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Was it her imagination, or did he just utter a hushed prayer?

He took out his pocket watch—a gorgeous, ornate timepiece that caught her eye even in the dark interior—stealing a brief glance at it before folding it away.

With a tired sigh, he extended his hand, palm facing upward. “Show me.”

She looked at his hand with distrust. “And why in the world would I do that?”

He curled his hand into a fist, returning it to his side. Then he resumed drumming his fingers against his knee in a rhythmic staccato, observing her like a lion preparing to pounce on its prey. Abruptly, the drumming ceased, and he slapped his palm against his knee. “Because if you do show me, I might help you with it.”

Really? Beatrice was about to jump out of her skin from excitement. She’d gotten exactly what she wanted! But her excitement slowly turned into suspicion as she watched his innocent features. He had not looked this innocent since the moment they met. Certainly not today. Did he have something up his sleeve?

“You will help me complete my list?” she asked slowly.

He shrugged. “If it gets you out of my hair. Besides, whatever you have planned, I’d rather you do it with me by your side than sneak around all alone at night. Do we have a deal?”

“And you’ll help me accomplish all the items on my list?” Beatrice insisted on clarifying the details. She didn’t trust him not to deceive her.

And she was right because he answered, “No. Not all the items. I don’t know what outrageous things you have planned. I get to decide whether they are appropriate or not.”

“Then I am not going to show you.” She crossed her arms across her chest once more and turned her torso away from him, her face turned toward the window, although she couldn’t see anything in the dark.

Mr. Lewis let out a deep, long-suffering sigh. At that moment, the carriage drew to a halt. Beatrice peeked out of the window at the facade of the dark but familiar townhouse. They had arrived home—her temporary London home. She swallowed, feeling reluctant to leave the cozy carriage.

Since when had she thought the carriage to be cozy was a mystery. But the fact remained that she was loath to exit.

The door opened, and Mr. Lewis held up his hand. “Close the door.”

The footman hesitated, looking from Mr. Lewis to Beatrice’s confused face, and reluctantly shut the door.

“What is it going to take?” Mr. Lewis asked, a serious glint in his eyes.

Beatrice blinked, shocked for a moment by his words.

She didn’t expect him to continue bargaining with her. For all she knew, he’d leave her at her house and then tell his brother to keep a closer watch on her. He could even ask the viscount to break his promise and send her to Lansdowne right away. After all, she’d acted irresponsibly while under his watch.

But here he was, indeed, bargaining with her. That little realization sent a surge of power through her. “I will show you the list only if you promise to either help with it or, at least, not stand in the way.”

Mr. Lewis resumed drumming his fingers against his knee in thoughtful contemplation. “How many items do you have on that list?”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “Enough.”

“Half a dozen? A dozen?”

Beatrice hesitated. “Closer to half a dozen.” The truth was, she didn’t know the exact number. She simply didn’t remember. But she didn’t want to take it out to check because she was afraid the gentleman in front of her would snatch it from her fingers.

He watched her with narrowed eyes, making Beatrice shift uncomfortably under his penetrating gaze. “How about we strike a wager?”

“A wager?”

“Yes. You show me the list, and I shall pick… let’s say three items off the list that I shall help you accomplish.”

Beatrice opened her mouth to protest, but he raised a staying hand. “But we do it my way. I shall dictate the time and place and how we get the results accomplished. If you go through those three items and still want to continue, I shall help you with the rest. But if at any point, you decide to leave, or if you disagree with me, or refuse to follow my lead, you forfeit the wager and have to drop the idea of that list and go home.”

“Just to make it clear,” Beatrice said. “You pick three items and choose how we accomplish crossing out those items.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“And once we complete those three tasks, you shall help me with the rest of the list.”