She gazed up at him and nodded slowly. “Thank you for that. It helps to hear it.”
Her voice and expression were genuine. He could see her deep fear for her brother’s future, her pain for what he’d suffered in the past and even now. And for a moment, he longed to take her hand. He flexed his fingers at his sides so he wouldn’t do something so foolish.
He needed to stay on task.
“Well, it’s been a pleasure to see you, Miss Oliver,” he said. “But I should—”
She raised a hand. “Do not run away on my account, Mr. Huntington. I promised Katherine and the other ladies that I would join them for drinks before we all gather for supper, and I am already fashionably late. I will see you tonight, I hope.”
He nodded. “Indeed. Until then, Miss Oliver.”
“Until then,” she repeated, and turned away. He watched her as she went and at the door she turned and sent another saucy smile toward him before she glided from the room.
He sank into the closest chair after she did so and dragged in a breath of the air she’d stolen when she entered the room. The woman was…fascinating. He could very easily read most people. It was why he’d taken so well to this profession. And though he caught a glimpse now and then of the realness beneath her façade, most of the time Selina Oliver was utterly unreadable.
That should have warned him off. Should have done a great many things. But instead it made him throb for her all the more. Made him want to peel off all that pretense, along with her gown and her underthings, and mount an exploration of all that was beneath.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered. “Find a lightskirt if you need relief. Get yourself together.”
With those words said, he pushed back to his feet and returned his attention to the books on the shelves. Only he could no longer seem to find focus for the titles.
And he had the strangest feeling that stealing his focus was exactly what Miss Oliver wanted.
Chapter 4
The ladies had all gathered in the large parlor near Katherine’s study, and it was a jolly group, on the whole. Everyone was beautiful in their finery, friendly in their conversation, and there were jewels galore for Selina to admire. And covet, though she refused to allow her attention to be drawn away from the necklace she was here to steal.
Apart from everything else? Well, that was harder. Her encounter with Derrick Huntington in the library replayed over and over in her mind. She’d intended to play a little with him, flirt with him and set him on his heels. She thought she had succeeded in that.
And yet she didn’t feel fully satisfied by the meeting. There had been moments when he’d almost effortlessly pulled away the mask she wore. Moments where she thought he could…see her.
If he could do that, he was a dangerous investigator, indeed. And she’d have to work hard to keep him off her scent if she decided to follow through on her plans for Lady Winford’s jewels.
“Miss Oliver?”
Selina pivoted and found that Katherine’s friend, the Duchess of Sheffield, had approached her. Selina smiled in welcome, both because the duchess seemed so kind and also because Selina had a keen interest in the lady. After all, her quarry had been invited to this party for the sole purpose of her husband’s potential assistance to the Duke of Sheffield.
“Your Grace,” Selina said. “Oh, and please, just Selina.Miss Oliversounds so strange to my ears.”
“Helena,” the duchess said with another of those pretty smiles. “I also struggle with the formality.”
It didn’t surprise Selina. After all, Helena was rather famouslyAmerican. That was how it was said, too, in good circles when she wasn’t around.American, like it was a disease the lovely woman carried. She’d also been rumored to have once been hardly more than a servant.
It seemed Katherine, Robert and their group were fond of collecting outsiders. Which made them very likeable to Selina, even if she could never truly be part of their special circle. She was a bastard, after all. And a wild one, at that. She could never befullyaccepted.
“It’s so lovely to finally meet you,” Helena said with a truly welcoming smile. “Katherine always speaks so highly of you.”
“Does she?” Selina said, arching her brow as she gazed across the room to where her sister-in-law stood with the Duchess of Crestwood and a few other ladies. “I suppose I’m surprised she speaks of me at all.”
Helena tilted her head. “Of course she does.”
“Well, she is a wonderful woman,” Selina replied, and meant every word. “I’ve become very fond of her.”
“I know she was thrilled to have you join the party,” Helena continued.
Selina glanced at Helena. This was a perfect opening to discuss Lady Winford. After all, the countess was their shared quarry. For Helena, the woman represented a hope for the future for her husband. For Selina…well, the necklace…and a little bit of comeuppance for bad behavior.
“Of course, it’s not yet a complete party,” Selina said, and watched Helena’s gaze flicker to the door, almost as if she were anticipating the arrival of Lady Winford even now.
