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“Will you not answer me, my lord?”
A loud scream of satisfaction filled the room, silencing his words.
“How astonishing,” she whispered. “I never knew the entire business was supposed to be noisy. Is it the same for everyone?”
Ethan scrubbed a hand over his face, disbelief filling him. “Do you expect me to hold a conversation with a lady about the amorous noises lovers make?”
“I am sorry,” she said softly, sounding contrite. “I truly forgot for a minute how frightfully proper your sensibilities are.”
“At the risk of going against my good sense by throttling you, I believe we should keep silent,” he said dryly.
When she softly laughed, Ethan refused to acknowledge the amusement wafting through him. Thankfully the viscount and his satisfied companion exited the library shortly after. When she made to dash from behind the curtains, he shook his head and gently clasped her hand.
“Let’s give it a few minutes. We would hate for the lady to have forgotten a glove or a hat, and for the viscount to return for it as we are coming out.”
She nodded, and they stayed still and silent, with Ethan painfully aware of every breath she took. After about ten minutes, they exited the curtains. He led the way from the library and down the winding staircase with stealth. The house remained silent, and he led them through the kitchens and out the back. The little minx skirted around him without a word and ran off like the gazelle she claimed to be. The night was dark, with most of the streetlamps shrouded by fog. Keeping pace, he kept a careful distance and followed her in the event footmen might accost her.
Ethan paused when she jumped over a gate with agile skill and skirted around to another back garden. Was the lady not finished with her breaking and entering for the night? He followed, pausing when her voice and another lady’s floated on the air with hushed whispers.
He smiled when he heard how horrified she sounded, confessing she had been caught. The lady she spoke to asked her about the identity of the man she encountered, and Ethan held his breath, waiting for her to reveal him. Curiously she did not, and when he sensed her return, he melted into a pocket of darkness and fog.
Still, the blasted woman paused right before him and stared at the spot he hid for several seconds. Finally, she whispered, “Why are you following me?”
“What are you, a bloodhound?”
“You simply have a very distinctive scent, my lord,” she muttered crossly.
She knew him by his scent. How curious. “And what scent is that, my lady?”
Was it his imagination the word “Temptation” floated on the air as she ran away? Unable to suppress his protective instinct, Ethan discreetly followed her until she made her way onto Charles Street and to the townhouse of Lady Albemarle, who held a ball.
How she had managed the feat of sneaking from a ball in that clothing, Ethan could not imagine, but he found himself smiling, liking her ingenuity and gumption. Satisfied that the lady was safe for the time being, he melted away into the darkness. He made his way back to the carriage that had waited at a discreet location, quite determined to not think about that particular lady anymore.
Ethan strolledinto his townhouse in Grosvenor Square several minutes later to find his sister hobbling on her hurt ankle in the drawing room. Jenna whirled around when the door closed, her white lace nightcap sitting askew atop her dark ringlets.
“Do you have them?” she cried, pressing a hand over her heart.
“Someone else stole them before I did. I encountered that person in the viscount’s home.”
Her jaw slackened. “Someone else stole my letters?”
“Yes.”
“I cannot credit it! This must be a wicked scheme by Lord Sallis to—”
“Jenna,” he said gently, walking over to clasp her shoulders. “This lady promised she was a friend of yours, and because she does not trust me to not read the letters, she will visit first thing in the morning to hand them to you.”
Hope spooled in her eyes as she stared up at him. “Who?”
“Lady Charity.”
Jenna blinked, and then she broke into delighted laughter.
“This is not the reaction I expected given that Lady Charity placed her reputation on the line for you.”
“Oh, Ethan, please do not admonish me. I knew she had accepted the dare, but I never thought she would have gone through with it,” Jenna said, her tone rich with admiration. “And she stood up to you and refused to hand the letters over? I am not certain if dear Charity was brave or foolish.”
“Both,” Ethan said flatly. “Now tell me about this dare.”
