“I’m fucking spectacular,” Leah said, then clapped her hand over her mouth with a laugh. “Sorry, Muriel! I’m good. I promise.”
The maid gave her an odd look but continued on her way. Leah had to fight to keep from skipping up the stairs. Tonight would answer her questions and ease her pent-up tensions. Oh, this was going to be incredible.
i
The night was so cold her breath fogged out in front of her. She wrapped her cloak around her tighter and kept on trucking. At least this is the ritzy part of town, she thought. If I had to walk through St. Giles in the dark alone, I wouldn’t make it fifteen feet.
Not that she actually owned anything worth stealing.
The streets were completely empty of people. A shiver skittered down her spine, and she walked faster.
Maybe she should have begged Muriel to come with her. As soon as the thought popped into her head, she shoved it off with a laugh. Yeah, she should totally have asked the innocent teenaged maid to hold her hand as she hauled ass to seduce her man.
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wanting. But they’d finish what they’d started tonight.
She refused to take no for an answer.
The servant’s entrance was locked tight. Damn it. She resisted the urge to thump her fist against the heavy door in frustration. It wouldn’t do any good.
She shoved herself upright and nodded. Time for Plan B.
The conservatory on the ground floor was her target.
She hoped the room that Henrietta had locked her in— gosh, weeks ago now— would still have its window unlatched.
She found it without trouble, careful to avoid the stables on her way. She didn’t want to run into that asshole of a stable master.
She breathed a relieved sigh when she reached the window. Finally. Bracing the heels of her hand on the window, she shoved upward with a grunt.
The window didn’t budge.
She bumped it, trying to encourage the seal to break.
The window didn’t so much as squeak.
“Damnit,” she hissed. “What the hell do I have to do to get in this place?”
The front door was out. Smythe probably slept on the damn welcome mat. She could probably go around the bottom floor and try all the windows, but what if someone saw her? They’d throw her into prison before she could explain.
She looked up at the stars. Maybe one of them would have mercy and grant her a wish.
The moon’s soft glow reflected off a shiny leaf of ivy.
Ivy.
The trellis!
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She rubbed her palms together briskly. It couldn’t be much more difficult than climbing a tree, right? She’d been awesome at that when she was about ten.
Of course, that had been a long time ago.
She shook her head as she tucked the ends of her skirt up. No way. She could do this. She could do anything she put her mind to.
What about that time you got kicked out of Zumba?
“Shut up,” she muttered to herself as she gripped the trellis. “That instructor was a sadistic bastard.”
The wooden trellis creaked and groaned under her weight. The ivy was thick, and it was tough to figure out where her slippers would fit. But she kept her gaze locked on the windows of the top floor. She could get to him— she could. She had to.
She reached sideways, aiming for a thin spot in the foliage. Her fingers slipped, and she tilted dangerously.
Pulling at the tendrils of vine, she pulled herself back toward the house. Her heart thumped and her breath came in little gasps.
“Damn, that was close.”
She looked toward the ground and gulped. She’d never been afraid of heights, and she wasn’t really afraid now. It was more the falling she had issue with.
No. She wasn’t going to fall. She was going to haul her ass up this trellis, make love to Avery, and if she ever got home, she’d invest in a rock climbing class.
Hey, you never know when shit’s going to come in handy.
Drawing even with the top of the trellis, she breathed a relieved sigh. Okay. Here she was. Now, which window was Avery’s? The trellis stretched wide, covering the bottoms of three top-floor windows. She could look GeekGirlsDontDateDukes.indd 205
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down, see where the area was…A quick glimpse down-ward was enough to make her nausea rise. Nope, not looking down there anymore. Too damn scary.
She’d have to do it the hard way.
Moving to the closest window, she peeped above the bottom edge.
Several moments passed before her eyes grew accus-tomed to the dimness inside. She blinked several times before the vision cleared. Henry, one of the footmen, lay sprawled atop the covers, completely nude. Ugh. She hadn’t needed to see that. Fortunately, his roommate Oliver was fully clothed in the small bed across the room.