Page 3 of A Scandal at Stonecliffe

“Consumption? He had consumption and he moved to Russia so he could live in all the ice and snow?”

“I never said Hubert was an intelligent man,” Verity replied confidingly. “I married him for his looks. I have a weakness for handsome men, I’m afraid.”

“You or Mrs. Billingham? You talk as if you actually are her.”

“I need to maintain the role, it helps prevent slips. So if we’re through with your questioning...” Verity raised her fan and sent him a laughing look over it.

Those eyes...

“Stop pretending to flirt with me,” he snapped.

“Who says I’m pretending? Like Mrs. Billingham, I, too, appreciate a handsome man.”

“Verity...”

“You’re no fun at all.” She sighed. “Very well. I chose Russia because it’s so far away that I would be unlikely to run into anyone who had actually been there.”

“I don’t believe you. I think you made it all up on the spot just to drive me mad.”

“While that did provide me some satisfaction, I did not make it up on the spur of the moment. I’ve been Mrs. Billingham for two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” Nathan groaned. “This is getting worse by the moment.”

“I don’t know why you’d say that.” Verity paused at an open doorway to let in a maid carrying a tray of glasses.

“Champagne, ma’am? Sir?” the girl asked.

“Why, yes,” Verity said, taking two glasses and handing one to Nathan. Verity took a sip of her drink and glanced around in a seemingly casual way.

Nathan had seen that watchful look in her eyes before and was not fooled by it. “Verity, what are you—”

She gave him a bright smile and slipped out the door.

“Verity!” he hissed. “Wait. Come—oh, the devil.” Nathan went through the doorway after her.

They were in a back hallway, its narrowness and lack of decoration indicating that it was for the servants’ use only. Verity’s champagne glass sat on a table, and she was already halfway down the hall.

“Verity!” Nathan raised his voice a little.

She turned around, her eyebrows going up in surprise, and held her forefinger to her lips in a silencing gesture. “Shh.”

“We’re out of earshot,” he said.

“The walls have ears,” she said lightly. “Meaning the servants. You people never consider that—and then you wonder why the servants have all the gossip immediately.”

“You people,” Nathan muttered. Verity had an unwavering dislike of the ton. But it was pointless to get into that. Instead he set aside his own glass and caught up with her as she continued on her way. “What are you doing? Someone is going to find you out.”

“Well, yes, if you keep nattering on.” She turned right at an intersecting hall, and they were back in the public area of the house, the corridor laid with carpet and containing portraits of various grim-looking people from an earlier time.

Only a few steps took them to the entry hall. On one side lay the ballroom, which they had just left, and opposite it was a corridor. There were a few people scattered around the entry. Suddenly Verity moved closer, her hand slipping into the crook of Nathan’s elbow, and she gazed up at him, plying her fan flirtatiously. She was, he thought, a master at flirting. No doubt it was all those years of living in France.

Nathan felt his heartbeat speed up; it was damned difficult not to react as if that subtle, seductive quirk of her lips was real. Of course, she wasn’t wrestling with distraction, she seemed firmly on task, propelling him down the hallway, then turning her head slightly to cast a cautious glance over her shoulder. Her fingers dug into Nathan’s arm, and she ducked into the next room, pulling him with her.

“Verity...” he began in exasperation—more at himself for falling so easily into Verity’s scheme.

She touched her fingers to his mouth, stopping his speech. She was wearing lace evening gloves, and the texture of the lace felt odd against his lips...and somehow tantalizing. He could feel the heat of her skin beneath the lace. The touch was gone in an instant, and she eased the door shut and started walking around the room, lifting the corners of paintings to look behind them.

“Why are we in Lord Arden’s study?”