On the other hand, since Maxie was dressed as a boy, removing her hat was appropriate. She did so, but nothing could be done about her expression, which must have been ferociously hostile.

The duchess's halted, her eyes widening in surprise. They were changeable graygreen, not blue like Robin's.

"Maggie, this is Miss Maxima Collins. Maxie, the Duchess of Candover." Robin laid a light hand on Maxie's arm. "I am trying to persuade Maxie to marry me."

The graygreen eyes reflected shock, swiftly followed by brimming amusement. The duchess's features lacked the symmetry of perfect beauty, but her radiant charm was far more potent than mere beauty could ever be. No wonder she haunted Robin's dreams.

At the sight of the duchess's amusement, Maxie teetered toward explosion. Obviously Maggie thought Robin's declared interest in a grubby undersized tomboy was some kind of joke.

Maxie's fury was allayed when the duchess said with genuine warmth, "My dear, how marvelous to meet you!" She gave a conspiratorial smile. "I do hope you can bring yourself to accept Robin. He has a number of redeeming qualities, though I expect you want to murder him just now, don't you?"

The comment was so accurate that Maxie was thrown off balance. "I am considering the best method, as a matter of fact." Though her teeth were gritted, she was determined to match the duchess' aplomb. "Boiling oil seems too quick."

Maggie chuckled. "I gather he simply brought you here, without a word of explanation?"

"Exactly so, your grace." Maxie glanced at Robin, who didn't even look ashamed of himself. His hand still rested on her elbow, and she drew comfort from his touch even as she wanted to wring his neck. "Robin made a vague reference to calling on friends, no more."

"The result of too many years spying, where the less one says, the better." Maggie waved her hand around her. "I was shocked myself when I first saw this mausoleum." She cocked her head to one side consideringly. "You're an American?"

Clearly she shared Robin's ear for accents, as she had shared so much else with him. The thought did not improve Maxie's temper. "Yes, I am. My father was English, however. A younger son of the sixth Viscount Collingwood." She was immediately ashamed of herself for feeling the need to mention her noble relations, but it was too late to recall the words.

The other woman's brows drew together thoughtfully. "Collingwood. The seat is in the north, isn't it? Durham?"

"Yes." That sounded too curt, so Maxie added, "I was visiting with my uncle and his family through the spring."

Robin gave her a quizzical glance when she mentioned the Collingwood connection, but said only, "Having arrived in London with pockets to let, we were hoping Candover House might have room for us for a night or two."

"I'm sure we can find space." The duchess turned to Maxie. "Let me show you your room so you can rest and refresh yourself."

"If you don't mind, your grace, I'd like to have a word alone with Robin first." Maxie's voice was even, but there was a dangerous glitter in her eyes.

"Of course." The duchess waved toward a door. "You can be private in the small salon."

As Robin followed his companion into the room, he studied her expression uneasily. He had known she would be startled to find herself in Maggie's house, but her barely suppressed rage was far greater than he had expected.

As soon as he closed the door behind them, Maxie whirled around, every inch of her small body quivering with fury. "How dare you bring me to your mistress's house!"

"Maggie hasn't been my mistress in some years," he said mildly. "She is still, however, my friend, and she and I have been in the habit of relying on each other. Since you and I needed a place to stay, it seemed natural to come here."

He crossed the salon, to the fireplace and leaned against the marble mantel. "I knew I could trust her and Candover to accept two shabby travelers without questions, outrage, or dangerous gossip. Here you can make the transition back to respectable young lady with no one the wiser."

Maxie's hands knotted into fists, but she maintained a tenuous control. "You identified yourself to the butler as Lord Robert, and your duchess referred to you the same way. I thought you said it wasn't a real title."

"You are the one who said it wasn't real. I merely didn't correct your misapprehension," he pointed out. "Apparently your father didn't explain all the odd quirks of the title system. For example, the use of 'Lord' with one's Christian name is the exclusive prerogative of the younger sons of dukes and marquesses, so I am correctly styled Lord Robert Andreville."

