“You are overly persistent, Mr. Bond.”
“Quite,” he nodded, “which is why I will discover who is responsible for the unfortunate events besetting you and what they’d hoped to gain.”
She crossed her arms. “I am not convinced.”
“Trust me. It is fortuitous, indeed, that Mr. Lynd brought us together. If I do not apprehend the culprit, I daresay he cannot be caught.” His hand fisted around the top of his cane. “Client satisfaction is a point of pride, Miss Martin. By the time I am done, I guarantee you will be eminently gratified by my performance.”
Chapter 2
“There are times when I impress myself with my own brilliance,” Thomas Lynd crowed when entering Jasper’s study with hat in hand.
One could always trust Lynd to eschew the services of a formal butler. He preferred lackeys over servants whose training in deportment exceeded his own.
Jasper settled back in his chair with a smile of welcome. “You’ve outdone yourself this time.”
As usual, Lynd’s garments were overdone in style and underwhelming in fit. The result of a poor tailor provided with expensive material yet lacking the knowledge of how best to utilize it. Regardless, Lynd presented a decidedly more refined appearance than others of their profession. He walked a fine line, one that enabled him to remain respected and welcomed by the lower classes, while presenting himself in a way the peerage found nonthreatening.
Lynd dropped into one of the two seats set in front of the desk. “The moment she mentioned Montague, I had no doubt.”
Although he visited Jasper’s home with regularity, he surveyed the room as if seeing it for the first time. His gaze lingered on the mahogany bookshelves lining the far wall and the sapphire-hued velvet drapes framing the windows opposite. “Besides, she wanted a bloody lapdog, and none of our acquaintances can boast your pedigree.”