‘Your Grace, did you purchase anything new in the village shops?’‘No, Parton . My things will do nicely.’With each trip to the village to arrange for help or supplies or to check on the progress of the silk Gwen had ordered for the dining room, Parton had become more insistent that she buy something for herself. Gwen sighed. There would be hell to pay when the bills came due, if she could not find a husband to write the cheques. Why add additional purchases for herself to the growing stack of necessities?Parton picked up the hem of the evening gown. She’d found the section where the trim simply ended, only to reappear from a seam a foot away. ‘The cloth was fine enough once, your Grace—’When it was new, Gwen added to herself.‘—But I don’t know how much longer these sleeves will hold. Perhaps if you bought lace to freshen them up?’‘No need, Parton .’‘A new bonnet, perhaps?’ There was a note of desperation in the maid’s voice.With her husband gone and no real understanding of the

She did not want to think of the loneliness. Not just now, when she was standing too close to another.‘And you, Gwen dear, should not be abandoned to the darkness that is our family home. You deserve better.’She closed her eyes against the words. Everyone kept insisting that she deserved more than she wanted. She couldbe happy but for the desire of those around her to improve her condition when she was content.‘A flower like you must not be kept in the cold and dark, but must be given light and warmth so it may flourish.’ His hands brushed slowly up her arms as if to dispel the chill, but she shivered at his touch, realised their proximity and made to pull away.But his arms were strong and held her fast, and they seemed to leech the strength from her body as his eyes gazed down into hers. And then, instead of holding her, they were drawing her closer and his head was dipping down and his lips met hers.The kiss was sweet, and all the more seductive because she knew it was wrong.

‘Are you seriously recommending that we reward drunkenness and theft with an increase in salary?’John looked as though he’d rather die on the spot than suggest such a thing.‘Yes, I am,’she continued. ‘When people are forced to do menial tasks for an ungrateful master, they find ways to take back some of their own. They steal; they shirk their duties; they skim from the budget, short-change the grocer and water the wine. I know that your estate must be profitable and can afford a significant increase in the household budget. At the moment, your servants are robbing you blind and the house is a shambles.’He stared up at her. Speaking plainly, madam.’‘I speak the truth. The housekeeper is gone because she bought inferior cuts of meat, doctored the books and kept the difference. The staff is in turmoil, but at least dinner will be edible. A rise in pay will smooth the ruffled feathers below stairs, prove that I have the ear of my husband in these matters, and allow me to get the house

She sat alone at the lunch table with cold salmon and apprehension. She was being punished, she suspected, for the outburst in the bedroom.And then she heard the distant sound of doors opening, and commotion in the hall. She was beginning to suspect that, wherever he went, a cloud of noise and action swirled around the duke.He strode into the dining room and took his place at the,head of the table, barely noticing her, as footmen rushed forward to fill his plate and glasses. He fell to eating, without saying a word, but stopped after a few bites, to look up at her. Hisexpression held no cloud of memory of his earlier outburst.‘This salmon is uncommonly good. Did you sack the cook as well?’‘No. I merely oversaw the purchasing of the foodstuffs.You’ll find, now that the food that is ordered actually makes it to the table, the quality of the meals has improved.’‘And will continue to improve, after the cook hears of the increase in pay?’‘I believe she has already heard, your Grace

Strange, she thought, how much things could change in a day. Parton was hooking her into one of her many new gowns, a sprigged muslin day dress, and she was preparing to meet her husband for breakfast. A husband who hadn’t shouted at her in almost twenty-four hours, she thought with a smile.She’d inquired about the whereabouts of her brother-in- law, and been told that he’d left as soon as his brother arrived.‘Not unlike him,’admitted Parton. ‘He and his Grace don’t get along well, and he tends to up and disappear on a regular basis no matter the location of the duke. He was about due if you ask me.’Relief flooded through her. There was enough to worry about, without fending off the unwanted attentions of Lord ArchieShe quizzed herself. Had they been unwanted?She did not wish to dishonour her husband, she told herself.But his conversation had been pleasant. And the touches, however brief, had been exciting and she’d longed for more after each meeting.And he’d given her more eac