Sins of a Ruthless Rogue

what he claimed about who he’d become, he still was.

“But why does that make him dislike you?”

“He doesn’t like to be reminded of what he did to La Petit. And although he knew what I was, the saving of his life was so dramatic

that he either had to reveal there was a spy in his ranks or pretend there wasn’t and reward me.”

She blinked at him. “Then you are a baron?”

“Indeed. I believe they raise camels at my estate in Siberia.”

“Camels?”

“Two-humped.” This time she was certain a touch of humor entered his eyes. “Very resistant to the cold.”

“You’re jesting.” Her heart skipped a beat. He had been jesting. With her. And it was marvelous.

“No. Three hundred and twelve at the last count.”

“Is that where you earned your fortune?” She found herself hungry for the smallest scrap of information about him.

His expression shuttered. “The serfs keep their own money. I don’t live off the ownership of other men.”

Her stomach filled with lead. She wanted to take the question back. To ease the tension on his face.

“Why do you want to know?” he asked.

She shifted, wanted to escape back to his humor from moments before. “It was just a simple question.”

“Was it? Or are you eager to ferret out information to help you protect your mill?”

For once she hadn’t been. All she wanted was more of him. “Is it so difficult to believe that I just want to know about you?”

“I’m not a man people want to become better acquainted with.” The words were filled with bitter pride.

“What if I’m not like they are?” What if she wasn’t the villain he believed her to be?

Her short strand of hope stretched thinner and thinner in the following silence until his words shattered it completely. His smile was

as grim as a hangman’s. “Then you’re too late. There is nothing left worth knowing.”

“Olivia!” Kate strolled down the corridor as they entered the house. “How did you fare? I feared Clayton would provoke the emperor

into ordering your executions.”

Olivia pinned a smile on her face. “It was a close thing.”

Clayton folded his arms. “She will require a proper dress for this evening’s ball.”

“More favors?”

Clayton simply waited.

Kate smoothed her vest with a flick. “Fine. I’ll see to it.”

He nodded once. “I’ll return in time to escort you to the ball.”

“Where are you going?” Olivia asked. “Surely, there are other things we must see to this afternoon.” Since the emperor hadn’t

agreed to stop the fete, they had to break the code. He must realize this.

“You have known from the start what my priorities are.”

Finding Arshun. Keeping La Petit safe.

But where did that leave Olivia?

Solving it on her own. “Give me the paper.”

Kate slowly turned her head back and forth between them. “What paper?”

Olivia held out her hand. “The one that belongs to me. I retrieved it.”

Clayton’s jaw was set. “There’s no—”

But she was done allowing him to lead. She understood that he needed to protect La Petit, but he would have to understand that she

needed to protect the czar. “Are you afraid I’ll solve it without you?”

“It is a possibility. You’re clever enough.” He withdrew the paper from his waistcoat and handed it to her.

She stared at it for several seconds. He’d actually given it to her. And he thought that she was clever.

But she wasn’t so starved for affection that this small morsel of praise could make her heart pound in her ears. It could not make her

knees wobble.

Much.

She lifted her chin. “I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

But he was already striding away.

Kate took Olivia’s arm. “Don’t you dare gape. He doesn’t deserve it.”

“I’m not gaping.”

“Like a fish.” Kate pointedly turned her back on Clayton. “Come.” She led Olivia into the nearby parlor. “Now you are going to tell me

what that was all about.”

She wasn’t sure what to say. “The paper has to do with saving the czar.”

Kate snorted. “I figured out that much. What is it between the two of you? His eyes follow you like he wants to devour you whole, and

yet you both act like you are separated by a frozen mountain pass.”

Olivia plopped in a red silk chair. “Worse.” She found herself explaining her betrayal, her attempt to rebuild the mill, and his promise

to destroy it.

Kate poured them each a cup of tea from the tray the maid had just brought in. “So what had happened to the mill that you needed to

restore it?”

Olivia hated this part of the story. “To be honest, I didn’t know what was happening with it. My father became ill and we moved to the

London house so I could seek help for him.”

“Did you find it?”

Olivia poured cream into her cup until the liquid grew cloudy. “I found many who claimed they could help.”

“Ah.”

The single syllable held so much understanding, Olivia’s throat tightened. “Then I stayed because I became involved in other things

in the city.” And because the house by the mill was filled with too many memories. “After hearing of my father’s sickness, the Bank of

England ended its contract with the mill. The other clients followed.”

“What brought you back?”

“The vicar. He came to me and demanded I return to see what was happening to the mill and to the town. He was right. I’d failed the

town without even realizing it.”

A few employees, such as Thomas, had remained, fulfilling the few orders the mill did have, but there had been no one to bring in

new contracts, no one with authority to act in her father’s name. Thomas, to his credit, had tried to contact her father, but she’d never

bothered to open any of the letters. She’d wanted nothing to do with the business and corruption of the man who sired her. Thomas

had also tried to contact her father’s solicitor, but the man had apparently spoken of stopping production at the mill entirely, so

Thomas had ceased inquiring and continued to do what he was paid to do.

“So you set about restoring it on your own? Where did you get the funds?”

Olivia couldn’t bring herself to tell the entire truth. Shame that she’d sworn she didn’t feel caged her words. “I sold the London house,

then sold off everything else that I could find.”

Which was when she’d found those accursed banknotes in her father’s things.

Kate’s eyes glimmered. “I’m very much afraid I like you. What will you do about Clayton?”

“I’ll stop him from ruining the mill.”

“And what if you can’t?”

Olivia held tightly to her cup and lifted it to her lips, ignoring the heat burning her fingers. “I will.” No matter what he thought of her, she

had a duty to the people in her town.

“You don’t think being in love with him will interfere?”

Olivia choked on her tea. “I am—”

Blast. She tried to regain her breath but couldn’t. Her lungs ceased to function properly. Probably due to the obscene pace of her