A Dangerous Madness by Michelle Diener Page A

share his secrets with her as she was with him.
    “It’s a fair trade, then,” she said, and he went still, and then gave a quick nod of his head.
    That she hadn’t had to explain what she meant was as exciting as the fastest ride she’d had on horseback, and a feeling gripped her that was disturbingly like desire.
    Not a physical desire, although he was well-built and handsome enough for her to notice him that way, but one to spend time in his company and not have to hold back or phrase what she said carefully.
    The freedom of a companion like that was something she had long abandoned hope of experiencing.
    She was forced to gulp in a breath of air.
    “Can you tell me, before I lay my secrets at your feet, why it is you are unwilling to trust me with what you know?” His voice was slightly lower than it had been before, and she repressed a shiver.
    “I know Sheldrake is mixed up in some bad business, and I’m afraid that you are one of the men he’s mixed up with.” She didn’t know why she decided on the truth, but it was liberating.
    His lips twisted up in a wry smile. “And you think I might be one of his cronies because…?”
    “Your reputation is that of a dissolute rake. You’re said to gamble and duel and spend your time in places of ill-repute. Sheldrake mentioned men would be looking for him, and not two days later, you arrive at my door doing just that.” She gave a shrug.
    “What if I told you that my reputation was somewhat of a fiction?” His face was very serious now, his gaze focused on her as he spoke.
    “Why do you do nothing to change it, then?”
    “At one time, there was a need for some information about a certain group of young noblemen. Men around my own age. I was asked by my father, who was heavily involved in government, to mingle with them. Listen to what they said and report back anything of interest. After the…assignment was over, it was thought best to continue to use me in that capacity—my reputation having already been established as a gambling wastrel, so to speak.” He spoke lightly, but it was at odds with his face and his eyes.
    “How long ago was that first assignment?” She wanted to reach out and touch his arm, but she gripped the skirts of her gown, instead.
    “Too long ago.” He gave a wry smile. “So now you know the answer to a mystery the more conservative members of the ton have long exclaimed over, namely why my father, straight-laced and upstanding as he was, tolerated my outrageous behavior without cutting me off or disinheriting me. And that contrary to general wisdom, I didn’t send him to an early grave. My behavior was his idea, all along.”
    “He shouldn’t have asked it of you. Not for so long.”
    She spoke without thinking, and he jerked at her words, shrugged them off.
    “I’d recently made the decision to follow my own inclinations more, but then yesterday, the prime minister was shot and I was asked to…re-acquaint myself with my usual haunts, see what I could find out.”
    She closed her eyes. He wasn’t in league with Sheldrake, but against him. She batted away the last few spider-web strands that held her loyal to her former betrothed, and was free. “What led you so quickly to Sheldrake’s door?”
    “That’s an interesting question.” He tipped his head to the side, as if to see her better in the moonlight. “More than one man gave me his name, but I don’t know if they genuinely thought he might be involved, if they were laying a false trail, or just repeating something they’d heard.”
    She shook her head. “It isn’t a false trail, but Sheldrake can only be involved in the most minor way.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    She hunched her shoulders.
    Months of forcing herself not to criticise Sheldrake was a hard habit to break, despite her new freedom. “Because he isn’t capable of planning something like this. He’d have gotten involved because it made him feel important, or because he believed he was doing