She licked her lips despite herself.
His gaze snapped to her mouth at once, his own lips parting. The world seemed to stand still. She could feel the blood rushing in her veins, and hear every heartbeat in her ears. Was he finally about to—
Mr. Lenox straightened. “We’ll have to suffer through each other’s company until we find that missing will and can be rid of each other at last.”
Damn it. Elizabeth inclined her head. “To the countess’s chambers?”
“Very well.”
They spent the next four hours going over every inch of Arminia’s apartments. Fortunately, Mr. Lenox had not set up traps in this area.
As an investigator, he was even more thorough than Elizabeth could have hoped. He took down finishings and dismantled furniture and tested the mortar between every stone for tampering.
“I don’t believe there’s anything to find,” Mr. Lenox said for the thousandth time.
“I cannot believe the earl left a wet blanket likeyouhere in his place,” Elizabeth groused.
“Can you not? Densmore says I don’t do anything important anyway. Of course, a useless tinker would do any small favor for an earl.”
“What poppycock!” Elizabeth was suddenly furious on Mr. Lenox’s behalf. “Why didn’t you stab him?”
“I can’t find him,” he reminded her.
She searched along the hem of a curtain. “Do you mind ifIstab him?”
“You don’t know where he is, either.”
“My brother Graham will find him,” she said with confidence. “At which point I’ll behead Densmore for you, at no extra charge.”
Mr. Lenox crawled inside the empty fireplace. “Could you leave him a little bit alive? I don’t want to be an earl.”
“I suppose,” she agreed reluctantly. “But let me know if you change your mind.”
He appeared to consider this. “What I would really like is some way to prevent Reddington from breathing down my neck.”
“Blech.” She rolled her eyes in agreement. “Rich people.”
Mr. Lenox cocked his head at her from under the mantel. “Forgive me, but aren’t you reasonably well off yourself?”
“Not like Reddington,” she protested. “If I had his mountain of gold, I’d use it to help people, not to stage self-aggrandizing, war-themed pantomimes.” She thought it over. “All right, I’d do both.”
“I would expect no less.” Mr. Lenox ran his hands inside the flue. “I also think we’ve exhausted every potential hiding spot in my aunt’sprivate quarters. Wherever the clues to the will might be, they’re not in here.”
Elizabeth was forced to agree. She brushed off her skirts. “Thank you for helping me search.”
He crouch-walked out of the fireplace and stretched up to his full height. “My pleasure.”
“I doubt crawling around a hard stone floor on your hands and knees is anyone’s pleasure.”
“You might recall that I was going to be on the floor anyway,” he reminded her. A hint of soot accented one of his cheekbones. “That’s what I was in the midst of when you interrupted.”
She stiffened. “Don’t let me stop you from getting back to your precious machines.”
“I shan’t.” He paused. “Let me know if you need me again.”
He was close enough to touch. Lord, how she wanted to. Elizabeth had thought of little else from the moment he had removed his helmet and revealed those sharp cheekbones and soft brown hair. For some unfathomable reason, she didn’t even care that he wasn’t a sword-wielding warrior. Her unquenchable desire to reach for him had grown when she’d cut open his clothing and accidentally treated herself to the finest chiseled torso outside of the British Museum.
Thinking was different from doing, of course. Particularly when she wasn’t meant to be droolingortouching. She’d left her sword stick in her room, specifically so that its sharp blade would not lead her into temptation.
