"You"re welcome to stay as long as you wish."

"My mother and female cousins are taking his death very hard. They"re depending on me. All of them. I find myself wishing I"d paid more attention to my uncle"s lectures about the estate. Instead, I just laughed about the pigs."

"You"ll manage," Colin said. "Your uncle had good people working for him. If you need recommendations, Bell will know the right people."

"I thought you would have returned to London by now, but I checked before leaving the city, and the landlord said you weren"t there."

It seemed like a lifetime ago since he"d left the Albany. "You look done up, friend. Stay the night and rest."

He sipped his brandy. "I must return soon. There is a mountain of paperwork and much to learn. My carefree days are over."

Harry looked bad. "I insist you stay," Colin said. "The paperwork will keep, but you need to rest."

Angeline returned to the drawing room and directed Agnes to set the tea tray out. "There are cold meats, cheese, fruit, and a bottle of claret."

"I"ve persuaded Harry to stay the night," Colin said, looking at her meaningfully.

"Of course, he must stay," she said.

The marquess entered the drawing room. "I just heard the news. What can I do?"

Harry shrugged. "Nothing at this time. I"ll manage."

"I"ve persuaded him to say the night at least," Colin said.

"Yes, you need a good night"s rest," the marquess said. "I am sorry to hear the news. Granfield was a good man."

"I"ll leave you all now," Angeline said.

Harry regarded her through red-rimmed eyes. "Thank you for your kindness, Lady Angeline."

Four hours later, Angeline walked into the drawing room. Colin stood at the window and turned in her direction.

"Where is Harry?"

"Poor fellow. He was so exhausted. I convinced him to rest. I checked on him ten minutes ago. He"s sleeping."

Colin pinched the bridge of his nose. "I"m sorry for the delay in our announcement."

She shook her head. "Your friend comes first."

"I am reminded not to take family for granted," he said.

"So am I," she said.

He squeezed her hands and gazed into her eyes. Something in his chest turned over. He lifted her hand and kissed it. "You are a special lady," he said.

"Make sure he breaks his fast in the morning," Angeline said. "He is overwrought and likely to forget."

"I will, Angeline. He means to leave very early."

"You will tell him G.o.dspeed for me," she said.

He kissed her cheek. My G.o.d, I think I"m falling in love with you.

Two days later Colin clasped his hands behind his back and paced in the great hall. He"d awoken early, hoping he might be able to have a private word with Angeline. He"d tossed and turned last night trying to think of exactly the right things to tell her. In the end, exhaustion had claimed him. He would simply have to rely on instinct and honesty.

Running footsteps sounded on the stairs. Bianca and Bernadette hurried down the steps while Angeline followed behind, carrying Hercules. Evidently, the twins were still hiding the dog in their bedchamber.

A ray of sunshine from the high windows promised a clear day. When he caught Angeline"s gaze, something turned over inside his chest. He"d never felt anything quite like it before.

After his sisters ran down the stairs, they were a little out of breath.

"Penny is still sleeping," Bernadette said, "but Angeline offered to help us train Hercules in the kitchen this morning."

"Ah." He smiled at her as she joined them. "It is very generous of you to help my sisters train Hercules."

"I figured it was best to work with him early in the day before other activities. It"s important that his training be as consistent as possible. He"s a clever dog and will respond well if given the chance."

Angeline attached his leash and set him down. Naturally Hercules tried to run off and his toenails slipped a bit on the marble. Angeline gently pulled back the leash and said, "Halt."

The dog tried to run again.

Colin picked him up.

Angeline ruffled the dog"s short fur. "I think we need to focus on sitting and work on the leash later."

Angeline handed Hercules to Bianca. "We had better head to the kitchen now so we won"t be late for breakfast."

"May I join you?" Colin asked.

"If you wish," Angeline said.

Her voice had sounded guarded. What was wrong?

The twins hurried ahead.

Colin turned to Angeline. "Is something the matter?"

"We will talk later," she said.

"There are things I wish to discuss with you. I don"t know when we might have a chance. Perhaps we could meet very early in the morning tomorrow."

"I promised to train Hercules every morning," she said.

"Perhaps after the training tomorrow?"

"What do you wish to discuss?" she asked.

"Things I neglected before," he said. "Things I should have said."

She sighed. "Are you suffering from a guilty conscience?"

"It"s more than that," he said. "I was cavalier with you, and it troubles me greatly. I had no right to touch you. You are a virtuous lady, and I took advantage of you."

"I am not a twenty-year-old single lady, Colin," she said under her breath. "You did not take advantage of me. I"m a grown woman. That night, I decided to make love to you with the full knowledge of what I was doing."

"I took your virginity, for G.o.d"s sake," he said.

Her expression showed disappointment. "You took nothing, Colin. I freely gave myself to you. Clearly you are having delayed remorse over what happened, but it is entirely unnecessary. What happened cannot be undone. There were no consequences, and I"m quite certain you were relieved when I informed you."

"Angeline, I was only relieved because I had been irresponsible."

