The Formidable Earl (Diamonds in the Rough #6) - Sophie Barnes Page 0,62

seems to have seen the culprit. No name has been mentioned, though I did see Elmwood on the stairs right before our carriage took off.”

“I didn’t even know he was at the ball. Perhaps he was just arriving.”

Simon sighed and selected an orange slice for himself. “Maybe, but we can’t afford to dismiss him.” He dropped his gaze to the mattress and frowned. “There’s something else. A note arrived at my home this morning – a warning to stay out of other people’s business.”

“Someone’s definitely rattled.”

“Yes. But I had hoped to gain a clearer indication of whom.”

So had she. Mr. Nugent had stormed off immediately after finding out who she was, and Kirksdale had refused to answer her questions. Ida glanced at Simon. Having finished her chicken, she cut a small sliver of pie, just to taste. “So where do we go from here?”

His fingers caught the edge of her chin. Leaning in, he gave her a swift kiss on the lips. “Nowhere, for the moment. You still need to get well.”

“Simon…”

He sighed. “I’ve a meeting with Mr. St. John the day after tomorrow. Probably a giant waste of time, but considering the story I gave Kirksdale about wanting to invest, I couldn’t refuse.” He shrugged and popped another orange slice into his mouth.

“I really don’t like that man. Mr. St. John. He made my skin crawl.”

“Hmm.” A frown appeared on Simon’s brow and his eyes darkened a fraction, but then he seemed to shake himself free of whatever unpleasant thoughts he’d been having. “Are you finished with the food?”

When she nodded, he removed the tray and set it on top of the chest of drawers.

“Let me take a look at your wound.” Just like before, he unwound the bandage and peeled back the compress, discarding the items so he could redress it with clean ones. “It’s healing nicely, Ida. There’s no blood like before, just a perfect scab. I’ll put on a clean compress and bandage to protect it.”

Once he was done tending to her and had cleaned up a bit, he removed his jacket and tossed it aside. Next, he began untying his cravat.

Ida gaped. “Um… Simon?”

“Hopefully the advertisement we placed in the paper will pay off soon.” The cravat somehow vanished. He went to work on his waistcoat buttons. “But if it doesn’t, I’m thinking we could question the women in these men’s lives.” He shrugged his arms out of his waistcoat and pulled at his shirt. “Not the wives, mind you – they’ll be too loyal – but if there are mistresses they’ve parted ways with in the years since, we might get lucky.” His shirt was pulled over his head and cast aside.

Ida gulped. “Um. Right. Um. You, er…that is…what I mean to say is—”

“You’re staring.” He started removing his shoes. “It’s as if you’ve never seen a man’s naked chest before. But that can’t be true since even I caught a glimpse of one during my very brief visit to Amourette’s.”

“Oh, I’ve seen men without a single stitch on,” Ida said. Simon paused in the middle of removing his hose and scowled. “It’s just that the men who tend to frequent Amourette’s are either older or…fuller. Around their middles, I mean. They’re not quite so…um…” She was dying here and it was becoming quite clear that he wasn’t going to save her. Instead, he stood at the foot of the bed, bare chested and gorgeous, and grinning at her like the very devil.

“Fit?” he prompted. “Perfect? The spitting image of Adonis?”

She grabbed a pillow and flung it at him. “Your arrogance knows no bounds, does it?”

“Not when you’re looking at me like that, as if you’d like to have me for dessert.”

“Simon.” Her cheeks had grown hot several seconds ago and were probably glowing by now. “I…didn’t think you would want to… I mean, the thing of it is… I’m not exactly—”

“Ida.” His firm voice snapped her eyes back to his. He smiled, all traces of seductive mischief utterly gone. “I’m just getting ready for bed, that’s all. I’d like to spend the night in here with you again, but sleeping fully clothed isn’t very comfortable.”

“Oh.”

“Besides, I would never try to seduce a woman in your condition. And I would like to think you know me well enough by now to realize as much.”

She bit her lip, a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“It’s all right.” He reached for the top button of his placket, then paused. “Mind if