They immediately shuttered and she cursed herself. She had just begun to be able to read him and she had given her advantage away.
The shutters fell just as suddenly as they’d been erected. She could see amusement there and interest. “Mmmm. I’m interested to see if you continue to guess correctly. Most see only what they wish to see.”
She didn’t comment on his part in that equation—that of providing that vision for them. She didn’t think herself so different from most. She too liked to see what she wished. But desperate times required rationality and attention, and the last few years had made her look more deeply.
“A game?”
“A challenge. Come, Marietta, take my challenge.” His voice was husky and deep, sexual and mysterious. She saw the truth in his eyes, though, which were watchful and keen.
“I accept.”
Pleasure and increased interest joined the watchfulness. “Not everything is singular, though, remember that. There is nothing wrong with discovery alongside a challenge. It is all in how you approach it.”
His hand slid along her back, dipping to touch her natural waist. “I hope you give in to the desire I discovered in you earlier.” He turned her and pulled her against him. Her buttocks nestled in the juncture of his legs. Heat shot straight up her spine.
They had attracted some attention. She tried to calm herself by repeating that no one knew who she was. She was just some woman who had arrived with a too attractive man.
“I want to see my brother released. That is how I’m approaching it.”
She felt his lips brush the back of her ear and she forgot to breathe. “If we are lucky tonight, Alcroft will know of a way to delay the trial. What will you do for the weeks that we might be searching?”
She pushed away from him and turned to face him, an angry retort on her lips. His smile was lazy and rakish, but his eyes…were watchful, calculating. Damn. He was going to give her a permanent headache.
“You are testing me.”
He inclined his head, watching her. “Perhaps.”
“Well, stop. I am perfectly capable of following through on my tasks, I’ve already told you that.”
He bowed toward her so his face was level with hers, his arms clasped behind his back. “You have yet to be truly tested, Marietta. You may think me poking fun about the kissing earlier, but you will need to carry off your disguise when we leave tonight for the tavern. Your brother depends upon it.”
She lifted her chin. “I will do whatever it takes.”
He smiled that rakish smile again, and this time it was echoed in his eyes. “Perfect.”
At eleven they slipped from the festivities and Marietta followed Noble into a well-appointed study. Bookshelves lined the rooms and everything was very neat. Spartan even. The complete opposite of Noble’s messy desk.
Alcroft was standing in a corner, pouring from a decanter, the liquid falling into three crystal glasses in turn.
“Miss Winters, I presume?”
Marietta jumped. Alcroft had the same way about him as Noble. He didn’t turn around, just expected everything to be as he wanted it. His shoulders tensedjust soin anticipation that they might not.
“How did you know?” She looked at Noble. He nodded in affirmation at her unasked question.
For all that she was supposed to be in disguise, a surprising number of people seemed to know or recognize her after only a few brief comments. Anthony, Jeremy, now Alcroft.
“Gabriel told me.” He balanced the glasses and put them on the desktop, waving a hand to the two chairs on the other side. “Please.”
Noble made himself comfortable, removing his mask, as Alcroft already had. Marietta perched on the chair and kept her mask in place.
“What specifically did you need?” he asked.
Noble lifted a glass and leaned back. “A way to hold off the trial. We need more time.”
Alcroft nodded and sat back in his chair as well, steepling his fingers in front of him. “You’ll need someone from Parliament to place pressure. Lords would be better at the moment, though someone in the Commons would do if you have a power player.”
Noble shook his head. “I have a couple of very big favors owed me by power players in both. I could call one in, but it wouldn’t be commensurate with the request. And creating a debt is out of the question.”
