"Is the meal to your liking?" he asked.

Hoping she didn't appear flustered, she said, "Yes, thank you."

"I seem to recall Elizabeth mentioning you have a brother and sister?"

"Two brothers and a sister. All younger." A wave of love washed over her. "The boys are twins, and we call them the identical devils."

"How old are they?"

"Sixteen. My sister will turn twenty this month." A wistful sigh escaped her. "I miss them very much. Miss the noise and happy chaos that always reigned at our house. It's been… too long since I saw them."

He sipped his wine and nodded. "I understand. Although I keep my own rooms here in town, I cannot go too long without seeing my family. They occasionally drive me mad, especially Caroline, but they are also my greatest source of joy. And if it's noise and chaos you want, you'll get more than you ever hoped for at Bradford Hall."

She swallowed to relieve her tight throat. "I'm looking forward to it."

He looked toward the ceiling and shook his head. "You may change your mind once you arrive. Indeed, I can just picture what's happening there right now. Austin is glowering and pacing the floor, his hair standing up at odd angles due to his ramming his hands through it, demanding every eight seconds to know when Elizabeth is going to give birth. Caroline is telling her two-year-old daughter Emily to stop chasing the kittens, and Emily is completely ignoring her and looking to her father Miles, who, with a sly wink, will encourage her to continue.

"My brother William, his wife Claudine, and their daughter Josette are drawing pictures, which won't bode well for William, for he is a miserable artist. And my mother has undoubtedly taken Austin and Elizabeth 's son James out into the garden where his chubby little hands will decapitate all her best roses for his 'mummy' while his grandmother beams at him." He made a comical face. "Humph. Mother used to fly into the boughs when Austin, William, and I so much as glanced at her roses."

A poignant ache filled Allie at the picture he'd painted for her. "It actually sounds much tamer than what I was accustomed to," she said. "Jonathan and Joshua routinely brought home injured animals, until Papa finally turned over a small barn to them that he called the healing room, all the while grumbling he'd never seen so many hobbling pigeons, ducks, and squirrels in his life. And don't ask about the toads, snakes, and ant farms.

"My sister Katherine looks like an angel, but she was forever skinning her knees and elbows as she joined in all Jon and Josh's adventures. Mama simply smiled through it all, bestowing hugs and kisses, applying bandages as needed, and delivering the occasional stern lecture. She loved to see us running about, swimming, and playing. She had an older sister who was bedridden most of her life, so she did not like to rein in our hoydenish activities." A wave of homesickness washed over her. "Mama always smelled like freshly baked bread."

"I suppose you were the reserved member of the family who kept the others in line," he said with a grin.

She shook her head. "Actually, I believe I was the most unruly of the bunch. I forever had twigs in my hair, grass stains on my dresses, dirt on my face. And as I was the eldest, I'm afraid I set the precedent for the others." She set down her fork, her meal forgotten. "Tell me, if you were with your family right now, what would you be doing? Playing with the kittens, drawing pictures, or beheading roses?"

He stroked his chin and pursed his lips. "Hmmm… I'd have to say none of those. Most likely I'd be challenging Austin to a game of billiards in a vain attempt to get his mind off Elizabeth for a bit before he wore out Mother's favorite Axminster."

"And would you succeed?"

"Eventually. But not until I'd riled him by calling his bravery into question for refusing to play an astute player"-he cleared this throat with exaggerated modesty-"such as myself."

"I see. And would you win?"

A slow, devastating smile creased his face, and a bolt of heat shot through her. "Of course. I always play to win."

It suddenly felt as if the room had grown ten degrees warmer, and Allie barely resisted the urge to dab at her heated face with her linen napkin. "And after defeating your brother at billiards, then what would you do?"

"Well, assuming that the new babe had not yet made his or her appearance, I suppose I'd round up Lady Giggles, Lord Mischief-Maker, and Miss Tickles for a quick game of 'Guess the Number' before their governesses whisked them off to the nursery."

"I take it you're referring to your nieces and nephew?"

"Indeed." His grin widened. "My mother, brothers, and sister are hardly ever whisked away by their governesses anymore."

"And do you assign these nicknames to everyone?"

