I Kissed a Rogue (Covent Garden Cubs) by Shana Galen Read Free Book Online Page A

considerably.
    Franklin, who had looked as though he had two sticks up his arse, led them to the duke’s library. Brook knew it was the library without having to be told. He’d been here once before. He preferred not to think back to that humiliating day, the worst of his life until then. He wasn’t there to ask for Lila’s hand in marriage tonight.
    The duke rose when Franklin announced Lila, his mouth turning down into a frown. “Go back to bed, Lillian-Anne. I’ll discuss what Sir Brook and I decide in the morning.”
    From behind her, Brook saw her shoulders straighten and square. She didn’t like that suggestion in the least. Brook could hardly blame her. He wouldn’t like having his future decided for him either.
    “If it’s all the same, Father, I’d like to stay and listen.” She held up a hand to forestall her father’s argument. “I can’t sleep anyway, and Sir Brook has informed me this matter concerns me.”
    The duke’s eyes cut to Brook, and Brook read disapproval before Lennox looked back at his daughter. “Lila—”
    She took the chair closest to the fire and settled herself, seeming to dare her father, or anyone else, to try and ban her.
    Brook knew Lila rarely, if ever, defied her father. He knew this from experience. The duke’s bewildered expression seemed to prove that he was as surprised at her stubbornness as anyone.
    “Very well, then.” The duke nodded to the butler. “That will be all for now, Franklin. Sir Brook.” He gestured to the chair in front of his antique maple desk.
    Brook took the chair, angling his body so he could see Lila. She sat with her hands in her lap, her slippered feet primly on the floor, the fire crackling behind her and lending a soft, burnished color to her hair and skin.
    “Sir Brook, I trust you had ample time to make the inquiries we discussed earlier.”
    “I did.” He kept his response brief, following the duke’s example. It didn’t escape Brook’s notice that no refreshment had been offered, not that he would have taken it, but he did not appreciate being treated as though he were in the duke’s employ. He had completed the task he and the duke had agreed upon. As far as Brook was concerned, this call was purely a courtesy.
    “Unfortunately, it appears the worries Lord Granbury expressed this afternoon are warranted.”
    “And what worries are those?” Lady Lila asked, unwilling to be left out of the conversation.
    “Lord Granbury mentioned one of the MPs had been found this morning near Covent Garden. His throat had been cut,” Brook answered before the duke could give her some nonsense. She deserved to know she was in danger.
    Her hand rose to cover her mouth.
    “Bow Street thinks it more than likely that Mr. Fitzsimmons is the man you saw murdered last night. They would like to send a man to ask you a few questions.” Now Brook glanced at the duke. “That is, if you approve, Duke.” Brook was not strictly one of Lennox’s familiars. Lennox would have probably preferred Brook called him Your Grace . All the more reason Brook would call the man whatever the hell he pleased.
    “I do not. No Runner will come to my house and question my daughter.”
    “Helpful as always,” Brook muttered.
    “Furthermore, what sort of training do these Runners receive? It’s purely ridiculous to think that a man of Mr. Fitzsimmon’s rank and standing would be milling about in Seven Dials and associating with…ruffians.”
    Lila’s eyes skipped from her father to Brook and back again. She’d uncovered her mouth, but now her knuckles pressed white against her lips.
    “That was my initial question as well. However, upon speaking with Mr. Easterday, the head of the Bow Street Runners, who is a very good friend of mine, I discovered the Runners have been troubled by Mr. Fitzsimmons’s activities for several weeks now.”
    “But this is preposterous!” the duke said, rising. “Are honest citizens now to be investigated by the Bow Street