The Perfect Temptation (2 page)

"Mr. Terrell," she
said, barely lowering her delicate little

chin in acknowledgment. But her
eyes as she met his gaze ...

God, they were the most
breathtaking color. Not quite blue,

not quite green. With a hint of
gray. She blinked. twice. And

he saw something flicker in their
depths just before she

forced herself to swallow.

His long-dormant sense of
curiosity stirred. He obviously

unsettled her. Why?

"Miss Radford," he
said, bowing ever so slightly at the

waist as he continued to assess
her.

"Please have a seat and tell
us how we may be of service

to you," Barrett
interjected, indicating one of the chairs facing

 
the desk and drawing her attention away from Aiden.

"Would you care for a cup of
coffee? Aiden will be more

than happy to get one for
you."

 
Aiden, the obedient minion,
he silently groused.

 
She met his gaze again for the barest fraction of a second

as she seated herself. ''If it
wouldn't be too much trouble,"

she answered, looking away to
watch Barrett settle into his

chair.

"Cream?" Aiden asked
wryly. "Sugar?"

She didn't look at him again as
she said, "Neither, thank

you."

Well, that was interesting. He
would have guessed her to

be a three-lumps,
half-a-cup-of-cream woman. Not entirely

because she preferred it that
way, just mostly because it

meant that someone would have to
do her exact bidding.

"I was referred to you by
Mrs. Emmaline Fuller," Aiden

heard her say to Barrett.
"Her brother, Sawyer, is in service

to Mr. Carden Reeves, who
Emmaline says is a great friend

of yours."

“
Ah
yes. We know Sawyer. In fact, Mr. Terrell is residing

in the Reeveses' home while the
family is out of the country."

"Egypt. A bridge
project," Aiden supplied. crossing to the

desk. Handing her the cup and
saucer, he smiled tightly and

added, "Carden is an
architect."

''Thank you," she murmured,
taking the coffee while quite

pointedly-not looking at him.

Whether she was intimidated or
dismissive, he couldn't

tell. But, in either case, he
wasn't about to be ignored. If Barrett,

private investigator
extraordinaire, intended for him to

deal with whatever petty tragedy
she'd brought in the door,

then he was going to take charge
of it all from the beginning.

With any luck, he'd so fluster
her that she'd change her mind

and go away. That or Barrett
would decide that he wasn't fit

to be let loose in the civilized
world and decide to take the

case himself.

Propping his hip on the comer of
Barrett's desk, Aiden

casually crossed his booted
ankles and folded his arms

across his chest. "And why
has it become necessary for you

to ask Mrs. Fuller to recommend a
private investigator? Has

there been a loss or theft of
some valuable piece of personal

property?"

Her gaze darted to the vicinity
of his thighs and then

away. To Barrett she said,
"I don't quite know how or where

to begin, actually."

"Perhaps simply and at the
beginning?" Aiden suggested,

not caring one whit that sarcasm
rippled through the words.

"Please ignore his
tartness," Barrett offered in way of

censure. "He has no patience
in the morning. What is it that

you would like us to do for you,
Miss Radford?"

She sat up straighter, squaring
her shoulders and lifting

her chin. The coffee cup sat
silently in the saucer, but the

surface of the liquid rippled
ever so slightly. Slowly taking a

deep breath, she finally said,
"I need a child protected."

"Your child?" Barrett
asked before Aiden could.

"In a manner of speaking.
I'm responsible for his care,

education, and safety."

"In other words,"
Barrett continued, "you're his legal

guardian."

"Not legally. Not in the
strictest British sense of it. anyway."

With a cocked brow, Barrett
slowly asked, "In just whose

sense of it then?"

"His father's."

At the rate they were
not
progressing
... "Miss Radford,"

Aiden said, trying to find a
smile of sorts, "I'm afraid that I

don't have much patience at any
point in the day. Would you

please begin at the beginning and
spare us the necessity of

playing a quizzing game?"

