The Perfect Temptation (21 page)

Mohan was no longer a sullen,
abrasive brat. In fact,

he was downright pleasant
company. The boy had a quick

mind and a rather impressive
ability to focus on not only the

larger tasks but the finer,
essential details within them. Aiden

knew adults who couldn't claim
the same abilities.

The horse trading had gone
exceptionally well, too. The

two black ones for the carriage
had been pulling together for

years. They'd stepped in the
traces without so much as a hint

of resistance and then brought
the carriage home as
if
they'd

already known the way. And the
three horses for riding ...

Aiden smiled and blew another
stream into the evening

air. Mohan, in addition to his
other fine qualities, had a

healthy amount of good sense,
too. It had firmly and
in
stantly

crushed the desire for a white
stallion as he'd stood

there with the saddle in his
hands and the animal pawing the

ground in front of him. The
Irish palfrey gelding had been

his next choice, one Aiden had
let stand. His own was a gelding,

as well. A tall Arab bay with
an incredible spirit and a

beautifully smooth gait. He'd
picked a bay for Alex, too. A

little gelding with a gentle
disposition and a willingness
to

do anything for a slice of
apple. Aiden grinned, hoping yet

again that Alex might follow
the horse's lead in certain
re
spects,

and flicked ash onto the patchy
snow at his feet.

Then there'd been the trip to
the blacksmith's. The man

had been thrilled with the size
of their order and had promised

to set aside
all
of
his other work to see the commission

finished in days instead of the
weeks he'd expected it
to
take
.

Not, Aiden admitted, that he
could see any real necessity for

the window covers.
If
there
was anyone following Mohan as

Alex had said, he hadn't been
able to detect them
.
They

either were a figure of Alex's
Mother Hen imagination or

they were very, very good at
blending into the shadows. Which

would have been some trick if
they were Indian. London

might well be a hub of
nationalities, but the non-European

ones tended to be a bit more
noticeable than most.

No, the odds were that no one
was actively stalking Mohan

at the moment.
Or
Alex,
either, for that matter. Which

was fine by him. The lack of
any real threat meant that he

could focus on more personal
concerns. Aiden grinned. Like

getting another peek at Alex in
her nightgown. That had been

as much an unexpected treat as
it had been a truly wonderful

compensation for the peacock
start to the day. And the memories

that had kept him inspired all
day after that ...

Chuckling, he tossed down the
stub of his cheroot, ground

it beneath his heel, and then
headed toward the house. He

stopped just inside the back
door, brought up short as a

stranger, a petite, well-curved
female, stepped out of the silver

room. She seemed vaguely
familiar and he had a feeling

that he should know who she
was. His eyes strained to adjust

to the dim light of the hall,
to see her face.

"Mr. Terrell!"

He relaxed, instantly
recognizing the voice. "Well, hello,

Polly," he replied, his
mind racing back through the past.

''What brings you to the Blue
Elephant?"

"Business for her
ladyship."

Silver business, he guessed.
"And how is Lady Tyndale

doing these days? Is she
well?"

Polly sighed and shook her
head. "She's still living apart

from his lordship
.
Has been
for over two years now
.
Since

the last time we saw you in
London."

"I'm sorry to hear
that," he offered politely.
Not at all surprised,

though,
he mentally added
.
"Hopefully they can reconcile

one day soon."
Not that
there's much chance of that.

"His lordship tends to be
the kind to hold a grudge
.
"

And all of London knew it, too.
Charlotte had been playing

with fire. Which made the
temptation of playing with her all

that much more irresistible.
"Well," Aiden drawled, "that's

not a sign of good character,
is it?"

She smiled and then arched a
brow to ask hopefully, "Shall

I give her ladyship your
regards?"

Not as long as he had the
slimmest of hopes of making

his relationship with Alex more
intimate. And not even if he

didn't, actually.
If
Charlotte
knew he was there, she'd turn

up on the doorstep if for no
other reason than to exact revenge

for his role in the debacle.
Minor though it had been.

"I think it's best to let
the sleeping dog lie, Polly," he answered

truthfully. "No sense
prodding it with a sharp stick if

it's not necessary. His
lordship isn't the only one who can

carry a grudge."

"I understand completely,
Mr.
Terrell,"
she said solemnly.

She offered
him
a
little curtsy, adding,
"It
was a real pleasure

to see you again, though."

"And I
 
you, Polly
.
Take care
of yourself."

She smiled prettily and then
turned to the silver room to

say, ''Thank you for your
assistance, Miss Radford. I'll show

myself out."

Aiden watched her make her way
to the front door of the

shop, his shoulder propped
against the wall, keenly aware

that Alex had stepped into the
doorway and was watching

him
.
The tiny
pucker of her mouth ... Oh, and were her eyes

gray! With the brightest
telltale flecks of green.

"What?" he asked in
wholly feigned innocence.

"Just out of pure
curiosity
.
..
Is
there a woman
in
London

that you
haven't
bedded?"

He tried to look as though he
were ticking through a list.

"Polly," he finally
provided.

Alex's hands went to her hips
and the green sparks in her

eyes danced.
"If
you
offered, she'd accept."

"Really?"

"Ugh!
"

And with that disdainful
comment, she turned on her heel

and disappeared back into the
silver room. Aiden followed

her, laughing and realizing
that he'd truly missed her company

that day.

"Since Polly left here
empty-handed," he said, propping a

hip on the corner of the
central table, "I'd guess that Charlotte

Tyndale is selling off silver
to pay her living expenses
.
"

Taking a tissue-covered object
from a silver chest, she

unwrapped it, saying, "I
have no idea what she's doing with

the money, but yes
,
she's
selling silver
.
An especially ornate

set of Roberts and Belk, a
design they created just last year.

The set looks as though it's
never been used." She handed

him
a fork, adding, "It's gorgeous, isn't it?"

It was both gold and silver and
far too fussy to be to his

liking. But he knew that
diplomacy lay in silence. He simply

nodded and checked the balance
of the piece. It was finely

made and no doubt horribly
expensive. Which made perfect

sense.

Handing it back, he said
offhandedly, "Knowing Charlotte,

she received it as a gift from
an ardent admirer."

Alex chuckled softly and quipped.
"She apparently didn't

admire
him
enough
to invite
him
to stay for dinner."

"He probably wasn't
interested in dinner, anyway. That's

not why men give Charlotte
gifts, you know."

She looked up from her silver
to meet his gaze and arch a

dark brow. A tiny smile tickled
the corners of her mouth and

she replied, "No, I
 
didn't know. But thank you for so
freely

sharing what has to be - at
best - dubious knowledge."

Lord,
he didn't know when it had happened, not precisely,

anyway, but Alex Radford had somehow
become one of the

most adorable women who
'
d ever
crossed his path. And dubious

knowledge was what Barrett
Stanbridge was operating under

if
he thought she could be involved in a fencing
operation.

It
was so far from the realm of even remotely plausible
as to

be
laughable. But, just for the time when Barrett would
ask
if

he'd
'
so much
as bothered to pursue
the
investigation, he'd

make a show of it now and then
be done with it.

"Speaking of knowing ...
" he began, pointedly looking

around the room. "How do
you know that the silver you're

asked to buy isn't
stolen?"

"Very easily,
actually," she replied, taking an oil lamp and

a small silver box from one of
the shelves. "You can tell

which is honestly acquired
silver by the caliber of the person

coming in to sell it. Ladies'
maids, housekeepers
,
butlers,

and footmen are of noticeably
better quality than your average

thief."

Placing the lamp in the center
of the table, she opened