"I'm afraid so. Bad habit of mine. I'm sure I'll come up with one for you before long. So you'd better be on your best behavior."

"Indeed. I'd hate to end up Miss Falls-in-Mud. Or Lady Trips-over-Tables."

He chuckled, and she very nearly smiled in return, a fact that disturbed her. Dear Lord, it was not easy keeping this man at a distance. After his laughter tapered off, he remarked, "Carters mentioned you ventured to Mr. Fitzmoreland's shop this afternoon. I hope you were able to find what you were looking for."

His casual statement returned reality with a jarring thump, snuffing out her frivolity like water to a flame. She studied his face for signs of a hidden meaning behind his casual comment, but saw nothing save mild curiosity. "Mr. Fitzmoreland was quite helpful."

"You know, you really shouldn't travel about the city in a hired hack, even with a footman in attendance."

She lifted her chin. "As I told you, I have business I need to conduct here."

"Yes, but you must have proper transportation. I shall arrange for a carriage to be at your disposal starting tomorrow morning. And I shall be happy to accompany you on any errands you need to run."

She clenched her hands in her lap. "That is unnecessary. I'm quite accustomed to fending for myself."

His gaze drifted to her black attire, and his eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm only doing what I know Elizabeth would do if she were here. In the note I sent her this afternoon, I gave her my solemn promise to look after you until we reach Bradford Hall." He shook with an exaggerated shiver. "Please accept the carriage. I've no desire for Elizabeth to scold me for the rest of eternity for allowing you to travel about without proper transportation."

Silence stretched between them for several seconds while Allie struggled with the desire to refuse his offer, and the knowledge that not having to pay for hacks would help preserve her meager resources. Finally, practicality won out.

Pushing back her chair, she stood. "In that case, I thank you. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to retire. It's been a long and exhausting day."

He instantly rose, his eyes reflecting concern. "Of course. I shall see you tomorrow."

She inclined her head in reply, then strode swiftly from the room, overwhelmed with the need to escape his disturbing presence. She made her way quickly up the stairs, yet even after she'd closed her bedchamber door firmly behind her, she still did not relax.

Pacing around the room, she tried to collect her scattered thoughts. Lord Robert had unsettled her. For a brief moment she'd lowered her guard, and he'd managed to burrow beneath the carefully built fence she'd constructed around herself. And she did not like it one bit. Her defenses were hard-earned, her independence hard-won. She did not require a man to look after her, to arrange transportation for her, to escort her on errands. And she most emphatically did not need a man to smile at her, or play silly duets with her, or look at her in a way that resurrected long-buried feminine yearnings.

She wrapped her arms around her midriff and continued to pace. Dear God, the man was even more charming than David. All devilish grins and teasing blue eyes. Yet in a flash those eyes could convey sympathy and warmth and concern. Still, she'd seen that hint of secrets behind his charm and smiles. And not every smile reached his eyes.

Just like David. And everything with David had been lies.

But she was no longer a naive miss. She would not make the same mistakes again.

She stopped pacing and pressed her fingertips to her temples, where a headache was rapidly forming. Her glance wandered to the large bed, but she instantly rejected the idea of retiring. In spite of the fact that her body ached with weariness, sleep was nowhere in her immediate future. And as she well knew, the only thing to cure this restlessness was fresh air.

Crossing the room, she pushed aside the forest-green velvet draperies and looked down at a small, square garden surrounded by a tall stone wall. Taking her shawl, but forgoing a bonnet, she slipped from her bedchamber, quickly exiting the dark, quiet house through the rear door.

The instant Allie's lungs filled with the cool night air, her shoulders relaxed. Staying close to the stone wall, she slowly walked around the garden, enjoying the nighttime chirping song of the crickets, the silver slash of moonlight upon the grass, the smell of burning fireplaces mixed with the pungent scent of garden soil. By her third trip about the perimeter, she'd firmly rebuilt her teetering defenses. Thanks to David, she'd learned, albeit too late, about the inner ugliness a handsome exterior could hide. Of course, it was just as possible for an unattractive man to be evil, but unfortunately, she clearly harbored a distressing weakness for beautiful men, a character flaw she refused to fall victim to again. She'd discovered the hard way that the more beautiful they were, the worse they were.