Page 44 of An Unexpected Earl

Howard’s head jerked up as he realized he’d let slip information he shouldn’t have. His panic reminded Pearce of a green soldier surrounded by the enemy on his first sortie.

“Parliament, of course. The session ends in a few days. I’ve—I’ve gone ahead and introduced the bill.” Frustration shook visibly through him. “Had no choice. There’s barely time to escort the bill through debate and voting as it is.”

Pearce glanced at the screen near the door, then drawled, “So we put it on hold until the next session.”

Howard froze, his face paling. “You might not be in a hurry, Sandhurst, but I have obligations that need to be met. As soon as possible.”

In other words, his obligations to the blackmailer.

“I can’t wait until next session.” He rubbed at his forehead and the headache that was undoubtedly forming behind his eyes. “It has to be now or never.”

Never and lose the chance for the men of the Armory to use Howard as a way to find out more about Scepter and its leaders. Now and risk that Amelia wouldn’t understand why he was pressing forward with the trust.

Damnation. He was trapped.

“Tomorrow, then,” he assured Howard. “I’ll give you my answer by noon.”

The man’s slender shoulders sagged with relief. “You won’t be disappointed, I promise you.”

“Something tells me you’re right.” Then he nodded toward the door. “I’ll return to the party in a moment.” He grinned. “Rumors say that Devonshire keeps a bottle of forty-year-old Kopke port in this closet, and you can’t blame an old army officer for ransacking the place to find it.”

The joke broke the tension. Somewhat. Howard laughed stiltedly, but Pearce could still sense his desperation.

“Close the door when you leave, will you?”

Howard did as ordered, without another word.

Glad that conversation was over, Pearce leaned back against a side table positioned between the two tall windows, crossed his arms, and kicked one ankle over the other. The pose of a man completely at ease.

Until he called out, “All clear, Amelia. You can come out from hiding now.”

She stepped out from behind the paneled screen in the corner near the door and glared at him, hands on hips and chin lifted high into the air, eyes blazing. A fighting stance if ever he’d seen one.

The battle was about to begin.

* * *

“You agreed to give him an answer bytomorrow noon?” Amelia demanded, her hands clenching into fists against her hips. Because if she didn’t let anger overtake her, then she’d most likely break down in tears. Already her nose and throat were burning.

“Howard was demanding an answer, and I had to tell him something,” he explained calmly. “I bought us more time.”

She almost laughed. “Little more than twelve hours!”

“During which I’ll have thought of another way to stall him. Besides,” he reminded her grimly, “he’s already introduced the bill. The wheels have been set in motion, whether we like it or not.”

“And the rest of it?” she pressed. “The part about not going ahead with this unless I willingly agree?”

“I meant every word.” His blue eyes softened. “I would never betray you.”

Her shoulders deflated, the anger slowly easing out of her. She wanted to believe him, so very much…but could she?

“Perhaps it’s time that we stop arguing,” he suggested, “and start working together.”

A ball of heat formed at the base of her spine. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged, and the rakish movement started a liquid burn twisting up her spine, coiling its way through her and replacing all residual traces of her anger with tingling warmth. “You want to save your charity, and we both want to find out who’s been blackmailing your brother. Working separately has gotten us nowhere except speeding up the creation of the turnpike trust.”

“I know.” Buttogether… Could she truly do it? Warily, she asked, “What do you propose?”