Tempting Her Reluctant Viscount by Catherine Hemmerling

come in and have a seat,” the duchess commanded, looking around for something with which to wipe her eyes.
    When Michael approached with his handkerchief held out, Lady Lancaster took it from him with a gruff thank-you, but also with a noticeable fondness. When the lady had finished with it, Michael held out his hand to take it back, but instead the duchess passed it over to Hope.
    For the first time since he had entered the room, Michael took a good look at Miss Stuckeley. She looked quite lovely. Her eyes were bright with tears, turning them a molten golden brown, and she was smiling tremulously, looking as happy as he had ever seen her. Not an obvious kind of happy, but more of an inner contentment that simply shone through. Again, Michael wondered what on earth the ladies had been talking about.
    As he sat down, he said, “I feel as if I am interrupting something. I hope that is not the case?”
    “No, no,” Lady Lancaster assured him. “Miss Stuckeley and I had just finished our little chat. Your timing is impeccable, as usual.”
    Michael eyed them both suspiciously, but Hope was nodding in agreement, so he decided to relax and take the women at their word. It seemed the safest course of action, given the circumstances.
    “Then is it appropriate for me to ask what you may have found out about the stock conspiracy from yesterday?”
    “Oh, yes. Very good. Thank you, Michael,” Lady Lancaster said. “As it happens, I was able to get some information on that subject. After talking to a contact of mine at the Stock Exchange, I learned that they do indeed suspect deliberate stock manipulation. As a result, they have decided to form a committee to track down the conspirators. Michael, I have asked that you be assigned to the committee.”
    “Me?” Michael questioned. “But I have very little knowledge of the stock exchange.”
    “Yes, that is true,” Lady Lancaster conceded, “however, Hope does. And as she cannot be put on the committee for the completely asinine reason of her being female, I chose you instead. You and she will simply have to work closely together on this until the guilty parties are found out. I trust you do not have a problem with that?”
    The only problem Michael had with the lady’s plan was the fact he usually found himself extraordinarily addled around the fair Hope, but try as he might, he couldn’t stop the flutter of excitement in his belly when he thought of working closely with her. So while he was fairly positive he would make no end of a fool out of himself over the length of their assignment, Michael found himself shaking his head. “No, no problem at all,” he murmured as he looked at Hope.
    Hope returned his gaze with a curious one of her own. “Are you sure?” she asked softly.
    “Yes, I am quite sure,” Michael assured her. “While I don’t have much to offer on the stock side of things, I did trail the imposter Du Bourg across England and perhaps something I saw will aid in the investigation.”
    “And I will help you with the stock side of things, as you say, as much as I am able.”
    Michael nodded. “Thank you. I am sure your help will be invaluable.”
    There, that wasn’t so hard. Just keep it cordial and businesslike. I can do this , Michael told himself. And then he looked up to see Hope smile at his cordial and businesslike comment…and he was lost again.

Chapter Seven
    Funny how what’s good for the gander is good for the goose…until it’s your goose.
    ~The Duke of Lancaster
    Later that afternoon, Hope was sitting quietly in her study working on the estate accounts. Again, she was finding a discrepancy in the numbers. She knew very well that her father had won a sizeable amount of money at the club earlier that week, but only a fraction of the total had made it into the bank.
    By her calculations, nearly 10,000 pounds were missing from the family accounts. That was a king’s ransom for most people. Certainly enough for a household to live