There was a communal pout, and Diana took the opportunity to usher Lady Emily toward the door. “Who is your chaperone?” she said quietly to her.

“Mama, but she left to go to the lace shop for only a few moments. She won’t be happy when she hears I have been speaking of Mary Anning again. She hates when I talk of her.”

“She left you here alone?”

“Mrs. Nixon is here, and she said she would keep an eye on me.”

Diana had no idea who Mrs. Nixon was, but it didn’t matter. As long as they remained somewhere in the store, Lady Emily’s reputation was safe. “Let’s see what other books on geology they have here. I know they didn’t have the one you were looking for, but perhaps there is something else that would interest you.”

“I’ve read them.”

Lady Emily was not quite as quick-witted as Diana had hoped, at least not socially. Diana lowered her voice. “Even if you had, would you rather remain here with that conversation going on?”

Lady Emily’s small bud of a mouth opened, and realization dawned. “No,” she whispered.

The two of them walked quietly away, once again leaving Lord Bryant behind to deal with the mess they had made. Once behind a bookshelf, Lady Emily ran a slender, tapered finger along the books. “Will he be all right?”

“With all those women?” Diana peeked behind her and around the shelf that was only a few inches taller than she was. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but the way his arms waved about seemed to indicate that he was enjoying himself. “He will be all right.”

Lady Emily stopped walking and turned around. “Who are you?”

“I am Miss Diana Barton.”

“I heard you say that earlier.” Lady Emily’s eyes flicked to the center of the store. “But who are you to him?”

She didn’t need to ask who Lady Emily was speaking about. This was exactly the reason she shouldn’t be in the same room as Lady Emily. Now Lady Emily was suspicious of Diana’s relationship with her would-be suitor. She had expected Lady Emily to be very different from this soft-spoken young girl with a fascination for fossilized—no, she couldn’t even think of it, though a small smile tugged at her cheek. No, Lady Emily was not at all what Diana had pictured. Did Lady Emily know what type of man was pursuing her? Did she know how many other women he had pursued this year alone? And was it Diana’s responsibility to warn her?

Diana placed a finger on the bookshelf and slid it along the smooth, wooden strip just in front of the books. She could hint a little at least. Lord Bryant’s reputation wasn’t exactly a secret. “Like a lot of women, I’m not really anything to him. You know what he is like.”

Diana’s declaration didn’t seem to cause Lady Emily any concern. She didn’t even blink. “He looks at you, though.” Lady Emily’s eyes sought hers. “Most women he looks through. Sometimes he looks at me when I say something unexpected or strange, but his eyes never left you. Not since you walked into the store.”