Page 66 of A Remarkable Rogue

It had been a bittersweet few hours in the nursery tonight. She played with Robbie on the floor with his toys and listened to him tell her about his life on the farm, and she simply could not get enough of him. Nate excused himself early to retire to his room, but Sydney remained long after the chocolate tray was taken away and Robbie had changed into his nightshirt. Miss Jenner let Sydney put him into bed, tuck him beneath the covers, and read one last bedtime story to him from a large book of fairy tales he kept on his bedside table. Sydney prolonged the evening by remaining until he fell asleep. Even then, with his blond head resting peacefully on the pillow, she lingered at his bedside to simply watch him sleep.

She reached her room and slipped inside. Thankfully, one of the maids had already prepared it for the night. The satin coverlet had been turned down, and a small fire burned low in the fireplace, its soft glow heating the room against the cold night. On the stand beside the bed sat a glass and a bottle of port.

She gave a grateful yet tired smile as she crossed the room to pour herself a drink. Mrs. Larkin had thought of everything she might—

“Sydney.”

The low voice slid heatedly down her spine.

Nate.

She whirled around to find him leaning back against the closed door. The handsome devil must have slipped into the room behind her without a sound. He was in his shirtsleeves with his cravat missing and his tan waistcoat unbuttoned. He was half-dressed, completely desirable, and wholly unexpected.

She’d been certain he wouldn’t come to her room tonight after what she’d said to him in the drawing room that afternoon. His silence all through dinner had only increased her assurance of that. So had his distance in the nursery, when he’d remained at the side of the room and away from her and Robbie.

Yet here he was, with his hazel eyes gleaming at her so intently that they sent her heart somersaulting. How was it possible that even such a simple look from him had the power to undo her?

She fought down the rising arousal low in her belly and reached for the port to pour out a glass. She did her best to appear as calm as possible. As calm as any proper lady would be upon finding a half-dressed man in her bedroom, that is…the same one who had ripped her breath away last night and shattered her in his arms.

God’s mercy.Her hands shook so violently she nearly spilled the port.

She remembered all the delicious things he was capable of doing to her, all of which she would gladly let him do to her again tonight.

Yet he remained on the far side of the room with his back against the door as if he couldn’t quite decide whether to come fully inside the room or flee.

Thatdid not portend a good end to the evening. She asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Reconnaissance.”

She paused in mid pour to glance over her shoulder at him. “Pardon?”

“Civilian,” he chastised teasingly. “While you were upstairs with Robert and Miss Jenner, I searched through the house to find all the doors and stairs, learn the layout of the rooms, and discover where all your servants spend the night. And you should know,” he informed her with a quirk of his brow, “they don’t all spend the night in their own rooms.”

Just as he wasn’t in his. Did he plan to spend the night here, or had he only come to update her on his plans and to give her instructions for their departure at dawn?

But she no longer wanted to leave Oakwood.

She held out the glass toward him and waited. If Nate wanted her tonight, he would have to come to her. He would have to accept her as she was, including all her confusions about her son. And about him.

He studied the proffered glass for a long moment. Then he pushed himself away from the door and slowly approached her.

“Apparently,” he told her as he accepted the port, “Mr. Beasley is a very busy man.”

“Beasley?” She couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of the balding, ruddy-faced groom and gardener as the farm’s resident Casanova. “Your talents are misplaced, Captain.” She smiled at him with unabashed amusement. “You should be working for theton’s gossips.”

“It could be a second career if this army thing doesn’t work out,” he said dryly.

She bit back a laugh. This man couldn’t be anything else but a soldier.

Without invitation, he slumped into the chair in front of the fire and kicked his long legs out in front of him. He appeared completely at ease and deliciously rumpled. Her thighs clenched at the sight, and she somehow resisted the urge to climb on top of him.

“Nate,” she whispered, her pulse speeding. “I want—”

“Miss Caroline Jenner,” he interrupted quietly. As he took a sip of the port, his eyes met hers over the rim of the glass. “Do you trust her?”

Her heart fell with rejection. He was only here tonight for business after all.

She shouldn’t have been surprised, yet she wasn’t prepared for the panging echo of loss inside her or for how she already felt utterly bereft. He’d warned her that his goal was stopping Scepter as soon as possible. Once he put an end to Scepter, he would receive his reward money, and then he was as good as gone from London. And from her life.