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Which is how I prefer them, but not this morning.

She glanced across the hall to where she could see sunlight dappling in through awindow. I could show you the gardens.

Im not dressed for it.

The conservatory?

He tapped his ear. Made of tin, Im afraid.

She pressed her lips together, waited a moment, then said, Do you have any location in

mind?

Many, he answered promptly, but theyd leave your reputation in tatters.

Mr. Au

Jack, he reminded her, and somehow there was less space between them. You calledme Jack last night.

Grace did not move, despite the fact that her heels were itching to scoot backwards. Hewas not close enough to kiss her, not even close enough to accidentally brush his hand

against her arm. But her lungs felt suddenly devoid of air, and her heart had begun to

race, beating erratically in her chest.

She could feel it forming on her tongue Jack. But she could not say it. Not in this

moment, with the image of him as the duke still fresh in her mind. Mr. Audley, shesaid, and although she tried for sternness, she did not quite manage it.

I am heartbroken, he said, and he did it with the exact right note of levity to restore her

equilibrium.

But I shall carry on, painful though it may be.

Yes, you look to be in despair, she murmured.

One of his brows rose. Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?

Just a hint.

Good, because I assure youhe thumped one hand against his heartI am dying on

the inside.

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She laughed, but she tried to hold it in, so it came out more like a snort. It should have

been embarrassing; with anyone else it would have been. But he had set her back at ease,

and instead she felt herself smile. She wondered if he realized what a talent it wastoreturn any conversation to a smile.

Come with me, Mr. Audley, she said, motioning for him to accompany her down thehall. I shall show you my very favorite room.

Are there cupids?

She blinked. I beg your pardon?

I was attacked by cupids this morning, he said with a shrug, as if such a thing were acommon day occurrence. In my dressing room.

And again she smiled, this time even more broadly. Ah. Id forgotten. Its a bit much,

isnt it?

Unless one is partial to naked babies.

Again her laughter snorted out.

Something in your throat? he asked innocently.

She answered him with a dry look, then said, I believe the dressing room was decorated

by the present dukes great-grandmother.

Yes, Id assumed it wasnt the dowager, he said cheerfully. She doesnt seem the sort

for cherubs of any stripe.

The image that brought forth was enough to make her laugh aloud.

Finally, he said, and at her curious look, added, I thought you were going to choke on

it earlier.

You seem to have regained your good mood as well, she pointed out.

It requires only the removal of my presence from her presence.

But you only just met the dowager yesterday. Surely youve had a disagreeable moment

before that.

He flashed her a broad grin. Happy since the day I was born.

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Oh, come now, Mr. Audley.

I never admit to my black moods.

She raised her brows. You merely experience them?

He chuckled at that. Indeed.

They walked companionably toward the rear of the house, Mr. Audley occasionallypressing her for information of their destination.

I shant tell you, Grace said, trying to ignore the giddy sense of anticipation that had

begun to slide through her. It sounds like nothing special in words.

Just another drawing room, eh?

To anyone else, perhaps, but for her it was magical.

How many are there, by the way? he asked.

She paused, trying to count. I am not certain. The dowager is partial to only three, so we

rarely use the others.

Dusty and molding?

She smiled. Cleaned every day.

Of course. He looked about him, and it occurred to her that he did not seem cowed by

the grandeur of his surroundings, justamused.

No, not amused. It was more of a wry disbelief, as if he were still wondering if he could

trade this all in and get himself kidnapped by a different dowager duchess. Perhaps onewith a smaller castle.

Penny for your thoughts, Miss Eversleigh, he said. Although Im sure they are worth a

pound.

More than that, she said over her shoulder. His mood was infectious, and she felt like a

coquette. It was unfamiliar. Unfamiliar and lovely.

He held up his hands in surrender. Too steep a price, Im afraid. I am but an

impoverished highwayman.

She cocked her head. Wouldnt that make you an unsuccessful highwayman?

Touch, he acknowledged, but alas, untrue. I have had a most lucrative career. The life

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of a thief suits my talents perfectly.

Your talents are for pointing guns and removing necklaces off ladies necks?

I charm the necklaces off their necks. He shook his head in a perfect imitation of

offense. Kindly make the distinction.

Oh, please.

I charmed you.

She was all indignation. You did not.

He reached out, and before she could step away, hed grasped her hand and raised it to his

lips. Recall the night in question, Miss Eversleigh. The moonlight, the soft wind.

There was no wind.

Youre spoiling my memory, he growled.

There was no wind, she stated. You are romanticizing the encounter.

Can you blame me? he returned, smiling at her wickedly. I never know who is going

to step through the carriage door. Most of the time I get a wheezy old badger.

Graces initial inclination was to ask him if badger referred to a man or a woman, but shedecided this would only encourage him. Plus, he was still holding her hand, his thumb

idly stroking her palm, and she was finding that such intimacies severely restricted her

talents for witty repartee.

Where are you taking me, Miss Eversleigh? His voice was a murmur, brushing softly

against her skin.

He was kissing her again, and her entire arm shivered with the excitement of it.

It is just around the corner, she whispered. Because her voice seemed to haveabandoned her. It was all she could do to breathe.

He straightened then, but did not release her hand. Lead on, Miss Eversleigh.

She did, tugging him gently as she moved toward her destination. To everyone else, it

was just a drawing room, decorated in shades of cream and gold, with the occasional

accent of the palest, mintiest of greens.

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But Graces dowager-inflicted schedule had given her cause to enter in the morning,

when the eastern sun still hung low on the horizon.

The air shimmered in the early morning, somehow golden with the light, and when it

streamed through the windows in this far-flung, unnamed drawing room, the world

somehow sparkled. By midmorning it would be just an expensively decorated room, butnow, while the larks were still chirping softly outside, it was magic.

If he didnt see that

Well, she did not know what it would mean if he did not see that. But it would be

disappointing. It was a small thing, meaningless to anyone but her, and yet

She wanted him to see it. The simple magic of the morning light. The beauty and grace in

the one room at Belgrave that she could almost imagine was hers.

Here we are, she said, a little breathless with the anticipation. The door was open, andas they approached, she could see the light slanting out, landing gently on the smooth

surface of the floor. There was such a golden hue to it, she could see every speck of dustthat hung floating in the air.

Is there a private choir? he teased. A fantastical menagerie?

Nothing so ordinary, she replied. But close your eyes. You should see it all at once.

He took her hands and, still facing her, placed them over his eyes. It brought her achinglyclose to him, her arms stretched up, the bodice of her dress just a whisper away from his

finely tailored coat. It would be so easy to lean forward, to sigh into him. She could let

her hands drop and close her own eyes, tilting her face toward his. He would kiss her, andshe would lose her breath, her will, her very desire to, in that moment, be only herself.

She wanted to melt into him. She wanted to be a part of him. And the strangest part wasright there, right then, with the golden light rippling down upon themit seemed the

most natural thing in the world.

But his eyes were closed, and for him, one little piece of the magic was missing. It had tohave been, because if he had felt everything that was floating around herthrough her

he never would have said, his voice utterly charming

Are we there yet?

Almost, she said. She should have been grateful that the moment was broken. She

should have been relieved that she did not do something she was sure to regret.

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But she wasnt. She wanted her regrets. She wanted them desperately. She wanted to do

something she knew she should not, and she wanted to lie in bed at night letting the

memory keep her warm.

But she was not brave enough to initiate her own downfall. Instead, she led him to the

open doorway and said softly, Here we are.