His Sinful Secret by Wildes Emma

Author:Wildes, Emma
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2010-09-20T16:00:00+00:00

His rival sat in stoic challenge across from the desk, his face impassive. The puckered scar from a previous injury was stark in the slanting afternoon sunlight.

Michael watched Lawrence as he negligently tossed a piece of paper on the desk, but he wasn’t fooled. There was nothing nonchalant about his visitor.

“So Roget is truly in England,” Michael said with no inflection. “It is nice to know his whereabouts, though I do admit I wish it were elsewhere.”

“Preferably interred somewhere in the rocky Spanish soil.” Lawrence smiled with a brief flash of white teeth. “We both know the world will be better without his presence. I thought we’d taken care of it.”

“Apparently not.”

“Apparently.”

This was all his responsibility. He’d never had any illusions over it. Michael sat back. “I assume Antonia is intent on finding him.”

“Isn’t she always?”

“Yes.” The emotional Lady Taylor tended to do nothing halfway. “She does realize Roget might be the one who orchestrated the information? We have no idea if it is accurate.”

“I agree. If it is a trap, better you or I fall into it.” Lawrence didn’t dissemble.

“True.”

“Then how shall we deal with this?”

“I’ll find out from Charles if that was his man who came to see her. Tell me,” Michael asked, “has the man you hired to watch me seen anyone else performing the same task?”

There was a brief silence, and then Lawrence laughed. His expression was resigned. “I suppose it was naive of me to think you wouldn’t spot him.”

There was nothing naive about Lawrence. Michael lifted a brow. “I wondered if it was friendly surveillance or inspired by an enemy, so I did a little investigation of my own. I was relieved to find out he was in your employ. Has he reported anything interesting?”

“Johnson will be crushed to know he failed.”

“Forgive me, but his feelings were not uppermost in my thoughts when I realized I was being shadowed. Naturally I took steps. However, I have noticed no one else. Yet the man who visited Antonia says the opposition is watching my house, correct?”

“You cannot be sure Roget has anything to do with it. Pardon my frankness, but as you just pointed out, you have other enemies in this world, my lord. In our line of work, it is inevitable.”

That was true enough, but this situation bothered him. “Others do not worry me as much as Roget.”

“He is a canny foe, I admit.”

Julianne had gone out earlier. Michael picked up a paperweight and twirled it idly in his fingers, glad he’d sent Fitzhugh with her, though he could tell she disliked the restriction of being escorted everywhere by both his valet and her maid. There was safety in numbers, most certainly, besides the fact that Fitzhugh was both capable and a crack shot.

“He has seen only one suspicious thing, my lord.” Lawrence looked bland. “It has more to do with Lady Longhaven than yourself, but Johnson reported it just the same, in case it was significant.”

The paperweight went still in his fingers. Michael asked

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