To Tame a Dangerous Lord (Courtship Wars 5)

That was partly true. He wanted to keep her safe, more so because he felt responsible for her. “You cannot claim your father would approve of my putting you at risk,” Rayne countered.

Her retort was sweetly spirited. “Oh, I think he would. Papa taught his children to fend for themselves. He would be more disappointed if we needed to be sheltered. Besides, the danger is not all that great, is it?”

Her life would not be in jeopardy, Rayne acknowledged. If that were so, he would never chance letting Madeline accompany him. He’d lost more than a few agents in his time, deaths he could not have prevented, yet he still bore the guilt. And his guilt would be magnified a thousandfold if he let harm come to David Ellis’s daughter. “I told you, I don’t want to chance you being taken for a thief.”

“Even so, I truly would like to help. I’ve had little opportunity to make any meaningful difference in anyone’s life, as you have.”

Rayne had difficulty resisting that imploring gaze, especially when Madeline added in a softer voice, “Won’t you allow me any role at all?”

“You will have a significant role, love. You will keep Mrs. Sauville in sight at all times. If you see her break away from her guests and attempt to leave her salon, you will distract her. The same goes for any suspicious activity among her servants. And if I require more time to search her apartments upstairs, you may have to create a disturbance of some kind.”

“What sort of disturbance?”

He gave a light shrug. “It depends on the circumstances. You could fall down in a swoon, or spill wine on one of the guests, or tip over a candle…. You’ll have to rely upon your wits to decide the most effective course and then improvise.”

Madeline’s features held both intrigue and disappointment. “So I am only to serve as a distraction if one is needed?”

“Yes. Nothing more.”

“Very well,” she said reluctantly.

Rayne fixed her with a level gaze. “I want you to promise that you will follow my commands to the letter, sweetheart. Otherwise we will call the whole thing off.”

Madeline hesitated before a glimmer of amusement entered her lovely eyes. “Certainly I will, O master.”

When Rayne’s glance sharpened, her look turned innocent. “You won’t let me address you as ‘my lord.’ I thought you might prefer ‘master.’”

Laughter and exasperation battled within him. “Simply Rayne will do.”

Pulling a leather pouch from a side pocket of the carriage door, he handed Madeline a folded paper. “Freddie has drawn up a floor plan of the widow’s house from memory. I want you to study it in the remote event it becomes necessary for you to go anywhere but the drawing room.”

“Do you prepare this much for every operation?” she asked curiously.

“More or less. When your life depends upon the smallest detail, you learn the wisdom of careful planning. But there are always unknown factors that can upend your best-laid plans, including simple ill luck, so you develop contingencies in case of trouble. Now apply yourself to learning the layout, love, starting with the widow’s bedchamber.”

“I won’t ask how Freddie learned so much about that particular room,” Madeline murmured impishly before turning her attention to the drawing.

Rayne watched her for several minutes as she frowned in concentration. When she began worrying her luscious lower lip, he recalled doing the same thing to her mouth the night of the ball. In truth, he’d almost lost control of himself that night. Even though he’d merely planned on kissing Madeline, he couldn’t resist the vibrant woman in his arms—her eyes soft and hazy, like silver smoke, her magnificent breasts bared for his pleasure. He remembered plucking those taut nipples, rolling them between his fingers, pulling them into his mouth, hungry to taste his fill of her….

He’d somehow resisted the urgent impulse to carry Madeline into the nearest bedchamber and take his persuasion all the way, but it had been a close thing. Even now an image of her spread wild and wanton before him made Rayne stir uncomfortably in his seat.

Her response to his passion, however, had only increased his desire to have Madeline in his nuptial bed, while her reaction to his proposal had confirmed his decision to wed her.

Admittedly, Rayne was mildly astonished that she’d refused him with such conviction. Yet after considering it, he was rather glad she hadn’t leapt to accept his offer. He valued a challenge, and Madeline would be a challenge worth striving for.

Meanwhile, he would have to suffer the pain of unfulfilled need. It was another reason he didn’t want her working with him on this operation. She was too much of a distraction.

Even so, he was glad to have Madeline with him. Spending an afternoon and evening together gave him the opportunity to woo her subtly without raising her resistance further. He could show her his home in London and give her a taste of the advantages and pleasures she could expect as his countess. God knew, Madeline had enjoyed few pleasures in her life thus far.

And once they had safely retrieved the letters, Rayne reflected, he could turn his full attention to convincing her to become his wife.

* * *

Watching Madeline that afternoon brought its own pleasure, Rayne decided two hours later. He first escorted her to Hatchard’s, where she seemed enraptured to find so many varied tomes available for her perusal. To her additional delight, the proprietor had an excellent French primer in stock, and agreed to write the publisher and order three dozen copies for the Freemantle Academy.

Madeline sighed upon leaving the bookshop. “How wonderful it would be to have so many books to choose from. One could read a different volume every day for years and still not come to the end.”

“I have a fair library of my own,” Rayne informed her. “You are welcome to read them all.”