Noble Scoundrel - Amy Sandas Page 0,50

arched her spine to dispel the tightness that had settled into her muscles. Recently, she’d begun to move her injured arm more and more as the stiffness of keeping it in the sling was getting more annoying than the dull pain that still remained in the joint. She hadn’t worn the sling all day and her injured shoulder only gave a slight twinge of discomfort.

With a sigh, she crossed to the wide windows that overlooked the back garden. All was in darkness beneath a moonless sky. The sun had set hours ago. She’d barely noticed it. Just as she’d barely noticed the supper that had been brought to her because she hadn’t wanted to take a break from her reading to join Frederick in the dining room.

Yet even after spending days diligently going over her father’s words, she’d gotten no closer to uncovering anything that might help them. She didn’t even know the name of the associate for whom he’d been running the experiments as Charles never used names in his journals. All she’d managed to do was confirm that the project he had been working on prior to his death had been unsuccessful.

Whoever had engaged Charles for the project would’ve undoubtedly been upset by the results, but it wasn’t clear if her father’d had a chance to inform them of his conclusions before the fire that took his life. Even if he had and they’d been furious about the failure...there was simply nothing to suggest a connection between Charles’s work and the current threats against Frederick.

It was frustrating and disheartening and she’d run out of ideas on where else to look. Maybe their cousin was somehow behind it after all. Perhaps Hale’s man would uncover some clue there...either to support or disprove Warfield’s possible involvement.

She glanced back at the journals strewn across her desk.

Had she missed something vital? Or had she just wasted several days on a fruitless endeavor?

Closing her eyes, she twisted and stretched her spine again, triggering a deep growl of hunger in her stomach. Unfortunately, she’d been too focused on her task to eat much of the supper tray that had been taken away some hours ago. Another heavy rumble convinced her she wasn’t likely to get to sleep until her hunger was assuaged.

After spreading the coals in the grate and blowing out all the candles in her study but one, she took the last with her as she made her way along quiet, darkened hallways to the kitchens at the back of the house.

It was a testament to her mental exhaustion that she didn’t even the notice the faint light ahead as she approached the kitchen doorway, nor did she register the sound of movement until she crossed the threshold to see Hale’s great form sitting at the kitchen’s tall worktable. He was dressed minimally in breeches and a pale cotton shirt. His hair wasn’t secured in a queue as it usually was but fell to his shoulders in careless waves that appeared burnished by the light of his single candle.

Casual strength. Earthy masculinity.

Katherine was so distracted—and honestly, enthralled—by the sight of Hale, it took her a moment to notice he wasn’t alone. Seated atop the table itself, in a white cotton nightgown that floated about her little legs as she swung them over the edge, was a sleepy little Claire.

Chapter Seventeen

Hale looked up and his intense eyes found hers easily in the wavering darkness. His mouth lifted briefly at the corners before he muttered a simple, “Evenin’.”

Sparkling heat rushed through her at the deep rumble of his voice. She forced a full breath to steady the riot of nerves his proximity caused before replying with a stilted, “Good evening.”

The trick never worked as well as she hoped it would. Every time they had to speak over some issue or another regarding Frederick’s security or his requirements of her staff, she experienced the same intense rush of self-awareness, the same leap in mental stimulation and physical sensitivity. The same tingling delight throughout her body. If anything, her reactions grew more intense with each encounter, and tonight, her resources were far too strained and thin for her to properly manage her response.

Standing in the doorway, like a deer poised for flight at the scent of danger in the wood, she couldn’t stop the way his flashing gaze made her belly tremble or how his twisting half smirk sent an odd jolt through her chest.

Quickly shifting her attention to the girl beside him, she smiled and added