Page 30 of The Paid Companion

S t. Merryn had visited Lady Wilmington.

The killer could scarcely believe what he had seen. Shaken, he stood in the shadows of the doorway halfway down the street and watched the gleaming carriage disappear around the corner.

Impossible. How had the bastard made the connection? And so quickly?

He had not been surprised when the street urchin who was his paid spy had reported that St. Merryn and Miss Lodge had gone to Mrs. Glentworth’s address. It was inevitable that sooner or later the earl would speak with Saturn’s widow. But what had that silly old woman told him that had sent him straight to the Wilmington townhouse?

Frantically, the killer went back over his plans, trying to determine if he had made a mistake. But he could not find any errors in his elaborate scheme.

He could feel himself starting to perspire. The sight of the St. Merryn carriage parked in the street outside Lady Wilmington’s front door was the first indication that this amusing game of wits that he had begun playing with his opponent had taken a nasty, unplanned turn.

Enough. He did not want to risk any more surprises. He had everything he required now to complete the device. The time had come to end the affair.

He moved out of the doorway and set off down the tree-lined street, his clever mind already at work on his new strategy.