The look she shot him was lethal.
Aiden grinned, amused

by her obvious assumption that he
could be quelled by such

feminine censUre. She arched a
brow and pointedly turned to

Barrett before she began, saying,
"My father was in the employ

of the British East India
Company. After his death,

Mother entered into the service
of an Indian family in the

northern provinces as a tutor.
When she passed away, I assumed

her responsibilities."

Barrett nodded. "And how
long ago was this?"

"I came into the position
just after the Sepoy Rebellion."

"It was some six or seven
years ago," Barrett commented.

"You couldn't have been much
more than a child

yourself when you assumed such a
heavy responsibility."

"I was nineteen at the time.
And I assure you that I was and

still am-quite capable."

Which made her now twenty-four or
-five, Aiden figured

as Barrett droned on, no doubt
offering some sort of apology

for what she'd obviously
perceived as an insult. At that age

any
miss
was not only well
past her prime, but so was any

hope of an advantageous marriage.
Alexandra Radford had

come out of India too late.

"As you are no doubt
aware," he heard her say, "the Sepoy

Rebellion dramatically changed
the political and economic

structures of India. With the
collapse of the East India

Company, some of its power was
redistributed among the

native leaders."

"From what we hear,"
Barrett contributed. "not always in

a peaceful and roundly accepted
manner."

She nodded and took a sip of her
coffee before answering.

"Native Indians have always
engaged in political intrigue.

With power the prize, the ancient
game has become

one of much higher stakes and
thus of much more deadly

means. Three years ago, fearing
for his son's life, my employer

arranged for me to bring the
child to London. We’re

to remain here until such time as
he deems India-and his

position--safe and sends for
us."

''How old is this child?"
Aiden asked, hoping to move

matters along now that they'd dispensed
with her general

family and employment history.

She didn't look at him-not that
he'd expected her to and

said to Barrett, "He's now
ten."

Again Barrett nodded. "And
why do you believe him to

be in danger?"

''I've noticed that we're being
followed when we move

about town, Mr. Stanbridge. I'd
like to think that it's nothing

more than a cutpurse surveying a
possible victim, but, given

our circumstances, I can't afford
to assume that it's anything

so benign."

She considered a cutpurse a
benign threat? Jesus. "If

this ... " Aiden knit his
brows. "What did you say his name

is?"

"I didn't," she replied
coolly. "It's Mohan."

With a nod, he went on. "If
Mohan's father is so concerned

about his son's safety, why
didn't he send an army

with you for protection? Why are
you in a position to have to

seek it from us?"

She set the cup and saucer on the
desk and turned slightly

in her chair to face him
squarely. She was at a disadvantage

in having to look up at him, but
she compensated for it well.

As though speaking to a dullard,
she said with careful measure,

"An army would draw
attention, Mr. Terrell. Drawing

attention to yourself also draws
the danger you're seeking to

avoid. Mohan's father chose a
safer course and sent two of

his most trusted men with us, posing
as household servants.

"One died of illness while
we were at sea. Rather than

risk betraying our whereabouts by
sending for a replacement,

I decided to make a go of it with
the one remaining

guard. And, as I expected, his
protection proved to be quite

sufficient. Unfortunately, four
months ago he was an innocent

bystander caught up in a street
altercation. While he

survived the assault, he
sustained
an injury to his head that

left him partially paralyzed and
with the mind of a child.

The doctors said there was
nothing to be done to improve his

condition and so, three weeks
ago, I regretfully sent him

back to India and his family. At
the time I did so, I also sent

word of our situation to Mohan's
father and asked that he

send replacements. Until they
arrive, I'd like to employ

Mr. Stanbridge's services to
ensure that Mohan is kept safe."

Barrett, not him, Aiden noted.
There was a God and He

was indeed benevolent. But as
long as he had her attention,

there was no point in wasting it
since-for some odd, unknown

reason-he enjoyed the fact that
his mere presence

seemed to irritate her. It
certainly wasn't very gentlemanly

to goad her, but then, he'd given
up being a gentleman quite