Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (206 page)

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Libertine Lord, Pickpocket Miss

associate with Julian rose

the lengths of

cravat cloth neatly folded in the drawer. There was a carved wooden box in the drawer as well.

Sophie opened it, acutely aware that she was invading someone's privacy. There were no diamonds inside, only folded papers. Sophie quickly put the lid back on. Whatever was in those papers had nothing to do with her, and the less she knew about Julian personally the better off she was. Sophie ran her hands expertly across the back and bottom of the drawer, looking for a secret compartment.

"They're not in the bureau."

Sophie jumped and stifled a scream. Julian lounged against the door

acting as if he'd

been expecting to

her going through his

personal things all along. Did nothing this

dratted man? "You startled

she scolded.

Julian gave his low chuckle. "I startled
you?

Have you forgotten these are
my
rooms? You're not supposed to be here."

Julian entered the room and started pacing.

He emanated restless energy, and for the first time Sophie noticed the little details about him; his hair was mussed, his boots were dusty and caked with

Scott

dirt in places, as if he'd

in them.

slight film

of sweat glistened on his brow.

Julian stopped at the long window and looked out into the courtyard garden below. "Sophie, we have to talk."

Those words confirmed her suspicions. Julian had run here, had hoped to find her here. It was to think the man knew her so well.

"Please, sit down." Julian gestured toward the bed, the only piece of

in the room that

would accommodate the action of sitting. "Sophie, you can't have the diamonds," he began once she was settled on the big four-poster.

Some of the tension went out of her. He'd seemed so serious. She'd thought for a moment something important had happened, but it was still the same conversation they'd been having since this morning. "You disappoint me, Julian. I thought you'd have something original to say."

Sophie moved to slide off the bed.

"Wait! This is not about you or me having the diamonds." The force of his voice caused her to halt. "You're in danger, Sophie. The moment you hand over those diamonds to di Brazzo is the moment you are dead."

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Libertine Lord, Pickpocket Miss

That got her attention. "I think you'd better explain," Sophie said quietly, resuming her place on the bed. Frankly, Julian's words scared her. In many ways, retrieving the diamonds was the riskiest job she'd done. She hadn't liked the count on

sight but the money he offered would be the making of her new life.

Julian strode to the bed and reached for her hands. The

of his grip was reassuring.

Brazzo can't risk you telling anyone about the jewels," he explained softly.

Julian was trying to be gentle. But she didn't want gentle, not right now. She yanked her hands his and moved off the bed. She knew Julian meant well and she was

scared. But she was

something else too. She was
angry.

In fact, she was angrier than she'd ever been in her life. She was angry at fate for letting her come so close to succeeding. She was angry at di Brazzo for not playing fairly-there was honor among thieves, and he should have honored the code of their dealings. Most of all, she was angry at herself. She should have gone with her initial instincts about di Brazzo. She should have seen di Brazzo's secret plan

the start and stayed

away.

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Sophie paced the room in long,

strides, stopping occasionally to look about the chamber while she vented her anger. She'd come so close to succeeding. Now she wasn't simply going to fail and fall short, she was going to die.

Maybe not tomorrow if she could work a miracle.

But she couldn't outrun di Brazzo forever. She thought of the paste jewels back in her rooms.

They would buy her some time, but they wouldn't buy her enough. Still, if Julian was to be believed, di Brazzo would see her dead if she turned over the jewels. Convincing him the paste items were real was a moot point. She was dead if she stayed and dead if she ran. She stopped and surveyed the room again. Damn it. Just damn it.

"What are you looking for?" Julian asked tentatively

the bed, where he'd had the good

sense to stay, out of her way.

"Something to throw," Sophie ground out.

She wanted to smash a nice, delicate porcelain shepherdess, but Julian's rooms were as austere as they came. "What am I going to do?" Sophie sighed and went to the window, leaning against the sash and looking down into the park. Some of the fire had gone out of her anger. She had to