Page 50 of A Scandalous Kind of Duke

“Do you see that flaw on the nymph’s gown?” he said softly. “That mistaken brushstroke.”

Surely she saw it, with her trained eye, but she said, “Show me?”

And, of course, the only possible way to show her was to bring his other arm around her and envelop her, before he slid a zigzag caress over the cool porcelain.

“Such imperfections are my favorite part,” he said. “Proof of the human touch.”

She murmured her assent, as they continued to pretend this was a perfectly normal way for two people to examine a piece of porcelain.

He had not invited her in for seduction, but if he had, well, he made an inept rake. Other men seduced with flowers, poetry, moonlight; it seemed Leo was trying to seduce her with a teacup.

Itwasa nice teacup, though.

Then came the sound of whistling. Leo eased away from Juno and was on the other side of the table by the time St. Blaise appeared in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear.

“Miss Bell, what a wonderful surprise!” he said. “Have you come to beg me to become your kept man after all?”

Juno rolled her eyes, and Leo said, “She had business with Lord Renshaw, who has some compromising papers of hers.”

St. Blaise screwed up his face. “No! What? Renshaw isblackmailingyou?”

Laughing, Juno carefully returned the teacup to its fellows. “This is how rumors get started. The simple fact is: Mr. Prescott sold Lord Renshaw a painting of mine. But its frame has a secret compartment in which I keep some … personal documents. Mr. Prescott had the painting delivered before I could change the frame or remove the papers.”

“How thrilling!” St. Blaise said. “They’re love letters, aren’t they? Are they very naughty?”

Juno denied it, so swiftly and firmly Leo suspected she was lying. Jealousy bolted through him. He gripped a chair and willed away his fury at the unknown man who had penned love letters, whose words she treasured enough to keep.

She huffed out, her eyes avoiding his. “It does not matter what they are. What matters is that I must retrieve them before they are discovered, and Lord Renshaw will not allow me into his house.” She shook her head. “Though I cannot fathom by what arcane magic Lord Renshaw was induced to buy my painting in the first place. The earl despises me.”

“No! What? You’re adorable.”

“I am adorable, true. But it is less about who I am than what I am. You should try being an unmarried woman who makes her own living.”

“You should try being a bastard.”

She pursed her lips. “Let’s call that a draw.”

Leo agreed: If Renshaw had grasped that Juno was the painting’s artist, he would surely have refused it. Most likely Prescott had bamboozled the old earl, or at least taken advantage of his occasional confusion. Perhaps it was an honest miscommunication, but Leo didn’t like Prescott, so it was much more satisfying to think the worst of him.

“And now you are here in Polly’s house, where he will rescue you, like a knight in shining armor?”

“I’m not sure that he can. This is rather delicate.”

Leo rubbed his hand, as if to rub off the lingering sensation of Juno’s skin. Inviting her in had been a mistake. The sooner he ejected them both from his house, the better.

First he’d remove Juno by resolving her problem. Then he’d remove St. Blaise by carrying him up the stairs and throwing him off the roof.

“I have an idea,” he said, and made his escape.

CHAPTER15

Juno blinked at the doorway through which Leo had made his abrupt exit and then chased after him. She still felt a bit fuddled, still felt his solid heat against her back, the wicked thrill at their absurd complicity. Not to mention her surprise: Leo made an unlikely libertine. Perhaps her wantonness was contagious.

Could she provoke him into behaving like a rake? Serve him right if she succeeded.

But she mustn’t try. It was a terrible idea. And terribly tempting.

Just one hour, she reminded herself,and then I’ll stop.

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