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Today he had a visitor who iht on his activities"

She sat up, her attention riveted "Sienius!"

But her praise did not earn her the lazy san, then he rose to his feet and cae of the tub

Deep foreboding twisted her stoent of the Crown"

"Heavens, you frightenedthrough all the possibilities "They will never cease trying to solve the murders of Winter and Dayton Of course, I aency wants you" He exhaled harshly "Enough that they have released a criminal to catch a criminal"

"Released a cri dawned "No…"

Heedless of his expensive gar theainst St John at an inn at St George’s Fields The viscount has offered an exchange--St John’s freedo in his place That is why he was not surprised to see St John at the Campion masquerade and that is why he expected that you were there with the pirate

Maria stared at Sin of mischief It would be a dreadful y il -conceived jest in such a way, but it would be preferable to the alternative; that her lover meant the ultimate betrayal--her death

"No, Simon No"

It was not possible to

Si her with hi her in a loving e his clothes, her tears silent but copious He rocked her and hummed to her, held her and loved her

"I think he cares for me," she said, her tear-stained face in his throat

"He would be a fool not to, mhuirnin"

"I find it nearly impossible to believe otherwise" She drew in a shaky breath "I had intended to ask for his assistance tonight"

If everything between thee to win her trust, it was nearly a dazzling success She had been prepared to bare her most precious secret, her one vulnerability, because she believed in hiht that Christopher deserved to know, because he had forgiven her for Eddington, even though she had given no explanations

Eddington

She pulled back, catching Siency "You kno St John has been watching hton and sent Tis with intent to harm…Dear God, I have been a fool to trust hi stabbed anew, this tiainst her, too?

"I have already dispatched men to recover the witness," Sie"

"Oh, Sihtly "What would I do without you?"

"You would rub along fine, mhuirnin But I am in no hurry to be proven correct about that" He rested his chin on the top of her head "What will you do?"

"I’m not certain I suppose I will afford hiht and dry "I intend to ask hiht hoas that he came to be released If he refuses to tel me or evades the question, I will know his loyalty lies with his own interests and not with me"

"And then?"

She brushed the tears from her cheeks "And then we do e must Amelia coh the front door of his ho in his step In all of his life, he could not remember the last time he had ever felt this…happy He had not even known that he could be happy, for Christ’s sake He’d thought that feeling was beyond hiloves and planned in his mind the best way to receive Maria when she arrived that evening He would send men to escort her and ensure her safety, but ould he do with her once she was here? He’d stay buried inside her for hours,

without question, but he would also like to continue wooing her He relished the idea of exploring more of the unknoorld of intimate relationships

"H neither of theet He could ask his cook to prepare a variety of dishes known for their aphrodisiac qualities And order flowers Ones with a lush, exotic scent that would set the proper mood

His lips twisted rueful y Of course, all of that was directed toward the sexual part of the evening He obviously knew nothing about ro his shoulders back, Christopher considered a nap He needed to think longer on the y than he had at thehis head, Christopher saw Philip fil ing the door to his study "What is it?"

"The men you sent to research Amelia returned this afternoon"

His brows rose, then he nodded anda seat behind his desk Lined up facing him were the four men he’d dispatched

All looked travel dusty and yet they were fil ed with a palpable excite he would appreciate