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"Is that the reason you’re hovering near theas though at any h it?"

"Into the storainst the glass The clouds were so dark and heavy that although it was ht had become his enemy "It’s a rather dreary day"

"I don’t find it dreary at all It’s thethat he was acting the cur with the truth of his words "I suspect it will be the first of many wonderful days for you"

"I know you don’t approve of Claybourne as my choice for a husband, and that, like ainst him, but I hope that over time you’ll come to know him as I do and appreciate his finer qualities"

Not likely, but he had no plans to further di that he had no intention of co your attention toward securing a wife now that you’ve returned fro I didn’t expect this affair to be quite so lavish"

"It’s hardly lavish A few ht be appropriate, but they’ll ease Claybourne’s way into the thick of Society after years of walking along its edge Besides, ently as woht and no one would chastise you"

"Ah, the power that coht about while you were away?" Catherine offered

"Playingto take so trip"

"No, we have some matters to attend to in London"

"Still I suspect your husband will expect to have your undivided attentions for a while I’ you"

"It would be no trouble" She squeezed his arlad you’re here Now, if you’ll excuseto join Claybourne, so you may make your toast"

As she walked away, her words sparked his guilt, but he tamped down the uncomfortable emotion He wanted to be anywhere other than where he was He drank his chalass Would this affair never coainst her husband, and the azed down on her with obvious adoration Why should he not adore her? She was the daughter of a duke, her lineage the very best British aristocracy had to offer She understood her place in the world and fit ithin it Sterling could no longer say the sah hihtly tapping his glass and the s in the room quieted He raised his flute "To my sister, Catherine, the new Countess of Claybourne, and her very fortunate husband May the sun always shine for you,the darkest of days"

He downed the sparkling brehile a round of cheers and clapping echoed through the roone, then kissed briefly People laughed, cheered again, and offered thene Maybe if he sed enough, he could drown the pain of knowing that he would never possess what the newly married couple obviously did: true love and happiness

He was therealized she was giving the iven that she was surrounded by those who had no qual the lahen it suited their purpose But while her friends were dangerous to everyone around theerous to only her

She knew it in the way she kne to judge which pockets were ripe for the picking before she ever slipped her hand inside to take what they held She knew it in the way she knew a column of numbers had been incorrectly tallied before she ever set about to add the nuether She knew it just as she knew that within this room filled with people there were only three hoed: Jack, Jim, and Bill

Only recently had she discovered that Luke had always doubted he was the true Earl of Claybourne But lately, circumstances had arisen that convinced hier questioned his inheritance of the title He moved confidently about the roo that he was living in so as at ease This world was not hers It was so incredibly large, so incredibly important Her small world paled in comparison, but she was content there Perhaps it was her discos thatby the ho appeared as though he wanted to escape all this politeness as badly as she did She kneho he was Catherine’s brother The newly anointed Duke of Greystone

A few ti her She’d tried to surreptitiously observe hih he was a man orshipped the outdoors His hair, a dark blond, had been tale strand out of place, and yet she could ialloped over the same roads that Marco Polo may have explored Greystone was an adventurer, a man who knew no fear When others had spoken with him earlier, his stance had reflected politeness, perhaps tolerance, but also ih he dearly wished to be off on another quest for excitement