"Your guilt is misplaced. There was no seduction. I agreed to all of it. If you are seeking absolution, I don"t have any to give you, because there is no fault on either side. We both knew exactly what we were doing. Now I recommend you let it go, because there is nothing else to be done about it."

"You know there is," he said. "I have a responsibility to you."

"No, you do not. Now, if you will excuse me, the girls are waiting."

"I will come with you. They are expecting me."

"I"ll make your excuses," she said.

"Why are you being so cold to me?" he whispered.

"This is neither the time nor the place for this discussion. I will meet you in the library at two o"clock in the morning when servants aren"t about, and we can talk without listening ears.

"Now, I must go," she said.

His jaw clenched as she hurried away. How the h.e.l.l had his good intentions gone so wrong?

Angeline sat in her customary place at the table next to Colin. She"d cut up at him because she"d thought his words demeaning, but she knew he"d not meant them to be. He was a little late to be worrying about his careless behavior, but as she"d told him, she was a grown woman and there had been no seduction.

She didn"t want his good intentions or his guilt or his pity. She deserved nothing less than his respect. What had really troubled her was his remorse, because that night had been special to her, and he"d turned it into something that implied wrongdoing. Based on his words, she knew he didn"t understand, but late tonight, she would tell him how it had made her feel.

There was the other issue-the dangling proposal. Granted, Harry"s appearance had halted everything. But Colin probably was having second thoughts and felt he couldn"t honorably back out. So tonight she would tell him that he had no obligation to marry her. No, she would tell him late tonight that she felt it would not be in either of their best interests to marry.

"You are very quiet, Angeline," Margaret said.

"Forgive me. My mind was elsewhere."

She glanced at Colin. He"d barely touched his customary baked eggs. Now she felt badly, but she"d been honest with him.

She also felt guilty because she could turn everything around for her family if she married him. The trouble was she loved him, loved him more than he would ever know, and it would not be fair to him if she accepted his proposal. She and her family had much to gain from it, and when he"d first spoken of it, she"d had no qualms and believed that she would accept. But it was not based on those elements that she thought were important for a happy marriage.

She could not count on love developing for them the way it had for the marquess and Margaret. Colin might not know it, but he deserved to find love and happiness with a woman who did not come to the marriage with baggage.

As for Sommerall, she had a plan. It might not work, but she would ask on his behalf, though making the request might prove difficult to arrange. If she succeeded, she would ask that he never know about her interference. She would make this request for him, because she loved him and wanted his happiness more than her own.

Angeline read to the ladies while they applied their needles. When she"d made the request, everyone had agreed it was a splendid idea and made their sewing efforts far less tedious. She had Colin to thank for the suggestion, but she kept silent on that point.

"Ah, here is the place I marked where we left off," Angeline said. "If everyone is ready, I will continue the story."

"Please begin," Margaret said.

Angeline read, ""Marianne"s abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinor"s.""

"If Elinor and Marianne were twins, they would be equal," Bernadette said.

Angeline continued on, and the girls questioned her about Marianne"s behavior. "The author tells us that Marianne is everything but prudent," Angeline said. "So it is possible that she still has much to learn about life."

Margaret"s eyes brightened. "Goodness, I wonder who might resemble Marianne."

"The youngest sister"s name is Margaret," Bernadette said.

Margaret continued st.i.tching. "Yes, but the fictional Margaret is only thirteen years old, younger than my girls and Penny."

"Is it a love story?" Penny asked.

"Oh, yes, very much," Angeline said, "but like all good novels, there are difficulties and sometimes it will seem all is lost."

"Is there a handsome gentleman?" Bianca asked.

"Yes, but he is not what he seems," Angeline said.

"If he is cruel and wicked, I will not like him," Penny said.

"Girls," Margaret said, "do be silent so that Angeline can continue the story."

"Oh, do read more," Penny said. "I"m anxious to find out what happens."

A footman entered with a tray of mail. Angeline had not responded to Charlotte"s letter because she feared creating havoc for her friend, but she found herself hoping for a letter nonetheless.

Margaret sorted through the letters and handed one to the d.u.c.h.ess. "This one is addressed to you."

The d.u.c.h.ess broke the seal and gasped. "It is from my son," she said, standing. "Lady Landale has been delivered of a healthy boy. Both mother and child are well."

Everyone exclaimed.

Margaret rose to hug the d.u.c.h.ess. "I am so happy for you. Your first grandchild."

Angeline clasped Penny"s hand and smiled. "What do you think, Penny? We are aunts now."

"Oh, I can hardly believe it," Penny said. "Mama, have they named him yet?"

"He will be christened John. Oh, I cannot wait for Wycoff to return." The d.u.c.h.ess brought out a handkerchief. "It has been a long time since we"ve had happy news."

Angeline forced herself to smile. Her mother had not meant to wound her. Angeline was simply a little sensitive today after her difficult conversation with Colin. Perhaps she was also a little out of sorts because she"d foolishly hoped for another letter from Charlotte. She ought to have known better. Charlotte had written the one letter in secret, because her husband had forbidden her to write to Angeline.