Read Online When a Lady Deceives (Her Majesty’s Most Secret Service) by Tara Kingston - Free Book Online

guv’nor.” Douglas offered a sad-eyed shake of his head. “I can’t go to no roomin’ house and leave me sister behind t’freeze. Me mum told me t’take care of Sally, no matter what. I got t’stay with her.”
    As if for emphasis, the curly-haired moppet in the hat rubbed sleepy eyes with a small fist. Shock coursed through Jennie’s veins, even as emotion clogged her throat. The sight of the young boy clutching his sister’s chubby hand might have melted even Scrooge’s heart.
    Jennie shot Colton a glance beneath her lashes. How mistaken she’d been. He’d acted as the boy’s benefactor, not as one who’d employ the child to accomplish some sinister goal.
    Most unfair, surprising me so. She’d expected many things of Matthew Colton. This was not one of them.
    As if he’d read her thoughts, the harsh set of his mouth softened. He produced another coin from his pocket and placed it with the other in the child’s still outstretched hand.
    “Mrs. Callahan will have room for you both. This will pay young Sally’s board. Are there any others I need to know about before you run off again?”
    The boy shook his head and gave his sister’s hand a squeeze. “It’s just Sally and me. Thank ye, sir.” The lad shifted his sibling a look, then met Colton’s penetrating gaze. “Why, guv’nor? Why are ye doin’ this fer us?”
    “Let’s just say I was in your shoes a long time ago.”
    A band tightened around Jennie’s chest. As the children headed toward the boardinghouse, Colton’s gaze trailed after them. A distant sadness flickered in his eyes.
    “Mrs. Callahan will find chores to keep them busy,” he said in a low voice. “She could use some help in that rambling house.”
    A burning lump lodged at the base of Jennie’s throat. “You said you’d been in his shoes.”
    “That was a long time ago.” The raw words lowered a curtain over his past.
    She ached to reach out to him, to touch him, if only to ease the pain that swept over his visage. The glimpse of long-buried sorrow had been fleeting. He’d closed off that part of him, hidden it as surely as if he’d locked it away. Why did she long to comfort him, to somehow soothe the scars of his past?
    But she had to keep her wits about her. His momentary kindness to a child didn’t change a thing. Matthew Colton was still Harwick’s chief lieutenant.
    Despite his kisses. Despite the gentleness of his touch. Despite his benevolence to a street urchin.
    Still, she’d misjudged him, at least in that one harsh moment. “What you did was very kind,” she murmured.
    A haunting sadness flashed in his eyes. “I might need absolution for my sins someday. This could be considered a small down payment.”

    “I am safely home. You may find another damsel to rescue now,” Jennie announced as they approached Mrs. O’Brien’s Boardinghouse for Quality Women. “Your business here is done.”
    “Where you are concerned, I’m far from finished.” A blend of masculine hunger and unveiled suspicion marked his expression.
    So, this is how a mouse feels looking into the eyes of an alley cat.
    She drew her cape tight to her chin. “Good night, Mr. Colton.”
    He met her cool dismissal with a rake’s smile. “Good night, Jennie.”
    Without so much as a glance behind, she rushed up the stairs to her room, tossed her cloak onto a wobbly chair, and sank to the edge of the bed. Against her better judgment, she touched his scarf to her cheek. She closed her eyes. Traces of Matthew Colton’s scent conjured all-too-vivid sensations—the warmth of his kiss, the unexpected tenderness of his powerful hands.
    It was as if she’d known him for a very long time.
    Jennie sprawled over the bed and pulled the quilt around her. Matthew Colton could destroy her investigation. He could destroy her.
    She didn’t want to think about Matthew Colton.
    She didn’t want to drink in every nuance of his essence.
    She didn’t want to hunger for the heat of his body.
    When