Page 6

Dear God, did she have any idea what she was doing to me? What she was doing to any man within a five mile radius?

Lady Briar Weatherford was standing there, obviously attempting to be as bold as brass, a quiver in her voice and hesitancy in her eyes, that light blue gown completely unable to hide her curves…

And she thought she was giving me the ultimatum?

Even as the front door opened behind me, I ignored it. How could I focus on going inside when there was this delight right before me?

God, I’d never been so attracted to someone. Never seen anyone speak to me like that—at least, not to my face. I was sure there were those in London who thought I was the rogue the newspapers made me out to be. Cold blooded, greedy, I’d seen all the articles. Agreed with a few of them.

But none of them had said those words directly to me, looking me in the eye, waiting for my response.

“Lord Markham, you’re practically a byword for untrustworthy, you must know that!”

Until her. Until Lady Briar Weatherford.

“Goodness, I am?” I said as calmly as I could manage while my stomach did a flip.

There was no one else here. Paying for servants had become rather a chore, so I shifted for myself. I'm sure if something happened, the singular footman would be here in a moment, but to all intents and purposes, we were alone.

I could grab Lady Briar, pull her into the house, kiss her against the?—

“You can’t think that you’re just going to get away with it?” she said, lifting an eyebrow. “What you did was a violation!”

I swallowed. The memory of last night rose in my mind, unbidden, delicious, tempting more.

“Oh no, I know perfectly what I want. I just wanted to make sure you took all your clothes off first.”

“I'm not sure I’d call it that,” I said in a low voice. “From what I remember, you consented to everything we?—”

“I didn’t mean—I meant the stealing, Lord Markham, you know I did!” Lady Briar said in a rush, blushing furiously.

I grinned. Damn, she looked good all riled up. It was almost tempting to do it again. On purpose, this time. “I gave you the jewelry back—not high quality, as it turned out. I probably would have posted it back to?—”

“Not high—Lord Markham, it’s worth over five hundred pounds!” Lady Briar said with outrage dripping from every tone.

I shifted on my feet. If she wasn’t careful, her words wouldn’t be the only thing soon dripping.

Dear God, she was everything I wanted. Rich, of course, and beautiful. But so…so outraged over the smallest thing. So desperate to please, yet at the same time, desperate not to be misunderstood.

Now that, I could understand.

“The point is, you have it all back,” I said, gesturing at her reticule. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

“That is because you don’t seem to have a decent bone in your body,” Lady Briar said, taking a step toward me.

I couldn’t help it. I grinned. “You liked one of my bones just last night.”

Oh, it was crass, I know—but it was worth it to see Lady Briar flush so pink, her cheeks almost matched her crimson lips.

Perhaps she was just as pink down?—

“An apology.”

I blinked. All the delightful images my mind had been conjuring up— Lady Briar, naked under a waterfall, Lady Briar, naked in my bed, Lady Briar, naked and lying on the corner cable of Ferncombe’s…

They all disappeared. What remained was a Lady Briar glaring at me, hands back on her hips.

“I beg your pardon?”

Lady Briar frowned. “You heard me! I want an apology, Lord Markham. And I want it now.”

I was in half a mind to close the gap between us and tell her if she asked for it nicely, I’d give her anything she wanted. Just a little tease. The stairs were only feet away. We could be upstairs in my bedchamber, repeating the pleasure that had kept us up half the night in no time.

But as I reached out for her, Lady Briar flinched.

I froze.

Flinched? Was I truly that bad? Were my financial indiscretions enough for a woman to literally flinch from me.

Damn.

“Look, I'm sorry,” I said quietly, and found to my horror I actually meant it. “I didn’t mean for—I thought…well. That you wouldn’t notice.”

Somehow, my heartfelt confession did not have the impact I thought it would.

Lady Briar’s frown deepened. “So…you’re sorry that you got caught?”

“I mean—no,” I said hastily, seeing the outrage in her face. Damn, when did this apologizing thing become so difficult? “I'm sorry. I'm sorry I took your jewelry. There. Happy?”

Try as I might, I couldn’t quite keep the petulance from my voice. Hell, when I had become such a child? Here I was, a duke, born from one of the noblest houses in all England!

But there was something about the way Briar was looking at me. As though I’d offended her. Personally.

Which I had.

God, I was such a mess. Stealing, really? It was different when it was just withdrawing a little cash from the Gambling Duke’s accounts. I mean, it was so little that my friends didn’t even notice it, not for months.

But taking a woman’s possessions from her own home?

That was low.

The moment I allowed myself to feel the self-loathing I usually kept so closely wrapped into my chest, pain rushed through my abdomen and up my spine.

