"Very true," Gideon said. "The notices will be in the morning papers." He turned to Harriet. "My fiancée has your best wishes and congratulations, I assume, Lady Youngstreet?"

Lady Youngstreet pursed her lips. "Of course."

"Certainly," Applegate muttered. He was trying hard not to stare at Gideon's scar. "Happy for you both. Naturally."

The others in the small group murmured appropriate remarks.

"Thank you," Gideon said. His eyes gleamed laconically. "I rather thought you might say that. Come, my dear. It has been a long while since we last danced."

He led Harriet out onto the floor just as the musicians struck up a waltz. Harriet tried hard to project the proper air of aloof decorum Effie and Adelaide had been teaching her for the past several days, but gave up the attempt almost immediately. The knowledge that she was back in Gideon's arms, even if only on a dance floor, was too thrilling.

She had almost forgotten just how huge he was, she thought happily. His big hand cradled her spine, his palm covering most of her lower back. His massive chest and shoulders seemed as solid as a brick wall. Harriet remembered the weight of his body on hers that night in the cavern and she shivered with remembered passion.

"I assume your father has recovered, sir?" she said as Gideon whirled her into the waltz.

"He is doing much better, thank you. The sight of me has the same effect on his constitution as an electricity machine. It is always sufficient to stimulate him back to a more healthy state," Gideon said dryly.

"Good heavens, my lord. Are you saying he was so happy to see you, he recovered?"

"Not quite. The sight of me reminds him of what will happen when he finally does depart this earth. The thought of me inheriting the earldom is usually sufficient to rally him. He has a dread of the noble Hardcastle title falling into such unworthy hands."

"Oh, dear." Harriet looked up at him with sympathy. "Are things really that bad between you and your father, my lord?"

"Yes, my dear, they are. But you need not concern yourself unduly. We will see as little of my parents as possible after our marriage. Now, if you do not mind, I would prefer to discuss something far more interesting than my relationship with my parents."

"Of course. What would you like to talk about?"

His mouth quirked as he glanced down at her low-cut gown. "Suppose you tell me about the polishing you are receiving. Are you having fun here in Town?"

"To be perfectly truthful, I did not enjoy it at all at first. Then I chanced to meet Lord Fry."

"Ah, yes."

"Well, as it turns out, he is very interested in fossils and he invited me to join the Fossils and Antiquities Society. I have enjoyed myself immensely since I began attending the meetings of the Society. Such an interesting group of people. They have been extremely kind to me."

"Have they, indeed?"

"Oh, yes. They are a very well informed group." Harriet glanced quickly to either side to make certain no one could overhear. Then she lowered her voice and leaned closer to Gideon. "I am thinking of showing my tooth to one or two members of the Society."

"I thought you were afraid that another collector might steal it or go hunting for another one just like it once he learns the location of the cave."

Harriet frowned in consternation. "It is a concern, naturally. But I am beginning to believe that a few of the members of the Society can be trusted. And thus far I have not had any success in identifying my tooth on my own. If none of the members of the Society can identify it either, then I will be more certain than ever that I have found an entirely new species. I shall write a paper on it."

Gideon's mouth curved faintly. "My sweet Harriet," he murmured. "I am delighted to see that you are still unpolished."

She scowled up at him. "I assure you I am working very hard on that project, too, sir. But I must confess it is not as entertaining or as interesting as fossil collecting."

"I can understand that."

Harriet brightened as she caught sight of her sister among the dancers. Felicity, stunning tonight in a gossamer gown of peach pink, grinned cheerfully from across the floor before being swept out of view by a handsome young lord.

"I may be obliged to work at the business of being polished," Harriet said, "but I am pleased to say that Felicity is already a gem. She is becoming quite the rage, you know. And now that she has a respectable portion from Aunt Adelaide, she need not rush into marriage. I rather suspect she will want a second Season. She is having a wonderful time. Town life suits her."

Gideon looked down at her. "Do you regret that you are being rushed into marriage, Harriet?"

Harriet fixed her gaze on his snowy white cravat. "I comprehend, sir, that you feel obligated to go through with this marriage and that we do not have the luxury of allowing sufficient time to be absolutely certain of our feelings for each other."

