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There was a fluttering movement at the corner of her eye and Evelyn glanced over to find a small bird had landed in the hedge. It looked at her with little jerky movements of its head, round, black eyes watching her with interest.

“My sister can tell me what’s going on in my family right now, if my parents are willing to give up on the whole earl business or not.”

“Do you think they are?”

“Probably not. But I must speak to her.” She pulled her attention away from the little bird and directly to Ollie. “Maybe she can help me figure out how to get out of this quandary.”

Ollie studied her with his mouth pressed in a tight line. He then looked up at the door. “Five minutes,” he said. “If she’s not out in that time, we have to keep moving. It’s unwise to be hanging around a neighborhood you’re familiar with, even if only slightly.”

The minutes slowly ticked by and anticipation at seeing her sister again grew.

And then, the door opened again, sending a rush of excitement through her.

Ollie grabbed Evelyn and pulled them both down into a space between two hedges.

Cordelia stepped out of the house—though Evelyn could only see her from mid-thigh down—and then turned back around to someone standing in the doorway.

Unfortunately, Evelyn couldn’t get a good look at who they were, but she was able to see the woman’s raspberry-pink dress was bedecked in sequins, crystals, and metallic embroidery. Rather flashy for the afternoon.

“Thank you for seeing me at a moment’s notice,” the unknown woman said to Cordelia, her vowels elongated to sound aristocratic, but it was more comical than anything. “I know time isn’t on your side.”

“Of course,” Cordelia responded, tapping the tip of a closed parasol against her foot. Evelyn knew this as a nervous tic of her sister’s. “I appreciate your help in this matter. And your utmost secrecy. I’m sure you understand the sensitivity of the matter at hand for my family.”

“Yes,” the woman responded after a bit of a hesitation. “I’m just glad you have finally located your sister.”

“I’m sure you are,” Cordelia responded a bit dryly.

“This makes for many happy people, does it not?”

“Quite.”

“I wonder how the earl will react,” the woman added with a wistful tone.

Evelyn and Ollie exchanged a look. They were talking about Evelyn and she did not like the sinking feeling it created. Especially as Ollie’s gaze reflected her own sickening suspicion.

When Cordelia didn’t add anything further, the woman said, “Now, you’ve assured me the rest of the funds would be made available when, again?”

“The rest of the payment will be yours tomorrow.”

Nausea took hold of Evelyn, hardly believing what she’d heard. Somehow, with the help of this unknown woman, her own sister seemed to have turned her in to the earl.

How could she have? How could Cordelia, the person she’d trusted most, have done this to her?

Ollie’s words echoed in her mind. That amount of money will tempt even the most saintly nan.

Cordelia was the one who’d encouraged her to leave.

However.

Evelyn also knew the new conte controlled Cordelia’s allowance.

While he had been generous thus far, that could change at any time.

It could change when he married, or someday he could simply decide to reduce it for no reason at all.

Perhaps Cordelia had thought about this when the reward for Evelyn had doubled.

It would give Cordelia safety, security.

Money of her own no one could take away from her.

Without any warning to poor Ollie, Evelyn crawled out of the hedge and jumped other her feet. “You!” She pointed to her sister, and her throat became tight. “You’re the one who turned me in! You betrayed me!” Evelyn’s voice cracked.

Cordelia made a squeaking noise as her hand flew to her heart.

Finally, Evelyn was able to get a look at the woman in the doorway.

To her surprise, she had no idea who the woman was.

She was quite beautiful, and the jewelry she wore matched the flashiness of the dress.

Whoever she was, she wasn’t blue blooded.

But between the location of her home, and the dress and clothing that demanded to be seen, Evelyn postured the woman desperately tried to appear upper class.

“Ollie?” the flashy woman then said, surprise written all over her face. She looked at Evelyn. “Oh.” She paused. “Oh!”

“Penelope,” Ollie replied with a tight nod and a strangled voice. “I mean, Miss Findlay.”

“Silly Ollie.” Miss Findlay tapped his shoulder. “You know we are friendly enough for me to be Penelope to you. What do you think of my new house?” She indicated behind her. “Perhaps I could give you a personal tour.” A lilt in her voice hinted at her true intentions.

A million questions filled Evelyn’s mind. Who was Miss Findlay and how did she know Ollie? Why was she so informal with him? Why was Cordelia making a deal with her?

The pieces came together quite easily, though. None of this was any grand mystery.

Cordelia and Miss Findlay were splitting the award for Evelyn’s return.

Miss Findlay was clearly one of Ollie’s old flames—the tension in the air between them was unmistakable—and she’d mistaken Evelyn’s stay at Ollie’s as something more than what it had been.

Maybe she hadn’t liked this and had intervened, going to Cordelia to strike a deal. Keep things private, split the money.

Or perhaps, Ollie and Miss Findlay had been in touch all this time. Not an old flame, but a flame. Present tense.

Maybe Miss Findlay had come by the house for a visit, and Ollie had kept it from Evelyn.

