Always at the back of his mind there’d been a million thoughts about everything that had been going on and how they were possibly connected. And now he could finally have a moment’s peace to think about them all and work out what needed to be done.
For as much as he wanted to keep his sister and Livie here, safe and protected until the threat was gone, he was practical enough to realize that at best it could be for only a few days. He had far too many projects that needed his specific attention back in London to spend any more than about two, perhaps three, days here.
And there’s no way Livie would stay if he said he had to go back to London to work. The woman was as stubborn as an ox and would insist she, too, had things to do for her gazette. For some reason something was nagging at the back of his mind about the gazette. But for the life of him he couldn’t place what. At least not yet, anyhow. Eventually, Seb remembered everything.
He took a sip of his whiskey, letting the smooth liquid slide down his throat, warming him from the inside. And for a moment he could just be, and let all thoughts disappear from his head. He took in a deep breath and then another, letting his mind clear of all the clutter. But no matter how he tried, Livie’s face kept swimming into his mind’s eye, teasing and tempting him, always at the edge of his awareness.
He’d let her get under his skin. And he didn’t quite know what to do about it now.
When he thought back to being told she’d been captured, it had been like his whole world had stopped in that instant. Such fury. Such fear. Such all-consuming emotions, the likes of which he hadn’t felt since his mother had been taken and killed.
If they’d found the Lads leader at the warehouse, Seb knew without a doubt that he would have been unable to control his rage, and probably would have torn the man limb from limb for daring to take Livie. It was probably lucky the man had already gone to ground. Though that in itself meant somebody had told him, or at least got word to him, which confirmed Seb had a traitor in his midst.
“You’re still awake?” It was Livie’s gentle voice asking from the door to his library.
Seb looked around and nearly dropped his whiskey glass. She was dressed in some nightclothes that the housekeeper had managed to rustle up, which looked to be a creamy white silk and lace concoction, though he couldn’t be entirely certain, as he could see only bits of the material underneath the cream lace nightgown covering them completely.
Seeing her dressed for bed seemed too intimate, even though she was probably wearing the same number of layers of material she normally would when properly dressed. But without her corset or bustle, she looked remarkably undressed, even with the nightgown covering her from the top of her neck all the way to her toes.
He gulped, unable to shift his eyes away from her. If he’d thought she’d had a delectable figure in the dress, it was nothing compared to Livie as close to naked as he’d ever get her. She was simply spectacular. “I tend to find that sleep eludes me when I have a lot on my mind.” Her, and how to keep her safe, being at the forefront.
She wandered farther into the room, cane in hand, following the rows of books stacked on the bookshelves lining the walls of the room. His eyes tracked her every move, helpless to look anywhere else.
“Yes, I too have a lot on my mind,” she replied, trailing the fingers of her free hand across the spines of several books as she made her way closer to where he sat.
“Couldn’t sleep, either?” he asked.
She paused in her perusal and turned back to smile at him. “Not a wink, I’m afraid. I thought perhaps a musty old tome might assist. You don’t mind if I borrow a book from your collection? I shall take it back to my room and leave you in privacy.”
“No, not at all. And please, there’s no need to go, you’re welcome to stay here and read.” Seb was annoyed to find his voice sounded rough and croaky. He cleared his throat. “The others aren’t still up, are they?”
Livie shook her head as she pulled out a small volume from the shelf. “No. Not as far as I’m aware. Most everyone was half asleep when we arrived.”
“But not you?”
“Not the both of us, it would seem,” she pertly replied, before replacing the book and allowing her eyes to wander around the massive room, flicking over the elegant crystal chandeliers he’d had imported from Italy, the custom-made mahogany bookshelves lining the walls from floor to ceiling, and then back to meet his gaze. “You’ve changed the place a great deal from what I remember it being as a child. It looks much improved.”
“It was falling to pieces when I took ownership of it.”
She was silent for a moment, and it seemed as if she was hesitant to say something.
“Can I ask you something?” she eventually said. “Considering this estate used to belong to your father, why would you want it? Especially after what he did to your mother and the sort of man he was. I can’t quite understand why you would want to own something of his.”
He’d often wondered that himself. “I doubt it will shock you to know that before my father died, I was on a mission to destroy
