They came to their feet the moment she stepped into the drawing room. She summoned her practiced smile, but the smile froze on her lips.

She didn't know the man on the left, but the other one, slightly taller, dark-haired and dark-eyed, was a man she knew only too well. She had spent two nights making love to him. That man was Caleb Tanner.

"Come in, darling." Aunt Gabby motioned her forward. She must have seen the stunned expression on Lee's face for she smiled. "I realize it must be a bit of a shock to find one's groom in full military dress and standing in the drawing room, but it is rather exciting as well. Do join us, dear."

She made her way toward them, walking on legs that felt encased in lead.

"Allow me to introduce Major Mark Sutton and Captain Caleb Tanner." Her eyes twinkled merrily, as if she had stumbled upon some rare bit of news. "I believe you have already made Captain Tanner's acquaintance—as he was recently employed as Parklands' head groom."

Lee wanted to sink into the floor. She wanted to close the distance between them and slap his handsome face. She had known something was wrong, that he was no ordinary servant, but she never would have guessed anything close to this.

In the end, she simply did what she had been trained to do and smiled at him pleasantly. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Captain Tanner. Why has an officer of the British Army been working in our stable?"

Gabriella answered before he could speak, her eyes bright with excitement. "It was a matter of intrigue, it seems. Until today, Captain Tanner was under orders not to reveal his true identity. Perhaps Major Sutton can explain it to you, as he did to me."

Sutton cast her a glance, a taller than average man with curly black hair and a disarming smile. "Let me begin by apologizing for the deceit we have perpetrated upon you and your most charming aunt. I assure you it was necessary."

"Is that so?" She tried not to look at Caleb, but her gaze kept slipping toward him. His face was set, his features grim. She tried not to notice how handsome he looked in his perfectly fitted uniform, his hair cut short, and his face recently shaved. She tried to still the too rapid beating of her heart.

"I'm afraid we believed the deception to be necessary at the time. You see, we were trying to capture a deserter, a cavalryman in Captain Tanner's regiment who had killed an officer during his tenure in Spain. We had reason to believe the man had returned to England and was involved in the business of racing horses. As you know, Captain Tanner has a good deal of expertise in that area and it was believed he could be of assistance."

"I see." She didn't, of course. She couldn't seem to concentrate on the major's words.

"Five days ago, the man we were seeking was apprehended near the racecourse in York, and Captain Tanner was recalled to his duties. Both the Captain and I wished to personally apologize for any inconvenience you might have suffered."

She stared hard at Caleb, who hadn't yet said a word. "This man… did he… did he have anything to do with the murder of Mary Goodhouse?"

Caleb shook his head, his eyes dark and fixed on her face. "No. I'm afraid this was a completely separate matter."

"Smile, darling. Jacob has returned and all is well. And in a roundabout manner, we have been instrumental in capturing a fugitive from justice."

Smile. She thought she already was.

"In celebration," Aunt Gabby went on, "I've invited Major Sutton and Captain Tanner to join us for supper. Perhaps if we are lucky, they will share a few of their adventures in Spain."

She could feel the muscles tightening around her mouth as she forced her lips to curve. "How delightful. I'm sure that will make for a fascinating evening. For now, however, I'm afraid I shall have to leave you. There are several matters of importance I need to attend. If you gentlemen will excuse me… ?"

"Of course." Major Sutton made her a very gallant bow and Caleb made a polite nod of his head.

As she turned toward the door, his eyes caught hers one last time. There was turmoil there and something else she could not name. She hoped he could read the seething anger in her own and that he would be wise enough to stay away from her as long as he was there.


Of course Caleb didn't stay away. Though supper was an intimate affair by Aunt Gabby's standards, Lee dressed in a midnight blue silk gown trimmed with blue lace, seated herself at her dressing table, and waited while Jeannie pinned up her hair, coiffing it in soft curls over a narrow diamond headband.

Diamonds encircled her throat and glittered in her ears. Though the gown was daringly low-cut, she wore a little less powder tonight and only a dash of rouge on her lips and cheeks. She told herself it had nothing to do with Caleb, but she knew it wasn't the truth.

