A Lady's Secret Weapon by Tracey Devlyn Page B

secret chamber.
    As it was, the staff’s odd behavior had only succeeded in sparking Sydney’s protective instincts. What she needed to protect the boys from, she didn’t yet know. But something inside that house licked at a dark shadow hovering on the edge of her consciousness, a raw, ugly place she had locked away many, many years ago, without looking back.
    Nor would she now.
    “I’m sorry, Tanner,” Sydney said to the butler. “When is your last day again?”
    “End of the month, miss.”
    Amelia chimed in. “How many footmen do you oversee?”
    “Only one, ma’am. His lordship prefers keeping a small staff.”
    “Oh?” Sydney asked, recalling Lord Danforth mentioning the same thing. “Why is that?”
    “All he needs is clean clothes, edible food, and a discreet household,” Tanner said as if reciting a much-heard mantra. “He’s also a private man, Miss Hunt, and doesn’t care to be tripping over servants day and night.”
    “Does he employ a valet?”
    “No, miss. If his lordship needs assistance with his wardrobe, he calls on either the footman or myself.”
    “I see.” Sydney shared a glance with her assistant, who made a note. “Will his lordship’s butler be required to attend him during all hours of the evening, then?”
    “Not at all. His lordship insists on using his own key at night.”
    “That’s right,” a new voice added. “I don’t need a servant to open the damned door for me, even if I’m stumbling across the threshold.”
    Sydney’s heart kicked against the wall of her chest. She glanced up to find Lord Danforth making his way down the grand staircase. Dressed in buckskin breeches, riding boots, and a wine-colored coat tailored to embrace his broad shoulders and sculpted midsection, he made her forget how to breathe. Especially when she noticed how his damp sable locks curled roguishly at the tips. The sight conjured an image of him rising from his bath, water cascading over the hard planes of his stomach, his lean hips, his rigid—
    “Good morning, ladies,” Lord Danforth said.
    Sydney’s blood ran hotly through her veins, a flush covered her skin from head to toe. Never had she wanted anything more—to see Ethan deBeau in the nude, wet, aroused. For her.
    “Lord Danforth.” Amelia bumped her elbow into Sydney’s.
    Blinking, Sydney forced the erotic image from her mind and steadied her breathing. “Good morning, sir. I did not expect to see you.”
    “My schedule opened up.” He halted a hand’s width away. “So I thought I’d check on Tanner to make sure you haven’t sent him into a swoon with your interrogation.”
    Tanner sniffed. “I haven’t needed the salts since ’91, sir.”
    “Sounds like you’re due, old boy.”
    Sydney glanced between the two men. “I assure you, my lord. It is not my intention to distress Tanner, only gather enough information to recommend an appropriate replacement.”
    The viscount winked at his butler before closing the minuscule distance separating their bodies. “You don’t have brothers, do you?”
    “As a matter of fact, I do.”
    “Younger brother, right?”
    “What does my having a younger brother got to do with our present discussion?”
    “The mothering sort.” He chucked her under the chin. “No humor in your bones.” Clasping his hands behind his back, he straightened. “We’ll have to work on that, won’t we, Tanner?”
    “Indeed, sir.”
    Rubbing the area beneath her chin, she glanced at Amelia and noted her assistant’s wide, shocked eyes. What had brought on his lordship’s playful mood? Especially since he hadn’t wanted her to come in the first place. If she didn’t know any better, she would suspect him of flirting.
    When she shifted her attention back, his blue-green eyes twinkled down at her. Gentlemen more handsome and dangerous than this man had tried to woo her into their beds. Only once before had she experienced the pull of attraction. Philip . Even now, two years later, her