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Page 12 of Defying the Duke

“The daughter could be stealing. We’ve no proof she isn’t. If the family needed the money her father was taking, she would continue to provide for them,” Dainsfield argued.

Jack glared at his business partner. “We’ve no proof Westfall was the thief, and I know him too well to think he was. Nor do I believe Miss Westfall is stealing.”

“It’s rather convenient nothing went missing while you were working beside her,” Dainsfield added. “Too convenient, if you ask me.”

Nomansland gave Dainsfield a withering look. “You’re not helping. If we fire her and it turns out someone else was stealing, which I agree is most likely, we’ll only have more money go missing.”

Over the next few days, they argued about whether or not to fire Miss Westfall, until one day she came to Jack’s office to see him. She carried a ledger book and a piece of paper, which she placed on Jack’s desk for him to see.

“Mr. Bickley’s sheet doesn’t match what he wrote in the book. It’s been altered like the others.”

On review, Jack saw a twenty-guinea difference. Mixed emotions coursed through him. Relief that he had proof Miss Westfall wasn’t the thief, excitement that they might be able to catch the real culprit, and confusion over how to do so. He nodded to Miss Westfall and asked, “May I show these to my partners and bring them to you later?”

“Of course,” she said, bobbing a curtsey before leaving his office.

Jack called his partners to join him in his office and showed them what Miss Westfall had brought upstairs. “Whoever he is, he’s back at it.”

“Or she,” Dainsfield said. The other two ignored him.

“I know we agreed Bickley and Brown wouldn’t enter the higher amount in the book if they intended to steal from the cash they deposited, but why couldn’t they be taking from the other man’s money?” Nomansland suggested. “They are the only ones with the keys to access the book and the cashbox.”

“True,” Jack said. “Both men also use the office regularly when Miss Westfall isn’t present, so no one would notice their comings and goings.”

“We need to guard the door,” Dainsfield said.

“I’ll have a man here by the time Miss Westfall leaves today,” Nomansland said. “Do we need someone there while she works, too?”

“I think it best we do,” Jack said. “No one has tried to access the office while she’s there, but if that becomes the only time the thief feels safe to enter, he might try.”

“Will do,” Nomansland replied and stood to leave.

Dainsfield followed him to the door. “I’ll be glad to have this matter resolved.”

CHAPTER 6

Jack was out of his office the rest of the afternoon and late arriving at Sutcliffe’s the next morning, so he didn’t have the chance to tell Miss Westfall about the new guard before she got to work. However, he hadn’t been able to keep their kiss from his thoughts during all that time, so he used the guard as an excuse to go to her.

“I was startled, to be honest, when I found a man waiting outside my door this morning,” she said when Jack mentioned it.

“My apologies. I should have sent a note down with the ledger yesterday.”

“Do you suspect anyone in particular?”

Jack came around the desk and sat on the edge. He liked being close to her when they talked. He felt as if they were or could be friends after the days he’d spent sharing her office. “There are a couple of names we’ve tossed about, but I believe we’re overlooking someone.” He carefully avoided mentioning her name being brought up. She wasn’t a suspect and never had been as far as he was concerned.

“I hope you catch him soon. It makes me uncomfortable knowing someone is coming in here at night.”

The hair on the back of his neck bristled as if he had hackles rising. “No one will harm you here, I promise you. I’ll keep you safe.”

Miss Westfall met his gaze, and he wondered if she was thinking about Peter. He’d almost put that evening behind him. His hands still itched to punch his brother over how he’d treated her. “Now that a guard is outside your door, you needn’t fear him returning.”

“Thank you, Your Grace. It’s been long enough, though, that I doubt he’ll return.” She shuffled through some of the papers before her, and he felt thoroughly dismissed.

Yet he wasn’t ready to leave. He noticed Dinah’s hair appeared to be styled much more fashionably than when he first came to her office, a softer look with a few curls around her face. Her gown was pale blue with darker blue flowers dotted about. “Your gown is a good color with your eyes.”

Her hands froze, but she didn’t look at him. After a moment, she said, “I’ve discovered this particular shade helps me finish my work that much faster.”

Jack grinned. Here was the woman he enjoyed talking with. “It has the opposite effect on me. I can’t even think of work at the moment.”

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