Lie by Moonlight Read Online Free PDF Page B

of small, elegant breasts and the curve of a waist that was not quite as tiny as fashion decreed. The recent forced intimacy that had resulted from sharing the back of a horse with her had informed him that the lady possessed a charmingly rounded derriere.
    He had never been a strict follower of female fashions, he thought. Concordia’s proportions might not conform to those illustrated in the magazines and journals of style but they suited him very well.
    There was pride and grace in the way she held herself. Intelligence and a certain vital inner force that he recognized as a sturdy, indomitable spirit marked her in a way that no cosmetics ever could. Even now, exhausted as he knew she must be, there was an irrepressible energy and determination about her that elicited admiration.
    No, not admiration, he reflected, desire. That was what she elicited in him. It was disturbing, but there was no point ignoring facts.
    Part of his reaction was purely physical, he knew. It could be attributed to the familiar aftereffects of danger and those two hours spent riding behind her on the horse. Also, Concordia Glade was still very much a mystery. He was driven by nature and training to look beneath the surface for answers.
    But none of those entirely logical reasons fully explained the inexplicable fascination that he was experiencing for this woman tonight.
    He watched Concordia take another swallow of sherry. The glass trembled ever so slightly in her fingers. Tension, danger and the effects of fear were catching up with her. He suspected that the worst was yet to come. That would happen when the reality of the fact that she was responsible for crushing a man’s skull struck home.
    Such soul-shivering realizations tended to occur at night, he had learned. Dark thoughts thrived in the dark hours. If his personal experience with violence was anything to go by, Concordia would likely find herself awakening in cold sweats from time to time, not just in the days ahead, but weeks, months or years from now.
    The knowledge that the act had been committed to save her students as well as herself would do little to quell the nightmares. His training had taught him to think of violence as a dangerous form of alchemy. It gave the one who wielded it great power, but it exacted a heavy price.
    “If you would prefer, we can conduct this conversation in the morning after you have had some rest,” he said, surprising himself with the offer. He had not intended to make it. He wanted answers immediately, not tomorrow. So much had gone wrong today. All of his carefullyconstructed plans had gone up, quite literally, in smoke. A new scheme had to be formulated as swiftly as possible.
    But he could not bring himself to push her any further tonight.
    “No.” She lowered the sherry and faced him resolutely. “I think it would be best if we answered each other’s questions now. To begin, I wish to know how and why you came to be at the castle tonight. What was your purpose there?”
    “I have been watching the comings and goings at the castle from the cover of an abandoned farmer’s cottage nearby for twenty-four hours. I was waiting for a certain man to arrive. My informant told me that he was due soon. Tomorrow or the next day at the latest. Given events this evening, I think it is safe to say that it is more than likely that he will not show up, however.”
    “Who is this man?”
    “Alexander Larkin.” He watched her closely to see if the name meant anything to her.
    Her eyes widened behind the lenses of her spectacles. “I heard the name Larkin spoken occasionally at the castle, but always in hushed whispers. It was clear that I was not meant to overhear any references to him. But tonight his name came up again, in a manner of speaking.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “The second villain from London, the one who confronted us in the stables, said something about me being a complete fool to think that I could get away with stealing Larkin’s