Someone Irresistible by Adele Ashworth Page B

“I don’t understand.”
    “Yes, you do.” He stared intently into her eyes, no longer caring whether Mrs. Sheffield heard anything. “In order for my plan to work, I needed to discover if you sculpted, Mimi. I suspected that you did, but the only way I could possibly prove it, since I was certain you’d deny the fact if I simply asked, was to set you up so that you had something to sculpt. A rather brilliant idea on my part, I think.”
    Her brown eyes flashed hotly. “I think it’s rather arrogant.”
    He nodded gingerly in agreement. “I’ve been known to be arrogant from time to time.”
    “How humble you are as well, Nathan.”
    Her sarcastic connotation did not go unnoticed and he smiled again.
    “Regardless of my tact, my plan had merit. It worked.” Sitting back against the soft cushion once more, he carried on. “Soon after I
    discovered them, I sold both fossils, the Stegosaurus and the Pteranodon, outright to French archeologist Pierre Lamont. I knew with his connections to your father, Sir Harold would be the Frenchman’s first choice to sculpt it, which, ultimately, would lead to you. I planned the commission to take place at the precise time I knew your father would be absent from the country, and then I waited for Monsieur Lamont’s treasures to be presented at the Garden after being sculpted. I now have full confidence that you can help me. There is no way for you to deny your skills, Mimi.”
    For a second or two she looked as if she might cry. She blinked several times, her features sagging. Then not an instant later she shook herself and lifted her chin, clenching her jaw. Her face flushed and Nathan could sense that she’d become fiercely mad at him. It didn’t faze him. It’s what he expected, and how he would have felt in her position.
    “You used me,” she whispered tightly.
    He shook his head negligibly. “You were paid adequately to do what you do well. That’s all. You were never used.”
    “You’re using me now,” she seethed through closed teeth.
    “I need your help because I know you can do what I need done, Mimi,” he countered gravely. “I trust your talent.”
    With obvious disgust, she glanced around the parlor, taking in its peach painted walls behind oil paintings in gilded frames, the rich, brocade drapes, plush carpeting, and new cherry wood furniture.
    “And I suppose selling the fossils is how you—”
    Sharply, she looked back at him, understanding dawning.
    How I paid for this luxury, Mimi? For the quality suit I wore to greet you? For my temporary return to your social class ? He didn’t voice the thoughts, though, because they didn’t need to be said. The fossils were incredible finds and she knew that perfectly well. Monsieur Lamont would be well on his way to establishing his name in the field because he had bought the right to say he’d found them. Their sculptures would sit in the Zoological Garden alongside Professor Owen’s, in the name of France. Yes, Mimi now understood what he’d lost through his temporary financial gain. Silence paid very well, indeed.
    She continued to stare at him for several long seconds, intensely angered. Then swiftly she rose, tossing her reticule in the chair and crossing the floor to the window, her back to him, arms clutched together in front of her.
    “Those fossils could have restored your reputation, Nathan,” she said, staring out to the darkening sky. “And yet you readily sold them.”
    “Yes, they were good finds, and with them, along with continued research and the passing of years, I could have begun to rebuild my name as a renowned paleontologist.” He pushed himself up to a standing position, but didn’t move away from the sofa. Passionately, arms to his sides, he added, “That isn’t enough, Mimi. It could never be enough. Reputation can be easily gained or regained, but not honor.
    The only way I can have my honor as a man returned to me is to be good at what I do, and to prove that I was