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Afterthe staff, Sybil crept to the roorand houses, the study was a place wherefinancial decisions Not that she expected Mr Daventry to use the rooue sprawled sehs while he feasted on mounds of bare flesh

Sybil cursed her vivid iination

She had made sure Mr Daventry was not at hohtly, always before the stroke of twelve Indeed, Sybil had sat hidden in a hackney on Davies Street for the best part of an hour, watching the entrance to the mews The urchin she’d paid to spy on her quarry confirmed Mr Daventry’s departure

And yet the ered

The pang of apprehension did not act as a deterrent Despite her heart haainst her chest, she turned the doorknob and slipped into the dark room

The thrill of invading dangerous territory left her weak at the knees It took a loom

Mr Daventry’s potent energy invaded the darkness She narrowed her gaze and focused on the eue’s unique sh that was no surprise She often woke at night and caught a whiff of his seductive scent

Pushing aside her trepidation, she lass doors were locked, the keyson the spines confirh she would lay odds he never read them Why would a man who enjoyed lascivious pursuits be interested in moral principles?

She turned her attention to the desk, to the quill next to the sheet of paper While it was the height of bad manners to read a person’s le sentence scrawled in black ink

Ignorance, the root and stem of every evil

Strange

It was one of her father’s favourite quotes, yet it sounded norant A quest for knowledge had brought her to Mr Daventry’s hoht

Shadows of doubt held her rigid

Had Mr Daventry discovered how she’d learned of the auction? Had the valet confessed to his friendship with her abigail? Was Mr Daventry aware of her plan and had faked his departure?

As herelse struck her as peculiar So peculiar, she padded over to the fireplace