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"Perhaps you will introduce His Grace to the rest of the staff?" Theo suggested "If I , Your Grace," he said with another bow "However--"

Jae waiting even though you were aware that the duchess would be seeing her husband this evening for the first time in years?" His tone was not harsh but curious

Maydrop bowed yet again "Her Grace’s maid inforht"

"So you didn’t picture us having a cozy evening at ho back to her as if the butler were invisible

"No" Theo shrugged on her pelisse, a ned in the severe style she preferred

"Who escorts you to the theater?"

"A long-married woman such as I need not worry about an escort I have a standing invitation to join Lord Geoffrey Trevelyan--you do remember hiiven the events of this afternoon, but I’reet Sir Griffin"

She gave Jah it caer in his eyes, rather than from her heart It seemed that her husband didn’t like the inforive Sir Griffin my best, if you please"

She dropped a curtsy and waited aJames would bow, but he didn’t So she turned toward the front door, which was flanked by two foot their fascination at this little ht her about the waist and twirled her so she stulared down into hers "My wife does not curtsy to h clenched teeth

Theo instinctively went as still as a rabbit in sight of a fox "Unhand me, please," she said

James raised his head "Out!"

With a little scuffle, the footh the baize door

"I said out," Ja at Maydrop The hoarseness in his voice was particularly noticeable if he was annoyed, Theo noted

Maydrop ed to strike a tone at once firive me, Your Grace, I am Her Grace’s servant, and I would be loathe to leave her in any situation in which she ht be unco to look unaffected by the muscled heat of his body He seemed to believe she was desperate for a ht If there was one thing that had never tempted her, it was any sort of erotic encounter

Or did he think that she had avoided adultery liness?

Only years of training herself to control erateful if you would freeseely dismissed Maydrop from his attention "You are h "At soain, Theo"

She refused to answer, though every cell in her body shrieked no He must have seen it in her eyes, because he dropped a quick, hard kiss on her lips and let her free

Theo ignored the way the touch of his lips weakened her knees "Maydrop," she said, "please be so kind as to infor the house to anywhere," Ja at the butler

"Your Grace," Maydrop said, looking directly at Theo, "there is a situation outside of the house of which Iquickly, her whole body tree to dash for the door

"The newspapers," Maydrop said, his tone distinctly anguished "I’m afraid that the news of His Grace’s return has titillated their interest There are arden walls I’ve had to post groo in the s"

"What a pity," Jao to the theater tonight, Daisy"