Page 539 of From Rakes to Riches

Yet.

If she ran, however, he would have no choice.

And all would be lost—two hundred and fifty pounds…her and Liam’s future.

No.

She couldn’t let that happen.

Audacity had brought her this far.

Audacity would see her through.

Mirroring him, she crossed her arms over her chest, great folds of muslin gathering beneath her arms. She would ignore the fact his shirt smelled deliciously of him—sandalwood combined withmale. “So, you know I’m a woman,” she said with as much insouciance as she could muster. “What of it?”

Oh, that was certainly audacious.

Surprise flashed behind his eyes, and one corner of his mouth lifted. Was that a smile threatening?

Then the smile disappeared before it could fully reveal itself. “Why are you here?” he asked, low, serious.

Though a warning sounded in his tone, she didn’t heed it. “You’re the one who summoned me to your study, then insisted Itake a bath.Thenyou stole…” The rest of her words fizzled away when he began shaking his head.

“Why are youhereat Somerton?”

She sniffed and drew herself fully upright, which left her several inches shy of his towering height. “I came to work in your stables,” she tried.

“True. But…why?”

“I love horses.”

Thus, she was able to adhere close to the truth, but a feeling nagged that it wouldn’t hold.

He gave a slow nod. “That’s apparent. And you’re good at tending them. No, notgood.”

Gemma felt her brow furrowing.

“You’re the best I’ve ever seen.”

She tried not to warm to his praise—and failed.

The best.

But his praise sparked another feeling. One that had begun to gnaw at her these last few days.

Guilt.

“But that’s not why you’re at Somerton,” he said, certain.

“It’s not?”

Rakesley shook his head and spoke so low she found herself straining forward to hear him. “Is that why the lord sent you?”

The breath froze in her chest. “The lord?” she barely managed. “What lord?”

“The lord you’re spying for, of course.”

Gemma’s stomach fell to her feet. Her voice wanted to desert her, but she couldn’t let it. “I’m not spying for a lord.”

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