Seducing the Rake (Mad, Bad and Dangerous Heroes) Read Free Page B

enough height to snag the edge of the narrow stone shelf.
    For the first time Morland breathed freely. He looked down, frowning at the scratches his nails had left on his palms. What in the devil was wrong with him? He should be pursuing the whelp, not applauding his escape!
    After all, it had been a long time since Anthony Langford, Lord Morland, second son of the now deceased sixth Duke of Morland, had felt any real concern for anyone or anything.
    Even for himself.
    And he wasn’t about to start now, the azure-eyed peer thought grimly.
    This was strictly business, for the little miscreant was nimble as a cat and would be perfect for his plans. All Morland had to do was track him back to his den.
    But when the earl turned, only shadows marked the rooftops. Nothing moved amid the chimneys that rose in cold spikes against the moon.
    His thief was gone.

CHAPTER TWO
     

     
    Morland slowly walked back up the street.
    He still couldn’t believe he’d lost the urchin. Deep in thought, he paced up the steps toward Germaine’s townhouse.
    His hands were on the polished brass knocker when he heard a low chuckle at his back.
    “Can my eyes be right? Isn’t that a friend of yours, my sweet?”
    Frowning, Morland spun about. He broke into a smile as he saw his old friend. Viscount Ravenhurst, standing at the foot of the steps.
    The ex-naval officer’s dark brows rose in a questioning slant. “What, not going to ask us in?”
    Morland made a great business of eyeing his friend, then turned his keen gaze on the slender lad in black breeches and cloak at Ravenhurst’s side. “Not, I think, until I’ve met your friend.”
    With a tinkle of laughter, the viscount’s companion doffed his tricorn hat and made Morland an elaborate bow. “Indeed. Have you forgotten me so soon? We met on the marsh by moonlight.”
    Morland’s brow furrowed. There was definitely something familiar about that voice…
    “You have forgotten!”
    Morland’s eyes widened. “Tess? Is that you? By all that’s holy, Ravenhurst, are you mad? You let her racket about London like this? She’s—she’s wearing breeches!”
    The tall ex-naval officer merely smiled. “Let her? Since when have I had a say in anything the hoyden does? She is a rare and stubborn female, this wife of mine.” His cool lapis eyes softened. “I find I would have it no other way.”
    Morland dragged his fingers through his hair in exasperation. Damnation, he had work to do! Not that Ravenhurst would know that, for Morland’s latest mission was a well-kept secret. His diplomatic mission involved a plan to influence the Emperor of China to look favorably on contacts with England. Two recent efforts to establish relations with the Celestial Kingdom had failed abjectly when the British envoys refused to perform the degrading homage of prone kneeling. As a result, trade and all diplomatic contact remained at a standstill.
    The thriving textile mills of Britain needed trade above all things. But first the Emperor of China had to be approached and persuaded, and the Earl of Morland had a singular plan for accomplishing that.
    He frowned as he realized that Tess was studying the townhouse intently. “Is it true then? Do you house your mistress here, Tony?”
    Morland went absolutely still. He seemed to have trouble finding his next breath. “Well, er, that is to say—”
    “Have you mirrors on the ceilings? I’ve always imagined that mirrors were de rigueur in a place like this.”
    Morland made a strangled sound that might have been a curse or a groan.
    From the floor above them came the crack of a door and a muffled female voice. Morland felt sweat break out on his forehead. “I wouldn’t dream of keeping you. You both must be chilled from your walk.”
    The viscountess swept her auburn hair over her shoulder. “Bah! London life is deucedly confining! And I did give up running with the gentlemen, you know. A woman must have some pleasures, after all.”
    Her husband smiled