Read Online Elusive Passion by Kathryn Smith - Free Book Online Page B

planning on searching for evidence that might incriminate Lord Pennington. I thought I might offer my assistance.”
    There, that hadn’t been so difficult.
    “Get out.”
    For a moment she was shocked speechless. “I…I beg your pardon?”
    He looked at her with eyes that were hooded and wary. “The only assistance you can offer me, madam, is by removing yourself from this room. You were quite clear the other night in your wish to separate your investigation from my own. Please leave.”
    Varya was definitely flustered. “Why you insufferable ape! I have as much right as you do to search this room!”
    He shrugged. “Then by all means, search.” With that said, he turned his back on her and began peering behind paintings.
    She stood her ground, rooted to the carpet by anger and confusion. After telling her to go he was now giving her leave to conduct her own search? Obviously he thought her incapable of finding anything.
    “What are you doing?” she demanded as he lifted yet another frame.
    “If he’s got a safe, it’s probably hidden behind oneof the paintings or some other inconspicuous place,” he replied coolly, straightening the canvas so that it hung straight.
    Varya shrugged and went to the desk.
    Miles shot her an impatient glance. “That’s too obvious. You’ll find nothing there.”
    But she did. In the lower left-hand drawer, she found a small stack of letters addressed in Bella’s handwriting. Grinning triumphantly, she handed them to a glowering Miles.
    “The man’s a simpleton,” he muttered, thumbing through the pile.
    Varya chuckled, pleased with herself for having found what he hadn’t. “Obviously his wife never uses this room.”
    He surprised her by dividing the pile between them.
    “Would you prefer to have them all to yourself?” he asked, arching a russet brow.
    She flushed. He had quite a talent for unnerving her. “No. It will be quicker if we both read—that is, if you plan to share your information with me?” At this point she didn’t trust him any more than he trusted her.
    His smile was wry. “It will take all my willpower, but I believe I’m up for the task.”
    They read in silence, scanning each missive for some clue that might convict Pennington. Once in a while, one of them would read a passage out loud. All they discovered was that Pennington had a voracious sexual appetite that seemed to delight Bella. Varya blushed at some of the scenarios her friend had suggested she and the married lord attempt.
    Miles tossed the last letter aside in disgust. Varya couldn’t blame him for being disappointed, but had he really thought it would be so easy to find the murderer?
    She refolded the letters and slipped them back into their previous position in the drawer. She sighed as she stood.
    “We’ve only just begun looking, my lord. I’m sure we’ll uncover the truth.”
    He raked a hand through his hair and met her gaze evenly. “As much as there is no ‘we,’ madam, I hope you’re right. The idea of someone actually getting away with killing Bella makes my gut burn.”
    Placing her hand on his sleeve, Varya ignored his dismissal. Every instinct she had was telling her that he was no more capable of harming Bella than she was. The realization that she might have actually killed him shamed her.
    “You cared for her deeply, didn’t you?”
    He didn’t meet her gaze. Instead, he studied her hand as if he had never seen one before. “Of course I did. I’m not so debauched that I can make love to a woman I don’t like.”
    His tone was biting, but she took no offense. She had a feeling his anger had been brought on not by her impertinence, but by the fact that he had been embarrassed by her observation.
    “I would hope not,” she replied with mock loftiness. “My opinion of you would fall considerably if you had told me different.”
    His mouth twisted sardonically. “As if your opinion of me now is a stellar one.”
    She returned his smile. “It’s better