Page 38 of A Relentless Rake

This time, he found the question not at all amusing. He studied her closely. Could he trust her with the truth? She wasn’t a traitor; he’d bet his right arm on that. But how far would she go to protect her brother, who very likely was?

If he lost her trust, though, the mission would be over. With Everett leading them on a wild goose chase every time he left the school, the challenging woman standing so defiantly in front of him was their only way forward.

He blew out a harsh breath. “Because you wouldn’t have believed the truth.”

“Try me.”

“All right.” He fixed his gaze on hers. “I’ve been working to prevent a group of revolutionaries from overthrowing the government.”

She laughed. “Oh, that’s funny!”

When he didn’t join in the laughter, the sound choked in her throat. Even in the dim firelight, he saw her pale.

“A group of…” Her eyes widened. “You’remad!”

He swept a slow look over her and felt the frustration coil in his gut. “Quite possibly.” More so with every aching moment he spent in her company. “And yet I’ve agreed to find those men and stop them. The same men who’ve recruited your brother’s help.”

Her mouth fell open. From the way she stared, she might scream yet. “Henry wouldneverwork with traitors!”

“Perhaps not freely. Perhaps not even knowingly.” He was willing to grant her this hopeful bit of solace until the mission proved otherwise. “But I’ve seen the evidence myself. There’s no mistake. Your brother’s connected to those men.” The question was how. What did a mathematician have to do with the bombing?

“That’s why you were in the alley, at the lecture, at the ball…” she whispered. “You’ve been following me.”

“I was assigned to you,” he admitted somberly. There was no point lying to her. “Your brother had disappeared, and I’d followed you into the City, hoping you’d lead me to him. When I saw you were in trouble, I intervened.” He grimaced. “You were never supposed to have known I was watching you. That’s why I wore the mask.”

“Then why are you still wearing it? Did you plan to continue to deceive me to get the information you wanted?”

“No,” he said firmly, as much to convince himself as her. “I planned on telling you tonight.”

She gave him an icy glare. “Before or after you saw me in my undergarments?”

Jesus, when she put it like that… “Thatwasn’t planned.”

Her eyes flickered with disbelief and anger. “It must have been difficult for you to keep a straight face when you were introduced to me tonight.” There was no bitterness in her voice, only a steady disappointment that troubled him even more than if she’d screamed. “Or rather, when you came to my room tonight and asked if I’d enjoyed my evening.”

“I had to learn about your brother’s work. There was no other way.”

She gestured toward her brother’s room. “Then go ask him yourself.”

“I would,” he countered grimly, “but he’s not home, is he?” He’d suspected that when he hadn’t seen Clayton or Reed outside, watching over the house. The blood that drained from her face proved it. “Where do you think he went tonight without telling you, when you were at the ball so you wouldn’t notice he was gone again?”

“He’s only a schoolmaster,” she protested, her voice hoarse. “He’s not a radical or an anarchist. He isn’t political at all.”

Ignoring her protests, he pressed gently, “What work has he done recently?”

“You attended his lecture. You saw for yourself. Next month, his paper will be published in their journal, and he has enough data for a second article.” She raised her chin victoriously. “If he wanted to cause a revolution, he has an odd way of keeping it secret.”

“Ifhe’s even aware that he’s part of it.” He took a step toward her to keep her off-balance and took a different tack. “What building plans has he been working on?”

“None.” Blinking with confusion at the sudden change in conversation, she moved away. “I don’t understand what that has to do with—”

“Are you certain?”

“I’d have seen them.”

He circled her around the room in a very slow chase to keep her concentration scattered enough to unwittingly reveal information. “Perhaps he’s hiding them from you.”

“Henry has never hidden his work from me, and he wouldn’t start now.”