"An intruder-I gave chase but lost him." He waited until Hemmings came up, then said, "I'm going to prowl around a bit more. You can check through the house, see how he got in and out, then lock up. I've got my keys-we can compare notes in the morning."
Both Hemmings and Dodswell were in their nightshirts; they nodded and started toward the house.
Lucifer waited until they'd gone indoors, then turned and headed back to the path.
Chapter 10
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Phyllida was waiting where he'd left her, just inside the entrance to the path. Arms folded, she might have been scowling at him; he couldn't be sure in the dark.
He halted beside her, looming over her, deliberately intimidating. She gave not an inch.
"Do you always have such difficulty following orders?"
"There are very few people who give orders to me."
They stood, gazes locked, then he stepped back and gestured to the lawn. "I'll walk you through the wood."
She glanced at the house. "It might be better to go through the shrubbery and out by the lake path."
He waved her on, and followed.
Phyllida retraced their steps, then turned into the shrubbery, all too conscious of the poorly suppressed male energy prowling at her back. She tried to tell herself he was doing it only to intimidate, to pressure her into revealing all and following his orders henceforth, but she knew it wasn't that. If he'd wanted to intimidate her, he would have been more forthright.
Not that the sense of something dangerous, something violent and not fully under control, stalking on her heels, wasn't intimidating enough.
They skirted the lake and traversed the wood in silence. She paused when they reached the Grange's shrubbery, but he frowned and waved her on.
The back lawn lay just ahead when he caught her arm and drew her to the side, onto one of the connecting paths. He released her; she faced him, her back against the hedge, luckily one of a small-leaved conifer. Neatly trimmed, it formed a cushion at her back. He leaned one shoulder into the hedge, just beside hers, and looked down at her. "When are you going to tell me what it is you know?"
She wished she could read his eyes, but they were lost in shadow. He stood there, so close, yet there was no sense now of intimidation. Invitation was what reached her. No pretense, no guile, simple dealing, him and her. To her, that was so much more appealing. She blew out a soft breath. "Soon."
"How soon?"
"I can't say, but not long. A few days, perhaps."
"Is there anything I can do to shorten the time?"
"If I could tell you…" She paused. "But I can't. I gave my word."
"Is this knowledge of yours the reason the murderer now has you in his sights?"
"I don't think so. I can't see how it could be any threat to him."
He considered, then nodded. "I'll make a bargain with you." He straightened, and suddenly the sense of physical menace was back; a leashed predator stood before her.
"I'm not aware of any need to make any bargains."
"Believe me, there's a need."
The growl in his voice warned her against challenging the statement. "What, then?"
"I want a promise from you that until we've laid this murderer by the heels, you will not roam about alone, either by day or by night."
She lifted her chin. "And in return?"
"In return, I won't tell your father that you were there, and know something to the point."