The Bachelor Bargain (Secrets, Scandals, and Spies)

I have,” she replied. “Hasn’t everyone in London?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know about everyone, but if you really knew the truth of it, you wouldn’t be here. Especially not alone.”
For a moment, the expression in his eyes as he stared at her was completely predatory, and Livie had to suppress a shiver, suddenly aware of him on a very physical level. He was a dangerous man to be sure, but she didn’t think he’d hurt her, especially not in his offices in broad daylight. At least she hoped not.
She knew from her research that the man abhorred violence against women and he admired honesty and directness, which was exactly what he was going to get from her. “I don’t pretend to know all the details of your life or your past, but I do know a great deal about you, Mr. Colver, and it hasn’t scared me off.”
“How interesting,” he murmured, his voice dropping an octave. “Why don’t you tell me just what it is you think you know of me? It can’t be that much if you aren’t scared.”
“Very well,” she said, inwardly debating how much to tell him of what she’d discovered. Most men didn’t like their past to be known or dredged up, and Livie got the impression Mr. Colver was firmly in that camp. “I know you’ve become one of the richest men in the country through somewhat less than legal means, at least initially, though now you do try to run your businesses as legitimately as possible. I also know you own some of the most scandalous gentlemen’s clubs and gambling dens in the city, which partake in all sorts of wicked amusements. You also own some of the most elegant hotels in London and New York, and you have shares in several railroads across the country. Making you, currently, probably the wealthiest non-titled man in England.”
“My, you’ve done your research.”
He didn’t sound particularly impressed by her knowledge, not that she could really tell one way or the other; his expression was impenetrable.
Perhaps she would have to show her cards and tell him the secret Kat’s informants had uncovered that she had eventually been able to put together? Though, how would a man like Colver react to someone knowing secrets of his he’d obviously made some effort to hide? Not well, was Livie’s guess.
“I certainly have done my research, for I think it’s important to know who one is dealing with.” Livie crossed her arms over her chest.
“Lady, if you knew everything I’d truly done, you never would have approached me in the first place.” There was a grimness radiating from him that should have given her pause but didn’t. “Your informants clearly need to dig deeper.”
She had no doubt there were things he’d done that she didn’t know about. He’d practically grown up on the streets in the worst areas of London and had been the leader of one of the most infamous gangs since he was a child. In her investigations, she’d learned some things about him that probably should have sent her fleeing but hadn’t.
“I’m well aware you’ve killed before. Many times, in fact, though the police have never been able to link you to a crime. That in itself tells me you are clever but it does not scare me.”
“You’re a fool if it doesn’t.”
“Perhaps,” she agreed. “But I also discovered that once you give your word you will honor it, no matter what. And not only do you have the funds, but you also have the required motivation to be a silent partner in the gazette.”
“Motivation?”
Livie could tell she’d piqued his interest. “Yes. You’re the only man I know who has enough of a grudge against the disreputable gentlemen of Society, that you won’t bat an eyelid to see any of them destroyed. Men such as your father, who ruined your mother by forcing himself upon her, causing her to be thrown out into the streets when her employer discovered she was with child.”
“A rather bland way of saying my father raped my mother, isn’t it?”
Livie tried not to let the shock of his words show. She knew what had happened to his mother, but she wasn’t used to having things put so bluntly, especially regarding a subject so abhorrent. “Yes. It is,” she conceded. “Which is why you have ruthlessly used your power to ruin many of the gentlemen who have been foolish enough to gamble away their estates and inheritances in your clubs.”
He was silent for a moment, simply staring at her. “And you wish to go into a partnership with someone who destroys the lives of gentlemen? Men such as your brothers and father?”
“You know of my family?”
“You’re not the only one to have done your research, my lady.”
Livie didn’t know how to feel about that. Though it could bode well for her proposal. After all, if he had dismissed it out of turn, he would never have bothered to have her background researched. “My father and brothers have not ruined anyone. They are honorable. The gentlemen who think it’s a sport to take advantage of a woman are not true gentlemen at all, and I intend to unmask them and destroy them.” Livie stared at him, too, trying to impress upon him how serious she was. “Your utter disdain for the nobility is one of the main reasons I’m offering you this opportunity.”
“Opportunity?” A bark of laughter sprang from his mouth. “Is it not more the case you need my blunt to bankroll your endeavor? And tell me this, why are you intent on exposing and ruining the scoundrel gentlemen of Society? Doesn’t seem like much of a ladylike activity for a duke’s daughter.”
Briefly, she told him of Alice’s demise. “Starting the gazette and exposing the villain, along with others like him, will prevent such a thing occurring again.”
“That’s a bit optimistic of you,” Sebastian replied. “Even a bit naive.”
His eyes trapped her own, but rather than censure there was curiosity in his gaze. Curiosity and