Evelyn’s heart pounded as jealousy singed her veins. But the sense of betrayal from her sister weighed heavily as well.

Unable to stand with these people another moment, Evelyn suddenly turned around and began running.

“Evelyn, wait!” Cordelia’s voice called after her. But Evelyn wouldn’t wait.

Hot tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she was too furious to let them. On and on she ran block after block until finally she could run no more.

There was an empty park bench in a small park she didn’t know. As she collapsed into it and gasped for breath, she listened to the birds sing happily, cursing them for it.

And she cursed at herself. How stupid could a woman be! She knew Ollie had been a scoundrel. She knew he had a past. She thought she didn’t care, especially as both Ollie and the Signature Swindler had confirmed that had all been part of a past life of his.

But that appeared to not be true.

Yet the thief had had no reason to lie about that. In fact, she wasn’t even sure why he would tell her that in the first place. But for some foolish reason, she’d believed him. She’d believed the thief. She’d believed Ollie.

The thief, a master of deceit, had included one little detail that had made his claim feel so real: Ollie’s scoundrel behavior had stopped the day he’d met Evelyn.

Evelyn couldn’t decide if the thief had been lying or not. Or if Ollie had pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes.

An especially happy bird, who looked suspiciously like the one faffing about at Penelope’s home moments ago, fluttered down to the ground and began to sing. Evelyn stuck her tongue out at it.

A noise caused her to turn around. Ollie was approaching with a deep wheeze. He slid down onto the bench.

“You have got…” He stopped to catch his breath. “To stop doing that.”

Evelyn waited a beat, but no one else appeared. “Where’s my sister?”

Ollie leaned his head back against a tree trunk behind them, his breaths still heavy. “I have no idea.”

“I’m surprised to see you. I figured you would be indulging in a tour about now.” Evelyn was studying a button on one of her gloves.

Ollie took several deep breaths. Considering his next move, perhaps? Not that she cared, of course. If Ollie wished to visit Miss Findlay’s living quarters, who was she to get in the way?

“Erm…” Ollie scratched the side of his nose. “That woman back there, Miss Findlay—”

“Ollie, please. I don’t care.” Truly, the less she knew, the better.

His breathing leveling out, he moved to lean forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He tilted his head to the side and gave her a roguish grin. “If you don’t care, then you won’t mind me telling you I haven’t seen her since before I even knew you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to find any hint he was lying to her. But he seemed truthful. And he didn’t have a reason to lie about it, either. It wasn’t like they were anything he would want to preserve.

Fine. It did make her feel better, not that she would tell him that. She brushed her hands over her lap. “I don’t care, Ollie. You may go reacquaint yourself with her, then, if you like.”

Ollie laughed, which annoyed her. “Do I sense a hint of jealousy?”

Yes. “Of course not.” The stubborn side of her made a point to look directly at him when she said this.

His green eyes glinted back at her with mischief.

“I have no reason to be jealous at all,” she said smugly.

“No, you don’t.”

Evelyn swallowed and decided it would be best not to dissect if there was a deeper meaning to that comment.

Either way, her worry about Ollie and this Miss Findlay was based purely on jealousy that wasn’t rooted in anything other than her imagination and their shared past, which she’d of course had no part in.

“I’m sorry,” she said to change the subject. With the silly Miss Findlay issue settled—honestly, she’d thought she was better than that—guilt reared its ugly head.

“Sorry for what?”

“For running off again. I know it worries you. I had to get away, and I wasn’t thinking.”

“You’re right. It does worry me. Thank you for your apology. I accept.”

Unable to help herself, she gave him a brief smile, but it didn’t last. “So, it appears my sister was the one who turned me in. The very last person I would expect.”

There was a long pause before he replied gently, “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “No need to be sorry. You had nothing to do with it. I still wonder how she and Miss Findlay got themselves twisted together and how they found me, but I suppose it doesn’t really matter, either. It doesn’t change my fate.”

Ollie was quiet a moment. “What are you going to do?”

Evelyn stared out over the desolate park. There was a large fountain turned off for the cold seasons. “Nothing. Except look at my sister in a different light, I suppose. Feel the betrayal for the remainder of my life.”

Ollie sighed. “Sometimes, I wish we could pick our family. They can be far too excellent at making us feel horrific.”

“Mmm.”

“Evelyn.”

Evelyn turned to Ollie and found him watching her with his mouth partially open, as if he wished to say something but couldn’t quite get it out.

Then he glanced down at her lips before leaning toward her.

Evelyn’s heart galloped from the sudden change in his demeanor.

Her body felt a magnetic pull toward him, and chills went up her spine as he got closer and closer.

But all he did was lean into her ear. And in a low, deep voice, his breath caressing the skin just below her ear, he said, “You should never be jealous of anyone else, Evelyn.”

And he pulled away, mischief once again dancing in those bright-green eyes of his.

“I’m not responding to that,” was all she managed to get out. She desperately wanted to seem unaffected by his words, by his closeness, by him. She would be gone in a few hours.