For all his deceit, Caleb had shown her that a man could be attracted to her just as she was. Since she had met him, she had become more her own person. She liked herself better this way—allowing some of Lee to shine through. She tried not to wonder if Caleb would approve, since it really didn't matter.

It also didn't matter that she still found him attractive or that making love with him had been one of the most incredible experiences of her life.

All that mattered was that he wasn't the man she had believed him to be. The trust she had felt for him, the admiration that had led her to give herself to him, none of it was real. There was no Caleb Tanner, not as she had known him, at any rate. This other man was someone she barely recognized—a man who meant nothing to her in the least.

" 'E is quite something, your Captain Tanner." Jeannie stuck another pin into Lee's upswept hair. "The servants, they gossip about 'im. Already, they 'ave heard the story of why 'e was working in the stable."

"Yes, I'm sure they have." Sometimes she thought they knew more about what happened at Parklands than she did.

" 'E is even more 'andsome in 'is uniform, n'est-ce pas?"

A fresh rush of anger slid through her. "He is also a liar."

" 'E was ordered to keep 'is silence. I do not think 'e had a choice."

Lee looked at Jeannie over her shoulder. She had long ago given up denying her involvement with Caleb, but she didn't intend to discuss him any further. "I don't want to talk about Captain Tanner."

Jeannie arranged another curl. " 'E came back for you, I think."

"If he did, it was only for one reason, and if he thinks for a moment he is going to take up where he left off, he had better think again."

Jeannie said nothing to that, just finished dressing Lee's hair and held up a mirror so she could see the back. She took a quick glimpse, nodded, and rose from the stool in front of the bureau. A few minutes later, she left the bedchamber, prepared to face the evening ahead.

At the top of the stairs, she took a long, courage-building breath. She shook out her dark blue silk skirt and descended to the foyer.

The gentlemen were waiting.

She amended that. The gentlemen—and Caleb—were waiting, prepared to escort the ladies into the dining room, an extravagant salon decorated in a Grecian motif with paintings of ancient temples supported by artificial columns along the walls.

She was only a little surprised to see Lord Claymont in company with the two uniformed men, looking, though several years older, equally as handsome as they.

"Good evening, Vermillion, dear." Leaning over, the earl brushed a kiss on her cheek. "You're looking quite fetching this evening."

"Thank you, my lord." She turned to the other two men. "I presume you all have met."

Claymont smiled. "Actually, I've known Major Sutton for the past several years. And of course I'm well acquainted with Captain Tanner's father."

Her eyes cut briefly to Caleb and she wondered what other secrets he had kept from her. "I'm sorry… I don't believe I know who that is."

"Why, the Earl of Selhurst, my dear. William and I have been friends for a number of years."

Her eyes must have reflected the betrayal she felt for a muscle tightened along his jaw. Not only a captain of the cavalry, but also the son of an earl.

She gave him an insipid smile. "I'm impressed, Captain Tanner. Just think, a member of the aristocracy, son of a high-ranking member of the ton—shoveling horse manure out in our stable. Imagine how that will heighten our somewhat dubious standing in Society."

Her aunt's silver-blond eyebrows shot up. "Darling, really. I doubt Captain Tanner wishes to be reminded of the tasks he was forced to perform in the line of duty."

Instead of getting angry, Caleb's mouth curved with amusement. "There are worse jobs, I promise you. Believe it or not, I enjoyed my brief tenure working with the horses." His eyes moved down to her breasts. "I found the riding especially… pleasurable."

She flushed; she couldn't help it. She knew he wasn't talking about horses and the anger she was feeling heated up another notch.

There was nothing she could do—at least not here.

"I think it's time we went in to dinner," her aunt said, breaking the tension between them. She captured Lord Claymont's arm and led him off toward the dining room.

"Shall we?" Major Sutton, as senior officer, offered to escort Vermillion and she rested her hand on the sleeve of his scarlet coat.

"I am honored, Major." She flicked a glance at Caleb, then gave the major a smile so bright it could have lit up a darkened room.

Caleb's bland expression turned into a scowl that made her smile go even wider. As she walked into the dining room, clinging rather tightly to Major Sutton's arm, she could feel Caleb's eyes on her. They burned with an inner fire and for the first time since she had seen him standing in the drawing room, Lee felt a wave of satisfaction.