He gave her a long look, then moved to sit beside her on the window seat. “I suspected you might.”
Madeline tensed but resisted the urge to stand up and flee across the room. She was not that much of a weakling.
“Pray proceed, Miss Ellis. I am all attention.” His tone quite clearly indicated he was being ironic. He was not at all eager to hear her out.
Madeline forged ahead anyway. “I want to offer my help in retrieving Freddie’s letters. Did he not mention my suggestion to you?”
“Regrettably, he did,” Haviland answered dryly.
“Then you will allow me to accompany you to Mrs. Sauville’s soirée Tuesday evening?”
“Tell me, just how would that help?”
“It should be obvious. As a woman, I will be less noticeable than you would be, sneaking around a widow’s house and slipping into bedchambers.”
“You might, but I don’t want you involved.”
“Why not?”
“For one thing, if you were caught, you might find yourself charged with theft and wind up in prison.”
He was trying to frighten her away, Madeline surmised. She was certain Haviland would never allow her to be sent to prison. “Then I will take care not to be caught. And even if I were, you will be there to intervene.”
“You might be recognized later by one of the widow’s guests, have you considered that? If so, your teaching career might suffer.”
She hadn’t thought of that possible outcome. Teachers needed to conduct themselves with circumspection, and she particularly had to take care, since she was only assured of a temporary position at the Freemantle Academy. And yet she had been tasked with teaching French to her pupils in novel ways in order to engage their interest more effectively.
“But I have a legitimate reason for attending,” Madeline mused aloud. “One that Lady Danvers will likely support. Freddie said that a number of Madame Sauville’s exiled countrymen will be present at her salon. I can claim that I want to meet some of my mother’s people, to interview them about France and Paris and to learn about French fashions for my students, just as Arabella directed.”
The suggestion gave Haviland pause, although only briefly. “Perhaps you could, but that is beside the point.”
“So you intend to go alone?” she asked skeptically.
“At present that is my plan.”
“Have you ever attended one of Mrs. Sauville’s soirées before? Won’t she be suspicious if you suddenly appear just when she is attempting to blackmail your cousin?”
“She may not be aware of our relationship.”
“But what if she is? You don’t want to alert her and give her time to hide the letters.”
“I will not give her time.” When Madeline opened her mouth to argue, Haviland reached up to press his fingers against her lips. “Trust me, I can deal with Mrs. Sauville. And if I judge that I need assistance, I can call on any number of people who are expert at that sort of thing.”
She drew back at the physical contact. Despite knowing he expected her to be intimidated by his intimate gesture, she didn’t dare risk letting him touch her so brazenly.
“I have no doubt,” Madeline said in a dry voice of her own. “You probably know a great many shady characters from your previous occupation.”
“That I do.”
“Even so, my attendance would provide a good excuse for you to be there, one that Mrs. Sauville could readily accept. I don’t see why you will not let me help.”
“Because I don’t want you endangered in any way. Your father would have my head if he were still alive.”
“My father has nothing to do with this.”
“He would want me to protect you.”
Madeline’s chin came up. “I don’t relish being treated like a fragile, helpless female, Lord Haviland. I am not made of china.”