Cade's Justice. Pat Tracy

lowered over Emma’s eyes. She shot to her feet, exerting every bit of willpower she possessed not to hurl her glass at Mr. Cade’s arrogant, thick head. “We can affix the blame later. For now, our attention must be directed at finding Courtney.”

      “Sit down, Miss Step.”

      His order, spoken with whiplike command had her knees buckling in compliance. Her mind kicked in, however, before her bottom connected with the chair.

      “You should know that, unlike Broadbent, I won’t obey high-handed commands.”

      “And you should know that I do not run into the night half-cocked. Experience has taught me it’s better to have a complete grasp of the facts before taking action.”

      She was tempted to circle the desk, grab the perfectly pressed lapels of his dressing gown and shake him into mobility. The thought brought with it a sudden awareness of the white linen nightshirt beneath the green robe. The black chest hairs curling above the border of tiny pink rosebuds created a ludicrous contrast of masculinity verses femininity.

      No article of clothing in her possession was half so elegant. That such a potent specimen of masculinity as Gideon Cade enjoyed parading about in such feminine clothing was difficult to accept.

      Emma sank back into her chair. “What precisely is it you wish to know before we organize a search?”

      “What makes you so certain she’s run away, what was the news about the academy’s future you imparted to her, and what made you come here tonight?”

      Emma reached into her pocket, grateful that she hadn’t forgotten Courtney’s note. “This was all the explanation she left.”

      She extended the folded paper. Reluctant to risk another disturbing encounter with his fingers, she considered flinging the note across the desk. He was already leaning forward, however, and she was coerced into allowing him to retrieve the paper in a more civilized manner.

      She braced herself for the contact. His thumb and forefinger gripped the corner. Before she could let go, something compelled her to look up. His enigmatic gaze was locked squarely upon her. She wasn’t sure she remembered how to breathe. She loosened her hold. The paper slid from her grasp. There was no physical contact. Still, her stomach took a peculiar dip.

      She forced herself to glance away from him and take a deep breath. When she looked up, he was smoothing the note’s creases. As he began to read the hastily scribbled message, his dark eyebrows drew together.

      He looked up, catching her stare. “Well, one thing is clear.”

      “What’s that?”

      “Whoever teaches penmanship at your institution has failed miserably on Courtney’s behalf.”

      “Is that all you can say?” Emma couldn’t believe the man could be so insensitive about the note’s contents. She’d committed the message to memory.

      

      My dearest Miss Step,

      Don’t be alarmed. I’ve gone to seek help for the academy’s desperate situation. I hope to return with good news. Fortunately, there’s someone I can turn to for assistance.

      Your most devoted and loyal student.

      Courtney Gertrude Cade

      Emma touched a trembling hand to her hair. The rigid rein she’d exerted on her roiling emotions was slipping. “I thought if I came to you, you would want to find her.”

      “Is that why the school’s headmistress sent you?”

      “I—I saw no need to awaken Miss Loutitia.” The thought of informing Miss Hempshire of Courtney’s disappearance during this traumatic period of the older woman’s life made Emma shudder. Loutitia Hempshire was the kind of person who, even in the best of times, wasn’t able to keep her high-strung sensibilities under control.

      “If she can’t keep track of her students, she deserves to have her sleep interrupted,” Mr. Cade stated dispassionately.

      To Emma’s horror, warm tears blurred her vision. Not trusting her voice, she refrained from pointing out that having a hysterical school matron on her hands was hardly conducive to finding Courtney.

      “Well, have you nothing to say?,” he inquired chidingly. “Don’t tell me you’ve run out of words? I wouldn’t have though you so weak-spirited.”

      At the barely veiled insult, Emma tensed. Now she knew why people took such delight in deposing tyrants by bloody methods. She could imagine the satisfaction of wielding a sword against a bound and gagged Gideon Cade.

      “While we’re debating the matter in the comfort of your library, Courtney is alone and unprotected.” Emma’s voice caught. “We have to find her. She’s young and innocent and totally at the mercy of any dishonorable man who might want to take advantage of her.”

      “You don’t believe this exhibition of headstrong rebellion warrants whatever disaster befalls her?”

      Emma recoiled at the heartless question. “No!”

      “But what about the danger she’s placed you in?”

      “Me?” she asked in confusion.

      “By running away, Courtney caused you to leave the security of the academy and race recklessly into the night. Surely the terrors facing an innocent young girl would also endanger you, Miss Step.”

      “Courtney’s welfare takes priority over my own.”

      “Does it?” he asked softly.

      She shifted uncomfortably. “I…I shouldn’t have left her alone after confiding the problems the academy was facing.”

      Emma’s words dwindled to silence. Guilt grew within her at the knowledge that her own concerns had blinded her to how upset Courtney must have been. With the Denver institution closing, the girl would surely be sent to an eastern finishing school. It was a mystery to Emma, but evidently Courtney wished to remain in close proximity to her coldhearted uncle.

      “My niece is old enough to be held accountable for her own actions.”

      Emma refused to suffer the man’s insensitivity another moment. “Courtney is a bright and brave young woman who deserves our best efforts to find her.”

      “She’s also willful,” he interjected quietly. “Come now, there’s no need for tears or self-recriminations, Miss Step. You’ve already expended your best efforts.”

      Emma’s control finally snapped. “If you weren’t an unfeeling monster incapable of basic human sentiment, you would be looking for her right now!”

      His dark eyes turned frigid. “Is that how you view me?”

      “It’s how the whole world views you!” she shouted back. “Everything the newspapers say about you is true!”

      It was the foulest insult she could think to hurl.

      He shrugged. “I find what’s printed in newspapers generally isn’t worth the time it takes to read them. And as for my niece…”

      He had Emma’s full attention now. “Yes?”

      Drawing out the moment, he leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingertips. “Since she’s fast asleep upstairs in her bedchamber, there’s little point in searching for her, is there?”

       Chapter Three

      Gideon watched Miss Step’s eyes darken to a deep shade of smoky slate.

      “What did you say?”

      Her question trembled with barely contained outrage. An ordinary man would have been cowed by the fury shimmering in her wrathful gaze.