“No need,” Lady Laura Jamison said to the Eal of Winchester, unclenching her jaw and showing her teeth in a false but placating smile. “I’d be most distressed, kind sir, if you put yourself out on my account. Becca left me a list of instructions as long as my arm on which shares to buy and sell, and how to deliver my orders to our Stock Exchange agents. To excel at my duties, I need only follow each and every step. Rather like climbing a ladder.”

“People have been known to tumble from ladders. Land in the wrong place.”

She narrowed her gaze. “Very true. But for all I know, aligning myself with you may land me in deep water. How do I know you’re trustworthy? You could be copying those scoundrels Becca had imprisoned. Sneaking into our household to steal our secrets.”

She’d tried to appear apprehensive, but when his jaw went slack with shock, she couldn’t stop help but chuckled.

He waggled a finger. “You, pixie, are provoking me. Deliberately.”

“Do, please, stop calling me such a childish name. If you haven’t noticed, I became a woman several years ago.”

His gaze flicked over her body, scorched where it touched and left her tingling in its wake. “Trust me, Laura, I’d noticed.”

Scenting Scandal Book 2 Scandalous Siblings Series. https://books2read.com/suziloveSS