A Spy Unmasked (Entangled Scandalous) by Tina Gabrielle Page A

compressed. “It was as fascinating as it was unusual.”
    “Yes, it was,” Jane said.
    “I was just bidding Sophia good night.” He gallantly bowed to them before departing.
    …
    By the time Sophia joined the women in the drawing room she was in a foul mood. Taking a seat beside Emma Brass, Sophia feigned interest in the women’s talk of the latest French fashions and sipped her wine.
    Stay out of his business, be damned! She refused to play a passive role when it was her father’s murder Robert was investigating.
    She understood Robert’s hesitation after her show of fear at seeing Viscount Delmont for the first time since the masquerade ball. Her initial anxiety about being in close proximity to him was not entirely gone, but she now knew how to mask her emotions.
    She would not be put in her place like a fresh-faced debutante out of the schoolroom. She was twenty-four years old, and she had survived sharing a meal with her father’s murderer. She would do whatever it took to see those responsible pay. She just needed to convince Robert of her usefulness and unwavering resolve.
    If only he weren’t so attractive. She wondered if she would ever get used to looking at him. But that was part of his persona, wasn’t it? The man could transform himself from cunning spy into a charming gentleman with efficient ruthlessness. His looks were just another weapon in his arsenal.
    She straightened her spine and clenched the wineglass. She had never been one to take no for an answer when she truly desired something. Hadn’t she slipped into Delmont’s masquerade unnoticed? Hadn’t she found her way into the viscount’s guarded wing and private study that night? If Robert thought to ignore her and set her aside, then he was in for a rude awakening.
    After the ship battle she had tried to tell him she intended to play a bigger role in the investigation. But Jane had interrupted.
    She would wait until tonight, after the men and women retired for the evening, before slipping out of her room to have a private word with him.

Chapter Eleven
    Robert knew precisely where to begin his search that night. Tossing aside his boots, he lay in his bed fully clothed—arms folded behind his head, legs crossed at the ankles.
    He waited until the mantle clock displayed the hour he’d awaited—two in the morning. The guests would be fast asleep in their rooms to be well rested for a hunt that Delmont had announced would take place in the morning.
    He rose and slipped out of the room. The servants had long ago snuffed the candles in the wall sconces. Only one candle burned low at the end of the hall by the balcony leading to the winding staircase. He preferred the night, and his eyes and ears were well attuned to flickering shadows on the flocked wallpaper and the slight creak of a floorboard.
    He descended the grand stairs and stepped into the vestibule. The Italian marble was cool beneath his stockinged feet. Turning the corner, he walked down the long hall and stopped before Delmont’s study.
    The door was closed, and no light shone beneath it. He turned the handle and slipped inside.
    More darkness.
    The smell of linseed oil and leather furniture permeated the space. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a candle and lit a match. The small glow revealed closed velvet curtains across a window behind a desk. Two leather armchairs were situated before a stone fireplace; directly across from the chairs a sofa rested against the east wall. A large world globe sat upon an end table in the corner beside the sofa.
    Lighting a lamp with his candle, he circled the study. Wendover’s map had indicated the safe was most likely located behind a Gainsborough portrait. But a quick glance behind the gilt frame confirmed Robert’s suspicions.
    Nothing. Delmont was too savvy for such a predictable location.
    Rolling back an Oriental carpet, he found the safe beneath the sofa.
    A floor safe?
    Considering the viscount’s size and girth it was an