Her mind flashed back to that dreadful night when she had visited him. She hadn’t asked him to help her. She had asked him to ruin her. Lord Bryant didn’t spend his time protecting women. He ruined them. Apparently, he saw that as his purpose in life. Her stomach soured, and a foul taste entered her mouth. Lord Bryant caught the change in her demeanor and nodded as if there was nothing wrong with his choice of pastime.

She narrowed her eyes. “It seems as though you might, at times, find something more challenging to do with your intellect.”

“Who ever said I have an intellect?”

“I see how you follow my accounts. At times, you have even proudly pointed out an error or two. Those are things that took me weeks to learn, and you follow them effortlessly.”

Lord Bryant clicked his tongue. “My dear, that could actually be a comment on your intellect, not mine.”

She scoffed. “It could be, but it isn’t.”

He winked at her. “No, it isn’t.”

“Well then? What is it you do to exercise your intellect and . . . ?” Diana paused, but Lord Bryant didn’t miss her gaze sliding to his well-fitted jacket sleeves. Most lords didn’t have an athletic figure like his—especially not the ones who spent their days dawdling about.

He raised an eyebrow and gave a low chuckle, though not the type of laugh that would gain her any points. If anything, her overlong assessment of his physique should have lost her a point or two.

“I fence, I have a few business dealings of my own, and in general, my mind doesn’t relax very often, so I also read, as we have discussed.”

He folded the newspaper and stood. His slow stride toward her desk made it impossible not to notice that his legs were as well-formed as his arms. Fencing. Perhaps she should try it. Lord Bryant didn’t take his seat on her desk but instead placed both hands on top of it and leaned forward. He often did this when he wanted to say something for her ears alone.

“I don’t claim to be a genius or even much more than a mediocre scholar, but I do have a mind that I cannot seem to turn off.” His eyes slid over to Mrs. Oliver, who was astutely watching the two of them. After the storage room incident, Diana had only allowed her to keep her position based on the promise that she wouldn’t leave her alone with any man during work hours, including Lord Bryant. “Except when I come here.”

Diana’s eyes jerked away from her assistant and connected with Lord Bryant’s piercing ones. “Pardon?”

“You haven’t noticed?”

That traitorous part of her that always reacted to Lord Bryant’s nearness fired up deep within her chest, sending sparks throughout her rib cage. She shook her head, not trusting her mouth to speak. Diana never knew exactly what kind of game Lord Bryant was playing, but this one was dangerous.