Page 2 of A Trickster’s Temptation

‘Your stupid little peccadilloes are barely supportable when heard about second-hand. To see you comporting yourself in this manner in the flesh is unbearable.’

‘You do like to pull out the dictionary when you’re angry, Miss Fine. Am I being reprimanded or given a lesson?’

‘There are people here who don’t deserve your nonsense, and certainly don’t deserve to spend money on your nonsense. You can’t pretend that you’re here to do anything other than swindle people for the fun of it.’

‘Don’t forget the money. That’s quite an important reason for swindling people.’

‘Do you really wish for me to give you a lesson in morality? Because I had plenty of people to speak to this evening, plenty of dances, but I am more than willing to push all that aside in favour of boring you to death. Or worse, convincing the rest of the guests to hunt you down for sport.’ Mary glared, her eyes brighter than usual in the dim light of the alcove. ‘I am completely ready to do that.’

‘All right, dash it.’ There was no point arguing with Mary when she had the look in her eye that she currently had. The faintly dangerous smugness that was almost as sweet as it was thoroughly irritating. Adam gave a sigh and a careless shrug. ’What do you want?’

Mary blinked. ‘What do I—I want?’

‘Yes.’ Adam fought a brief surge of triumph at actually having foxed the woman for once. Mary maintained such a prim air that bringing her down to earth, however softly, was a moment to be enjoyed. ‘This is how men of ill repute behave, Miss Fine. We don’t do anything—especially something that will lose us money—without being offered something equally valuable in return.’

Ha! He’d never seen Mary’s eyes so wide. Adam folded his arms, waiting for whatever would come next with an almost unhealthy amount of anticipation.

Would she offer him money? He’d enjoy turning that down. No amount of pin money, even from the Fine family, would be quite as valuable as the money he could potentially make here pretending to be Mr. Simms with his marvellous medical tinctures. Perhaps Mary would truly grow desperate and attempt to offer him something else, a priceless vase or picture from her family’s townhouse that would set him up for life… but no, she didn’t find him irritating enough to buy him off completely.

At least, Adam hoped she didn’t. This battle of wills whenever they met was… well, it was diverting, in its way. So when Mary finally opened her mouth, a soft pink blush at the edge of her temples, Adam found himself hoping that she’d offer him something that he could easily refuse.

He cleared his throat. ‘Well, Miss Fine?’

‘A kiss.’

‘B—beg pardon?’

‘You heard me.’

‘I very much doubt that I heard correctly.’ A dull roaring sound had invaded Adam’s ears; he took a step backward, a sheen of thoroughly distasteful sweat suddenly making his forehead feel as if it were boiling. ‘Did you say a… a…’

‘A kiss. If you kiss me, Mr. Hart, then I shall tell no-one that you are here.’ Mary’s cheeks were now the vivid pink of a winter sunset. ‘But given that you sprung away from me as if I hurled a spider at you when I mentioned kisses, then we shall forget the matter. Would you prefer money? Tell me the amount.’

‘No, I…’

‘Name your price.’

‘Miss Fine, I’m damned if I’m going to forget what you just said.’ Coarse language, yes, but Adam couldn’t have used more delicate words if he’d tried. ‘A kiss.You offered me a kiss in exchange for leaving this gathering.’

‘… Yes. But given that your first reaction was one of revulsion, I would prefer to discuss money.’

‘That’s a pity, Miss Fine, because I’d much prefer to discuss where on earth that request came from.’Much preferwas putting it very mildly. Now that Adam had heard the wordkissfrom Mary’s normally very reserved lips, his body was aflame with new and potent curiosity. ‘In fact, it’s now my only reason for being here. If you don’t explain, I’ll be forced to turn once more to petty fraud.’

Mary bit her lip. Adam had never seen her look so discombobulated. A thrill of triumph, along with a thrill of something else entirely, crept up his spine.

‘So in a way, Miss Fine, you’d be doing me a service.’ He made sure not to step forward, not to reach out; Mary already looked shocked, embarrassed, but he didn’t want her scared. If anything, he wanted her exactly as courageous as she’d just been—and wasn’t it strange that it had taken only a few seconds to become all too comfortable with the idea ofwantingher? ‘It’s a charitable act.’

‘Shut up.’

‘You already know I’m incapable of doing that.’ Perhaps one step forward would be acceptable—but before Adam could do so, Mary moved towards him instead. ‘But then, I’m beginning to recalculate what people are capable of.’

‘I’m not going to explain anything.’

‘No?’

‘Not at all.’

‘Not a single word? You’re beginning to sound like a criminal, Miss Fine, keeping your motives hidden.’

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