‘Do you mind?’ she demanded, mock-offended. ‘I am not “a bit dodgy”’
‘I beg your pardon—’
‘I’m very dodgy—when I have to be. It depends on the client. Some need more dodginess than others. Some don’t need any.’ She added wickedly, ‘They’re the boring ones.’
‘I see you believe in adjusting to their requirements,’ he said appreciatively.
‘That’s right. Ready for anything.’ She chuckled. ‘It makes life interesting.’
‘Miss Jenson—’
‘Please, I think we’ve passed the point where you could call me Pippa.’
She didn’t add, After the way you saw me, but she didn’t need to.
‘Pippa—I’m sorry if I embarrassed you last night. I only wanted to return your property.’
‘It wasn’t your fault. It was just unlucky that you turned up…well…at that moment.’
‘He seemed to feel very strongly about you.’
She sighed. ‘He’s a nice boy but he can’t understand that I don’t feel the same way. We went out for a while, had some fun, but there was nothing in it beyond that.’
‘Not on your side, but surely his feelings were involved? ‘
For a moment Roscoe fancied a faint withered look came over Pippa’s face.
‘And if it had been the other way around, do you think he’d have cared about my feelings? ‘ she asked quietly.
‘Perhaps. He seemed to have really strong emotions about you.’
The look vanished so fast he couldn’t be sure he’d seen it. ‘Life’s a merry-go-round.’ She shrugged. ‘You have to look forward to the ups but always be ready for more downs.’
‘So there’s nobody special in your life at the moment? Or are there a dozen like him ready to spring out like last night?’
‘Possibly. I don’t keep count. Look, I just wanted to apologise for the way I flew at you. After what you did for me, you deserved better. Today was a triumph. I had two job offers as I was leaving the court, and without those papers I’d have got nowhere. So I owe you, big time. I meant what I said. I’d have hunted you down through all London to tell you that.’
‘And if I hadn’t known exactly where to find you, I’d have hunted you down too. I have a job that only you can do.’
‘Are you the client David mentioned? ‘
‘That’s right.’
‘Ah, I begin to see. You want someone good with figures, right?’
‘Among other things,’ he said carefully. ‘The case I want you to take concerns my younger brother, Charlie. He’s not a bad lad, but he’s a bit irresponsible and he’s got into bad company.’
‘How old is he?’
‘Twenty-four, and not very mature. If he was anyone else I’d say he needed to be taught a lesson, but that—’ he hesitated before finishing stiffly ‘—that would cause me a certain amount of difficulty.’
‘You couldn’t afford to be connected with a convict?’ she hazarded.
‘Something like that.’
‘Mr Havering—’
‘Call me Roscoe. After all, what you said about me calling you Pippa—well, it works both ways, doesn’t it?’
For a moment the naked nymph danced between them and was gone, firmly banished on both sides.
‘Roscoe, if I’m to help you I need full information. I can’t work in the dark.’
‘I’m a stockbroker. I have clients who depend on me, who need to be able to trust me. I can’t afford to let anything damage my reputation.’
His voice was harsh, as though he’d retreated behind steel bars. But the next moment the bars collapsed and he said roughly, ‘Hell, no! You’d better know the real reason. If anything happens to Charlie, it would break my mother’s heart. He’s all she lives for, and her health is frail. She’s been in a bad way ever since my father died, fifteen years ago. At all costs I want to save her from more suffering.’
He spoke as though the words were tortured from him, and she could only guess what it cost this stockbroker to allow a chink in his confident facade and reveal his emotions. Now she began to like him.
‘Why is he in trouble?’ she asked gently.
‘He went out with his friends, had too much to drink. Some of them broke into a shop at night and got caught. The shopkeeper thinks he was one of them.’
‘What does Charlie say?’
‘Sometimes he says he wasn’t, sometimes he hints he might have been. It’s almost as though he didn’t know. I don’t think he was entirely sober that night.’
Pippa frowned. This sounded more like a teenager than a young man of twenty-four.
‘Do you have any other brothers or sisters? ‘ she asked.
‘None.’
‘Aunts, uncles?’
‘None.’
‘Wife? Children? Didn’t you mention having a daughter?’
‘No, I said if you were my daughter I’d give you a piece of my mind.’
‘Ah, yes.’ She smiled. ‘I remember.’
‘That’ll teach me not to judge people on short acquaintance, won’t it? Anyway, I have neither wife nor children.’
‘So, apart from your mother, you’re Charlie’s only relative. You must virtually have been his father.’
He grimaced. ‘Not a very successful one. I’ve always been so afraid of making a mess of it that I…made a mess of it.’
Pippa nodded. ‘The worst mistakes are sometimes made by people who are desperately trying to avoid mistakes,’ she said sympathetically.
Relief settled over him at her understanding.
‘Exactly. Long ago, I promised my mother I’d take care of Charlie, make sure he grew up strong and successful, but I seem to have let her down. I can’t bear to let her down again.’
It felt strange to hear this powerful man blaming himself for failure. Evidently, there was more to him than had first appeared.
‘Does he have a job?’
‘He works in my office. He’s bright. He’s got a terrific memory, and if we can get him safely through this he has a great future.’
‘Has he been in trouble with the police before? ‘
‘He’s skirted trouble but never actually been charged with anything. This will be his first time in court.’
She wondered what strings he’d had to pull to achieve that, but was too tactful to ask. That could come later.
‘Was anyone injured? ‘ she asked.
‘Nobody. The shop owner arrived while there were several of them there. They escaped, he gave chase and got close enough to see them just as they reached Charlie. He began yelling at them, which attracted the attention of two policemen coming out of the local station, and they all got arrested.
‘The owner insists Charlie was actually in the shop with the others, although I don’t see how he can be sure. He must have just seen a few figures in the gloom.’
‘What