An Artful Seduction Read Online Free PDF

Huntingdon?” Amelia asked.
    “I’ll reach out to Mr. Cain first,” Eliza said.
    Amelia looked at her in surprise. “Mr. Cain? That blackguard won’t tell you a thing.”
    “Mr. Cain is as unscrupulous as they come. If he believes there’s profit in it for him, he may be tempted to speak. Besides, I need to purchase supplies. You need paint and brushes, and the fancy gilt frames he imports have helped to sell every painting they’ve framed.”
    “What if you refuse to help Lord Huntingdon?” Chloe asked.
    “He threatened to notify the constable of the forgery.”
    Chloe’s blue eyes widened. “You believe him?”
    An image of the earl’s face rose in Eliza’s mind. Dark and handsome, but also dangerous. If she intended to help him find the stolen Rembrandt, she’d have to be very wary of him. “I have little choice. He’s determined and powerful. A volatile combination.”
    …
    Eliza was ready for Lord Huntington the following morning. The little bell above the door rang at exactly ten o’clock and Huntington swept inside with a blast of cold wind that extinguished one of the wall sconces. He was as strikingly attractive as she’d remembered, and his great coat billowed about him.
    Eliza moved from behind the counter to greet him. “Good morning, my lord.”
    His eyes immediately swept the interior of the room, and she knew his dark gaze missed no detail.
    “Your print shop is charming, Mrs. Somerton,” he said simply.
    Eliza had prepared for his visit. The floor was swept, the counter polished with linseed oil until it gleamed in the sunlight from the large front window, paintings hung on the walls, prints were displayed in racks around the room, and most importantly, Amelia’s forgeries were well hidden in the back workroom.
    She took great pride in the welcoming character of her shop, ensuring it was well lit, comfortably warm during business hours of the winter months, and offering her customers a pleasant experience.
    But now with Lord Huntingdon—the important and influential art critic—standing in the center of her shop, studying his surroundings, she felt oddly nervous. She couldn’t help but wonder what he thought. She knew the shop didn’t compare to the opulence of Ackerman’s. Her customers were wealthy merchants, not aristocrats or members of the beau monde.
    And she certainly never, ever entertained art critics.
    She bit her bottom lip as he moved about the room. Sunlight from the window glinted off his dark hair and highlighted his chiseled features. The lighting was one of the reasons she had initially rented the building. The artwork could be displayed in the most favorable natural light. The rent was costly and there had been months she feared they couldn’t afford to pay the landlord.
    Huntington flipped through several prints on a rack. “I must admit I’m pleasantly surprised. Your establishment is not what I expected.”
    Looking up, his gaze caught hers and he smiled. There was something lazily seductive in his look, and she felt a flutter of excitement in her stomach.
    “Impressive, very impressive, Mrs. Somerton,” he said.
    Sweet heavens! Was he still speaking of her shop?
    Feeling self-conscious, she smoothed the skirts of her gray alpaca gown. For a brief moment, she wished she was wearing a fine gown like the ladies of his acquaintance, then inwardly shook herself at her folly. The dress she’d worn to the auction and to visit him at his home, had been her finest and a previously owned and made-over gown. But the dresses she wore during working hours were plain, respectable for a shopkeeper, and much less costly. She was no longer in his realm.
    “The artists are unknown, but the paintings are of good quality. How do you afford to buy the artwork?” he asked.
    “I don’t. Local artists need a place to sell their works and agree to display their prints and paintings in my shop. Once a piece sells, we split the profits. It’s a mutually beneficial