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

unlikely location. Robert’s lips twitched as an image of Delmont struggling on his hands and knees to open the lock came to him.
    Placing the lamp on a floorboard beside the safe, he crouched to examine the Barron lever-tumbler lock, named after its inventor Robert Barron. The lock was cleverly recessed so that it would not create a noticeable lump in the carpet should the sofa be moved.
    Robert withdrew his lock picks from his pocket and laid them on the floorboards. He chose a long thin rod and slipped it into the lock. Using a “tickling” technique, he carefully maneuvered each of the five levers in the lock, raising them one by one to the correct height. Only when all five levers were raised and lined up in the correct height would the lock open.
    It was a painfully slow process, but the best method to avoid destroying the lock. He could remove the contents and then close the safe with no one able to tell it had been tampered with.
    But he had to be careful. The lock was spring-loaded. One wrong move—a fraction too high—and he could trigger the spring, causing a lever to snap down and prohibit further manipulation.
    By the time he had raised four of the levers to the proper height, sweat beaded his brow. Crouching over his work, his back throbbed and the muscles between his shoulder blades ached. He had worked in worse conditions in the past, of course, and this wasn’t his first difficult lock.
    He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and concentrated on the pick in his hand.
    Focus. This wasn’t any different from the hundreds of safes he’d opened before.
    At last the lever rose and he was rewarded with a slight click as the lock opened.
    Just then voices sounded outside the door.
    He snuffed out the lamp and froze. Damn. He had been so engrossed in the safe he hadn’t heard footsteps. Crouching behind the sofa, the room was dim save for a sliver of moonlight from the cracked curtains.
    He hoped it was servants passing, uninterested in the study. He would not relish being forced to incapacitate anyone in order to preserve his anonymity. He strained to hear, his heart pounding.
    “Lady Sophia, what are you doing up wandering the halls?”
    Robert recognized Delmont’s voice. The viscount’s question reverberated through Robert’s mind as well. What was she doing up?
    “Pardon, my lord,” Sophia said. “I couldn’t sleep and thought to get some warm milk from the kitchen.”
    “You should have called for a servant.”
    “I didn’t want to inconvenience anyone my first night here.”
    “Nonsense.”
    “Why are you up, my lord?”
    “Please call me Edward. I often spend time in my study late at night.”
    “I admit I’m glad you found me, Edward. I tend to be frightened of the dark. If it’s not too much trouble, perhaps you can escort me back to my room.”
    “I’d be honored.”
    Christ! Robert suspected what Sophia was up to. She had somehow followed him and knew he was in the study accessing the safe. She was flirting with the viscount, encouraging his attentions in an effort to aid him.
    He should be thankful, yet he felt anything but gratitude. The emotions surging through his veins were as uncomfortable as they were unfamiliar. He struggled with the ridiculous urge to burst through the study door and strangle Delmont with his bare hands.
    Snatching up the contents of the safe—a single folded sheet of paper—he held it up to the moonlight, but there wasn’t enough light to read the small script. He dared not linger. Refolding the paper, he tucked it into his pocket.
    Just before he closed the door, a glint of gold at the bottom of the safe caught his eye. Reaching down, he picked up a small gold gear. It was identical to the ones Wendover had found on the bodies of the murdered inventors. He returned it to the safe and secured the lock.
    Opening the study door, he blended into the shadows.
    …
    “I’m grateful you found me tonight, my lord,” Sophia said.
    Delmont’s gaze raked