“A passionate kiss from a handsome man? You must think me far worldlier than I am. You are only the third man I’ve ever kissed.”

He seemed taken aback. “I can’t believe that.”

“Why not?”

“Well,” he stammered. “You’re very beautiful. Popular . . .”

“I scare men away.”

“That too, surely,” he admitted, blushing madly but trying not to laugh, and somehow that made him even more attractive.

“I confess to having a wild streak in my youth, but it mostly amounted to trailing after Luke to carouse at opera houses, boating races, and the like. On our sixteenth birthday, Luke and I placed a bet to see who could get kissed first before the end of the day. I won when I asked the minister at our local church to kiss me, and he did.”

“A minister?” Nathaniel asked in appalled marvel.

“Indeed! I’ve always had a thing for serious, sober men. My father found out about it and refused to tolerate a courtship, saying I was too young, and he was right. I still won the bet with Luke, though. Then a few years later, I got into more trouble when I dallied with the assistant secretary to the army. He was thirty-eight and I was nineteen. My father took it badly, and I was banished to a finishing school in Switzerland. I was never half as wild as my reputation. Those were the only two men I’ve kissed until that night on the staircase.”

Nathaniel looked like he wanted to melt into the ground. “I sincerely hope I didn’t overstep. . . .”

He looked so mortified, she wanted to comfort him. It had hurt a little, the way he froze her out so swiftly after learning about Luke, but it felt like a million years ago now.

“Oh, hush,” she teased. “I survived your heave-ho perfectly well. You’re not that irresistible to the female hearts of the world.”

The tension faded from his face, and a hint of the old comradery returned, and she wished they could be like this always. It felt good to have a friend like him, even if she secretly longed for more.

The sound of a galloping horse approached the house. They couldn’t see the rider, but the hoofbeats stopped near the front door, and footsteps thudded on the porch steps. Her heart seized, for this was surely the arrival of the telegram.

“I’ll bet this is it,” she whispered.

“Probably,” Nathaniel said. “Are you going to be all right? You look pale.”

She’d be all right. No matter what happened, she would figure out a way to get Luke free, but it would help if the president was an ally. She twisted her hands, hearing the front door open and silence descend on the people gathered inside.

Then a cheer. A roar and clapping and foot-stamping came from inside. Champagne corks popped, and people shouted congratulations and huzzahs.