She folded her arms as a spark of annoyance flared in her. “You keep saying that. But perhapsIshould make it clear that you shouldn’t underestimate people, especially those you don’t know. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
His eyes narrowed and she wished she could take those pointed words back. Especially when he said, “And what are you capable of?”
Panic flooded her, but she breathed into it. This man was no threat. No matter what he made her feel, she had the upper hand. And if she remembered that, she’d get out of this with her hide intact.
She forced calm and then stepped a little closer. She lifted her hand, watching him track the motion, and settled it on his hard chest. She clenched her fingers a touch, smoothing them along his jacket front. Watching his pupils dilate.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she whispered. Then she smiled and turned away, walking back into the house without another word. She could feel him watching her. She knew she had won this round in the game.
But she couldn’t feel good about it. It was becoming increasingly clear that this was the most dangerous game she’d ever played. And she feared the bitter consequences if she didn’t win.
Chapter 10
Two days after the ball, Derrick stood on the same terrace where Selina had whispered not to underestimate her, frustration pumping through his veins like a poison. Two days and he felt no closer to the identity of the Fox. Two days of watching and waiting and quietly questioning and all he had was a headache. The Fox seemed to leave no trace, no whisper in his wake.
Whoever he was, he was good.
And so was Selina. Derrick looked across the wide expanse of the parapet and found her instantly. Although there was a small party taking place around them, a tea with laughter and friends, she was alone by the terrace wall. Very near where he’d come out of the ballroom to find her two nights ago, actually. She looked off into the garden, the perfect image of repose and gentility.
Only that was a bloody lie. Over the past two days she had danced around him, smiling and winking and playing. Always near him, although she’d made what felt like a concerted effort not to directly speak to him. She was always off chatting with some other guest, enchanting them in a cloud of her boldness. Just like she did with him.
And what did she talk about? The same damned thing he was asking around about. How many times had he tried to ask a casual question about the necklace or the Fox and had his companion say, “Funny, Miss Oliver asked me the same thing.”
His jaw clenched just thinking about it. And looking at her in that pretty salmon-pink dress with the warm yellow highlights that seemed to draw his eye to every curve in her body. She just stood there being beautiful and he was going mad with it.
Madder still when she was approached by another guest. And not just any guest, but Lord Winford. Oh, he’d seen how the man looked at her over the past two days. Seen the ever-increasing leer. If Selina thought Lady Winford would give over secrets to him through seduction, certainly she would have equal luck with the earl.
And he hated it. Especially when she straightened, laughing at something the odious man had said to her. Seemingly oblivious to the way his gaze focused on a spot a foot below her eyes.
Lord Winford was dangerous. Derrick had gleaned that from the first interaction he had with the man. He had a cruel bent to him, a wickedness that radiated as much as the meanness of his wife. Derrick didn’t want Selina near him, let alone laughing at his blasted jokes.
He forced his fists to his sides, trying not to involve himself where he didn’t belong and cause a scene that could hurt his investigation. And he almost had himself under control when Selina looked past Winford in Derrick’s direction. She met his gaze, held there and then…she winked.
She bloody winked, and it was enough.
He crossed the terrace in a few long paces, fighting to retain some semblance of calm on his face, knowing he wasn’t by the way her eyes widened. Feeling it in the way Barber tracked him from the opposite side of the terrace where he stood with other guests. But it didn’t matter. Derrick was drawn to Selina like a magnet to metal.
He reached the pair, breathless with incandescent rage at her recklessness.
“Miss Oliver, Lord Winford,” he forced himself to say with what he hoped was a little politeness. “I hate to intrude, but I wonder if I may speak to you about that matter we were discussing earlier, Miss Oliver.”
She stared at him, her eyes wide for a moment, then glanced at Lord Winford, who looked mightily annoyed that his seduction attempt had been thwarted.
“Ah, yes,” she said slowly. “I suppose now is as good a time as any.”
“The library might be a good place to talk about it, since it’s in regards to that…that book,” he stammered, wishing he could manage himself a bit better.
“We’ll have to continue this conversation later, Lord Winford,” she said with an apologetic nod. “Lead the way, Mr.—”
She didn’t get to finish. He caught her elbow and guided her away, weaving through the crowd, hoping it didn’t look like he was dragging her when that was exactly what he was doing.
He pushed through the terrace doors from the parlor and took her through the room and down the hall. The library was a few paces away and he pulled her inside, shutting the door behind them. He stared at the ornate knob with its little key in the shape of a feather sticking from the lock. And slowly, he turned the key, even though he knew he shouldn’t. Then again, when it came to this woman, it seemed everything was what he knew he shouldn’t do. And it didn’t matter one fucking bit.
“Derrick, what are you thinking—” she said, apparently oblivious to the fact he’d locked the door.
“Lord Winford is not a safe person,” he snapped as he pivoted to face her. “You are being foolhardy.”
She arched a brow, the teasing back on her face. “Am I now? By speaking to a man in public view on my brother’s terrace? You think that is more foolhardy than dragging me into the library and locking the door?”
