Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (203 page)

Scott

"Of course I want it-it's mine," Sophie snapped. "You tricked me." The smug look on his face was

that he'd known all along

what she'd inferred about their wager.

"My apologies if you see it that way."

managed a proper bow with elegance in spite of his missing shirt.

"You're

intolerable. Get out!" Sophie grabbed the boot nearest to her and threw it at him. She didn't know what he was playing at but it was no game to her. She had to get those diamonds.

Brazzo would be

if he

thought she'd lied about acquiring them, and she couldn't risk passing off the fakes. He would see her dead for such a betrayal.

Chapter 6

She'd thrown his boot at him! Hours later, Julian was still musing over Sophie

's eviction.

He couldn't remember a woman ever throwing him out of her house before. His morning interlude with Sophie certainly hadn't gone in the direction he had been expecting. Usually an episode of strip piquet ended with some excellent lovemaking. Instead, this one had ended with him fleeing the house in haphazard fashion, footed and his boots in his hands like a sneaky lover in a

Lane farce.

Absently, Julian moved a pawn into position on the chessboard. Across

him, his

St. Just-tsked lightly. "Your mind is not on the game," he noted, taking Julian's pawn easily with a rook.

Julian leaned back in his chair, massaging his forehead. "I know. You'll have me checkmated in three moves and there's nothing I can do about it."

Scott

Valerian nodded his agreement. "Would you care to talk about it?"

"The game?"

"No, whatever is ailing you," he said seriously.

Julian looked around the

The

place was quieter than usual.

few groups of

people

were

scattered

throughout

the

establishment, busy reading newspapers or with conversations of their own. He'd been glad to find the place nearly empty. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts. It had been surprising to find St. Just there without the usual entourage of mutual acquaintances. Julian rather liked the serious young man sitting across

him. The

viscount was the nephew of one of the British diplomats posted to

and very good at his

work. Julian knew that even as young as he was, St. Just had been a trusted member of the British team that had gone into Turkey last year to negotiate water rights to the Dardanelle Straits.

"Does it have to do with your mission?" St.

Just said politely, prompting him to speak. There were only a handful of people who understood Julian's true reason for being in To

Julian's mind, the fewer who knew, the better.

50

Libertine Lord, Pickpocket Miss

There was little glory or respect in being a spy.

There was absolutely none for a man who stole jewels, even at the behest of his monarch.

Technically, he was lower than a spy. Socially, he was passing himself off as a diplomatic assistant to Valerian's uncle-a completely respectable occupation for a second son.

"Somewhat,"

Julian

offered

vaguely,

reaching for his cup of rich Viennese coffee. He'd been pondering his situation with Sophie all

but now that there was a

chance to talk it

he was reluctant to do so.

He tried a new direction. "By the way, what are you doing here? It's not your usual time of day. I didn't expect to see you."

Valerian shot him an arch look over the rim of his own coffee cup. "If you must know, I'm soaking in the last of

for a while."

"Are you going home to England at last?"

Julian queried. He'd thought it more than passing strange that Valerian, with his title and estates, would elect to stay in Vienna as long as he had.

But Valerian had always been rather closed on the subj ect of his life in England.

dark look clouded the younger man's face at the mention of England. "I leave for Italy in the