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"Perfect," she declared, congratulating herself for achieving precisely what she'd intended, when a moment earlier it had seemed as if her entire plan was about to explode in her face

How much time did she have?

Squinting, she tried to focus on the clock on the mantel "What time is it?"

"Half after ten What the hell do you mean, 'perfect'? Perfect for what? What did you think you were doing down there just now?"

She sighed, lifting the cool pil

low and pressing her cheek against it to still the throbbing in her head "Staging my own ruin At least what others would assu, I fear my downfall would have been fact rather than fabrication For which I'ed her terim Now, thanks to your intervention my scheme will succeed Any moment now"

Aurora watched as Merlin pulled a chair alongside the bed and straddled it He was sinfully handsoh she ood looks weren't the classic kind Lord Guillford had, nor even the chiseled kind Slayde boasted Rather, Merlin was handsoer, open seas, freedom, and adventure—the kind of life she yearned for and couldn't begin to fathom His powerful build, clad in an open-necked shirt and breeches, defied convention; his black hair, ruer than fashion dictated, swept his forehead in harsh, rebellious lines His eyes, those fiery chips of topaz, were turbulent, alive, exciting He looked like a pagan god-wicked, seductive—ideal for convincing the ton that she was in fact a fallen woman

"Merlin," she iven name or your surname?"

"Neither 'Tis an acquired name"

"Ah Then you're as brilliant as Arthur's advisor?"

"No I'm as formidable as a falcon"

"The merlin?" Aurora inclined her head, puzzled "But he's one of the smallest falcons And 'small' is hardly a term I'd use to describe you"

"Agreed But theAll of which describe me perfectly" With that, Merlin leaned forward "You said you were staging your own ruin Or what others would assume to be your ruin Why? Or should I say, for whom?"

"For the benefit of a kind, char, and incredibly conventional man," she supplied "However, that needn't concern you All you need to do is sit there Well, perhaps not just sit there" Frowning, Aurora tossed masses of tumbled hair from her face "I suppose the two of us should look a bitcoffee Perhaps an eer arrives, of course Until then we can just chat In any case, I'll pay you handsomely for ill amount to no more than an hour's work…"

One dark brow rose "Payyour ruin?"