Page 73 of The Duke’s Hidden Duchess

For a moment she only looked at him.

Nathaniel continued.

“Sowerby’s information arrived this morning. Petherick believed we should act before the printer had reason to move the material elsewhere. I agreed.”

“And there was no time to send a note upstairs?”

“There was.”

“Then urgency is not the answer.”

“No.”

Selina pushed back her chair. It made a small sound against the carpet and stopped.

“Why?”

Nathaniel considered giving her the comfortable explanation.

He could have spoken of speed, of Georgiana, of the danger of allowing the copies to remain where they were for another hour. Every part of it would have been reasonable.

It had the additional disadvantage of being false.

“Because the letters were Georgiana’s, and I saw a chance to put them back beyond Rowland’s immediate reach. I acted before I considered that doing so concerned you as well.”

Selina’s expression altered, though not enough to call it forgiveness.

“That is at least an honest answer.”

“It is not a good one.”

“No.”

He accepted that.

The old instinct to explain further remained. Nathaniel let it pass.

Selina looked down at the packet.

“Did you recover the originals?”

“No. Only the copies delivered to that printer. We cannot know whether others exist.”

“Good.”

Nathaniel frowned.

“Good?”

“Not that others may exist. Good that you know recovering one packet is not the same thing as solving the problem.”

He looked at the papers.

“I have been exposed to a woman who objects to premature conclusions.”

“I hear she is exhausting.”

“She is.”