Finally, Lord Bryant nodded. “Then I shall take my leave.” His voice was low, and his head lowered as if he had been a chastised child. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Nate stomped around her. “Why would you come tomorrow? We don’t need you here.”

A spark of his energy returned. Lord Bryant touched Diana’s handkerchief to his nose. And then had the impudence to give Nate a wink. “Mr. Barton, you should know better. My most favorite places are those where I am not needed.”

Nate’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t say anything. He stepped forward, and Diana moved to stop him. “I’m not going to hit him again. At least not today.” Nate reached for Lord Bryant, and for a moment Diana thought he was about to go back on his word, but instead, he wrapped his fingers around the gold knot at Lord Bryant’s lapel and ripped it off. A small hole was left behind in the fabric. “This doesn’t belong to you.”

“It did for a while. But I suppose that will have to have been long enough.” Lord Bryant picked up his hat and, with a final nod to Nate and Diana, left.

Mrs. Oliver rushed to them as soon as the door closed behind Lord Bryant. “Diana, is that true? He isn’t going to marry you?” Mrs. Oliver grabbed each of her shoulders and slid her hands down her arms, as if to ascertain that Diana had no physical injuries. “All that time I thought he was so respectable.”

Nate scoffed. “Lord Bryant? Mrs. Oliver, he is one of the most infamous rakes in all of London. He once lured Grace into an empty library before we married. Diana seems to believe I can’t keep him out of this office, but at the very least, I will not be leaving the two of you alone with the likes of him.”

“Diana?” Mrs. Oliver turned to her.

The office felt empty, even with Nate in it. Diana’s limbs were heavy. She needed to sit down. “Nate is right. Lord Bryant does have quite the reputation as a scoundrel.”

“But . . .” Mrs. Oliver’s hand flew to her mouth. “But the candles . . .”

Nate’s brow furrowed. “What candles?”

Diana ignored his question. “Lord Bryant has been a great help these past few weeks despite his reputation. I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear, Mrs. Oliver, but I have been using him to run off all the men who came here to waste my time. He has only been a perfect gentleman toward me, I assure you.”

Mrs. Oliver’s eyes were a bit haunted. She must have been remembering locking the two of them in the storage room. Diana couldn’t help but feel guilty for the poor woman, but in reality, it served her right. What had Mrs. Oliver been thinking? Even if she and Lord Bryant had been engaged, her actions were completely inexcusable. “I thought he was simply waiting for the right moment to propose marriage.”