quickly at him, saw what Ned must have seen, and stopped breathing. Tobias’s eyes were fathomless seas of a roiling silvery-gray mist. The world around her began to dissolve. She lost her balance and started to fall headfirst into a bottomless, dark whirlpool.

“Lavinia.” Tobias’s voice cracked like lightning. “What’s wrong?

“You look as if you’re going to faint.”

She snapped out of the trance and found her balance with an act of will. “Rubbish.” She drew a deep breath. “I’ll have you know I have never fainted in my entire life.”

Hastily, she turned back toward Ned, who was propped on his elbows, shaking his head as though trying to clear it. At least he was no longer helplessly transfixed by Tobias.

She summoned her wits and pulled herself together. “Ned. Look at my necklace.” She held the silver pendant so that it caught the sunlight. “See how it sparkles.”

Ned’s gaze snagged on the dangling medallion. She let it swing gently.

“Watch the pattern of the dancing light, Ned,” she said in the firm, compelling voice she employed to induce a mesmeric trance. “It will calm your mind and steady your nerves. Your fears will be soothed.

Concentrate on the dancing light. Feel the heaviness in your limbs.

“Listen to my voice. Listen only to my voice. Let everything else fade into the distance, where it cannot make you anxious.”

Ned’s expression relaxed. He no longer seemed aware of Tobias or his surroundings.

“Describe the woman who hired you to follow me today, Ned,” she said when she sensed that he was in a deep trance. “Picture her in your mind as though she were standing here in front of you. Is there enough light to see her clearly?”

“The moon is nearly full and she brought a lantern. I can tell that she is tall. Almost as tall as me.” The words were flat and completely lacking in emotion.

“What is she wearing?”

“She has a small hat with a veil. I can see her eyes glitter now and again, but that’s all.”

“What does her gown look like?”

The question seemed to perplex Ned. “It’s just an ordinary dress.

“Dark.”

Frustrated, she tried again. “Does it look like the sort of gown an elegant lady might wear? Is it made of fine cloth?”

“No.” He sounded very sure this time. “It’s plain. Brown or gray, I think. It looks like the gown my friend Jenny wears to work at the tavern.”

“Is she wearing any jewelry?”

“No.”

“What about her shoes? Can you see them?”

“Yes. She has set the lantern down at her feet. There is plenty of light near the ground, and she has her skirts hiked up a little to keep them out of the dirt. I can see her low kid boots.”

“Can you see the woman’s hair?”

“Some of it.”

“What color is her hair?”

“It looks very pale in the moonlight. Yellow or white, I think. I can’t tell which.”

“How does she wear it?”

Again, Ned seemed rather baffled. “She has pinned it in a knot at her neck.”

“What does the lady want you to do for her?”

“She wants me to go to Number Seven Claremont Lane and watch for the woman with the red hair who lives there. When she leaves her house I am to follow her until I can get her alone. I am to threaten her with the knife. I must tell her that if she does not stop asking questions I’ll come back and slit her throat from ear to ear.”

Tobias glided a step closer. Lavinia shook her head, silently warning him to remain quiet.

“Would you do that, Sweet Ned?” she asked gently. Would you try to cut the lady’s throat if she doesn’t stop asking her questions?”

“No.” In spite of the deep trance, Ned suddenly became extremely agitated. “I’m no murderer. But I can’t let the woman know that. She’s my first client and I don’t want to lose her. I tell her I’ll do the job if it comes down to it. She believes me. I can see that she does.”

“Calm yourself, Ned.” Lavinia spoke quickly. Watch the glittering light dance on the silver pendant and let yourself grow heavy.”

Ned relaxed visibly and fell back into the depths of the trance.

“How did the woman who gave you the commission find you?”

Lavinia asked.

“She said she’d asked around. Someone told her I was the man she wanted for the job.”

“If you had been successful today, how would you contact her to collect the rest of your pay?” Lavinia asked.

“She said she’d find me just like she did the first time.”

Lavinia glanced at Tobias. He shook his head once to tell her that he had no other questions for Ned.

“Bring him out of the trance,” he said.

She turned back to Ned. “You will wake up when I snap my fingers, but you will not remember this conversation.”

She snapped her fingers.

Ned blinked owlishly and came back to full awareness of his surroundings. The anxiety returned to his eyes. He promptly dismissed Lavinia and switched his attention back to Tobias.

“If ye let me go, sir,” he said very earnestly to Tobias, continuing a conversation he did not realize had been interrupted, I swear I won’t go anywhere near this lady again. On me honor as a professional.”

“A professional what?” Tobias asked mildly. “Professional intimidator of ladies?”

“I swear I won’t touch a hair on her head.”

“You’re right on that account,” Tobias agreed. “Turn over, Ned.”