Page 49

When Helen came back into the room, he was already fully dressed.

“Are you leaving?” She seemed rather surprised, although she should have known that he wouldn’t spend the entire night with her.

God, how he wanted to spend the entire night with her. Watching her sleep, listening to her breaths, holding her close to him.

“Yes.” His voice came out hoarse. He cleared his throat. “It’s better that I leave now or I might fall asleep and that would spell trouble for both of us.”

She gave a tiny nod.

Ian took two steps to stand before her. He framed her face with his palms and tipped her head so she would look at him.

Her eyes shone in the light of the fire, or were those tears in her eyes?

“I shall call on you tomorrow if you want.”

She swallowed, and the tiny ripple ignited his senses again. He needed to leave. Now. Before he did something foolish.

He pressed his forehead against hers and took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of jasmine on her skin. “Then I shall see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” she breathed.

Ian let go of her abruptly, lest he kissed her right then and there. Not only because he’d promised not to do it. But he was afraid one kiss would never be enough.

He stepped away and gave her a playful wink.

She smiled and Ian turned away from her.

Her smile was what he’d wanted to see.

Her smile would carry him through the grueling rest of the night. And then he’d see her again. For now, he had a job to do.

Chapter 13

Ian walked through the townhouse in his stockings, his shoes tightly gripped in his right hand. He didn’t want to make any excessive noise if he could help it. His priority tonight was to check Viscount St. John’s study, break into his safe, and go through his documents.

He paused, feeling a strange draft against his feet.

The draft itself wasn’t suspicious in an old house, but it blew from the back, making him question whether there was another passage at the end of the corridor.

He and Helen had used the servants’ stairs in the opposite direction.

Having more than one staircase in the house was not uncommon. But Ian would have been remiss not to check it out.

He slowly made his way toward the end of the corridor and was pleasantly surprised when he didn’t find a door there.

Ah, a secret passage!

That meant there was something worth hiding. But more importantly, it meant there was something worth finding.

Ian spent a few minutes rubbing the wallpaper, feeling the inconsistencies in the wall with no success.

It didn’t help that there wasn’t any light on that side of the corridor. There was no window, and he couldn’t risk lighting a candle even if he had one at hand. He blew a strand of hair away from his face in frustration. There wasn’t anything on the wall. Which meant only one thing.

Ian crouched down and started feeling the wooden planks. One of them had a hollow feel to it. If he just—

He pressed on it and the door creaked open, letting in a gust of wind.

Ian jumped to his feet and quickly slipped into the opening, closing the door behind him. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to this new shade of darkness, blinking and looking around. If he had to guess, he’d say he was in a tight space, perhaps three feet by three feet.