Nate Barton’s sister? His eyes narrowed. Why would she need to associate with a rogue like himself? The few times he had seen her, she had been a perfectly presentable young lady.

“So we have. And yet, none of those situations led me to believe I would one day find you dripping late at night in my study. Did Mrs. Cuthbert give you my address? She shouldn’t have.”

Miss Barton’s bold countenance was broken by a few unmeasured blinks. Up until he had mentioned Mrs. Cuthbert, she had stood her ground, her chin jutting out as if she belonged in a man’s home on such a night as this.

“Are you speaking of Mrs. Lucinda Cuthbert? I hardly know her,” she scoffed. In his study. “Besides, I didn’t need anyone’s help to find you. Everyone knows where the Baron Bryant lives.”

So Mrs. Cuthbert hadn’t sent her. That changed things. “So, deep into the night—on your own—you decided to come to my home and charge into my study?”

That blasted chin finally lowered a slight margin, and a delicate blush rose up her neck. “I wouldn’t classify the time as deep into the night.”

“But it is much too late to be here.”

“I didn’t see another way to ask. I am out of time and a letter seemed . . .”

He raised an eyebrow. Miss Barton and her flashing copper eyes were proving to be a welcome distraction. “Inappropriate?” he asked.

She shook her head, the movement causing a dark, damp lock of hair to slide along her neck. “Unlikely to produce the desired outcome.”

“Which is . . . ?” He hadn’t stood at her arrival, and his leg was starting to twitch. He pushed it down with his hand. His mother wasn’t here to be disappointed in him, and Miss Barton hadn’t come because he was known to act like a gentleman.

“As your butler said, I’ve come to ruin my reputation—bad enough that no man in London will want me. Or at the very least, that they will all leave me to work in peace.”

Work? What type of work required a ruined reputation and a desire for men to leave her alone?

“You’ve likely already ruined whatever reputation you have by coming here.”

Miss Barton shook her head. “No, that won’t be enough. I need to be thoroughly ruined. And not just for tonight. What I need is some sort of ongoing ruination for the next two months.”

Thoroughly ruined? His twitching leg went still. Nelson shifted uncomfortably but knew better than to speak. Miss Barton held her ground like a Greek statue. What exactly was she asking? Did she understand how she sounded? Any other man in his position would have dismissed his butler and taken advantage of her on the spot. It would be so simple to snuff out that light she had no business bringing into a home where only darkness belonged.

He cleared his throat. “And if I don’t agree, what will you do?” The last thing he needed was the guilt of knowing another young woman’s life was ruined because of him. “Find a more willing man to visit this evening?”