“What?Of course I do.You shouldn’t be in here.”
“I daresay, neither should you.”His eyebrow arched.
She let out a small huff.He was right, and dammit, he was in her way.She had only a short amount of time to find something that she could use to bribe her father-in-law.Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at Seaton.“All right, I am looking for something, if you must know.”
“What are you looking for?”
“None of your business,” she replied.
“Fair enough.”Crossing his arms, he mirrored her stance.“Perhaps we could help each other.”
“How?”
“I have been tasked with finding out what misdeeds the duke is up to of late.If you happened to know or hear anything and were willing to share it, I would generously compensate you.”
Violet sucked in a sharp breath.He was looking for exactly the information she needed.She narrowed her eyes.It was well known that Seaton was a criminal.She needed to exercise caution with him.“I have no need of your monetary offer.How would that be helping me?”
He gazed at her for a long moment.Violet straightened her spine.This might be the opportunity she needed—if she could convince him to share any information he gathered.
When he spoke again, his voice was low and mocking.“Well, now, if you are willing to share what you are searching for in here tonight, perhaps I can assist.As a show of good faith.”
She couldn’t tell him the truth, to be sure.He wouldn’t understand her desperation.It would just make her seem weak.Violet scrambled for something that she could ask for; her mind went to the locked drawer in front of her.“Could you pick the lock on this drawer?”
Seaton’s eyes widened in surprise, but a smile stretched across his face, and he nodded.He crossed the rug and came around the desk.She stepped back a few paces as he came close.His presence was overwhelming.Like the first time she had met him at her friend Lucy’s house last year, her heart beat double its normal rhythm as he drew near.It wasn’t fear, though, just an immediate feeling of knowing, as though her soul recognized him.Violet shook her head at the ridiculous thought.She pointed to the second drawer.“That one.”
Seaton crouched in front of it and then pulled a small leather roll out of an inside pocket.Unfurling it, he chose two thin metal tools before setting the pouch onto the desktop.Violet stared down at the variety of small picks.
“Light please,” Seaton said.
She lowered the taper so it illuminated the lock.As she watched him, he inserted the two tools into the lock.One with a flat hook at the bottom and one with a serrated tip at the top of the keyhole.In less than ten seconds, he’d twisted the bottom pick, and there was a click as the mechanism turned.Then he slid the drawer open.
He stood and took a step back.
“That was impressive, Mr.Seaton.I suppose lock-picking must be a handy skill for a criminal.”
“Yes.”
Unnerved by his easy agreement to her accusation, she tore her gaze from his and looked down at the contents of the drawer.Correspondence filled it.As unorganized as the top of the desk, it was a tangled pile of letters.Violet sighed.“This will take me far too long to go through tonight.Blast it.Why did I think this would be easy?”she muttered.
“Just take it all.”
She looked back up at Seaton.“Then he will know someone has been in here.”
He shrugged.“So?”
“I was hoping to be stealthier.I don’t want to raise his suspicions.”
“Take it.I’ll jam the lock so he can’t get into the drawer.He probably doesn’t try to access it as often as you might think.”
Violet bit down on her bottom lip.Did she dare?Yes, it might not produce anything, but it was her first real opportunity to get information.Surely, he wouldn’t lock away these letters unless they contained some sensitive information.“All right.”Violet pulled free the shawl she had artfully tied around her shoulders.Laying it on the desktop, she scooped out letters by the handful.Straightening them into neat piles, she emptied the drawer, then carefully tied them up into a small bundle.“Thank you for your help.”
Seaton nodded.He closed the drawer and bent to relock it.He then pulled something from his pants pocket and placed it into the lock.With the flathead tool, he jammed it into the bottom of the keyhole.When he rose, his gaze snared hers.“Remember our agreement.If you hear anything or read anything”—his eyes flicked to the bundle she held—“of his misdeeds, tell me.”
“Did we make an agreement?”She smirked.
His jaw clenched and his expression darkened.The scar that crossed his cheek pulled at the corner of his upper lip and added to his air of menace.But his clear blue eyes, fringed with long, dark lashes, were in direct contrast to his dark expression and made him resemble a very dangerous fallen angel.
Violet couldn’t help but chuckle when that strange analogy popped into her head.She held up her hands.“Yes, yes, I will.But how do I reach you?”