"Are you telling me you do not have any feelings of affection for me?"

Harriet abruptly stopped staring at his cravat and raised her eyes in shock. She could feel the heat warming her face. "Oh, no, Gideon. I did not mean to imply that I had no feelings of affection for you."

"I am deeply relieved to hear you say so." Gideon's expression softened. "Come, the dance is ending. I will return you to your friends. I believe they are all quite concerned about you. I can see them staring at us."

"Pay them no heed, sir. They are merely feeling somewhat protective because of all the rumors that are floating about. They mean no harm."

"We shall see," Gideon murmured as he led her through the crowd to where the other members of the Fossil and Antiquities Society were gathered. "Ah. I see a newcomer has joined your little group."

Harriet glanced ahead, but she could not even see Lord Applegate or Lady Youngstreet. "Your height gives you a distinct advantage in crowds such as this, my lord."

"So it does."

The last of the crowd parted at that moment and Harriet saw the heavyset, florid-faced man who had joined her friends. There was, she realized, a very forceful, very striking element about him that was not particularly pleasant. He was large, although not as large as Gideon, but that was not what bothered her.

His intense dark eyes, which were riveted on Harriet, had a sharp, piercing quality that was unsettling. There was a bitter, angry curve to his fleshy lips. His gray hair was thinning on the top of his head but extended down his heavy cheeks in thick, curling whiskers. He reminded Harriet of one of the Evangelicals, those tireless reformers of the Church who railed constantly against everything from dancing to face powder.

The new corner did not wait for an introduction. His sharp gaze raked Harriet from head to toe and then he turned to Gideon.

"Well, sir, I see you have found another innocent lamb to lead to the slaughter."

There was a collective gasp from the small group of fossil collectors. Gideon alone appeared unperturbed.

"Allow me to introduce you to my fiancée," Gideon murmured, as if nothing out of the ordinary had been said. "Miss Pomeroy, may I present—"

The stranger interrupted him with a harsh exclamation. "How dare you, sir? Have you no shame? How dare you play your games with yet another rector's daughter? Will you get this one with child, too, before you cast her aside? Will you cause the deaths of yet another innocent woman and her babe?"

There was a collective gasp of dismay from the small group. Gideon's eyes hardened dangerously.

Harriet held up a hand. "That is quite enough," she said sharply. "I do not know who you are, sir, but I assure you I grow extremely weary of these accusations concerning his lordship's previous engagement. I should think that everyone would realize that there is only one reason why St. Justin would have called off his plans for marrying Deirdre Rushton."

The stranger swung his hot gaze back to her. "Is that so, Miss Pomeroy?" he whispered harshly. "And just what would that reason be, pray tell?"

"Why, that the poor girl was pregnant with some other man's babe, of course," Harriet said briskly. She was getting thoroughly annoyed with the malicious gossip. "Good grief, I would have thought anyone could have seen that right from the start. It is the logical explanation."

Silence gripped the onlookers. The intense stranger gave Harriet a wrathful glare that was clearly designed to dispatch her to perdition.

"If you truly believe that, Miss Pomeroy," he whispered thickly, "then I pity you. You are, indeed, a fool."

The man turned and stormed off through the throng. Everyone else with the exception of Gideon was gazing at Harriet in open-mouthed fascination.

Gideon's expression reflected an almost savage satisfaction. "Thank you, my dear," he said very softly.

Harriet frowned after the stranger's retreating figure. "Who was that gentleman?"

"The Reverend Clive Rushton," Gideon said. "Deirdre's father."

Chapter Ten

"I have never seen the like." Adelaide, still dressed in her wrapper, picked up her cup of hot chocolate. "I vow, the tale will be all over Town this morning. Everyone will be discussing the setdown Harriet gave Rushton."

Effie closed her eyes in resignation and groaned. "They will be gossiping about that scene even as they read the announcement of her engagement in the morning papers. Dear heaven, I cannot even imagine what they will all think. For an innocent young woman to be talking about such things right in the middle of a ballroom. It is beyond anything."