A Lady's Secret Weapon Read Online Free PDF

your time frame?”
    “Tanner is retiring at the end of the month.”
    “Why so little notice?” she asked. “That barely gives you a fortnight to react.”
    Glancing down at his coat sleeve, he brushed his fingers over it twice as if removing an annoying speck of dirt. “According to Tanner, his heart can’t take the constant strain.”
    “Oh, that is unfortunate,” she said. “I take it you’d like Tanner’s replacement to be in his prime?”
    “Not necessarily,” he said. “As long as he knows his duties, I have no care for his age.”
    “But what of the strain?”
    He stared at her curiously, then the area around his eyes crinkled. “The strain Tanner referred to was not in reference to his onerous duties.”
    When he did not bother to explain further, she asked, “If not his duties, then what?”
    “Me.”
    “You?”
    “Yes,” he said as if the notion of torturing his butler brought him great enjoyment. “It’s nothing you need to be concerned about for the new butler.”
    “I see.” Though she didn’t. She experienced a wave of empathy for his lordship’s old retainer. “So, age is not a concern, but you want Tanner’s replacement to be an experienced butler. Do I have that correct?”
    “You do, indeed.”
    “What about hair color?” she asked. “Do you wish it to match the other servants?”
    He barked out a laugh. When she did not join in, he said, “Please tell me you’re not serious.”
    “Some of my clients have very exacting criteria when it comes to their servants.”
    “Even if the manservants are powdering their hair or wearing wigs?”
    “Even so.”
    Shaking his head, he said, “I will save you the trouble of fulfilling a particular hue, Miss Hunt.”
    “As you wish.” She glanced down at her list. “With or without a family?”
    “Without.”
    “How tall?”
    A heavy-lidded smile replaced his consternation, and he slouched back in his chair in the same manner she did when under pressure. “My height or a few inches less,” he said. “I prefer to be the tallest man in my castle.”
    Ah, the charming rogue fully emerges. She understood why the ladies fell under his spell. No gentleman should be equipped with so much disarming weaponry. Even Ares, the mythical god of war, would not hold a lady’s attention long if Lord Danforth strolled into the same room, wearing his gorgeous smile.
    Much to Sydney’s consternation, she was not immune to the raw power pulsing beneath his fine clothes and devil-may-care manner. He fairly reeked of the boudoir, so potent was his sensuality. An image of his sun-kissed flesh writhing amidst white silken sheets captivated her mind’s eye. With every rustle of his legs, the sheet shifted to reveal another glorious inch of his well-toned bottom.
    Sydney’s insides clenched violently, jerking her back to the flesh-and-blood viscount, who stared at her with a knowing smile. She halted her body’s mad spiral into the chasm of desire with a ruthlessness that surprised even her. She hated that I’ve-got-you-now curve of a gentleman’s lips. Hated it with a dedication that guided her efforts at the Hunt Agency every day.
    “Indeed,” she said. “Your requirements are not complicated, my lord, but I don’t believe the Hunt Agency can help you in so short a time.”
    That wiped the seductive smile off his face. He straightened. “I have it on good authority that your agency has built its reputation on finding good matches under difficult circumstances.”
    “Whose good authority would that be?”
    His eyes narrowed. “A number of acquaintances have conveyed as much to me.”
    Why was he resistant to sharing the name of his referrals? If she knew who he was conferring with about her agency, she could use the connection to find out if his request was a legitimate one or not. “Have you no one among your staff whom you could promote?”
    “No. I keep a modest number of servants, and my only footman is not suitable for the