I took a step back from Lady Briar. I couldn’t be near her—I didn’t deserve to be.

The most intriguing woman I’ve ever met, and I had to go and blow it on some jewelry.

What was wrong with me?

“Well. That’s more of an apology than I thought I was going to get, I admit,” said Lady Briar quietly, her serious eyes flickering over me.

How did she do that? Tear down all my defenses in one swoop? I met this woman not even four and twenty hours ago, and now I was giving her the apology that really belonged to my friends.

Pushing through the pain, I forced the self-loathing, the self-hatred, all of that, back down inside. Deep down. I didn’t want to have to face that again. Not for a long time.

I smiled, and hoped to God it looked sincere. “Well, you know the way home, so?—”

“I'm not finished with you yet,” said Lady Briar, moving to block my path into my own home.

My heart skipped a beat, but perhaps more importantly, heat rushed to my loins.

Did she mean—well, a repeat of last night wouldn’t go amiss. I was feeling a bit tense?—

“I want payback,” Lady Briar said clearly.

I snorted. “Lady Briar, I just gave you back all your jewelry! What more do you want from me?”

“A lot more,” she said quietly, stepping closer as though to whisper a secret in my eye. “A great deal more.”

A smile curved my lips. Now, that was more like it. I knew Lady Briar was far more interesting than half the women in this city. So, she wanted to make me pay for my crime, did she? Well, I could think of worse things than?—

Lady Briar whacked me, hard, on the arm. “Not lovemaking, you idiot!”

“What? Lovemaking? I wasn’t thinking of that,” I protested, rubbing the place on my arm where she’d hit me.

Damn. The woman had a strong right hook.

The fact that she was completely right was neither here nor there.

“I want you to work for me,” she said coldly.

My grin didn’t entirely disappear. “As?—”

“Not like that—honestly, is that all you have on the brain?” Lady Briar said darkly.

I swallowed. Yes, when I look at you, I wanted to say. Who wouldn’t? You’re beautiful. Despite all this cold and crusty exterior, when I had you in my arms last night, you were wild, and free, and everything you thought you couldn’t be.

Though I didn’t say any of that. I had some sense of self-preservation, after all.

“I hate to break it to you, but I could…well. I could use some of your insight,” Lady Briar said stiffly, as though it physically pained her to admit to as much. “With my work.”

I frowned. “Work?”

Lady Briar Weatherford didn’t work. She was one of the few people in the world who, as long as she continued to play her cards right, would never have to work a day in her life.

I could have been one of those people. Eventually. The Gambling Dukes would be worth tens of thousands soon, and I could have drawn my income and?—

“Yes, work,” said Lady Briar curtly. “Even a duke understands the word, I suppose?”

A flare of irritation worked its way from my stomach to my chest. “You know, just because I stole a little money doesn’t mean I don’t understand?—”

“You’ve done literally nothing since your friends cut you from the Gambling Dukes, as far as I can make out,” Lady Briar pointed out calmly. “Unless you’ve been doing something that good, above board business doesn’t know about?”

I bit my lip. How did she know this, anyway?

Then my eyes caught her gaze…which was fixed on my bitten lip.

Well, she still wanted me. That could not be more clear. But not more than, apparently, working for her. As what?

As though Lady Briar could read my mind, she said, “You’ll be one of my advisors. One of my many,” she emphasized, “advisors. For a month.”

“An advisor?” What on earth was she talking about? I couldn’t advise her. It wasn’t like I’d made good decisions.

“I need someone who will tell me how it is,” Lady Briar was saying, not just meeting my eye. “My advisors…they just tell me what I want to hear. I need someone who can be direct. Just a month, that’s all I ask.”

A month. Well, it would give me time to regroup, time to think. With the income from advising one of the richest women in London, I could?—

“For free.”

“For free?” I spluttered, startling a couple of gentlemen walking past. “You have got to be jesting.”

I’d thought the strength in my voice would have persuaded her. Being a duke usually worked its magic.

But not on her. Lady Briar looked up at me coldly, and smiled.

“Yes, for free. Because I could go to the Bow Street Runners right now and make a declaration that you have stolen from me. Who do you think they’ll believe?

A duke’s niece, or a renowned knave who has already stolen from his own friends? ”

I swallowed. Hell’s bells. I hadn’t thought of that.

“This way, you just have to assist me,” Lady Briar said lightly. “So. Do we have a deal?”

I groaned, but stuck out my hand. There was nothing for it. “Fine. I’ll be your advisor for a month.”

Lady Briar flushed at my words, but took my hand. Hers was warm, her skin soft, and it made me question everything. “We have a deal.”