" I suppose she’s very proud of you.”
“Do you find that surprising?” he drawled.
“No!” She cast him a considering glance. “Why shouldn’t she? You’re a very skilled investigator, I’m told.”
“But not skilled enough to suit your ladyship,” he said, feeling a perverse urge to bait her.
“I didn’t say that. From what I’ve seen, you’re very thorough.” She turned her gaze to the road ahead. “It’s no wonder that you’re being considered for the position of Chief Magistrate.”
His stomach knotted. He should have known that every conversation with Celia had the potential to be a bog-ridden moor. “I suppose your grandmother told you about that.”
A troubled expression crossed her face. “She says you must be careful not to be accused of any impropriety. That it would hurt your prospects for advancement. She says I should take care not to let you be caught in that position.”
“Oh, she does, does she?” Mrs. Plumtree was even more Machiavellian than he’d given her credit for. “And I see you listen to her very well, for here we are, alone together again. At your instigation.”
A blush suffused her cheeks that so enhanced her beauty, he had to look away. “Don’t worry,” she said, “no one will ever know about this. I’ll make sure of that.”
“Like no one knew about our being alone together yesterday?”
“No one did!” she protested.
“Right. And your grandmother didn’t guess that we’d been together, either. The last time anyone saw us, we were walking off arm in arm, remember?”
“Oh, but I told her some nonsense about how we parted before I came into the north wing.”
“And she believed you,” he said skeptically.
“Yes.” She chewed on her lower lip. “Well, I think she did.”
“Doesn’t sound like it. "

― Sabrina Jeffries , A Lady Never Surrenders (Hellions of Halstead Hall, #5)