How to Entice an Earl by Manda Collins

manage to constantly be at verbal daggers drawn with her? “You’re twisting my words,” he went on in a calmer tone. “I only meant to say that Viscount Linton is his own person and shouldn’t drag you into danger with him.”
    “I am already there,” Maddie said vehemently. “I was there. I held that man in my arms as he drew his last breath. If you understand anything about anything then you should know that such an occurrence has affected me deeply. And my brother’s friendship with him only makes it more imperative that I do what I can to make sure that his killer is brought to justice.”
    Her words sent a jolt of terror through him. Lady Madeline Essex searching for Tinker’s killer was the last thing he wanted to see. She’d already endangered herself enough with her visit to Mrs. Bailey’s.
    Careful to keep his fear from his tone, he said, “Lady Madeline, Maddie, you are not under any obligation to find this man’s killer. Leave it to the authorities and I promise you that I will keep you apprised of any developments that might affect your brother.”
    He hoped the promise to keep her in the know would reassure her enough to let the matter go. He wasn’t prepared for her next question, however.
    “You just said that it should be left to the authorities,” Maddie said, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “And yet you say you will keep me apprised of things as they pertain to James. What do you know about the situation? Are you working for the authorities now?”
    “No, I misspoke,” Christian said quickly. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. “I only meant to say that if I should hear anything about the business, I will share that information with you.”
    But it was too much to hope that she would be fobbed off with such a tale.
    “I don’t believe you.”
    Maddie’s gaze was cool, self-assured. At any other time he’d have found it damned attractive. To be honest, he found it attractive now. But he also recognized that her expression spelled trouble for him one way or another for the next few weeks.
    “I thought it was odd for you to be in such a place as Mrs. Bailey’s last night,” she said conversationally. “You aren’t known for being much of a gamester. Even tonight you aren’t haunting the card room like most gentlemen do to avoid the matchmakers.”
    “That doesn’t mean that I can’t have taken a recent interest in gaming,” Christian said, though he knew she would not believe him. Her skepticism had shifted into certainty.
    “You were there following my brother,” Maddie continued, hammering another nail into the coffin of his peace of mind. “Or Mr. Tinker. It doesn’t matter which, only that you were there when Mr. Tinker was murdered and now you’re convinced that Linton had something to do with it.”
    “You can’t know any of this,” he said, still keeping up the pretense of denial. “I am a gentleman and as such am free to go wherever I choose. It is a mere coincidence that I happened to be there on the same night that Tinker was killed.”
    “You might even have killed him yourself,” she said suddenly, standing up, her hands covering her mouth in dawning horror. “Oh, God. You didn’t, did you?”
    Leaping up from the bench, he took hold of her hands. “Maddie, you know that’s not true. You know it. I cannot tell you why I was there, but I can assure you that I did not kill Tinker. For one thing, if I had, someone would have noticed me disappearing from the card table long before he was found.”
    To his relief, she seemed to see the sense of what he said. Christian wasn’t sure just why he’d panicked at her accusation, but panicked he had. Doubtless it was because he’d come to appreciate her good opinion and he did not wish to lose it. Of course that was it, he assured himself.
    “I suppose you’re right,” Maddie said, clearly unaware of the inner battle her companion was fighting with himself. “Though I still don’t believe it a coincidence that