Read Online Stephanie Laurens Rogues' Reform Bundle by Stephanie Laurens - Free Book Online Page B

drew out a small pouch. It was the work of a minute to loosen the strings and shake a handful of golden guineas into her palm. She was busy counting them when a large hand closed over hers, curling her fingers about the coins.
    â€œNo. Keep them.”
    â€œOh, no.” Lenore shook her head vehemently, too well acquainted with male pride to accept such a boon. “Jack would never forgive me.” She looked up, into Eversleigh’s grey eyes, one brow rising haughtily when she saw his expression harden.
    For a long moment, Eversleigh studied her. “I will not accept any coins from you but I’ll undertake to tell Jack the debt was paid in full.”
    Stubbornly, Lenore shook her head, her lips firming in a mutinous line.
    Jason held her steady gaze, his eyes narrowed, his fingers tight about her hand. Then, his lips twisted in a wry smile. “Something else, perhaps,” he suggested. His smile deepened. He released her hand but not her eyes. “I will not accept any money in payment of Jack’s debt. Instead, Miss Lester, I’ll settle for the answer to one question.”
    Lenore frowned up at him. “What question?”
    â€œAh, no.” Jason stepped back to lean against the bookshelves. He eyed her speculatively. “Not until you agree to settling thus.”
    Lenore’s eyes narrowed. Glancing down at the coins in her hand, she debated the wisdom of making any bargain with a rake. But what could he ask, after all. Twenty-five guineas was no great sum, not in her accounting, yet if she saved it she could put it into her special fund for helping their needier tenants.
    â€œVery well.” She dropped the coins back into the pouch and returned it to the safe. Shutting the safe, she locked the cupboard door, all the while reassuring herself that she was the one in charge. Finally, she turned to face Eversleigh. “What is your question, Your Grace?”
    Jason smiled. “Why do you persist in hiding your light under a bushel, my dear?”
    Lenore blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
    The look Eversleigh bent upon her forcibly reminded her of his reputation.
    â€œI asked why you are so assiduous in veiling your attributes from those most likely to appreciate them.”
    Pressing her hands together, Lenore put her nose in the air. “I have no idea what you mean, Your Grace.”
    â€œLet’s see if I can explain.” Jason straightened, pushing away from the wall. Horrified, Lenore watched, wide-eyed, as two strides brought him to stand directly before her. His hands came up to grasp the bookshelves just beyond each of her shoulders, trapping her between his arms.
    Feeling the edges of the bookshelves digging into her spine, Lenore cleared her throat. “I’m convinced you are too much the gentleman to resort to intimidation, Your Grace.”
    â€œBelieve what you will of me, my dear, but allow me to remove these, before they obscure your very pretty eyes.”
    Before she could react, Eversleigh had whipped her fogging spectacles from her nose, dropping them on the desk behind him.
    Stifling a squeak of sheer outrage, Lenore blinked furiously up at him.
    A slow smile was her reward. “A great improvement.” For an instant, the silver gaze roamed her face in open appreciation before, with a last unnerving glance at her lips, Jason returned his attention to the matter at hand. “Permit me to inform you, Miss Lester, that, unlike the majority who have visited here, I am neither blind nor gullible. That being so, I wish to know why you insist on purposely hiding your charms.”
    In the face of such an attack, there was nothing to do but fight back. “My charms, as you are pleased to call them, are my own, I believe? If it pleases me to keep them hidden, then who has any right to gainsay me?” Lenore felt distinctly pleased with that piece of logic.
    â€œThere are many, Miss Lester, who would maintain that a beautiful