Her wide brown eyes narrowed as she assimilated his statement. She looked more exotic, and more dangerous, than ever. "You said you weren't a nobleman."

"I'm not. Lord Robert is a courtesy title. I'm a commoner, like you. If my brother should die, which God forbid, I would be instantly ennobled." He shrugged. "It doesn't make much sense."

"Your father was a duke?"

He shook his head. "The Marquess of Wolverton. One step lower on the ladder."

"So you were on your family estate when we met." She stared at him as if he were a complete stranger.

"What kind of man are you? From beginning to end you've deliberately misled me, letting me think you were a homeless wanderer, a thief, or worse. How many other lies have you told me?"

"I've always told you the truth." Robin shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his gaze not meeting hers. He was falling into the exaggerated coolness that was his reaction to nerves or guilt. Yet even knowing it was a mistake, he could not remove the calm detachment from his voice. "Though I'll admit to a few falsehoods spoken to others in your presence."

Maxie's anger exploded into pure, coruscating rage. In one smooth motion, she seized the porcelain figurine standing on an elegant end table and hurled it at Robin.

The statuette shattered on the marble fireplace inches from his outstretched hand. He didn't move, even when splinters of china struck him, but the fingers of his left hand whitened where they clenched the edge of the mantel.

"I don't care if every word you spoke was approved for accuracy by God Himself! You must have been educated by lawyers or Jesuits," she said contemptuously. "Your intent was deception, even if you appeased your delicate conscience by manipulating the truth rather than saying outright lies." Her voice broke. "What a fool I've been to believe you."

Her raw pain sliced through Robin's defensiveness with razor swiftness. Shaken, he took a deep, steadying breath. "You are right-I was using the truth to create a false impression. But I swear it wasn't my intention to make a fool of you."

"Why, then?"

She stared at him, the fine planes of her face tight, her vulnerability making him ache for having unintentionally hurt her. Distractingly, the present was overlaid with images of making love to her. Her sweetness, her generosity, her sensuality and passion.

As their gazes locked, he wanted her with crippling intensity, physical and emotional need so closely interwoven that he could not separate one from the other. He had wanted her from the first instant he had opened his eyes and found that an enchanting, forceful wood nymph had tripped over him.

That being the case, why had he acted so stupidly? How could a man noted for subtlety and perception have been such a bloody bedamned fool? As he delved into the deeper recesses of his mind, the answer became obvious. "I'm not very fond of Lord Robert Andreville," he said painfully. "If I didn't like the fellow, I could hardly expect you to. And from the moment I met you, I wanted-very much-for you to like me."

Difficult though it was, he should have tried honesty sooner. Maxie's tense body eased as her fury dissipated. Their locked gazes held for another endless moment.

"I see," she said. But if anger had gone, there was still bleakness. She crossed the room to lean her shoulder against the opposite end of the mantel, her arms folded across her chest. In a tone that echoed Robin at his most detached, she asked, "Did you bring me here to get Maggie's approval? Or did you simply want to shock her by demonstrating the depths to which you have fallen since she left you? It would be impossible to find another female as beautiful and aristocratic as she is, so I assume that you decided to go in the opposite direction. Producing a disreputable savage will certainly show her a thing or two."

"Good God, you can't possibly believe that I brought you here for any such reason!" Understanding her anger made Robin feel a little sick. "You are a woman of wisdom and character and would be a credit to any man lucky enough to win your regard. And even covered with mud and looking like you have been dragged through a bush backward, you are beautiful."

Her lips thinned. "Like a good peddler, you always know the right words. But sometimes, Lord Robert, words aren't enough."

He deserved that, but he still felt as if she had rammed her fist into his solar plexus. "I plead guilty to being an insensitive dolt. To say that I brought you here for Maggie's approval has the wrong connotation, but it's true that I wanted you to meet her. You are the two most important women in my life, and I think you might become friends."

Maxie stretched one arm along the mantel and rubbed the carving, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "If she disapproves of me, as she surely does, what then?"

"She won't disapprove of you." He covered her hand where it rested on the marble. Her fingers jerked at his touch, but she did not pull away.